You may be a bit hesitant on this one, but just trust the process here! This isn’t your kids silly-looking elementary school starfish (not that anything is wrong with those either), this is going to be realistic-looking cardboard starfish!! You’re going to love it!
what you need
- free starfish printable, linked here
- cardboard
- scissors
- hot glue gun, I linked mine here
- paint: light brown, dark brown, white, and a metallic rust (I linked my metallic color here)
how to make realistic-looking cardboard starfish
- Download and print my free starfish printable! Cut out the templates and then trace them onto cardboard. Then, cut out your cardboard starfish.
- You can copy the exact designs I did, or look up starfish online and run with your favorite. Basically, you’re going to use the hot glue to give the starfish some dimension. And the trick here is to slowly build it up.
Do a base design, let it dry, and then add to it. And you can repeat that as many times as you want! 
You can see the layers of hot glue if you look close!
- Now we’re going to use paint to add even more dimension! First, I painted the whole starfish in a light brown color, and then I went in with a metallic rusty red to highlight around the hot glue and lightly brush over the whole thing!
- Then, use a dark brown to cut near the edges of the hot glue, giving it a more raised look! You’re going to have to play with this some, since yours won’t be exactly the same as mine!! And then run the brown around the edges of the starfish, just lightly! You can see what I mean in the picture above!
- Lastly, use white paint on a paintbrush (not sponge brush) to give it a more realistic effect! You won’t want to use a ton here, you want it to look like light gently hitting the surface!
- And an optional step, you can add some minimal designs to the back!
I just painted the entire back with the light brown I used before, and then used dark brown to make the lines in the center. You may need this depending on where you plan to put your starfish. If they’ll be hanging where nobody can see the back, you can definitely skip it!
And that’s all there is to it folks– a realistic-looking cardboard starfish!!
I love simple projects like these!! They may only be small touches in your home, but together they make a big impact!!
And you can keep them for years to come, or throw them out when you’re over it! No harm, no foul!!
If you’d like to see more cardboard projects like this one, click HERE!
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