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Jul 5, 2013

How to make a Driftwood Seahorse

Posted on 12:40 PM by Unknown
Dear Chicago House,

Mr. Chicago house and I had a little wander down to our favorite secret beach last week and collected a lovely bundle of drift wood.

driftwood

With a bit of creative magic I used it to whip up Seahorse!

driftwood seahorse

isn't she lovely...I have called her Sally, at the moment she is gracing a wall in my office.

driftwood seahorse

Would you like to know how to make one...read on

How to make a Driftwood Seahorse

What you will need:
  • Pieces of straightish driftwood, I had about a shopping bag full and had lots left over
  • Stiff Cardboard
  • Pencil
  • Ultility Knife
  • Hot glue gun
  1.  Sketch your starfish shape on your cardboard, mine  is about 36" by 16". I copied the shape from an abstract watercolor of seahorses
  2. Cut out your shape using a utility knife. You can see from this picture I taped two peices of cardbord together to get the height I wanted.
  3. Sort through your driftwood and start laying it over your cardboard, this process is really trial and error. I tried to keep the placement tight over the seahorse's belly but was quite happy to have a more ragged look over the back. I kept the driftwood pieces mostly parallel.
  4. Once you are happy with your choice and placement of the driftwood, fire up your hot glue gun and start sticking everything down. I started at the tail and worked up.
  5. For the eye I used a driftwood walnut (Mr Chicago house can take credit for that!)
driftwood seahorse
driftwood seahorse
driftwood seahorse

Love from

Creative in Chicago

XX

p.s. Sally the driftwood seahorse was featured on an episode of Unlivable on the FYI network >> read more
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45 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 6, 2013 at 6:15 AM

    excellent ! keep on from greece xxx

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  2. AnonymousJuly 8, 2013 at 4:38 PM

    me ha encatado , esta regio,gracias.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJuly 9, 2013 at 11:01 AM

    Exactly the idea I was looking for for my newly collected driftwood pieces. Adorable!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJuly 9, 2013 at 11:07 AM

    Exactly the idea I was looking for, for my newly collected driftwood pieces. Adorable!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Simply JessabellsJuly 12, 2013 at 2:14 PM

    Wow, that is incredible. I love it. I want one for myself.

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  6. Simply JessabellsJuly 12, 2013 at 2:15 PM

    Incredible. I love it!

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  7. annierobicJuly 16, 2013 at 6:43 PM

    Love drift wood...love seahorses...just like the commercial for Reese's peanut butter cups.

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  8. AnonymousJuly 17, 2013 at 2:34 PM

    How did you attach it to the wall? But overall simply beautiful

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  9. AnonymousJuly 25, 2013 at 5:53 AM

    Really neat idea if you can spend time walking the beaches, especially after a storm. Thanks for sharing.

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  10. Kelly @ IdealistMom.comJuly 26, 2013 at 3:19 PM

    So cute! Pinning this now :)

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  11. Amanda LeeSeptember 4, 2013 at 7:22 PM

    This is fantastic! I'm looking forward to our winter storms that bring in lots of driftwood, so I can try it :)

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  12. AdinaSeptember 4, 2013 at 7:22 PM

    Absolutely love this!!!! Pinning it!

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  13. Lauren @ infinite.nuSeptember 5, 2013 at 5:43 AM

    Wow, that's so cute!

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  14. Susan @ SunflowerHugsSeptember 5, 2013 at 6:05 AM

    I love this so much! I grew up on Long Island surrounded by beaches and never found a haul of driftwood!

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  15. JudiSeptember 8, 2013 at 11:41 AM

    WOW! WOW! WOW! I can't wait to go and find some driftwood, this is truly inspirational, and would look TERRIFIC on my new bathroom wall!

    Love it!

    Judi in the UK

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  16. Think BowtiqueSeptember 14, 2013 at 5:51 AM

    Wow this is amazing and so very clever. Love it. Thanks for sharing.

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  17. AnonymousSeptember 17, 2013 at 10:50 PM

    This will look brilliant in the courtyard of the beach house villa at mooloolaba qld. I have some marine ply let over from another project to attach it to. Beautiful!

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  18. AnonymousDecember 17, 2013 at 10:18 AM

    Do you sell these?

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  19. cigdemonur2February 14, 2014 at 12:50 PM

    Wonderful idea !

    ReplyDelete
  20. Natural handcraftedsoapApril 10, 2014 at 8:47 PM

    I really like this handcrafted

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  21. aweekfromthursdayMay 23, 2014 at 8:34 AM

    This is so pretty. I love it! I featured it on my weekender.

    http://aweekfromthursday.com/2014/05/weekender-5232014/

    Thanks for sharing!

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  22. NVJune 1, 2014 at 10:26 AM

    I love this - but have a question: How did you hang it on the wall?

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    Replies
    1. UnknownJune 1, 2014 at 1:25 PM

      I threaded some thin string onto a fat needle and stabbed it through the cardboard and created a loop. Hope that helps ans glad to hear your liked the seahorse!

      Delete
  23. CreativaCaleJune 3, 2014 at 12:48 AM

    I love driftwood and love Seahorse.Good idea! Kiss from Serbia,
    Cale

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  24. the cape on the cornerJune 3, 2014 at 12:21 PM

    that is a great idea!

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  25. Shanice BannisJune 3, 2014 at 4:23 PM

    I love this idea! I would love it if you joined and contribute your awesome posts at my link party at City of Creative Dreams, starts on Fridays :D Hope to see you there at City of Creative Dreams Link Party.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Pieced PastimesJune 6, 2014 at 6:12 AM

    This is such a creative project. Love the soft look of driftwood and finding new ways to use it. Your seahorse is so sweet.
    Thanks for sharing,
    Suzanne
    Pieced Pastimes

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  27. AnonymousJune 7, 2014 at 11:19 AM

    What do you put on the wood to preserve?

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    Replies
    1. UnknownJune 12, 2014 at 4:39 PM

      Nothing, the driftwood is very dry and not really prone to rotting. If I hung it up outside it may be a different story!

      Delete
  28. UnknownDecember 4, 2014 at 9:34 AM

    OOH, this would look great in a beach cottage! What a great idea...enjoy a walk on the beach picking up driftwood then use it to make something beautiful for your home! And we can follow the same idea you laid out for so many designs, like sand dollars, starfish, fish, etc! Thanks for sharing!
    -Amelia http://www.atlanticrealty-nc.com/blog

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownDecember 4, 2014 at 10:50 AM

      Thanks for your kind words Amelia ..funny as I have just made a pair of driftwood fish!
      http://www.creativeinchicago.com/2014/11/driftwood-fish-tutorial.html

      Delete
    2. UnknownDecember 4, 2014 at 10:52 AM

      http://www.creativeinchicago.com/2014/11/driftwood-fish-tutorial.html

      Delete
  29. AnonymousJanuary 25, 2015 at 6:14 PM

    Love this! I'm working on one now. Just curious...what did you attach on the back to hang it and how?

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    Replies
    1. UnknownJanuary 25, 2015 at 7:30 PM

      I threaded some thin string onto a fat needle and stabbed it through the cardboard and created a loop. Hope that helps ans glad to hear your liked the seahorse!

      Delete
  30. UnknownApril 10, 2015 at 7:50 PM

    Can I say how much I love this. Couple of questions, how thick is your cardboard? I know that it has to be thicker than what it seems. Also, what is the height of it? Finally, would you just sell that one to me, I have no talent, no skills. lol!!!!
    Thanks
    Erin

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    Replies
    1. UnknownApril 10, 2015 at 8:19 PM

      Hi Erin ,
      The cardboard I used is very stiff, I am not sure how thick it is. I got it from the back of a large sketch pad. The height is about 30".

      Delete
    2. UnknownApril 11, 2015 at 8:52 PM

      Thanks Zoe. I really want to do it, but, scared.

      Delete
  31. UnknownOctober 6, 2015 at 12:46 PM

    We loved your inspiring idea so much that we posted your link on our blog. http://miniowls.com/1/post/2015/09/what-do-you-do-with-your-summer-treasures.html
    Thank you

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    Replies
    1. UnknownOctober 18, 2015 at 3:48 PM

      A great collection..thanks for sharing my seahorse

      Delete
  32. UnknownOctober 18, 2015 at 2:58 PM

    I want soooooo much to make this seahorse, however, I live in an area that is far from the beach. Does anyone have an abundant supply, that they would care to donate, or sell?? I'd rather not purchase on ebay. Any replies will be very much appreciated.
    Thank you
    Sherry

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    Replies
    1. UnknownOctober 18, 2015 at 3:47 PM

      Hi Sherry,
      Glad I have inspired you to make a sea horse. You could always try making it out of twigs gathered from a woodland area or even a park...to make them look like drift wood you could try bleaching them first. Send me a picture once you make it and I will stick it up in a new blog post
      Zoe

      Delete
  33. Zali TurnerMarch 14, 2016 at 8:28 PM

    I just made this. It turned out pretty well! :)

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    Replies
    1. UnknownMarch 16, 2016 at 2:55 PM

      Hi Zali, Thanks for sending along a photo of your seahorse...it's lovely!

      Delete
  34. UnknownMarch 14, 2016 at 9:59 PM

    I'd love to see it!

    ReplyDelete

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