Top 12 Seashell Craft Ideas (for Adults) to Extend Vacation Memories
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No, seashell craft ideas aren’t just for kindergarteners, even though they’re super easy! Lots of elegant decorations, small gifts and useful items can be made from this free material, just for the pleasure of creating, but also to prolong the holidays spirit… What can you craft?
Make the Holiday Last with These Seashells Craft Ideas
We are in the middle of summer and it is the holiday season! Unfortunately, time flies when you’re having fun, and in what seems like only a week, the long-awaited seaside holiday becomes a distant memory. The good news is that you can make this wonderful experience last with themed mementos. Even better, instead of buying magnets and trinkets of all kinds, one can simply collect seashells while strolling along the beach and craft your own treasured items when you return home. You’ve got a bag of seashells, but you’ve run out of ideas of what to do with them? Lucky you, because we are exploring seashell craft ideas and we have a dozen of fabulous DIY projects!
Top Seashell Craft Ideas
From lighting fixtures to beach accessories and themed table decorations, among other things, there are countless seashell craft ideas! Here are top 12 of the most impressive and at the same time easiest to copy projects, which we have unearthed on Pinterest, Instagram and DIY blogs.
Magical Summer Mood Lighting
Handcrafted light fixtures are the perfect way to create a romantic atmosphere that immediately evokes days by the sea! Best of all, they aren’t difficult to make!
Seashell Fairy Lights
For the balcony, veranda, porch, etc. you can use simple LED string lights as your basic material. Glue seashells near each small bulb to make cool little lampshades. Use extra strong, quick-drying glue, but make sure it won’t compromise the insulation of the string lights cable. Hot glue gun will work just as well. The DIY seashell project is quite simple, but the end result is truly magical!
A Decorative Light for The Living Room
Inside the house, you can use your biggest shells or buy some exotic specimens from the “Hobbies” section of the “one price” type stores. Then, fill a shallow tray with sand, stick pairs of your prettiest seashells upright and place a tealight between each pair. Be careful to leave room for the flames to flicker safely. You can also use LED candles.
DIY Seashells Jewelry and Accessories
Making your own jewelry from shells is an absolute classic when it comes to DIY projects for the summer. Here’s how to do it and what other accessories you can make.
Make Your Own Jewelry
The beauty of this seashell craft idea is how adaptable it is. If you’re a novice, you can try making a simple pendant by choosing a good-sized mold and threading it onto a cord. The most experienced can make a “rosary” of several small shells and wear it as a necklace, wrist bracelet or anklet, depending on personal preference. A good idea is to use cords in bright colors for a nice contrast.
Charming Bag Decoration
Of course, bags made of straw, wicker, raffia, etc. are pretty enough as they are. However, when you add a few white seashells, their design immediately becomes very artistic and you can imagine an island surrounded by turquoise water. Simply hot glue the shells in place and you’re done!
Souvenir Key Rings
Giving a little vacation souvenir to loved ones is a touching tradition that doesn’t have to include an investment of money. Make key rings or bag charms from clams, cockles, clams and scallops, among others, and impress your friends, colleagues and children’s classmates after school starts! The trick to drilling seashells? Check out the video below:
Seaside-Style Wall Decoration
Making your own seaside wall decor is another fabulous way to celebrate summer holidays and make them last. Do you prefer a panel, door wreath or tree topper?
Ombre Seashell Wreath
To mimic this awesome seashell craft, all you need to do is tint 3/4 of your shells in 2 or 3 different shades of the same color and leave 1/4 white. Arrange them on a flat circular base of wood, cardboard or Styrofoam and your ombre effect door wreath or wall decor is ready!
Driftwood Tree Topper
The Christmas tree topper is probably the last thing that comes to mind when you think of seashell craft ideas, but we must admit that the idea of making it from this coastal material is quite original. Of course, if this isn’t your style, you can try your hand at making lots of other decorative objects from driftwood and adding some beautiful white shells as an aesthetic contrast.
Wedding Table Decorations
Beach themed birthdays and even weddings have become very popular in recent years! Such celebrations are usually held in a relaxed atmosphere, and seashell craft ideas for decorations fit right in.
Golden Candleholders
This chic DIY seashell candle holder is easier to make than it sounds. First cover deep shells with two coats of gold spray paint and leave to dry. Then, melt the wax over low heat in a saucepan and dip a piece of wick in it to make it stick upright in the center of each shell. Finally, carefully pour the rest of the melted wax into the shells to fill them and leave to harden. Voilà!
Coastal Napkin Rings
Marine Treasures under Glass Bells
Seashell Craft Ideas for Useful and Pretty Items
A whole lot of seemingly mundane everyday objects can be made from mollusk shells of varying sizes, and thus become completely exclusive. A soap dish for the bathroom? A mirror frame or trinket trays for the hallway?
DIY Seashell Storage Trays
A scallop shell, a few sheets of scrapbooking paper and decoupage glue – that’s all you’ll need to make these simply adorable trinket trays! Brush the back of the paper with glue and press it against the inside of the shell starting from the center and pushing air bubbles out to the periphery and out. Trim excess paper and allow to dry completely before use.
Decorated Flower Pots
Decorating flowerpots and planters with seashells is another is another easy-to-make and great decorative idea. Depending on what you want, you can glue just a few shells onto the planters, or cover them entirely, as if they’d been shipwrecked and spent years on at the bottom of the ocean!
Make Seashell Animals
If you’ve collected shells with the kids, they’ll be happy to see them transformed into cute creatures, won’t they? Then there’s nothing like friendly animals like rabbits, puppies, kittens and, of course, koalas! Except cockles and clams, assembled with a small ball of polymer clay, you can even combine razor clams and cowries together to imitate eucalyptus branches and leaves!