Making a charm-like bracelet.

[MerEmma]

I don't have any official set plans yet for it, but I'm thinking about supplies for it (and of course, I will have a whole ton of supplies leftover so I will either make more if I think it went well, or just save them for other accessories). So far, I want to use a few very small starfish, a few very small shells, fake seaweed, possibly netting and then maybe some pearls. My main question here is, does anyone know of anywhere to get small (1 inch ish)? I've looked on Etsy and I've found some real ones and some fake ones, but I want to hear suggestions first...should I try to see if I could get anyone to make silicone ones (or make some myself)? I understand the bracelet will probably be a bit heavy, which not-real materials could probably make it lighter. Or not, haha. And with a real starfish, how would you go about attaching that? It would need a hole, wouldn't it? And in that case...how do you put a hole in it without ruining it?

Any tips or comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I mostly just got this idea this morning and I've thought it over a bit so it's all just brainstorming. I haven't even really thought about how to attach fishnet if I were to, so nothing is set in stone yet. =)

[Mermaid Annariea]

if you put real starfish on it, you won't be able to swim with it or have it in water at all.

as for plants, you could check local pet stores that sell fish and accessories.

[MerEmma]

I'm glad you told me the first part. xD I was ready to purchase some on Etsy right now. Why is that? Does it have to do with how they're preserved, I guess?

So that leaves me to fake ones or silicone ones. I'll probably try the fake ones first.

[Winged Mermaid]

You can find fake plastic or rubber starfish. Usually when I want to put a hole in something I use a dremel, but most people don't have those. You don't necessary have to put a hole in it. You could secure it to something else that's on the bracelet, like the netting or some more shells. Or depending on what it's made out of shove a needle with strong thread or fishing line attached to it so you can tie the thread/line on to something else. You could also try tying clear fishing line around it and securing it to the netting or whatnot. If you do this tie the knots tight or it will come undone. What I do is tighten each knot with pliers (one pulling on each end) before cutting off the extra, then use a lighter to melt the ends into the knot so it doesn't irritate the skin.

Good luck! Post pictures when you're done :)

[MerEmma]

I love the idea of using fishing line. My dad's a fisherman and I'm positive he has some I can use. I don't think I would have come up with that idea on my own. =P I like the idea of a rubber starfish, and I'll probably look a bit into the plastic kind too.

I'll definitely be sure to. I've got to go shopping when I get paid soon, haha! Thanks. :D

[Rain]

I'm glad you told me the first part. xD I was ready to purchase some on Etsy right now. Why is that? Does it have to do with how they're preserved, I guess?

So that leaves me to fake ones or silicone ones. I'll probably try the fake ones first.

If I remember correctly, after the starfish have been preserved and you put it back into the water, it gets soft and squishy, and starts to rot.

[Gem Stone]

aw, really? darn. I made a star fish headband with a real star fish. so I can't get it wet? that's good to know before I take it out in the rain or to the beach or something

[MerEmma]

^ Dangit, that's no fun. ):

So far this is the only thing I've found.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/32400333/vintage-large-golden-yellow-starfish?ref=sr_gallery_31&ga_search_query=plastic+starfish&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=vintage

[MerEmma]

So here's a quick little "plan" so to speak I made...

http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l571/ZeezZeez/Tails/bracelet1_zpseba14156.jpg
I'm not sure about what string to use for the base. Hemp looks natural and I like that, but I'm not sure how well it would hold up. Is hemp particularly strong? I also considered using just fishing line because I plan to completely cover it with seaweed anyhow, but again, I'm not sure how that would work either. I'm also thinking about (since my wrist is tiny, haha, I'll only need about 4 1/2 inches of cord) using just one of each little "charm." For the starfish, I'm considering getting one made from silicone...whether I do it myself or not. I also want to add fishing net, again, if I can figure out a way to.

[Ariel-Starfish]

looks cool! can't wait to see how it turned out! ^^

[MerEmma]

Well, I'm heading off to Michael's much later than originally planned. Meant to go last weekend but I got a cold and it's set me back from pretty much everything this week.

I've got a pretty good deal of money saved up and I'm currently trying to find someone who works with silicone to get the starfish made...I've been emailing Raven a bit this week but still no response. I might try her Etsy but I don't really know of many people on her who work with silicone molds and such. It's so small, too. 1" isn't very large at all.

[MerEmma]

WOO! We're going in just a bit. Does anyone have any ideas for the base string to hold it all together for the bracelet? I have no idea.

[Mermaid Dottie]

Hobby lobby stocks little starfish, but make sure you seal it all up with e6000 before going in the water with it, otherwise it'll get soft and break.

[MerEmma]

We ended up getting a type of plastic-cord...I'm going to test it once I'm not so tired from the long day, haha! I'm actually going to see if I might be able to get some starfish made from silicone, but I'm not sure if it'll all work out. I want silicone because it'll be more durable, even though maybe slightly less realistic.

[MerEmma]

So I got the fish net and of course like I read, it smells, lol. But it's recycled. I read on here that there was something to do that would pretty much get rid of the smell, but now I can't find it. What was it? My mom thinks the chlorine will get rid of it but I remember that it didn't help.

[MerEmma]

So here are my supplies!
10879
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-in8pkfG78P4/UXLo_eg1sgI/AAAAAAAAIzc/hFNFmhxXBxg/s640/DSCN2371.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DQIFcdKrBT4/UXLpAFjQY1I/AAAAAAAAIzg/n3MvIVWvOJ0/s640/DSCN2375.JPG
I'm really happy so far! I don't need any shells after all; my mum had some leftover from when she did beach-themed Christmas ornaments one year. I just need a starfish before I can begin, which I'm still trying to get.