Holidays on the sea coast are popular among residents of our country. Very often, as a souvenir of days spent on hot beaches, we bring home shells or beautiful stones collected on the shore. Often, these beautiful creations of nature, once they arrive at our home, begin to accumulate on shelves, in drawers or closets, taking up space and not really decorating the apartment. How to be? Read our article and you will learn many new ideas and options for what can be made from such souvenirs.
In this article we will tell you how to turn old deposits into beautiful DIY crafts that you can make maybe even a child. This real master class with step-by-step instructions and photos will help you decorate your home with original and unique products. Children can be involved in the process, so a fun and useful time is guaranteed for the whole family. And of course, nothing compares to such things that remind you not only of a vacation at sea, but also of the time spent with children in the process of making a product.
Where to begin?
After preparation, make sure that have all the necessary materials, and read the step-by-step master class for the selected craft.
Materials
Depending on the project you will need:
- glue (gun, PVA or moment)
- scissors
- laces, ropes, ribbons
- paper and pencil
- paints, glitter or varnish (for coating)
- hammer and nail (for making holes)
- other auxiliary materials (specified in a particular project)
So, after making sure that all the necessary materials are available, you can begin.
Project No. 1. Decoration of frames and frames (for mirrors, photographs, paintings)
DIY frame “The Little Mermaid”
Exotic and photo frames look original, encrusted with “seafood”. A DIY frame is easy to make and will freshen up any interior. This is a very popular type of craft. See photos with examples below.
To make this craft, you will need glue, a photo frame or frame that you want to decorate, and shutters of various sizes in the amount necessary to cover the surface of this very frame. If desired, you can use additional marine-themed items - pieces of coral, stones, starfish. You will also need old newspaper (or any other unnecessary paper) to protect the mirror or glass from glue and tape (masking or regular) to secure this paper. After all the materials are ready, carefully read the master class and get to work.
Sequence of actions:
- Cover the mirror with paper or newspaper, securing it with tape.
- Sort them by size - this will allow you to decide on the composition and estimate possible options.
- Glue a row of medium or small shells along the inner perimeter of the frame, thereby outlining a contour around the mirror or picture.
- Then you can attach a larger size. If the sashes are of different colors, make sure that these colors are distributed evenly around the circumference.
- In the spaces between them you need to paste smaller copies, thereby filling the gaps.
- If using epoxy glue, it will be necessary to leave the product overnight to dry.
- If desired, you can coat the surface of the sinks with varnish (to preserve color)
The frame is ready! Hang it in its old place and expect compliments from your guests!
Project No. 2. DIY decorations
Decoration “Pearl”
Here there are several options. We will describe the process of making earrings, beads and bracelets, but the imagination of fashionistas is not limited. Experiment! Belts, keychains, rings - all the accessories in your wardrobe can have a nautical theme.
To prepare the sashes for work, you will need a nail and a hammer (or a very thick needle) to make holes in them. If you are using a hammer, place it on a hard surface with the inside facing up. Place the nail on the inside surface where you are making the hole and lightly tap the head. If you are using a needle, you can make a hole in the desired place using rotational movements. Having prepared the required amount, you can begin to work.
Earrings
You will need:
- Two identical (or very similar) sinks
- Two ear wires (can be purchased at a hardware store or craft store)
- Paint or varnish as desired (you can use either clear or colored nail polish)
The procedure is very simple - after making holes in them, attach the earrings and, if necessary, cover the products with varnish or paint. Wait for it to dry. Ready!
Bracelet and beads
You will need:
- Silk laces in your favorite color (can be purchased at a sewing or craft store)
- Clasps for jewelry (again, a hardware store, a craft store, a sewing store)
- Beads - you can buy or use old ones from a torn bracelet or other jewelry
- Scissors
Prepared sashes need to be sorted by size and color. Preliminarily think through the sequence of stringing on the base, the order of alternation with beads, and color combinations.
For the bracelet, we recommend making holes on two opposite sides. After cutting a piece of silk cord approximately 20 cm long, thread it through the first hole and tie a knot, leaving an end 3-4 cm long (for attaching the clasp). Next, thread the cord through the second hole and also tie a knot in it.
Great gift for any occasion
Keep stringing them on, fastening them with knots and alternating with beads until you fill the entire length of the bracelet. Attach a clasp to the ends. You have created a wonderful accessory for a beach regular. Such a bracelet will look good not only on the hand, but also on the leg.
You can make beads in the same way, changing the length of the cord to 30 - 50 cm. When making beads, it is not necessary to use 2 holes; in this case, they will hang. You can make a whole set of shells of a similar shape and color.
When you receive compliments on these original jewelry, you will feel proud that you made it yourself.
Project No. 3. Panel
Seahorse made of shells of different sizes and shapes
If you have an impressive collection of shells and are trying to find a use for them, creating a mural could be an excellent option. This is a great option for shell crafts for children. A variety of templates will help you and your child realize your imagination and spend time productively. Our master class will clearly demonstrate the sequence of work.
You will need:
- Cardboard
- Scissors
- Beautiful rope or twine
- A stencil or template of a panel shape, for example - a heart, a mermaid, a seahorse or a letter-initial (yours, a child’s or the person to whom you want to give this product).
First, you need to cut out the desired shape from cardboard and use scissors to make holes in it for the rope. Then, start filling out the shape, gluing them as close to each other as possible. Do not forget leave the twine holes open. When the mold is filled and the glue has dried, cut a piece of rope to the desired length and thread the ends through the holes, tying a double knot at each end on the wrong side. Ready!
Photo gallery
DIY shell crafts- children's crafts, animals, ships, mirror frames, pen stands, candlesticks, paintings and much more that you can make with your children.
Products using shells, shells and pebbles have always been valued, especially by our ancestors, and were also used as decoration.
Shells come in different colors and shapes, they are sea and river.
Very often it turns out that at sea, children on the beach collect dry shells of different sizes and shapes. Do not throw away these treasures, but use them as a natural material in children's creativity, because children can be captivated by making crafts with their own hands from shells.
In addition to crafts, you can tell your child that shells were a house for baby fish and that a shell is a house in which babies live and hide from fish. You can also talk about the different types of smallmouths and why the shells are different - it depends on the type of smallmouths: donaxes (they are also called sea butterflies), mussels, cardium, zebrafish and others.
You can also tell children a lot of interesting things about the underwater world, about the inhabitants of shells and how it happened that the shell ended up on the shore in the sand. In this way, it is possible to expand the child’s horizons about the world around him and about the living nature that exists.
Thus, the shells will serve well not only in crafts, but also in the intellectual development of the baby.
Before making crafts with your own hands from shells, ask your child to take a closer look at the shells themselves. And tell you what he associates this or that shell with, what or who it reminds of.
Consider together the color, shape, coating of the shell, whether it shines, whether there is mother-of-pearl, etc.
After collecting this material for creativity, rinse the shells in water without salt, under the tap or immediately in the river and dry on paper in the sun.
The child can sort them by shape, color or other classification.
If you go to the sea or have the opportunity to relax at the dacha, collect shells with your baby for further activities. As a rule, children really enjoy the process of searching for shells in the sand.
Now let’s move on to what you can do with your child using shells with your own hands at home or in class.
Applications using shells
You need to start from simple to complex. The simplest crafts are crafts that combine plasticine and shells.
You can make an applique from shells. Take each shell, lay it down with newspaper or waste paper, and place the shell on this paper. A child can take paints and decorate each of the shells according to his or her own individual design. Then, you need to let the paint dry in the fresh air. While all this beauty is drying, take a separate blank sheet of paper on which you are supposed to create an applique in the form of a picture.
Take paint and make a background covering the entire length and height of a sheet of paper. Now let it dry completely.
Then, glue and dry painted shells are taken and laid out in some interesting figure first. The details of where and which shell is most suitable are outlined. Perhaps some of the shells will need to be moved or even replaced or simply rearranged.
And when the composition is completely visible and understandable, we begin to carefully glue the shell to the paper on which the background has already been applied.
If desired, the shell applique can be framed and hung on the wall so that it decorates the children's room and fills it with comfort and warmth.
An application made from shells, the theme of the underwater world through the eyes of children, may look like this:
Snail in the house
Roll up the snail's body, form a head, antennae, eyes, you can also make plasticine or use small seeds for the snail's eyes.
Next, take a shell that looks like the shell of a living snail (let the child look at the pictures to see what shape the shells are located on the backs of the snails) and place it on the body of the prepared plasticine snail.
Paintings
With older children, you can create figures or pictures using shells of various shapes, paste over boxes, trays and other interior items.
A large number of shells of the same shape are selected, painted and laid out in the form of a picture of the intended design. You can glue it with glue. The frame can be in the form of a regular frame.
Such handmade paintings will look very beautiful and unusual in any interior!
Beautiful “sea” paintings in the form of stunningly beautiful flowers! Creating such paintings is a real art.
Decor
Wonderful DIY decorative crafts made from shells can be a wonderful addition to your interior. For example, you can collect the most beautiful seashells, starfish, shells in one transparent glass vase. If you place it as a composition with other glass vases that contain multi-colored sand from different parts of our planet, you will get an interesting combination that will decorate a corner in the house.
A stunningly beautiful box made from the shells of various types of baby mussels and snails. Such a thing is not only beautiful, but also serves its owners practically. After all, you can store beautiful hedgehogs, jewelry or precious stones in it.
A summer wreath of wild or garden flowers can be woven together with your child. And decorate it with pre-painted shells and shells of sea or river inhabitants. Such beauty will refresh absolutely any interior.
You can also decorate candlesticks. You can cover a glass jar with shells and thus update and revive it, creating a beautiful decorative designer item.
In the same way, you can make your own pencil holder for pencils, pens and felt-tip pens.
Frames for mirrors, photos, watches
Handmade things like frames are very famous. Frames can be for mirrors, for watches, for photographs. In order to create such creative things, you need to stick already processed shells of various shapes and colors onto the selected surface. And you can varnish the top and they will shine.
Such crafts are not exactly for children, but children can take an active part in their creation.
DIY candlesticks
Candlesticks are very easy to make from shells. You can melt paraffin and insert a wick there. And when celebrating the New Year, you can light such beautiful candles with your family.
Also, if the sinks are low, then it is convenient to place such candlesticks in a lamp for essential oils, placing them according to size. You can pour some water into the lamp itself and add a couple of drops of aromatic essential oil. And the room will be filled with pleasant incense.
Original dolls
Doll masters and craftswomen create incredible beauty! The beauty of these works makes you pay attention to these DIY shell crafts. The precision of the work performed is incredible!
Decorations
With children, you can create the simplest jewelry, for example, a string of shells or a thin bracelet with an elastic band. To do this, you first need to drill a hole in each shell and then the child can pick up suitable small shells and string them on a thread - you will get beautiful beads.
Adults can try creating more “grown-up” jewelry in the form of medallions or pendants. Although they are quite difficult to make.
As you can see, you can create amazingly beautiful and very beautiful objects, jewelry and just things with your own hands.
When you have beautiful interior decorations at home that are reminiscent of the sea, warmth, and surf, it brings pleasant memories and improves your mood.
It is on cold evenings or rainy days in the fall, when it is winter and frost outside, that you can do handicrafts yourself or make children's crafts from shells with your own hands.
A mother can create jewelry for herself and her daughter with her own hands, and the kids can make interesting figures or applications from nature’s sea gifts such as shells and pebbles by connecting them with plasticine.
Bracelets, beads, panels, jewelry, compositions and much more will not only decorate the interior, but also bring a lot of positive emotions to their creators!
Do fun activities using shells, pebbles, sand with little ones and beautiful large and complex compositions with school-aged children.
Create beautiful things for yourself from such a chic natural material like shells. Such jewelry is worn in the summer on vacation and on weekends.
How do you use shells in creativity with children or what interesting things do you do using shells and shells from the sea or river? Share your ideas on how you can make appliques from shells on the theme of the underwater world through the eyes of children.
undoubtedly, they will become a self-sufficient decoration of the interior in a marine style. But you must admit, it’s much more fun to do something yourself, because when we create with our own hands, we put our soul and imagination into the product, and most importantly, even from ordinary shells found on Crimean beaches, you can make a truly unique gift, stylish decoration or item decor.
What can you find on the Black and Azov Seas? Most often you come across three types of shells - rapana, anadara and tritium:
As a rule, we find broken shells on the beach (finding a whole rapan is luck!), but this is not a problem, as we will see, fragments are also quite suitable for the job.
Now let's see what can be made from sea shells. Most of the craft ideas are found on www.etsy.com, where crafters from all over the world sell handmade items.
1. Decorating their seashells
Shells are an excellent material for marine-style jewelry: beads, pendants, earrings, bracelets. Depending on your idea, shells (both whole and broken) can be combined with pearls, beads and metal pendants.
To make jewelry, you may need to make a hole in the shell. Of course, if the volume of work is large enough (you are making it to order), it is best to make a hole using a drill. But if buying a special tool is not practical for you, you can carefully poke a hole with a gypsy needle.
2. Photo frame
By covering an ordinary photo frame with shells and other seafood, you will get an interesting little thing that will become a decoration for your home or an original gift. A vacation photo just begs to be placed in a frame like this, which will remind you of the pleasant moments of the past summer all year round. As in the previous idea, shells are good to combine with other materials, for example, rope weave lace looks beautiful.
3. Wall decor
Here are a couple more ideas for nice little things and trinkets that will complement the marine-style interior:
Box covered with shells:
Decorative bottles:
Let's make unique things that will decorate your home and fill it with summer mood! Crafts made from shells are a topic that gives boundless scope to the imagination of both adults and children.
How to make crafts from shells?
There are a lot of options for creative ideas for crafts made from shells. You can combine shells into three-dimensional shapes, you can combine shells with other natural materials, for example, stones, sand, clay. By laying out a pattern of shells on a sheet of paper, you can create appliqués or entire paintings. Shells are a unique natural material for children's creativity.
Crafts from shells for children (appliques)
Summer is the time for long-awaited family travel, little adventures and relaxation on the seashores. Every kid tries to bring home a small piece of happy memories - for example, a seashell. And it will be very interesting for him, together with adults, to make some kind of craft from this piece of sea life, because even the process of creating it will help to remember fun days spent on vacation.
If you glue the shells onto a sheet of paper, you can create a real “Fish” shell applique.
Application from shells “Fish”
You can make a funny bear using shells using the appliqué technique.
Shell applique “Bear”
Or you can make a funny mermaid.
Application from seashells “Mermaid”
Seashells glued onto colored cardboard make a funny and cute bear.
Shell applique “Bear on a tree”
Applications made from shells can be framed and then we will get a very delicate wall panel.
On a board you can lay out a very beautiful seabed with white fish. Various shells, pebbles, corals and even glass balls are suitable for this craft.
Panel on a board made of shells “sea bottom”
If you use not only shells, but also twigs, you can make an interesting mermaid.
Applique of branches and shells “Mermaid”
Shell figures
The easiest way to make a figurine from shells is to supplement it with plasticine. Sea creatures made from shells are accessible to the youngest children and remind us that shells are gifts from the magical and fabulous sea.
The shells make cute koalas under the tree. Here you will need very good glue or a glue gun to attach the parts.
You can use shells to make cute owls on a stand. The factory eyes really bring this figure to life.
Look at the video on how to make a funny frog from shells:
A funny hedgehog is made from many small sharp shells.
You can glue together a fish from two halves of identical white shells.
Using the same technique, you can glue together an elegant white swan from two shells.
You can glue together a lovely air angel from shells.
The shell giraffe is a real work of art.
For a poodle, you will only need the most delicate white shells.
In order to make a photo frame from shells, we need a base - any ordinary frame. We took a wooden frame painted white. In the absence of one, you can simply cut out a frame from cardboard.
Glue the largest shells to the frame.
Decorate the frame with small shells and pieces of coral.
The shell photo frame is ready!
Shell crafts for beginners
You should start making crafts from shells by collecting material for work. What we can do with you depends on what shells are available. For example, a candlestick made of shells can be a very interesting decoration for your home.
The first version of the candlestick is made on a round base. Seashells are glued to this base layer by layer.
The second version of the candlestick is made from a glass. Shells are glued onto the glass. The candle is placed inside.
You can make an elegant vase from shells:
Large flat sinks can be used to decorate a kitchen stand.
If you can thread strings through the shells, then you can think about creating an unusual bookmark for a book.
A pendant made of shells will be a very stylish decoration for your home. To create it, you need to secure the shells with strings. The decoration will look more interesting if you use shells of different shapes, beads and faceted glass.
A very neat idea is to make a dream catcher out of seashells. We will get a very stylish decoration filled with meaning.
Large shells can be used to make a unique soap dish.
A large shell can be used to make an elegant stand for earrings.
Shell jewelry stand (video):
Flower pots or towel stands decorated with shells look interesting.
You can make an amazing gift with meaning from shells - a tree of happiness.
Watch how to make topiary from shells in the video (option No. 1):
Topiary made from shells on video (version No. 2)
With the help of sinks, you can breathe new life into an old mirror or box, making it a real designer masterpiece.
Shells make very beautiful wall panels. Look how beautiful the “Fish” panel, created from shells and a starfish, looks.
You can assemble a very romantic wall panel from a shell, stones and a twig.
You can breathe new life into a flower pot by decorating it with shells.
Shells, strings and sticks can be used to make very beautiful wall decorations.
DIY flowers made from shells
The lovely shape and color of the shells itself suggests ideas for creativity. For example, people began to notice that some shells were surprisingly similar to the petals of various flowers. This is how a new direction of crafts made from shells was created - flowers and bouquets.
Soft pink shells make a charming rose.
You can supplement the shells with other material, for example, polymer clay. Then you can make a very effective composition.
A flower made from shells of different sizes and shapes will look interesting.
You can use shells to make a craft in the style of a topiary or money tree.
You can complement the shell flower with real greenery.
The most talented and hardworking craftsmen began to create entire bouquets of shells.
You can decorate pots with fresh flowers with shells or make something like Japanese miniature gardens in some suitable container - for example, a bowl, small basin or tray.
Flowers shell decoration
Pebbles go well with shells; they can also be pre-painted and complemented with fancy tree branches, dry leaves or flower petals.
Shell jewelry
DIY shell crafts reviews:
“When I was little, I made crafts out of shells. And now I would do it, but where can I get shells))” (alevita)