Updated August 2026
A Whale Tale, and plastic waste!
In this post, I shall demonstrate how to make a whale, but before that, here’s a short animation demonstrating the dumping of pollutants in our oceans.
Alas, it is startling to see how much plastic accumulates over time.
LET’S GIVE IT A THOUGHT!
We must be more vigilant and kinder to our aquatic and oceanic sea life; we could play a big part in the destruction, hence their extinction, unless we act now.
MY INTENTION!
Later on in this post, I shall show you how to craft ‘A Milk Bottle Whale!’ following the story of A Whale’s Tale!
As well as recycling as much plastic as we can, highlighted in the previous post ‘What happens to our plastic waste? gives you some insight into what goes on with the plastic recycling cycle, and what branded companies are doing about it.
Check it out, click below.
SO WHAT CAN WE DO?
As well as recycling all our plastics in the appropriate way, we can invent and have kids make something interesting out of some of these plastic containers, in craft projects.
In the introduction to this post, I deliberately show this short video ‘Whale Tale’, which shows our oceans full of plastic deposits and how a whale got caught up in a net, starts to collect floating plastics, with the help of its friends.
Well, I want to reproduce some of this story and make a milk bottle whale, mirroring the whale in the story, dragging the net full of plastics.
FEATURED BEFORE……….
I have shown another way you can use a plastic milk bottle in an earlier post, where I show how you can make a ‘ Plastic milk bottle elephant’ that was fun, and the result has the ‘Wow’ factor. Check that out too:-
Before we start here are some interesting facts about Blue Whales! ⇓
ARE YOU READY?
Here we go, we are going to make the whale like the one in the ‘Whales tale’. It’s not too hard and very straightforward, and with an adult’s help in the cutting and glueing with hot wax, it should be straightforward.
RESOURCES:-
2 large milk bottles.
Blue/white acrylic paints/silver glitter.
Paintbrush/scissors stanley knife.
Hot glue gun.
Black felt-tip pens.
Any type of netting or similar to netting.
LET’S GET GOING!
The shape of the plastic milk bottle dictates the shape and size of the whale, which all depends on what you have in your recycling bag. Failing that, next time you purchase milk, go for the largest type; this would give the whale a better shape.
So there you have it, once you have made your whale, you can go ahead and tell the story, improvising with whatever you have for the plastic junk you can put in your netting. Of course, the size of the bottles are life size, but it’s all about make-believe.
SOME TIPS!
CURLING THE TAIL AND FINS.
- You can curl the plastic with the sharp side of the scissors, curling the tail and fins in the direction you want them to go. Work with it, and you will get the plastic to curl.
SLIPPERY GLITTERY EFFECT!
- In addition, you can add silver glitter all over the whale, if you like that shiny or glittery effect.
- Use a glue stick here and there, and this is enough to give that effect when you add the glitter on it.
A SOLID COLOUR.
- Acrylic paint is the best medium to use on plastic and should not be diluted with water, as the plastic will repel the paint.
- Once the whale is painted, leave it to dry, then go over patches to give the plastic a more solid colour.
- Also, use a good black felt tip to draw the eyes and go over again when dry.
CRAFT LEFT OVER PLASTIC!
With the remaining plastic that I cut out the tail and fins, I managed to make it into a bird feeder! So ‘waste want not’ as they say! In this instance, I don’t want to waste what I have left, so what else can I make with the leftovers?
Various parts were cut out to accommodate an area for the bird to feed. In front, a small bird can stand to feed or enter through the back hole.
When you click links in this post and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps support the craft projects shared on this website.😀
(Affiliate disclosure)
A wonderful place to discover beautifully designed toys from a range of children’s brands, with plenty to inspire imaginative play and creativity, is……..
The Kid Collective is a retailer that stocks a carefully chosen range of children’s brands, including Tender Leaf Toys, Le Toy Van and other wooden toy makers.
They focus on quality, and educational toys, many made from sustainable wood.
OCEAN TOYS FROM THE KID COLLECTIVE
If your little ones love whales, sea creatures and underwater adventures, The Kid Collective has a wonderful selection of ocean-themed toys to explore.
Stocking beautifully made brands such as Tender Leaf Toys, each wooden toy is thoughtfully designed to encourage imaginative play, storytelling and discovery.
From charming whales and marine animals to stacking coral reefs filled with colourful sea life, these unique toys help children learn about the wonders of the ocean while developing creativity and fine motor skills. They also make a lovely companion to our recycled milk bottle whale craft, inspiring even more ocean-themed play and learning.
Start off with the wooden whale, then build up with other Ocean friends.
I particularly like the Tender Leaf Stacking Coral Reef, where children stack and balance beautifully painted sea creatures, coral and marine pieces onto a wooden reef base. The individual animals can also be used separately for imaginative small-world play.
