Twinkle Twinkle Little Starfish

One of the decorative things I have always loved in waterfront homes is the use of finger starfish.  And I found the perfect place in this home for a row of starfish.  Here is the finished product (read on to see how I made it):

I started with a run to Lowes.  I got the board there ( it was 1" x 8" x 4' and I had them cut it down there to 36" so it was about the same width as a door) and the paint (Olympic's 'Spa' color which is a nice low VOC paint).  The starfish are not actual starfish but decorative replicas that I picked up at Michaels for around $3 each.

I took the board out to the porch and placed it on newspaper to catch any paint:

I wanted to make sure there were no rough edges so I used some fine grit sandpaper to sand all the edges then I wiped down the whole board with a wet newspaper to get off any dust:

Then it was time to paint!  I just got a little sample container of the color (which is also the color I want to paint our kitchen eventually...so hopefully this will be a nice color tie in) which I shook before opening:

Then I painted the first coat on trying to do it evenly and with long strokes.  I also painted all the edges:

Here is the board drying after the first coat:

I let that dry and then added a second coat of paint.  Here it is after the second coat:

 

After it dried, the board was stuck to the newspaper with paint (oops). So I had to take an exacto knife (one made by Martha Stewart that I got at Michaels that Vinny affectionately calls 'the shank') around the edge to free it up and clean up the edges.  We screwed a picture hanger to the back of the board for hanging.  Then I measured to make sure the center starfish was centered on the board and I hot glued the starfish into place.  Up went a hook, and it was done!

Here it is in the daylight and at night. 

 I love it.  And I'm loving the color too.  Makes me want to go start ripping off wallpaper!  

What other decorations do you think of when you think of a beach house?