Salt Dough Starfish

I found this idea on The Desperate Craft Wives and I was so excited to give it a try! Start by mixing together 1 cup of all purpose flour, 1 cup of salt and 1/2 cup of water in a medium sized bowl. (This is not the salt dough recipe used on The Desperate Craft Wives but I chose to stick with a salt dough recipe I have used previously)

Once the salt dough is combined form circles about the size of your palm and 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. (I didn't flour my surface at first and ended up struggling to pull of the first few starfish)

Once your palm sized circle is formed, press a toothpick into the dough to form the shape of a starfish.

I used a bench knife to cut out the starfish, but you could easily use a regular knife. Once the starfish is cut out, smooth out the edges and round the five points using your fingers.

Transfer the starfish onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and use a toothpick to make 5 lines starting at the center and extending to the end of each point. Then use a toothpick to make little holes along the sides of the starfish. I chose to make some of my starfish into a garland, so I used a straw to make holes on one point of each fish.

I let the starfish air dry overnight, then baked them at 200°F for 3 hours. But you could bake them for a longer period of time, instead of allowing them to air dry overnight.

Once the starfish were cooled I coated them with Modge Podge and strung them on twine. They turned out beautiful and perfect for summer. If you choose not to make yours into a garland, they also make great little decorations for around the house!