Nautical Baby Shower Card or Book Boat

Collect books and cards from a baby shower with this nautical-themed book boat! This fun craft is easy to make in just minutes. This is perfect for a baby boy shower with a nautical or fishing theme.

This is a hangout on air brought to you by Adtech adhesives; however, the project and opinions are all my own.

If you are planning a nautical-themed shower or nursery, I have plenty of whale-inspired crafts that would be perfect! Plus, you can reuse a lot of the shower decor for the nursery.

How to Make a Nautical Baby Shower Card or Book Boat

If you are asking guests to bring books instead of cards, I have included a printable for that as well.

Supplies to make a book boat:

• Metal tub in dark blue
• Dowel rod
• Foam block
• Thin styrofoam sheet
• Grey paint
• Adtech glue gun
• Foam cutter or serrated knife
• oly*fun multi-purpose craft material. You can also use tulle or polypropylene fabric
• Whale printable. Click here to download the free printable whale for your project.
• Ask your guests to bring a book instead of a card. Click here to download the file and print your own.
• Painted wood anchors
• Rope

I filmed this hangout a few times and this is the best shot I had. You can watch the 10-minute video below where I put together this little tub boat. It is a really simple project.

 If you have trouble hearing or seeing the video, I will walk you through the basics below.

There’s a little bit of prep work with this project, but all of it is very easy! Before you begin, paint the small wooden anchors and the dowel rod. Set them aside to completely dry before glueing.

To Make the Mast:

Paint the dowel rod in grey and used the Adtech glue gun to glue it into the tub. Add a little glue to the end of the rod, then push the rod into the foam block so the mast will stand up inside the tub. You can also use a dab of glue to anchor the foam to the bottom of the tub.

Then, use a foam cutter (or serrated knife) to cut the styrofoam sheet into a triangle. My styrofoam was small enough that I just cut it in half.

To Make the Sail:

Then, fold the craft material around the triangle and secure it with hot glue on the edges. Be sure to only use a small amount of hot glue as it will melt both the foam and the fabric.

Add the printable whale to the front and back of your sail. Then, attach the sail and mast using hot glue.

Then add painted wood anchors and some rope around the top of the tub with hot glue.

Now, if you want to add an insert to your invitations asking guests to bring books instead of cards, I have that for you as well. I made the nautical-themed version that you see below.

This is intended to print on an OL1443 from Online Labels. I work with them regularly and they sent me some of these free of charge. They are great because they are perforated and you can tear them into cards easily. If you don’t purchase the perforated sheets, just print on card stock and cut with a paper cutter.

This fun nautical baby shower craft is easy to make in just minutes. Grab your supplies today! This is just perfect for cards or books brought to the baby shower. If you are throwing a shower or planning a nursery, be sure to stick around here over the next few months as I have tons of plans y’all!

Do you love those little felt whales? Click here to see how to make those yourself as well!

Total Time 1 hour hour 40 minutes minutes

Nautical Baby Shower Card or Book Boat

Collect books and cards from a baby shower with this nautical-themed book boat! This fun craft is easy to make in just minutes. This is perfect for a baby boy shower with a nautical or fishing theme. There’s a little bit of prep work with this project, but all of it is very easy! Before you begin, paint the small wooden anchors and the dowel rod. Set them aside to completely dry before glueing.

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Supplies

• Metal tub in dark blue
• Dowel rod
• Styrofoam block
• Grey paint
• Adtech glue gun
• Foam cutter or serrated knife
• oly*fun craft material color of your choice
• Whale printable.
• Printable to ask your guests to bring a book instead of a card
• Wooden Anchors painted in a color of your choice
• Rope

Instructions

• There’s a little bit of prep work with this project, but all of it is very easy! Before you begin, paint the small wooden anchors and the dowel rod. Set them aside to completely dry before glueing.

To Make the Mast:

• Paint the dowel rod in grey and used the Adtech glue gun to glue it into the tub. Add a little glue to the end of the rod, then push the rod into the foam block so the mast will stand up inside the tub. You can also use a dab of glue to anchor the foam to the bottom of the tub.
• Then, use a foam cutter (or serrated knife) to cut the styrofoam sheet into a triangle. My styrofoam was small enough that I just cut it in half.

To Make the Sail:

• Then, fold the craft material around the triangle and secure it with hot glue on the edges. Be sure to only use a small amount of hot glue as it will melt both the foam and the fabric.
• Add the printable whale to the front and back of your sail. Then, attach the sail and mast using hot glue.
• Then add painted wood anchors and some rope around the top of the tub with hot glue.

Tried this project?tag us to show off your work!