How to Clean and DIY Sea Shells Projects

 

 

My collection of shells in browns and greys

 

 

Summer officially over, days on the beach numbered or nearing the end, and if you are as fervent as collecting sea shells as me, then you've got your bags full.

 

 

We make shell colleting a  fun family activity and every summer we try to collect as many different shells as we can. The above is just a fraction of what we've harvested over the years.
 

 

 

How to clean sea shells

 

So you have your shells back at home and they might retain their natural foul odor. I clean them by washing them in warm water - I just let the water run over them for a couple of minutes, and then leave them in  the water - just enough to cover them -  and add  3-4 soupspoons of apple vinegar. Let them soak for about 15-20 minutes, wash them again and let them air dry or towel-dry them. While they soak you can use an old toothbrush and give them a nice brushing to remove any residue. The smell should be gone. If you can still detect the odor, repeat the above procedure. After drying them, polish them with coconut oil.

 

 

There are some fantastic projects you can use shells for. Personally, I love placing them in jars or scattering them on my bookshelves. What I would love trying my hand at is some shell embellishing.

 

 

These are gorgeous - you have to agree! Painted, sharpied or beaded!

 

 

 

Or even gold dipped.

 

 

 

Use them to make wall art like this

 

 

 

 

 

Do you  collect shells? What kind of projects do you use them for?

I hope this post inspires you to use your shells. You can find all the respective links for the images used on my board here.