Archive for Seashells
Beachcombing Bliss
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Shellzam! This HORSE CONCH rolled up on the beach right in front of me!
As the evening tide was coming in at Gulfside City Park Beach, it was bringing oodles of PENS SHELLS, SEA URCHINS and STARFISH…
So many other cool things wash up too like yellow SEA WHIPS, DONINIAS and BONES from CRAB TRAPS. When we have high west winds, the water gets so rough that CRAB TRAPS get tossed around so hard the BONES that are left over from the bait (mostly PIGS FEET) end up falling out then wash ashore.
The Gulf Of Mexico is so powerful, even when the wind dies down the currents still have enough power to wash large live HORSE CONCHS on the beach. Clark and I saw about 6 live HORSE CONCHS wash up on to the beach. We tried to walk them out in the water far enough to not wash up again but all we can do is keep our fingers crossed they stayed there.
And then… there are magical times when one of these big, beautiful shells rolls up on the beach completely empty like this one found by Lynn from Missouri. Spectacsheller!
And then…. another big, beautiful empty HORSE CONCH rolls up for me too! We got to shellebrate together! 
You want to know the most amazing thing? I filmed my find on video so you get to see it too…. hopefully soon. I was filming all of the cool BEACH BLING on my iPhone but didn’t realize that I had been videoing for 6 minutes and 40 seconds. I’ve had the hardest time downloading a video thats so long- Ack! So… as Im writing, it still has 329 minutes remaining to download. OMG Ive already been trying for a day now! So I will show you this awesome unedited video in my next post just so you can see everything single thing I saw on my beach walk and see how I found my HORSE CONCH. Its so cool!
If you want to see it as soon as it’s published on Youtube…. you can subscribe to my iLoveShelling Youtube channel to always be the first to be notified when I publish a new shelling video. After CLICKING HERE- Just click the red button on the right that says “Subscribe”
So until then… enjoy the gorgeous sunset we saw as we walked back to the car carrying my exshellent treasure.
Meowy Kitten Paw Christmas
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Do you see what I see?
Thousands of purrfect KITTEN PAW SHELLS!
These sweet little KITTIES washed up on the sand bar at Blind Pass yesterday waiting to be adopted (errr I mean collected) for a good home. Here Kitty Kitty Kitty Kitty!
Aha- And I know what I “knead” to do with them. I love this idea!
Charlotte P. shared a photo of her KITTEN PAW creation on iLoveShelling Facebook page and said…
“My two nieces, my sister and I collected kitten paw shells at Blind Pass this past June. They were so plentiful, that we just scooped handfuls of them into our shell bag. I made these 9-inch trees using about 460 shells each. Now we will always remember our fun summer day every Christmas! …use Michael’s stryo cones, sort shells according to size. I used the largest on the bottom. (The shells that are still hinged together are too thick. Also, the really curved ones don’t work either. ) Shove the shell into the cone until secure. Take it out, insert hot glue and jam it into place. Repeat about 459 or so times!”
CLICK HERE to find the link to her post on iLS Facebook page…
Our kitties PuppyCat and Dustie are already in the holiday spirit dressing in ShellElf hats to match their mom so I’m sure they would love to help me. They love craft time.
Wanna scratch around in the sand to find a few KITTENS PAWS too? Lets go CYBERSHELLING! Click on the next image to enlarge…
Want more? Take a walk on the beach with me to see the shells, waves, water and listen to the jingle of the shells against the surf…. and be amazed at the oodles of KITTENS PAWS (and itty bitty orange ROUGH SCALLOP I couldn’t resist). Here’s a video! (sorry if the vid looks a little “fuzzy” right now- I hope it clears up)
Meowy Christmas!
Touched By an Angel Wing
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“Every beautiful shell from the sea is a treasured gift” – I’ve said that countless times after admiring the amazing architecture, color and patterns of shells and bling that have washed up at my feet while taking a walk on the beach. I feel like I receive another wonderful gift when I meet folks who appreciate those same awesome gifts from the great Mother Nature.
Nicole, Dennis, Jesse and Sophie from Oregon gave me that gift last week… which was being able to hang out with this is one awesome family!
The moment 5 year old Sophie’s feet hit the sand, she barely had time to look up as she picked up one fascinating shell after another.
She already knew lots of the shell names too since she and her family had been studying up on the types of shells they might find on this very special Make-A-Wish trip to Sanibel.
The whole family told me they loved seeing all of the live creatures on or around the island… like DOLPHINS, MANATEES, TURTLES and the BIRDS but I think Jesse especially liked the ALLIGATORS (Ack! haha) in Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge and little critters like this HAIRY CRAB on the beach (maybe its a Pilumnus sayi ?) . I’ve seen lots of these little hairy guys in the SPONGES lately.
Jesse pulled these shells and beach bling aside to show me that his favorite finds from the beach were the smallest of treasures. Dont you just love that his faves are the tiniest ones?
Nicole and Sophie picked out a few of their favorite beach treasures … trying to just pick the best of each species (from a massive pile of shells they collected- haha). It wasn’t easy for them to pick just a few!
As I oohed and aaahed over Dennis’s SCOTCH BONNET, ALPHABET CONE and GAUDY NATICA, Nicole told me that picking out a few shells and arranging them makes each one just a special as the moment you found them. I couldn’t agree more. Together we made a masterpiece (with an ANGEL WING butterfly Nicole arranged with WORM SHELL antennas- heehee) using their favorite shells and beach bling collected on their trip.
These are special peeps whom I will have special memories with for a very long time.
Last week was a little chilly but they didn’t mind a bit- They are so stinkin silly and fun!
I hope they look back on their Sanibel trip as Spectacsheller!
I know I will… as I feel like I’ve been touched by an ANGEL.
A big THANK YOU to Make-A-Wish for making it possible for Sophie and her family to come to Sanibel, Florida.
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