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About Me

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Cristina Riches aka Bird, is the founder of BirdsParty.com. She's also a creative mom of two, published author, graphic designer, freelance photographer, magazine editor and unconditional party lover. Her party ideas and photos have been featured on numerous publications such as Forbes.com, CNN Entertainment, Parenting Magazine, Celebrate Magazine, All You Magazine, Elle Decor and MarthaStewart.com. She also regularly creates content for brands such as PBS Parents, HGTV, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Pillsbury, PayPal, Mars, Hellmann's, Cultura France and Danone to name a few.

Nautical Party | DIY Salt Dough Starfish


Nautical Party | DIY Salt Dough Starfish Craft Tutorial - BirdsParty.com


"Necessity is the mother of all invention" - Never were truer words spoken, especially when it comes to party styling!! :)


Nautical Party | DIY Salt Dough Starfish Craft Tutorial

I really wanted to get some cool, sparkling white starfish party props for my Nautical Party shoots that I posted here and here. I tried my local thirfty stores and online to no avail (shipping charges were HUGE!)

So there I was, pondering where to get my darn star fish...when I remembered a (failed) childhood attempt at making salt dough figurines

I got my kids involved too 'cause I figured, if it all fails miserably, at least we've had fun together! BUT, I also secretly thought: "If all fails terribly, I can always say the kids made them!!"  - The shame, I know! :)

Ingredients: 

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup salt
* cold water

Nautical Party | DIY Salt Dough Starfish Craft Tutorial - BirdsParty.com
In my kitchen I bake cupcakes and starfish. What about you? :)

How to:

1. In a large bowl, mix table salt and flour together. Gradually add the cold water and mix to get a solid dough - Similar to bread dough?

2. Once the dough is made, start getting creative! 

I made some (deformed) seashells, but the big star fish looked pretty cool! WARNING: It can get messy, so use a plastic sheets on your surface whilst your mold the shapes.

There's no recipe or secret here, just mold the dough to resemble a star - I made a big ball, then pulled the starfish tentacles (5 of them) out of the middle of the dough ball until it looked like a starfish. Then, using a tooth pick made little holes on the surfaces.

For the nobly starfish, I just placed little bits of dough on top and made it look a little fatter.

3. Air Drying: Allow the shapes to dry for a day or two, turning them over periodically to speed up the drying process.  After the shapes dry, you can use a fine grit sandpaper to gently smooth any rough edges.

4. Baking Alternative: I'm not patient so I chose this method.

Instead of allowing the dough shapes to air dry, you can bake them in the oven at 200 deg F until hard. Baking times vary depending on oven and dough thickness. Make sure the dough is completely baked! You can cover the dough with foil if it starts to darken before completely baked through.

5. Paint your pieces using white emulsion.



Nautical Party | DIY Salt Dough Starfish Craft Tutorial - BirdsParty.com


I have to say they turned out pretty cool! What do you think? :)

More nautical party ideas and printables here.




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8 comments:

  1. I love the starfish - what a fun project! We made salt dought Christmas ornaments, your idea is wonderful for summer!

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  2. Thank KJ! Glad you like it! I am now displaying my starfish in my bathroom, so the magic last all year round! hehehe

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  3. How creative!! I love it!! And way more fun than buying them from the store. They look so perfect, I'd never have known.

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  4. Yep, Smita they are more fun and more messy! i couldn't find them here so this was my last resort! BUT it took me aaaages to fashion the more complicated starfish!

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  5. Hi! This is such an awesome tutorial that I shared it on my DIY blog:
    http://www.craftydiybride.com/2011/07/trend-diy-nautical-wedding-details.html

    Thanks for sharing!

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  6. Cheers, Mel!! I'll go check it out! :)
    XOXO

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  7. Just repinned this on Pinterest! I'm 62 & our Mother made this salt dough for us...never made starfish though. Love the idea as this starfish didn!t have his life sacrificed so I could enjoy him! I've never found a natural one one washed up the beach. I'm going to do this with my 7 year old grandson when he comes for a visit. Thanks so much for the idea!!!

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  8. It worked perfect for my daughter and her friend jacey. Thank you so much

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[name=Cristina Riches aka Bird] [img=https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rgs8z050PyY/WunXdXzZ5VI/AAAAAAAAxjc/qiDi9XqWXLwHWPcat9CjHUSxy-f2PaTNgCK4BGAYYCw/s277/P1470392.JPG] [description=Cristina Riches aka Bird, is the founder of BirdsParty.com. She's also a creative mom of two, published author, content creator & social media marketing influencer, graphic designer, freelance photographer and writer (for English, French and Portuguese-speaking publications), magazine editor and unconditional party lover. Her party ideas and photos have been featured on numerous publications such as Forbes.com, CNN Entertainment, BHG Magazine, Parenting Magazine, Celebrate Magazine, All You Magazine, Elle Decor and MarthaStewart.com. She also regularly creates content for brands such as PBS Parents, HGTV, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Pillsbury, PayPal, Sony, Sizzix, Mars, Hellmann's, Cultura France and Danone to name a few.] (facebook=https://www.facebook.com/birdparty) (pinterest=https://www.pinterest.com/birdsparty/) (instagram=http://instagram.com/birdsparty) (youtube=http://www.youtube.com/birdspartytricks) (twitter=http://twitter.com/birdsparty)

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