The beach is truly my *happy place* and I have spent many, many hours of my time prowling up and down the stretch of sand in search of the perfect seashells. There are few things that fill me with giddy happiness the way a beautiful shell plucked from the sand does. I recently went to St. Maarten, an island on the Caribbean, for a week, and at one gorgeous beach, I spent almost two hours in the shallows, hunting down the prettiest shells ever. Look at them. Who wouldn’t be that entranced?!
The point of that story is that seashells are magical, especially if you love the beach/ocean/summer in general. Collecting shells is fun and rewarding, but what are you supposed to do with them when you’re home, surrounded by sandy buckets? Clean ‘em off, let ‘em dry, and then start crafting! Seashells look better on an object than they do collecting dust into jars or being trampled in gardens. Luckily, there are lots of DIY seashell crafts out there to choose from.
Unfortunately, though, a lot of those shell crafts are kind of… um… lame. I was disappointed to see how many old lady shell crafts there were on Pinterest. I mean, nothing against old ladies, but these crafts seemed kind of boring and pointless – they just weren’t fun! So, I searched more and more until I could find the perfect crafts that are fun and actually really cute. Ready to make summer last forever? Check out these DIY seashell crafts now:
1. Make some cute shell hair pins.
Hair accessories are really popular right now, so why not try making your own? These little shell bobby pins are so simple. Make them using tiny shells you found (or just buy a bag. We won’t tell).
2. Make your own cool shell string lights.
Make boring string lights instantly more fun by adding seashells. You can choose any kind you like! And if you want to make this more colorful, try painting them first.
3. Use larger shells to make your own candles.
Who needs to buy candles when you can make your own? Bigger shells are ideal here, but if you want, you can even make tiny ones. These would also make a sweet gift.
4. Or use your bigger shells to make little trinket dishes.
Once painted, large scallop shells make the perfect ring dishes. You can also use them to hold bobby pins, small earrings, hair ties… basically anything you want!
5. Make your coolest shells into bottle toppers.
“Jessica, why would I need to make a seashell bottle topper?” you might be asking yourself right now. I get it, and I honestly can’t give you a reason why you need these except that they look cool. So, home decor. That’s it!
6. Use an impressive shell to make a necklace.
Some shells are too pretty to keep in your room. Find the perfect shell, then paint it and make it into a necklace you can wear every day.
7. Use gold paint on oysters to create chic looking dishes.
Don’t ignore those oyster shells out there! When you paint the insides, they actually become the coolest looking little dishes for everything from small jewelry to food (as long as your paint is safe enough for that).
8. Want to make your bedroom look more nautical? Make this seashell garland.
This craft is easy and will look so beachy and cool hanging in your bedroom.
9. Use tiny shells to make pretty earrings.
Who needs Etsy when you can do this on your own? Have fun with this craft. Feel free to paint your shells, use different shapes and sizes… basically, feel free to customize it however you want.
10. Paint your shells in metallic paint to make them look glam.
Glam seashells? Yup, it’s a thing. Gilded shells look amazingly cool no matter where you put them.
11. Glue a whole bunch of shells onto a planter.
This might take some time, but it’s simple, and will leave you with the cutest planter.
12. Create a night light with some larger shells.
Shells and a small light give just enough of a glow to make your bedroom a cozy sanctuary.
13. Use a shell and a charm to create some really pretty jewelry.
This looks great as a necklace, but it would also work as a bracelet or ankle bracelet.
14. Create your own shell candle holders.
This looks like it was purchased from a store! Make your own to decorate your room or to give as gifts.
15. Make the cutest mermaid shell bath bombs.
Okay, fine, this isn’t made from actual seashells, but look how cute it is!
16. Put together a seashell wreath as a decoration or gift.
Yeah, seashell wreaths have a little bit of a mom vibe to them, but they look so pretty!
Which one of these seashell crafts are you going to try? What did we forget to include? Let me know in the comments.
You can follow the author, Jessica Booth, on Twitter or Instagram.
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