House Revivals: How to Make Faux Starfish {Inspired by Nature and Pottery Barn}

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

How to Make Faux Starfish {Inspired by Nature and Pottery Barn}

Bringing the beach indoors is one of my favorite decorating memes. I used to have lots and lots of little starfish, but sadly, my dog ate them one day when he was home alone.... Now, I have fake starfish.

Pottery Barn

You can make beautiful faux starfish using salt dough, but salt dough projects tend to get moldy in my humid climate, so I've come up with another DIY technique for making faux starfish -- using toilet paper! Remember the faux coral project I shared here?

This project uses the same recipe and techniques to create these gorgeous faux starfish!

Begin by creating an armature out of wire in the size and shape desired.

Next, wrap the wire with masking tape. This will prevent the wet paper pulp from rusting your wire, and give you an opportunity to "shape" your piece.

Now, apply your paper pulp. You can grab the recipe for paper mache pulp from the "How to Make Faux Coral" post. If you need to do more than one layer, allow each layer to dry completely before adding a new layer of pulp. When your starfish is dry, paint a layer or two of gesso or primer, then paint as desired. I left mine white, to give them a "sun-bleached" look.

There you have it. It's as simple as one, two, three! These are quick and simple (the only slow part is waiting for the paper mache pulp to dry). Make a dozen, tie them onto gifts or napkins or toss them into a bowl with some shells. You might even tie them up with jute twine and make a garland!

Do you like to decorate with starfish and other beach treasures?