SeaShell Garland Tutorial

Our shelves are bursting with jars, baskets, and bowls of various rocks and seashells from the sometimes daily trips we take to the nearby rivers and lakes.  They're almost like a collection of memories, since I can remember exactly where and when we found each one.  The boys love to dump them out on the table, reminiscing...  "Oh, I remember we found that one the afternoon we went swimming in the rain!"

Needing to make room for a new season's worth of shells and nature trinkets we decided upon seashell garlands to hang around the house.  

To start your garland, use a straight pin and poke a hole in the shell.  Our kids had no trouble at all with this part, but little ones may need help.  


Some of the shells were pretty thick, so Cole used a hammer to coax the needle through.

Decide how long you want your garland to be and cut a piece of cotton string {we used some a friend hand dyed for me last summer}, silk cord, or whatever you can find laying around the house.

Thread the string through the hole in the shell and then tie a knot to keep the shell from sliding.  We spaced ours out about every two inches.



Tie a loop at each end for hanging and you're done. 

I imagine many more of these will be made throughout the year using seasonal finds...  flowers, acorns, leaves, dried berries.  What have you used to make garland?


6 comments

  1. Love this! Thanks for sharing!

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  2. We are heading to the beach in a couple of weeks. Hope we find enough cool shells to make a garland. Lovely

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  3. Great post! So much fun!
    I would love if you would share this at our weekly Playdate at http://beneaththerowantree.blogspot.com/2011/06/playdate-link-party-in-summer-12.html

    Cheers,
    Lori
    Come & Play :: Playdate
    www.beneaththerowantree.com

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  4. Glad you all enjoyed the post:)

    Lori, I'd be glad to share my link on Sunday!

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  5. What a great summer project... and can last for a while (collecting, stringing, etc). Can't wait to try this with some kiddos!

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