How to Make Seashell Coat Hooks
Using seashells you personally collected in your home or office decor not only shows loved ones and visitors your unique style and interests but also provides you with keepsakes for years to come. This memorabilia will bring back happy memories of your seashell-collecting outings and adventures. One unique way to show off your collection is to make seashell coat hooks for your home or office.
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Things You'll Need
- Seashells
- Generic coat hooks
- Hook rail or rack (optional)
- Glue gun or fast-tack glue
- Paint and brushes (optional)
- Wire coat hangers or flower wire (optional)
- Pliers (optional)
- Etching copper plate (optional)
Instructions
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1
Buy generic coat-wide and/or long metal-plated hooks in a color of your choice. If you cannot find hooks in the color you desire, buy generic hooks in any color, spray-paint or hand-paint the hooks with a glossy base coat and dry thoroughly before moving on to Step 2. Keep in mind that the generic coat hooks for this project need not be expensive unless you have decided to purchase large or heavy weighted hooks, a premade hook rail or a scrolled wrought-iron hook rack.
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2
Select the size, shape and color of seashells from your collection to accent the hooks, and separate them into piles for each coat hook. Remember, the way you accent your hooks depends entirely on your personal style and the size and shape of seashells in your collection. For example, you may want to glue a large shell at the top center of each hook and surround that shell with a starburst pattern of smaller shells, or you might use a variety of shells on the hook's plate and pepper a line of tiny shells along the neck of the hook.
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3
Glue your shells with a hot glue gun or fast-tack glue to your hooks and set aside to dry. Affix your hooks directly to your wall with screws appropriate to your wall type (such as drywall or wood paneling), or attach them to a hook rack.
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4
Create a collage of seashells and other seaside items or pictures, if using a premade hook rail or scrolled wrought-iron hook rack. For example, glue seashells to only certain areas of a scrolled wrought iron hook rack or only to the hooks on a rack to draw attention to both the shells and the rack. You can also glue your seashells, stone, sand and other seaside items to a piece of driftwood and then affix the driftwood to one corner of a rack to create a "mini beach."
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5
Purchase premade seashore-style (fish, sailing boat, starfish, seashell) metal hooks. Paint them in the color of your choice, and then glue your seashells to them as directed in Steps 2 and 3.
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6
Use wire coat hangers to create personalized scrolled seashore-style hooks, and then glue your shells to the hooks. Create your hook by unbending the hanger with a pair of pliers, rebending the top portion into your seashore design and then bending the remaining wire through the scroll of your design to create a doubled-bended wire "hook." Use thin flower wire as another option by threading the wire through or around your shells and then affixing the hanging seashells from a wrought-iron hook rack or directly from the plates of individual hooks.
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7
Cut, etch or distress (by paint or chemical wash) copper plate as an alternative, and then affix the plate to generic coat hooks. Follow Steps 2, 3, 4 or 6 to make your seashell coat hooks.
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