Starfish Bowl - How To

$5.00
4 Days
Easy
Coastal décor is very popular, especially when the weather gets warmer. Using starfish and seashells is very chic among decorators but have you priced any items to buy? I had my eye on a starfish bowl from the Z Gallerie that was way too expensive for my taste . . . so what did I do? Made one!
décor
Here's how:


1. Make a toilet paper pulp much like a paper mache mix using flour, glue, toilet paper and water.


2. Create a "starfish" armature using 20 gauge floral wire.
3. Cover wire with masking tape.
4. Roll pulp into small "logs" and wrap around armature, shaping pulp with your fingers. Expect a mess!
5. Using toothpicks, press lines and tiny holes into the starfish to make it more realistic and give it more texture.


6. I made fifteen starfish out of my pulp batch, placed them on saran wrap and put outside in the sun to dry. After the sun went down, I brought them inside and let dry for 24 hours, turning them over midway. Hindsight - you can put them on parchment paper and place in a cold oven, turn on to 170 degrees for a couple of hours, turn off oven, and let cool and dry inside of oven.
7. Next, using Liquid Nails glue and clamps, starting at the base, begin shaping the bowl with starfish. This was a very slow process. I could only glue and clamp a few starfish at a time. The glue needed to "cure" for at least 24 hours and I didn't have enough clamps to keep the form secure. It took me about four days to secure with the glue and clamps all of the starfish into a bowl form, and then allowing it to dry completely.
8. I spray painted the bowl with a sealer before hand painting it with Martha Stewart's Metallic Silver paint that I already had.
The finished bowl looks pretty darn close to the one I had admired from the Z Gallerie . . . and for me, that was amazing!
Gail@Purple Hues and Me
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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