Archive for Shell crafts
Tips To Decorate Your Home With Seashells
Posted by: | Comments“What do you do with all of the seashells you collect?” Haven’t you been asked that question every time you tell someone you love to collect shells? I’ve been asked countless times and I’ve asked other shellers so I’m guilty as well. I think we all are interested in getting ideas of what to do with them from other people who love what we love… seashells.
Our friends Dick and Mary love shelling and love their seashells and beach bling surrounding them in their beautiful home. Join me as I show you their seashell arrangements… with the help from kitty Fatima.
This is a perfect example of what I love about Dick and Mary in the photo above…. there are no rules. They find so many beautiful shells on the beach but they also love to buy shells if they see one that strikes their fancy and they don’t mind mixing them. Most of those shells in the bowl (that Fatima is admiring) were found on the beach by either Dick or Mary but some, as Mary says with a laugh “I found that one too…. in a store”.
When it comes to ALPHABET CONES, they don’t have to buy a single one. They found all of the ones in the glass vessel on Sanibel and Captiva. Wow! Piling the same shell in any type of vessel is my favorite way to display my shells as well. They found all of these baby HORSE CONCHS too. Wouldn’t you love a bowl full of candy by your bedside table?
They framed their oddity treasures in a shadowbox.
They framed some of their best shells to make a wall collage in the hallway.
This is the top of the very first shell mirror Mary made but the mirror is so big, I couldn’t get the whole thing in the photo. Again, she mixed bought shells with beach found shells.
Here’s the bottom of another shell mirror…
They displayed their “knobless wonder” HORSE CONCH (the spire doesn’t have those pronounced bumps normal horsies do) right at the front entrance with a striking vase of PAPER FIGS.
They call this little heart the WENTLETRAP trap…
This wire bowl has a beach found key chain, pottery pieces, sea glass, driftwood and other beach bling along with a bought object d’ art. See? Mix and match, just do it.
Mary was a doll maker a number of years ago so on the shelves of her glass door cabinets she displays the things she loves mixed together.
Of course there are OLIVE shells in the olive dish.
Remember I showed you the OYSTER shell mirror on my post Ordinary Oyster Turn Extraordinary? Mary made a plant stand out of them.
I still have so much to show you! Like how they use their shells in the garden and by the pool and how they organize all of their shells. But, oh my. I’ve run out of time so I have to break this post into several so… hang on! You won’t believe your eyes at how many more shells they have and what they do with them.
Cone Queen, Sanibel Seeker and Golfer Of The Sea
Posted by: | CommentsAll eleven of these ALPHABET CONES were found within four days of shelling this week along Sanibel’s West Gulf Drive by Wendy from West Palm Beach, FL. Talk about an eye for shelling! And she even found another one that wasn’t in that bunch. I’d say she is the CONE QUEEN.
She found these FLORIDA CONES and COLORFUL MOON SHELLS too!
But even when she isn’t lucky enough to find all of these CONE shells, she is still having fun picking up other shells with her friends to use as embellishments. Love this- they strung these shells around her straw hat. So cute!
Yes, that hat is awfully cute, but these hats just stole my heart! LaDonna, Carla and Belinda were all sporting their iLoveShelling caps when I saw them on the same beach. Weehooo! Shelling Sistahs!
We had the best time chatting it up when I spotted something pretty nice in Shelling Sistah Carla’s shell bag (you might recognize her name from her comments- Carla Knotts!). She found an excellent LIGHTNING WHELK.
She said she was happy they were already finding lots of shells but even happier just be on Sanibel. It holds a special place in her heart and I could see she wanted to capture every second on that beach and never let it go. She’s not just a shell seeker but a Sanibel seeker.
Then I ran into our local friends Dick and Mary…..
They look like they have golf clubs, don’t they? Belinda said Dick looked like he was the “Golfer of the Sea”. It would be appropriate since Clark plays golf with him every Sunday and both admitted they were better shellers than golfers.
The Golfer of the Sea found a pretty nice SHARK’S EYE….
I was tickled when they introduced me to Ernest Hemingway! Errrr, well, he looks like Papa anyway….. and has even won a look-a-like contest in Key West.
It was an amazing day yesterday off beach access #7 to find so many shells but the best thing was to meet many new friends and to see a few old ones too (and I dont mean in age! LOL).
Seashells Swarm The Shell Fair
Posted by: | CommentsThe 74th Sanibel Shell Fair and Show was over the top this year! But, come on…. did they really have to put me over the edge by displaying this many JUNONIAS all together in one place like this? I just want one!! I got over my shell jealousy pretty quickly since there were too many other seashells to drool over too.
There were rooms of seashells….
Tents of seashells….
Shacks of seashells…..
Sheds of Seashells….
Boxes of seashells….
Categories of seashells….
Flowers of seashells….
Frames of seashells….
Tables of seashells…..
Rows of seashells…
Cases of seashells….
Posters of seashells…
Magnifiers of seashells….
Shoes of seashells…
Crafters of seashells…
Collectors (and cutie collectors, at that!) of seashells….
….and this is only a smidge of what I want to show you. I’ve got video too! As you can already see, it’s a little overwhelming for a shell lover to just run through it in a short time. I didn’t even get a chance to show you details of some of the scientific shell displays. So many shell displays, so little time.
A shell show would not be complete if I didn’t add….
Lovers of seashells…..
Best In Show Sailor’s Valentines
Posted by: | CommentsThe Sanibel Shell Fair and Show is so overwhelmingly good this year that to give the winning art pieces their due justice, I had to break it down into more categories. That’s why I wanted to save the “Best In Show” winners for a post all their own.
This SAILOR’S VALENTINE by David Rhyne won a blue ribbon first place prize for “Best In Show Professional” in the Professional Artistic Division. Congratulations!
He explained this piece on a display card …
“The entire center of the Valentine is made from the CAPIZ shell. The picture in the center is hand carved and painted by the artist. The mosaic treatmetn on the jewelry, gown, and pattern work is hand carved from the following shells… ABALONE, OPERCULUM, SCALLOPS, MOLLUSKS and LIMPETS. Assorted shells and sea-life complete the piece.”
All of the SAILOR’S VALENTINES that I have posted so far have been made by professional shellcrafters that sell their work as well as enter shows.
This next SAILOR’S VALENTINE won a blue ribbon for “Best In Show Hobbyist” in the Hobbyist Artistic Division. Yes, James Cowperthwait is a hobbyist. Congratulations, James for Best in Show!
I have so much more to show you but I can’t get it all in at once. I sure hope you don’t mind if I dedicate the next few days to the shell fair. I haven’t heard of anything spectacular happening on the beaches the last few days since we’ve had east winds. I think the winds will be shifting to the west soon so maybe by the time the fair is over, it’ll be good shelling again. I’m having a great time with my mom visiting from Virginia!!!


















































































