• Fishing line isn't just useful for fishing--try incorporating it into your craft projects.anzuelo y sedal image by Marco Antonio Fdez. from Fotolia.com
  
  The same qualities that make fishing line useful for its original purpose–its strength and near-invisibility–also make it a versatile material for a variety of craft projects. You can thread the line through a needle and use it in place of sewing thread, use it in place of jewelry wire, and use it to hang items and give them the appearance of floating. If you have a fisherman in your life, offer to recycle his old or tangled reels of line and add them to your stock of craft supplies.
  
  

Necklaces

• To make a necklace that showcases a bold pendant, thread the pendant onto a single strand of fishing line. For a longer necklace that fits over your head, just knot the ends; for a shorter necklace, attach fastening hardware to the ends of the line. It is best to use a pendant that is lightweight so the line does not hurt the back of your neck. You could use a pretty shell from a beach vacation, a row of decorative wooden beads or an unusual button. To use something that doesn’t already have a hole or loop for threading, use a narrow drill bit and a hand drill to make a hole, or glue jewelry hardware to the reverse side of it. Little girls could string dried pasta shapes with holes such as macaroni or penne. Paint the shapes and string them onto fishing line for a colorful, homemade necklace.
  
  

Curtains

• The beaded doorway curtains that were popular in the 1970s may be out of fashion, but interpret the concept in a different way and you can create a one-of-a-kind accessory for a contemporary room. Take a dowel or curtain rod, clamp it securely and drill a series of small holes along its length. Thread your choice of beads buttons, jewels, charms and such onto lengths of fishing line and use the rod as a hanger. Space each item evenly apart or fill the lengths of fishing line completely, knotting the line to hold the items in place if necessary. The list of items you could use is endless: Consider using small origami pieces, flower shapes cut from fabric, ribbons tied into bows or felted yarn beads. During the holiday season, make a festive “snowstorm” window hanging by sticking two circular printer labels together with the fishing line in the center, and spacing them at regular intervals along each length.
  
  

Fishing Game

• Make a fun fishing game for small children by saving some bendable drinking straws (one for each player), beads or buttons, an empty cereal box and some fishing line. You also need small craft magnets, glue, scissors, paper and paint. Cut the front off the cereal box and tape the two top flaps shut. Place this back-side-down on the table and have the children paint the inside of the box blue. The box serves as the fishing pond. Take a few pieces of blue construction paper and either use a shredder or scissors to make long, thin paper shreds, which you should place in the bottom of the pond as "water." Make fishing rods by gluing one end of a length of fishing line to a small magnet, threading the other end through a bendy straw and tying it to a bead or button. Toggle-style buttons are ideal as they can be used as reels. Cut fish shapes of various sizes from colored paper or card stock and glue a magnet to the mouth of each one. To play the game, the children will bury the fish within the blue paper shreds in the pond and use their magnetic rods to fish them out.