Today’s contributor is Lisa from Grey Luster Girl. All posts written by Lisa for Make It & Love It can be found HERE.
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Lisa from Grey Luster Girl here, to share with you how to make a seashell mobile!
If you have ever been to the beach, I am sure you have looked around for seashells. Maybe you have even collected a bucket full of them with the intention of making some craft with them. Maybe that bucket is still full of those same shells! Looking for shells is one of my favorite things to do at the beach and I am excited to share with you an easy way to decorate with the seashells and have a little piece of the beach with you in your home this summer!
On our last trip to the beach, we stayed at a beach house. We traveled during what was called a “king tide”, meaning that the tide was really high. Because of this, the waves would crash right up to our beach house and by mid morning, the beach front would be covered with new treasures. I loved scouring the beach with my kids to find the shells. There is such a diverse amount of shells out there.
Here is a fun tip if you want to make a craft with your seashells. Instead of collecting a hodge podge of different shells, try focusing on one type. The repetition will give a simplicity and cohesiveness to your seashell craft.
Going shelling is relaxing and exciting. It is fun to bring the sea shell treasures home and if you make something with your shells, you can remember the fun you had at the beach. 
That is what I did with my seashell mobile. I really liked these golden shells that I found. They reminded me of the capiz shells. I guess they are commonly called jingle shells and are actually clam shells. I liked the golden translucent color and the delicate look of them.
I made this mobile for $0! I used things I already had at home.
To make this sea shell mobile you will need:
Supplies
- Sea Shells
- Drift Wood or other distressed wood
- 28 Gauge Wire
- Wire Cutters & Needle nose pliers
- Twine
- Sharp Needle like object to poke the shells
Start by organizing your shells by their sizes. Line them up in columns coming down from your wood piece. I started with bigger shells closest to the wood and then they tapered down to the small shells.
At first I was a little worried about how hard it would be to make holes in the shells. I thought I would have to bust out the Dremel or something. In fact, the shells were very easy to make holes in. I just used this sharp needle like tool and pushed and twisted where I wanted the hole to be. I put a hole on both ends of each shell, like where North and South would be on a compass.
Next you need to attach the wire to the wood piece. To do this, make a hole in the wood with the sharp needle tool. You can’t just stick the needle straight in. It has to go in one side and come out the other side. That way the wire can pass through it.
Feed the wire through. Decide how long your want the mobile to be and leave enough wire to string the shells through to that length.
When you string the shells on, start with the biggest first and go down though the top side, under neath the back side and back out the bottom coming back out on the top side.
Keep going until your column is at your desired length. Tie the wire off in the back side of the last shell by making a simple knot in the wire.
Continue making holes in the drift wood and stringing the strings of shells until you are happy with the amount of sea shell strings on your mobile. Tie off the tops of each of the strings of shells the same way as you finished them, by tying a knot in the wire.
Now that the shells are all hanging from the wood piece, we need to affix some twine to the wood piece so that we have something to hang our mobile with. Make a hole with the sharp needle in the top side of the wood (opposite the shells) and thread your twine through it.
Do the same with the other side of the wood piece. Tie the twine in a knot on both sides so that it can hang onto something.
I used a command hook to hold up my seashell mobile for my beachy summer themed mantel decorations.
I felt like my shells were too delicate to use as a wind mobile outside but inside they sure are beautiful to look at!
Now go get that bucket of shells and get started on your summer mantel with this easy sea shell mobile!
Come see what else I have been crafting up over at my blog Grey Luster Girl. You can also swing by my pinterest, instagram or facebook and follow along with me there.
Happy shell hunting!
-Lisa
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Using what you can find in nature to decorate your home helps to bring a little of the blissful outdoors inside! Check out a few more great home decor ideas that use a little bit of nature in them:
How to Make Your Own Wood Slice Backdrop
