DIY Sea Urchin Decor

I have been drooling over these gorgeous Sea Urchin accessories since I first saw them at High Point last Spring. 

Check out these gorgeous Sea Urchin chandeliers I spotted while at High Point! 

{Sea Urchins}

{Sea Urchins}

Although I could have dropped about $100 to purchase one or two, I decided to make my own. I've seen a few tutorials out there involving a small styrofoam ball for the base, but I didn't like the thought of spray painting the styrofoam. 

Then I found a great tutorial from The Hunted Interior. She found her original tutorial here.

It involves using oven-bake clay for the base instead of styrofoam. 

I picked up my oven-bake clay from Walmart for around $5 and then purchased one pack of long Kabob sticks and one pack of shorter kabob sticks from my grocery store. They run about $2-$3 each. 

{Walmart}

I cut the longer rods in half so that I would have a medium sized Sea Urchin, and used the shorter rods for a smaller Sea Urchin. 

Following the same technique as shown on the Hunted Interior, I started by rolling a ball of clay and sticking the rods in a straight line in one direction. 

Then I started breaking up the circle into pie slices to make sure the rods where evenly distributed all over the ball. 

I kept breaking down the size of the pie pieces until I was satisfied with the coverage of the rods over the clay ball. 

Then I simply followed the baking instructions on the back of the clay package. I baked mine for a long time since the clay ball was so thick. Around 45 minutes, checking it periodically. I wasn't worried about the wooden rods in the oven since they are meant for Kabobs.  I knew they could handle the high temperature. 

After the baking, I let them cool and then gave them 2-3 coats of gold spray paint. Some of the rods  where very loose after baking. I used super glue to reattach the rods that where loose back into the clay. 

(One tip I would suggest if you decide to try out this DIY is to make sure that the your clay ball starting out is large enough. The first one I made, the ball was not big enough to handle all the rods it had in it and started to crack when it was baking.)

Project Breakdown

-Oven-Bake Clay:$5

-Kabob rods, 2 packs of different sizes:$5

-Gold Spray Paint: $4

Total: $14 + 2hrs of work

I still have enough supplies to make one or two more, so I would say this project was money and time well spent! 

November Prints!!

I was feeling extra festive last month and decided to add some fun October printables to my kitchen. I simply pulled some Pintrest Printables that I've had pinned for a while and printed them out. (Boy do I love alliteration!)  I recently purchased two clear display frames from Micheal's in hopes of using them for the ever so popular Lucite Trays, but wasn't feeling them as trays.  

(Sorry for the horrid iphone pics. Currently doing my research and saving up for a DSLR camera.) 

So here are a few Prints that I whipped up for November to fill my frames, and I wanted to share them with you! 

Normally, I hate anything deer or antler related due to an intense fear of the animal, but the trend is so hot in design right now I decided to give it a chance! 

Feel free to copy and paste them for personal use if you'd like!