The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Craft: Dawn Treader in a Bottle

"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" is a great movie offering for the holiday season. Celebrate this classic C.S. Lewis tale of the magical land of Narnia with a simple craft. Create a Dawn Treader in a bottle as a variation of the popular "ocean in a bottle" craft. Here's how to do it.

Dawn Treader in a Bottle: What You'll Need
You will need a few things that you probably already have around the house for this particular craft. You will need: A small, plastic soda bottle with lid, glitter, hot glue, blue food coloring, craft foam (brown and purple), mineral oil small plastic sea creatures (optional), colored duct tape (optional).

Dawn Treader in a Bottle: How to Make It
This craft is a variation of a craft called "ocean in a bottle." You will start by removing the label from the plastic bottle and rinsing it out thoroughly. Fill the bottle about one-half to three-quarters full of water then add a drop of blue food coloring. Swirl the water to mix the food coloring in.

Next add some glitter to the water. If you have small plastic sea creatures, drop them into the water. Next you will pour just enough mineral oil into the bottle to make an thin layer on top of the water. You should be able to see the water roll like waves on the ocean.

You will use the craft foam and hot glue to create a tiny Dawn Treader to add to your ocean Cut a small boat-shaped piece of brown foam. It needs to be small enough to fit into the bottle. Next cut a small piece of foam about half the size and shape of the boat. This will be glued into place on the bottom side of the boat to act as ballast or weight for the boat. The last thing to do to make the Dawn Treader is to cut a very small rectangular piece as the sail from purple foam. Use the hot glue to glue this into place on the top side of the boat. Test out your ship in a glass of water to make sure it floats correctly. If it tips to one side, you may need to cut the purple main sail a little shorter to create more balance.

Use tweezers to place your tiny Dawn Treader into the bottle and allow it to float on top of the mineral oil. Use hot glue to seal the lid onto the bottle. Cut a small piece of colored duct tape and tape around the lid to seal it further.

You can set this Dawn Treader bottle on a shelf to remind you about this special voyage in the land of Narnia!