Fake Coral From Packing Worms

by candy.hawkins.39

2.1K4323

Intro: Fake Coral From Packing Worms

I ordered a ceramic fish online, and when it arrived, the box containing my purchase was full of packing worms. I was wondering how to recycle them and decided to make some fake coral to display my new fish!

STEP 1: Creating the Base

First, I scratched any flat surfaces away from the lump of polystyrene to make it look more like a piece of rock. I then used hot glue to stick the packing worms to the polystyrene.

STEP 2: Creating the Coral Clump

I carried on hot gluing the packing worms to each other to create the coral clump. It is important to hold the pieces in place for a few seconds until they set. It is surprisingly quick and easy to do.

STEP 3: Colouring the Coral

Once I was happy with my coral clump, I spray painted the coral with two shades of pink. The spray paint does melt the polystyrene and the packing worms a little bit, but that just helps to make it look more like coral. And that is really all there is to it! A super easy project with great results.

STEP 4: Completion

I used up the remainder of packing worms on a smaller, coral clump and sprayed with it with yellow and pink. I can’t wait till my next package arrives because I am dying to make more!

18 Comments

WUVIE 9 months ago

Very interesting, and such a cool result!

agis68 9 months ago

awsome idea!!!!genius! well done!

ROBO HUB 9 months ago

nice project! This would definitely win a prize in the contest

MrsWilson46 9 months ago

Was this for a shelf display, or could you really use it in a fishbowl or tank?

candy.hawkins.39 9 months ago


Thank you for your interest, It is for a shelf display only. To display my ceramic fish. I an also going to make a coral reef as a display for my mermaid craft stall. I am also designing a mermaid style living room. You can see other marine style pieces I have made on TikTok @lillylegion1

winchester883 9 months ago

it would float since its foam and those packing peanuts look like the cellulose packing peanuts. which are biodegradable and melt with water. you can lick them and they stick to your tongue.

candy.hawkins.39 9 months ago

Thank you for you comments. If you read my project you will see that I made the coral to display my ceramic fish. It is not an aquarium accessory, and as I don’t intend to lick it I would imagine that it is pretty safe. Lol

exumbris 9 months ago

If you hold the spray paint farther away and do several light coats, it won't melt the plastic. It's the solvent in the spray that melts plastic.
This applies to any other crafts you make with soft styrofoam too!
Great idea.

candy.hawkins.39 9 months ago

Thank you for your comment. It doesn’t melt it much, just makes the surface tacky but it does enhance its coral like look. Sometimes I like the melted effect on the polystyrene base as it looks more rocky