Sea-sters!

My family took a vacation to Edisto Beach in South Carolina last week. So I planned ahead of time to make a sea shell picture frame using sea shells that I found on Edisto Beach! I used a picture of me and my 2 sea-sters (sisters).

A few tips for when you're collecting shells.

• Find a variety of colors, shapes and sizes
• Look for unique shells, not just the typical 'shell' shape. It will make your frame more fun!
• It's okay if they are broken, you might be able to arrange it to hide the broken part
• Never assume you have enough!! You never know if you're going to end up needing more, or different sizes or shapes to make it all 'fit' together and look good. So if you see any shells that you even THINK you might could or want to use, keep it! You can always just not use it later.
• Also, if you really want the best shells, you need to get up really early in the morning to go seashell hunting. There are some serious shell hunters who get up at the break of dawn as the tide is going out/in and find the best shells (colors, shapes, types, not broken ones) because they get out there first! I did this a couple of mornings and has some great finds!

Supplies you'll need:

1. A picture frame or wooden plaque ($1-2 at Michael's)
2. Paint, and puffy paint (optional) ($1 each at Walmart)
3. Sea shells, of course (FREE at the beach ;))
4. an awesome or super cute beach pic from your vaca
5. Strong, durable glue (I used Power Grab by Loctite, found at Lowes for just a couple dollars)
6. Modpodge (if you use a wooden plaque)

Here's the how to!

1. If you decide to, paint the frame/plaque so that any gaps between your shells have a pretty color.
2. (If using a plaque) Modpodge over the paint, let dry. Then glue down photo where you want it, and modpodge over photo, let dry.  ....... (*I arranged all my shells on the plaque before glueing down my picture. If you look closely you can see my picture is not quite centered. I had some bigger shells on the right tha would have covered up my picture if it were centered. So be mindful of this when positioning your photo)
3. Arrange shells in the desired placement on the frame/plaque
4. Using your glue, glue down your shells. Some will be hard because they dont have flat bottoms, so you'll just have to glue around the edges. Try not to apply too much adhesive so that it squeezes and oozes around the edges of your shells, especially if it doesn't dry clear. My glue is more of a caulk, so it's pretty sticky. I read a review of a lady who uses this glue for her shell projects and says it works great. So far I'm satisfied, except that i accidentally got the kind that doesnt dry clear, so i had to be careful. This is a picture of the glue i used.

5. I arranged my shells across the top to say EDISTO, and had one of the bottom for the year 2012 to identify the trip. I used puffy paint to write my letters, so here is where the Puffy Paint comes in if you choose to do that.

6. Let it dry completely and thoroughly! And then you're done!!

Optional Step 7:

I havent done this yet, but since mine is a plaque and has nothing on the back to help i stand or hang on the wall, I'm planning on finding some kind of sea-worthy sailor-looking beachy type rope to use to hang it from. Or ribbon will always look cute of course. So that's up to you!