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6.11.2013

She Sells Seashells by the Seashore!

I don't know about you, but I just love seashells... 
I consider them tiny, detailed works of art created by Mother Nature herself!

I've used them in my own decor for every season of the year,
simply because I love them and I was lucky enough to have lived at the beach for a few years.
Up in Washington state, there are a lot of shells on the beaches of the islands.
The most abundant ones are simple white butter clamshells. I collected lots of them!

...and I found a 'Fast, Cheap & Easy'TM way to make those shells a special summer decor element!


* Grab yourself a bunch of clamshell halves (butter, littleneck, whatever) and clean them. Let dry.
*Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
*Sit them on a cookie sheet with their 'open' side facing up. 
Nestle them into a damp dishcloth/kitchen towel so that they all sit level.

*Get some plain white tealights (the kind that come from IKEA in silver metal cups are perfect).
*Remove the silver cup from the tealights, and sit one candle inside each shell half. 
Make sure the wicks are standing straight up.

*Slide the cookie sheet into your oven. 
It should take @ five minutes for the candles to melt,  filling the whole inside of the clamshell half with wax. Keep a close eye on the process.
DO NOT MICROWAVE! The moisture in the shells makes them EXPLODE!

*Pull the cookie sheet out of the oven very slowly and keeping it level 
so that you don't spill the liquid wax. 

*Sit the sheet on a flat surface to allow the wax to re-harden in the shells. 
If any of the wicks are bent or covered in wax, 
use a wood skewer to lift them out of the wax and stand them straight up.

*When the wax has hardened and the shells have cooled (about an hour), 
remove them from the cookie sheet and store them in a cool, dry place. 
If you'd like, you can place them in the fridge to REALLY harden the wax at this point.

*When burning these candles, place the shell inside a saucer or small bowl, 
to keep the melting wax from pouring out of the shell and making a mess. 
Always be cautious when burning any kind of candle.

I'll be sharing more ideas for decorating with seashells in upcoming posts...
This week I am headed back up to Seattle, to clear out an old storage unit.
Not a fun job, but it has to be done.
Who knows, I may even find my boxes of shells in there!

1 comment:

  1. So cute and great for the summer months! I have tons of clam shells so will give this a try! Thanks for sharing! Hugs, Leena

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