In this blog post, I will show you how to make a starfish. I'm calling these "whimsical starfish" because they are not anatomically correct starfish. They are more like an interpretation of a starfish.
They look cute as a vase filler but a marine biologist
would not approve of them.
would not approve of them.
They came about more as an afterthought as I was making foam bases for my DIY coral (see post "Do It Yourself Coral" here)
with Great Stuff Foam.
Once you start with that Great Stuff can, you might as well use the whole thing up 'cause it hardens in the nozzle after a little while
and there is no getting the rest of the contents out later.
with Great Stuff Foam.
Once you start with that Great Stuff can, you might as well use the whole thing up 'cause it hardens in the nozzle after a little while
and there is no getting the rest of the contents out later.
This photo is so fuzzy 'cause the camera came out into the hot sun after being in air conditioning.
I had all the bases I needed for my coral so I
squirted out some starfish shapes.
They turned out better than I thought so I bought another can
($3 at WalMart for the red can) to make some more.
Some tips: follow all the safety directions on the can (especially about wearing gloves), squirt it out on wax paper (it sticks to whatever it touches), don't let kids or animals around it until it is dry, squirt it as slow as possible to maintain control over where it is going. You may be a better "foam artist" than I am but my starfish were far from perfect.
"Draw" a starfish on the wax paper while pulling back on the nozzle that is included with the can. Great Stuff puffs up A LOT.
When it is dry to the touch and firm (mine was usually 1-2 hours), pull it off the wax paper.
If you have a build up of foam in the center of the starfish, cut the "hump back" off with a serrated knife. If the starfish is not completely dry in the inside, wait until it is to start cutting.
You might not abuse your kitchen utensils like I do but my steak knives worked great for this.
You might not abuse your kitchen utensils like I do but my steak knives worked great for this.
I'm a pretty pathetic photographer...can't even get a lump of foam sitting on a table in focus.
You can also do "surgery" on unattractive parts you don't want on your starfish. Do as little "surgery" as possible 'cause the paint does not stick to the exposed cut areas as well as the areas that have not been cut.
This is what happens if you do not cut the humpback off the starfish after taking it off the wax paper.
Real starfish have beautiful nubby backs usually.
This is a real starfish from Hobby Lobby. It costs $4.
With these foam starfish, the best we can hope for is to mimick the underside of the starfish.
To help the foam starfish look a little more real, cut a slit with a knife (not all the way through and not all the way to the middle) down each starfish leg before the foam fully cures (like within an hour of taking it off the wax paper).
The starfish on the left shows you what the underside looks like when you take it off the wax paper.
The starfish on the right shows where to cut the slits to cause a more real-looking crease.
I tried to get a picture of me doing the cutting but it looked naughty for some reason.
This will cause the legs sides to pull inward and make a crease.
It also makes the starfish shrink somewhat.
It also makes the starfish shrink somewhat.
Starfish come in lots of colors but I made mine white-ish.
I was trying to see if I could do a "batch" of 24 starfish
for $5 so I bought the $1 can of flat white spray paint
at WalMart. The one can covered the starfish front and back.
for $5 so I bought the $1 can of flat white spray paint
at WalMart. The one can covered the starfish front and back.
This photo shows the "bad" side of the starfish ...you can see where the humpbacks have been cut off.
When they are dry on one side, flip them over and paint the "good" side. Prior to painting, I had left some of the starfish out in the sun.
I didn't know then (but I do now) that the sun causes the foam to turn yellow. You can tell the color difference on the inside of the starfish on the left in the photo above. You might like that effect but if you don't, be sure to not leave the starfish out in direct sun before you paint.
If you don't want to use spray paint, regular craft paint (around $1 per bottle) was also very easy to paint on the starfish.
So if you are staying with the 24 for $5, we have $1 left if you want to add texture to your starfish (optional).
For experimentation, I tried white "decorator sand" from Dollar Tree and yard sand (about $1/bag) at Home Depot. Just for fun, I had some crushed shells left over from the coral project.
I was curious if the fancy shells could help the most pitiful starfish look prettier. As Zsa Zsa Gabor once said,
"Jewelry takes people's minds off your wrinkles".
For experimentation, I tried white "decorator sand" from Dollar Tree and yard sand (about $1/bag) at Home Depot. Just for fun, I had some crushed shells left over from the coral project.
I was curious if the fancy shells could help the most pitiful starfish look prettier. As Zsa Zsa Gabor once said,
"Jewelry takes people's minds off your wrinkles".
Paint the starfish with just a basic glue (that will dry clear) and immediately sprinkle the starfish with texture of choice.
The white sand was so finely ground that it almost was invisible and didn't make much texture on the starfish.
The regular sand was coarser and had more color so I think it would be the better choice to spend the final $1 in the budget on IF you want it to have some texture.
The crushed shell "jewelry" did give the little starfish a different look. Maybe the extra shine will take people's minds off her imperfections.
The regular sand was coarser and had more color so I think it would be the better choice to spend the final $1 in the budget on IF you want it to have some texture.
The crushed shell "jewelry" did give the little starfish a different look. Maybe the extra shine will take people's minds off her imperfections.
This stone texture spray paint totally blows a $5 budget.
It is $8 per can and I did not see it at the craft stores where I love to use my coupons. It was by far the most effective and easiest way to get texture and color variation on the starfish.
So, yes 24 starfish can be made for $5 or you can spend a little more if you want to.
It is $8 per can and I did not see it at the craft stores where I love to use my coupons. It was by far the most effective and easiest way to get texture and color variation on the starfish.
So, yes 24 starfish can be made for $5 or you can spend a little more if you want to.
One can was plenty to give some texture and coverage to the "good" side of the 24 starfish. Some spray paints "melt" regular foam but it did not effect these Great Stuff starfish.
I also had used this paint with success on some of my DIY coral and on the faux sandcastles I made earlier in the summer.
Here are the starfish in action:
Starfish in urn from sideview...
...and from bird's eye view.
These foam starfish do not have the wonderful beauty that a real starfish has but if you are needing starfish in bulk as a vase filler or party decoration, this might be an idea worth trying.