If you drag home lots of shells and sand dollars from your beach vacations, here is a project that is fun for both kids or grownups.
We spend a lot of time at the beach on the Pacific Northwest coast, and have collected baskets and baskets of shells and sand dollars. I adore them in their natural state, but also love the idea of using them to create art.
We've been seeing lots of Sharpie art on seashells lately, and thought we'd try it this weekend. The idea is a definite winner!
We experimented with inexpensive permanent markers, as well as with Crayola markers, chalk markers, a couple of scrapbooking markers, and even some glimmer mist.
Here is what we learned: First, use what you have, and experiment. We learned that water-based markers work great on porous shells and sand dollars, but the ink bleeds when sprayed with glimmer mist. This can look really cool, or it can look like a mistake. If it looks like a mistake, just draw over it, and clean up your lines. No big deal. I may experiment with using a spray sealer on sand dollars next time, since they are very porous, leaving little work time to manipulate your inks.
Colors don't always look the same on different shells. You can fret over this, or just go with it. I recommend you just go with it.
Don't wait for the perfect shell to create you art. Use the imperfect shells, as they won't feel as "precious", and you will be more apt to experiment with ideas.
Have fun! The idea here is to relax and enjoy time with your friends or family, or time alone. Don't be a perfectionist -- just enjoy the process.
When you finish, you will have a two lovely memories -- your memory of a beach vacation, and your memory of creating a unique piece of art.
I hope you try this project! If you do, I would love to see links to your project in the comments below. We like this idea so much, we plan to create a shell art making station at our beach house, for our guests to use. I also think this would be a fun activity for a beach house craft weekend. What do you think?
If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to House Revivals in the sidebar, so you won't miss the fun projects we have planned. Find us on Facebook, too, so you can catch all the "in between" stuff, and see what I'm working on throughout week on Instagram. Feel free to link today's project to all your favorite social media sites.
We spend a lot of time at the beach on the Pacific Northwest coast, and have collected baskets and baskets of shells and sand dollars. I adore them in their natural state, but also love the idea of using them to create art.
We've been seeing lots of Sharpie art on seashells lately, and thought we'd try it this weekend. The idea is a definite winner!
We experimented with inexpensive permanent markers, as well as with Crayola markers, chalk markers, a couple of scrapbooking markers, and even some glimmer mist.
Here is what we learned: First, use what you have, and experiment. We learned that water-based markers work great on porous shells and sand dollars, but the ink bleeds when sprayed with glimmer mist. This can look really cool, or it can look like a mistake. If it looks like a mistake, just draw over it, and clean up your lines. No big deal. I may experiment with using a spray sealer on sand dollars next time, since they are very porous, leaving little work time to manipulate your inks.
Colors don't always look the same on different shells. You can fret over this, or just go with it. I recommend you just go with it.
Don't wait for the perfect shell to create you art. Use the imperfect shells, as they won't feel as "precious", and you will be more apt to experiment with ideas.
Have fun! The idea here is to relax and enjoy time with your friends or family, or time alone. Don't be a perfectionist -- just enjoy the process.
When you finish, you will have a two lovely memories -- your memory of a beach vacation, and your memory of creating a unique piece of art.
I hope you try this project! If you do, I would love to see links to your project in the comments below. We like this idea so much, we plan to create a shell art making station at our beach house, for our guests to use. I also think this would be a fun activity for a beach house craft weekend. What do you think?
If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to House Revivals in the sidebar, so you won't miss the fun projects we have planned. Find us on Facebook, too, so you can catch all the "in between" stuff, and see what I'm working on throughout week on Instagram. Feel free to link today's project to all your favorite social media sites.
~Amanda
