Coastal Charm: DIY Starfish and Driftwood Ornaments

Create your own coastal ornaments. These easy DIY starfish and driftwood ornaments are perfect whether you live at the beach or just want to add coastal charm to your home.

If you’re someone who loves the beach and wants to infuse a coastal charm into your home at the holidays or any time of year I have the perfect DIY project for you! These DIY starfish & driftwood ornaments are pretty and take a few minutes to make.

I’ll guide you through the process and show you how to use sand dollars too.

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Each month the Handcrafted Society has a theme for our monthly DIY challenge. For this month everyone had to use seashells in their projects like my friend Amy’s coastal decor she made.

Easy DIY Coastal Ornaments

Supplies:

• Starfish
• Sandollars
• Jute Twine
• Wood Beads (Dollar Tree)
• Driftwood

How to Make DIY Starfish and Driftwood Ornaments

These ornaments will add a little coastal charm to your home or Christmas tree; plus they are also so quick and easy to make!

It took me less than 5 minutes to make each one.

Wrap Jute Twine Around Starfish

First I cut a piece of twine around 30 inches long. It is better to start with a piece of twine that may be too long than one that is not long enough!!

All you have to do is to hold one end of the twine in place near the end of one of the starfish points leaving a long enough tail for tying a knot to secure later. Then use your other hand to wrap the twine around the starfish tightly.

Once the twine is wrapped to the top of the point of the starfish tie a couple of knots on the back. The starfish will be at the end of the ornament.

A bead of hot glue can also be used to secure the twine to the starfish for extra hold.

Add Wood Beads

The wood beads I am using were from Dollar Tree. They came in a bag of assorted colors. Any craft store would also have wooden beads, just make sure they have a hole large enough to run the twine through.

Plain wood beads work too if you can’t find pre-painted ones.

Tie a knot in the twine. Then slide down the first wood bead and tie a knot on the backside of the bead to hold it in place.

Repeat with a second wood bead.

Add Driftwood to the Ornament

Living near the coast I have a pretty big collection of driftwood pieces that I have gathered over the years.

If you don’t already have driftwood to use I found sellers on Etsy at a reasonable price with pre-drilled packs of driftwood that would work for these coastal ornaments. Also, check your craft stores. Driftwood was very expensive on Amazon so I am not recommending them.

Drill a hole through the driftwood near the center. If you do not want to use a drill then you can simply wrap the jute twine around the piece of driftwood a few times.

Both options will look great!

Tie a knot in the twine above the piece of driftwood before adding one final bead.

Finish off the ornament by tying a long loop in the twine so you will be able to hang the coastal ornament.

Small Starfish Ornament

For the next ornament, I used a smaller starfish but followed the exact same pattern as I did with the larger starfish ornament.

The set of starfish that I am using came with both sizes in the box.

Sand Dollar & Driftwood Ornament

For one final coastal ornament look I used a resin sand dollar. Instead of wrapping the twine like the starfish, I looped it through the opening near the top.

The rest of the DIY project was the same instructions as the starfish ornaments: 2 wood beads, driftwood, 1 wood bead, then tie a loop at the end for hanging.

Finished Coastal Ornaments

It really is easy to create your own DIY starfish & driftwood ornaments. They would make a wonderful handmade present for someone!

Besides using them on a Christmas tree you could hang them from cabinet pulls to add coastal charm throughout the year to your home.

Remember, you don’t need to live near the ocean to add a coastal touch to your homes!!

I’d love for you to go check out Wendy at WM Design House’s cool DIY project she made using oyster shells.

xo, Jennifer

Seashell DIY Projects

More Coastal Inspiration for you! Check out the rest of the projects made by the Handcrafted Society using seashells as our theme for this month.

Other Coastal Projects To Try

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