How to Decorate Pots With Seashells

These will become very interesting and unusual plant pots. They are mainly for indoor use. They make wonderful gifts. First you must collect seashells or buy them from your local craft store. Some shells can remain in their natural state and others can be spray painted in gold and silver. Just place the shells on some newspaper in the garage or outdoors if it's sunny and warm. With your gold or silver start spraying the shells. You can create a few in all gold, all silver and a combination of gold and silver. It's also a good idea to have small beads on hand for filling spaces between the shells. Make sure you have a prepared work space. I use tile adhesive for this project. Usually tile adhesive is applied with a thin layer, however after much experimenting I found a method that works really well. You apply a thick layer of tile adhesive and squish the seashells into the adhesive. The excess adhesive will ooze out of the seams and corners; now you can press beads into these areas. This method eliminates grouting.

Materials:

Terra Cotta Pots in an assortment of sizes
Seashells in an assortment of sizes and shapes
Gold and silver spray paint
Tile adhesive
Spatula
Rubber gloves or surgical gloves
Silver, gold, and pearl beads

Basic Method:

Spray paint your seashells in a variety of gold and silver, let dry. With a spatula apply a think ¾ inch layer of tile adhesive covering your entire pot. Make sure the top edge of your pot is always clean and rounded off. Carefully start pressing the seashells into the pot. You can place them randomly or follow a design that you may have created yourself.

Apply beads in all the nooks and small areas where the shells couldn't fit. Make sure the bottom of your pot also has clean edges. Create a few of these pots in an assortment of sizes. Places in a safe place and let dry for a few days. These are indoor pots only.

Annette Labedzki received her BFA at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver, B.C. Canada. She has more than 25 years experience. She is the founder and developer of an online art gallery featuring original art from all over the world. It is a great site for art collectors to buy original art. Is is also a venue for artists to display and sell their art . Artists can join for free and their image upload is unlimited. Please visit the website at http://www.labedzki-art.com

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Seashell Bathroom Decor (Seashell Jewelry Making)

Seashell Jewelry Making

Seashell bathroom decor takes the colors found in the natural setting at the beach. Using shells to accessorize a bathroom is one of the classic bathroom themes. Because of this, there are a plethora of sources to find bathroom items with the seashell motif. The seashell theme is successful for several reasons. Some of these are:

• Natural elements are used to create a calming influence. Actual shells can be cleaned and used for display purposes. A shell can even be used as a soap dish. Sand in a jar may also add to the authenticity of the theme.
• Colors that are seen at seashore settings are usually utilized in the seashell-decorated bathroom. While other colors may be present, faded hues of blue, cream, white, yellow, gray and peach are typical colors used. These gentle tones create a peaceful sanctuary.
• The theme of water is appropriate for a bathroom setting. Using elements of the beach in the area where you bathe is a nice way to bring the natural world into the home.

Color choice is an important issue when you are outfitting your bathroom with seashell decor. Consider the overall effect as you choose accessories. There are many hues that would be appropriate to use with seashells.

Seashell Jewelry Making

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Decorate Your Home With Seashells

Seashell jewelry Making

Bathroom Mirror
A seaside theme is quite common for a bathroom and the shells can be stuck to the corners and the base of the mirror to give an enhanced look. Blue acrylic paint can be used to add a ‘sea wave effect’ to the mirror.

Photo Frame
A plain photo frame can be beautified by sticking a variety of shells and making a simple design along the borders. The design can be further embellished with beads and glitter.

Toothpicks
Toothpicks for cocktail snacks can be decorated with small sea shells. The sea shells can be painted in different colours with acrylic paint and left to dry. Once dried, one sea shell can be affixed onto the head of each toothpick.

Potted Plants
The larger shells can be placed on the mud inside potted plants. These need not be removed while watering the plants and can be kept there permanently.

Wall Hanging Picture
Shells can be used as a part of a collage and made into a wall hanging. This is a good activity for kids as it will enhance their creative abilities and keep them occupied on a rainy day.

Seashell Table Arrangements
A variety of sea shells can be used in floral table arrangements. These can be painted in different colours, left natural or enhanced with glitter to give a festive party look.

Seashell jewelry Making

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Tips on Cleaning and Preparing Seashells for Crafting

What to Do with Those Seashells After You've Found Them

Who doesn’t go to the beach and come back with seashells? Most everyone manages to find one or two seashells; some people find hundreds. Whether you’ve found your own seashells this year, or purchased a bagful from the local craft store, you can make lots of beautiful gifts and decor items from seashells. If the shells are straight from the beach, though, you’ll have to do some cleaning and preparing.

Seashells are beautiful in their natural form but look even more gorgeous after they’re cleaned and polished. The first step in doing so is to soak the shells in bleach water - half and half. Soaking for a couple of days is usually the norm but some shells have stubborn stains that need extra time. The bleach water will not harm the shells so soak away. The bleach also kills bacteria making them safer to handle.

When the shells appear smooth it’s time to remove them from the bleach water. There are still usually some rough areas on most shells, so use one of several methods to polish the shells smooth. One way is to use a toothbrush with a cleaner such as Lime-Away. You can use other stiff brushes as well. Other cleaning items include scrapers, tweezers or dental picks. Use sandpaper or a small buffer to further finish the shells. Shells will look much more lustrous if you rub mineral oil on them. They must be completely clean and dry before oiling. Instead of oil you can also use clear nail polish.

If you intend to dye the shells do not rub with oil first. Instead, boil the shells for ten to fifteen minutes. Rinse with distilled water that includes a teaspoon of vinegar and a pinch of salt for each cup of water.

Mix the dye according to package directions then let the solution boil with the shells immersed for another 10 minutes. If you’d like the dye to be very dark, lessen the water slightly and boil an additional 5 minutes. Drain water and allow shells to dry on paper towels, but never newspaper. Newspaper ink can transfer onto the shells, ruining the dye job.

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Making Seashell Candles

This article will described an easy steps how to make seashell candles craft.

Things that you’ll need:

• Bar of paraffin
• Wicks
• Metal wick holders
• Double boiler with a pouring lip
• Seashells
• Stubs of colored candles

Most of these items can be found at your local craft store. If you can't find metal wick holders, remove the wicks inexpensive tealights. Use stubs from colored candles to make candles in various shades.

Method:

1. Clean shells in a 10% bleach solution. Rinse with cool water and let dry.

2. Cut up the paraffin block into smaller chunks with a sharp knife. Melt them in the top of the double boiler by heating the water below to a slow simmer. Use the paraffin as is, or you may wish to add bits of colored wax for different color combinations. This is a great way to use up your old candle stubs. Experiment with color blends, but remember that the wax will be a shade darker when it dries.

3. Cover a steady surface with plastic or newspapers. Balance one of the shells on a small cup and slowly pour in the melted wax. Immediately place the wick and wick holder in the center of the shell. Leave wax to cool for at least 30 minutes so all the wax will harden fully.

4. Light up and enjoy your beautiful sea shell candles!

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