What are some cool things I can do with sand and seashells I brought back from Florida?
I mean I have a ton! of them…I wanted to sort of turn my apartment into a beach/ocean/tropical theme, I really loved Florida and I am stuck up here in Michigan, so I want to perserve Florida, but I am no Martha Stewart. the best idea I have had so far has been hanging seashells on my wall using nails, but somethin is off about that.
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when i was little, we found a clear lamp at wal mart (probably at hobby stores too) and filled it with the shells. You could also put the shells in dishes on your counters and tables and maybe mix in some potpourri. i’m not sure about the sand except to put it in an air-tight container. i’d be too scared it would make a mess.
1) Shells in a tall glass vase are very pretty.
2) Put sand/shells in a 1″ lip glass bowl and place a tea light (candle) in center. Very nice
3) I use the large clam type shells for ash trays
4) a basked of shells mixed w/potpourri is lovely
5) Believe it or not, i use sand filled snapple bottles to weigh down my picnic table’s tablecloth in the summer.
Make a shadowbox for them!!! Go to http://www.scenearama.com and see how they made theirs. I believe it’s in the instructions for the project base and backdrop.
You could also take an old picture frame or mirror and add a thick “frame” of tacky glue around it. Stick the shells in with the pretty side out, then sprinkle sand to cover up the rest of the white glue that’s showing. When the glue dries clear, you should be able to see the sand really well.
Or, get a tall, thin glass jar and glue the shells pretty side out to the inside of it. Then fill the jar with white sand, or the sand from the beach you visited.
put the stuff in a decorative jar and even put silk flowers on top or get a clear top coffee table and fill the inside with sand and shells. Use glass bottles of any kind to put the sand in and glass cookie jars or whatever to show off the shells. Hope this sparks some ideas for you.
Make some sand candles…or glue the shells onto whatever object you like to transform in your home…lamps , vases..ashtrays…look around..Im sure you can find something..
Happy Decorating..
Hi! My in-laws live in Michigan; we’re here in Southern California near the ocean.
One summer, my “mil” (mother in law) had placed some sand & shells (I think from Lake Michigan) in somewhat flat dishes or baskets, and set them out on her patio table. At night, she set fat pillar candles in them.
When we got married, we had our ceremony at the beach here. Then at our small reception, I put the shells and a little bit of sand scattered around the entry of our front door (but not in the way of foot traffic, for safety) to continue the theme.
I also took some of the shells and attached them (with epoxy type glue) to one of those clear acrylic photo frames, then using some heavy, tacky glue I covered the edges of the frame with the sand.
And I have scattered shells among my plants in our flower beds, and in flower pots, and used them (attached to sticks) as “markers” for herbs in the garden.
If any of your shells have a little hole in them you could do something like this.
http://www.erinmichael.com/e-maille/shop/items/jewel06-331.asp
Have fun!!
Get a big clear jar of some sort. Go to a craft store or Pier One. Put sand in it, then some of your shells.
Decorate some picture frames by gluing on an assortment of your shells. Then put pictures from your vacation it them.
Get some shadow box frames and put shells in them
Fill a big glass bowl, or vase with shells.
Fill a clear glass bottle with sand.
The first thing you should do is boil them for at least 10 minutes to kill any microscopic parasites that may still be living in and on them.You can go on line and find lots of interesting thng to do with them.
Layer the sand and shells in a round goldfish bowl. Add tealights, use it as a centerpiece. A weathered wooden tray (craft store) would also work. They could also be arranged in a shadow box and hung on a wall.
you could drill holes in them to make a braclet
I know how you feel. I’m from MI also and went to Key West last Feb. it was so hard coming back home. ;_;
you could drill holes in the shells and string them onto fishing line with some crystals (the kind used for jewelry or old chandelier crystals), then hang them in front of a window.
if you have some old furniture that you don’t mind altering, or even if you got some unfinished stuff from a craft store, you could repaint them and then glue shells on to them. like if you had an old table you could put the shells on the legs, they can be adhered to picture or mirror frames, or really small ones could even be attached to lamp shades (around the top or bottom). I wouldn’t put them on top of a table unless you’re really good at mosaics and could make the top flat enough to use.
I’ve seen flat, wide bowls with the tops that curve inwards (they’re used for floating candles) that you could fill with sand and scatter shells in to make your own beachy little zen garden.
if you’re feeling really kitschy, you could always attach a hanger, glitter, and then use them as christmas ornaments (or every day ornaments >D).