DIY Starfish Summer Wreath – A Tutorial (Summer Decorating Ideas)

This weekend, I decided to make a new summer wreath for my door.  I was growing tired of all my floral door decor, so I thought I’d try something a little different.

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Nothing says “summer” like the ocean, so I rounded up supplies to make a diy starfish wreath.

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I didn’t really have a plan when I started – I just kinda figured it out as I went.  But here’s what I ended up using as supplies for this summer wreath idea:

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• one-and-a-half rolls of 3/8 inch sisal rope (there’s 50′ per roll, so about 75′ in total)
• about 5 feet of thin sisal rope
• a 15″ circular styrofoam wreath form
• 5 dried starfish
• my glue gun

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I started by tying a nautical-like knot at the top that the wreath could hang from.

Next, I cut the thicker sisal rope into lengths of about 2-3′, so it would be easier to work with. I wrapped it around the wreath in small sections, using my glue gun to secure it here and there.

{A tip: Always start each section from the back so that your ‘seams’ for each section of don’t show on the front.  You want it to look continuous – as if you were patient enough to keep looping the 50 foot roll in and out…and in and out…and in and out…you get my drift. At the end of each section, trim your rope before you get back to the front, and secure with your glue gun.  I found it easiest to trim the sisal diagonally in one of the grooves following the ‘grain’.

Keep going until your entire wreath is filled in.

This process takes longer than you might think!

Watch out for glue gun burns!  I managed a doozie!  OUCH!

Once you’re finished, you might notice some gaps where the wreath form is showing through between the sisal. If so, you can cut a small piece of sisal and ‘patch’ it as neatly as you can.  Or, you can just choose to glue your starfish in those spots.

I glued on the starfish, but also used some thinner sisal rope to tie each one on.

It was more for some added visual interest than anything else.

I really like how it turned out.

It’s much simpler than most other things I hang on my door.

But that’s what summer decor should be all about, right?!?

So what do you hang on your door in summer?

Until next time,

I’ll be sharing this post at

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The Lettered Cottage