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How to Make Crafts From Seashells

Seashells make beautiful crafts for home decor and jewelry.
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If you love trips to the beach and collecting sea shells, it's time to think about ways to display your little treasures. There are many beautiful crafts to be made out of seashells. First, make sure your shells are clean of algae and free of odors. Then grab a glue gun and start crafting. You can make beautiful candles, napkin holders, a seashell wreath, wind chimes, unique drawer pulls, bookends, frames for vacation photos, and all kinds of shell art. And there are lots of websites to walk you through the steps of making seashell necklaces and pendants. So don't just put your shells in a glass vase, get crafty and have fun.

Things You'll Need:

  • Mineral Oil Or Wd-40
  • Bucket
  • Liquid Dishwashing Soap
  • Old Toothbrush
  • Bleach
  • Soft Rags

Cleaning your shells

Check for animals inside shells.
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Make sure there are no live animals in or on the shells. Dead shells are much easier to clean.

Scrub debris off shells.
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Use a old soft toothbrush and some liquid dishwashing soap to scrub off as much tissue and debris as you can from each shell.

Soak shells in a bucket of bleach and water for several hours.
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Mix half bleach and half water in large bucket and soak the shells to remove their leathery covering (periostracum). The length of time depends on number of shells, but be sure to leave them long enough to clean them thoroughly (at least a couple of hours).

Dry each shell with a soft rag.
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Remove and dry with soft rags.

Shine shells with WD-40.
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Shine the shells with mineral oil (not baby oil) or WD-40.

Seashell crafts

Sort shells into sizes.
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Sort shells into sizes: small, medium and large. This will help determine which crafts to chose for your shells.

Use clean shells to make decorative objects.
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Make a seashell wreath, a photo frame, bookends, or any number of household treasures. See the Reference section for ideas and instructions.

Shells make beautiful jewelry.
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Use smaller shells to craft necklaces and flat shells for pendants.

Tip

If you want your shells to look wet, make sure they are completely dry then pain them with clear nail polish or shellac.

Warnings:

  • If you have shells with live animals, you need to use a different method of cleaning to ensure all debris is removed. Check the internet for information on how to clean live shells.
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