Beach Do It Yourself

We've gathered a few of our favorite sea shell do-it-yourself projects for creative accents and focal points to enhance your ocean and beach themed parties, dinners, and everyday home decor, including:

Starfish Wall Dangle

You Will Need

• Starfish, real/bleached or imitation
• Twine
• Optional: Hot glue

Directions

1. Cut two 4.5-foot lengths of twine.
2. Fold the strings in half, then 4” from the folded end tie a knot to create a loop.
3. Wrap each string around one of the starfish arms, once or several times as desired.
4. Tie a knot around the back of the starfish at various lengths so that the starfish hang at different heights.
5. Reinforce the wrapped twine with hot glue if desired.

Sea Shell Napkin Rings

Source: homedit.com

You Will Need

• Roll of thick cotton rope
• Twine/cotton string
• Hot Glue
• Optional: Colorful sea shells, bleached starfish & sand dollars, crab, fish, and/or sea turtle replicas

TIP: Coastal Christmas ornaments are a great source for cute sea life decorations.

Directions

1. Cut three pieces of 17” thick cotton rope; double or triple for a thicker napkin ring if desired using 6 or 9 pieces or rope.

2. Wrap a piece of cotton string or twine around the pieces to bind the thicker rope together, about 1” from the top and tie off in a knot.
3. Braid the pieces of rope for 6 inches.
4. Loop the braid so that the unbound side of the braid meets the knot at the other end, and bind them all tightly with the thin string.
5. Tie off with a knot on the underside of the loop.
6. Cut the ends of thick rope and thin string very short, and reinforce with glue if desired.
7. Apply fabric or hot glue on the flat, wrapped portion of the braided napkin ring, and glue a shell or other ocean-themed decoration onto the ring.

Decorative Wrapped Candles

Source: todayscreativeblog.com

You Will Need

• Pillar candles, preferably in glass jar
• Twine Seashells
• Decorative stones/glass marbles
• Hot Glue Decorative Platter, such as 13” Silver-Plated Serving Tray
• Optional: Sea shells, starfish, sand dollars, crab, fish, and/or sea turtle replicas

Directions

1. Place a dab of hot glue near the top of where you want the twine wrapping to start and affix the free end of the twine.
2. Wrap over the beginning end of the twine to keep it in place, and continue wrapping until desired thickness is reached.
3. Fasten the final end of the twine with hot glue to the back of the candleholder.
4. Use hot glue to affix decorations to the twine as desired.
5. Place candles on a silver tray, and add rocks, shells, etc. to enhance the decoration.

Beachy Wine Bottles

Source: betweennapsontheporch.com

You Will Need

• Wine bottles, preferably colorful glass
• Jute, twine, raffia, cotton, or other natural fiber string
• Foam cork board
• Drill/drillbit
• Hot glue
• Nylon thread
• Decorations: Seashells, starfish, driftwood, sea glass, ocean creature replicas, etc.

Directions

1. Lay shells on a foam cork board, then drill a small hole high up on the underside.
2. Link the shells together by threading them all through one continuous piece of nylon thread, tying off each one so they are properly spaced.
3. Place a dab of hot glue on the neck of the bottle and affix the nylon thread, as well as the end of a piece of raffia and/or jute (for wrapping).
4. Wrap to desired thickness, then fasten the final end with another dab of hot glue.
5. If using starfish, make a cleaner impression using raffia knotted several times in the back (instead of wrapping around nylon thread).
6. Attach in the manner described above, wrapping additional twine/jute/raffia/etc. around the neck to secure.

Starfish Garland 

Source: craftberrybush.com

You Will Need

• Twine
• 6-8 Starfish
• O-rings
• Hot glue
• Optional: Seashells, small drill-bit/drill

Directions

1. Cut an 8-foot length of twine.
2. Six inches in from one side, place a dab of hot glue on the back of one of the starfish arms and fasten to the twine. Allow to harden.
3. Then, wrap the long side of the twine around the starfish three or four times.
4. Place another dab of hot glue on the back side of the starfish on top of the wrapped twine, and tie a knot.
5. Repeat at 1-foot intervals with remaining starfish.
6. Once decorations have been strung and affixed, tie an O-ring to each end of the garland to make for easy hanging.

Optional

• Drill a hole one the right and left sides at the widest part of a scallop shell by placing the shell scoop-side up on a corkboard.
• Then string the shells along the twine in between the starfish for an extra touch of elegance.
• Sea glass is another attractive option, and can be wrapped similar or drilled into with the above methods.

Framed Sea Shells

You Will Need

• 5”x7” Wooden Picture Frames with removable glass
• Cardstock or thin cardboard, such as from a cereal box
• Old newspaper articles, glossary, index, encyclopedia
• Seashells
• Double-sided tape
• Hot Glue
• Scissors/craft knife
• Ruler
• Pencil

Directions

1. Remove the glass from standalone picture frames, and measure the dimensions of the backing.
2. Cut a piece of cardstock to match those dimensions for each frame.
3. Place strips of double-sided tape along the sides of the cardboard pieces and in rows across the middle, and attach to the text pages.
4. Using scissors or a craft knife, cut the pages down to the size of the cardboard. Insert into picture frame.
5. Use hot glue to affix shells in desired formation to the display side of the frame.

Sand and Shell Layered Vase

Layer sea shells, colorful pebbles, and natural sand to glass vases for a mix of natural textures to create a simple, standalone cross-section of the beach focal point.