If you live near a beach and have access to seashells, you can use them to make some simple seashell crafts! These easy craft ideas are great for kids to make. Then they can give their seashell crafts away as gifts! This article will teach you how to make a seashell picture frame, a seashell treasure box, a seashell wreath and a seashell soap dish. If you don’t live near a beach, you can always buy seashells at any craft store. And you will get a wide variety of seashell choices at the craft store too. You can buy seashells in beautiful colors and various sizes that may not be available on your beach. The following crafts call for using a low temperature glue gun and glue sticks. If you prefer, you can use my recipe for waterproof glass glue instead [2 Glue Recipes: Waterproof Glass Glue and Waterproof Leather Glue].
Seashell Picture Frame: Buy any cheap wooden or plastic picture frame in the size you need. Get an idea of how you want to place your seashells on the frame by trying various designs. Once you have a pattern you like, remove the shells then glue them onto the frame using a low temperature glue gun and glue sticks. You can cover the entire frame or you can add just a few shells here and there. You can also paint the frame any color you want before adding the shells. A seashell picture frame is the perfect frame to hold a photo taken at the beach during a vacation. You could also paint the name of the beach and the year the photo was taken right on the frame.
Seashell Treasure Box: Buy a cheap wooden box at any craft store. You can paint the box if you like or you can leave it as is. If you decide to paint it, a simple beach scene would be nice! Then glue seashells along the top and sides of the box using a low temperature glue gun and glue sticks. You may also want to glue four seashells, one on each corner of the bottom of the box, to make little seashell feet that raise the box so it does not lay flat on the table. If you want to use the box as a jewelry box, it would be nice to glue a few faux pearls or other gems on the box along with the seashells.
Seashell Wreath: Cut a simple ring any size you want out of cardboard (have an adult do this step) or you can buy a wooden wreath ring at any craft store. Glue various size seashells all over the wreath using a low temperature glue gun and glue sticks. You can layer the seashells on top of each other to fill in all the spots. You can also fill in spaces with sand paste. Just mix some clean beach sand or craft sand with white glue until you have a thick paste. Then use the paste to fill in any holes or spaces on the wreath then let it dry. You can apply the sand paste with a cake decorator using a large hole tip. You can also make little sand paste stars using a decorative tip.
Seashell Soap Dish: A seashell soap dish is very easy to make and it makes an awesome gift. But you will need a large, flat seashell, such as a scallop shell or a clam shell. If you can’t find a large seashell on your beach, you can buy one in the craft store. You will also want to buy a small bar of soap or some little decorative soaps. You can paint the inside of the seashell if you like or you can make it shiny by applying a coat of clear nail polish. After the nail polish is dry, place the soap in the middle of the seashell then wrap it with clear plastic wrap and tie a ribbon around it. You just made a seashell soap dish that you can give as a gift!
Another craft that you can try is decorating a birdhouse with seashells. This project is great for older kids and adults. You can get some great tips by reading my article titled [Decorative Bird Houses].
