Displaying Seashells in Glass

Learn how to take seashells out of the ocean and display them in your home.

It’s easy to think of seashells as little rocks that wash up on the shore, but anyone who begins collecting them soon learns that all seashells are actually the remains of mollusks like snails, clams and oysters. These exoskeletons wash up on the shores of beaches around the world and make beautiful, graceful and sometimes colorful ocean artifacts. If you love the ocean, displaying seashells in glass around or in a specific room in your home helps bring the ocean to you, no matter how far away you live from it.

Things You'll Need

• Seashells
• Sand
• Pillar candle
• Glass bell jars or hurricane vases in two to three different sizes
• Petrified wood twig or driftwood

Instructions

1. Decide what kind of feel you want to create with your seashells — artistic or scientific. For example, colorful seashells placed beneath glass bell jars on a rich wooden desk create a feeling of scientific examination and observation of the ocean while hurricane vases, candles and sand combine nicely with shells of various sizes to create an elegant, decorative display.

2. Collect or purchase a large shell or multiple smaller seashells. Gather sand from a local beach or purchase it from a seashell or craft retailer.

3. Place large, colorful shells directly onto a wooden table. Cover each shell with a large bell jar to give the impression of preservation and scientific observation. Set small placards with the scientific name and description of each shell on the table in front the bell glasses. Hang framed sketches of the shells or similar shells behind the displayed shells on the wall to complete the look, if desired.

4. Fill the bottom one-third of two to three thick glass hurricane vases with sand. Use vases of different widths and heights. Place a small pillar candle inside of one of the glasses. Set a piece of driftwood or a petrified wooden twig inside of the larger hurricane vase. Place shells around the base of the candle or prop them up against the base of the twig on top of the sand. Vary the look by filling one or all of the hurricane vases with shells only. Finish the look with a few shells propped against the rims of the vases on the tables on which you place the vases.

References

• Scientific American: How are seashells created?

Resources

• Completely Coastal: Decorating with Seashells
• Australian Seashells: Seashell Deco Displays
• Caribbean Imports: Cleaning and Preserving Shells
• Martha Stewart: Shell Crafts