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How to Make Your Own Seashell Jewelry

Tulika Nair
What are the best souvenirs to take back from a beach vacation? Jewelry made from seashell is a great option. And the gift you give will only be more precious if you decide to make the jewelry yourself.
Every time you go on vacation, you come back home loaded with gifts for your family and friends. If the vacation was to a seaside resort, then chances are, more often than not, your gifts will also have a selection of jewelry.
Most beach vacation spots have many local salesmen who have a variety of jewelry made of shells on display, and buying them becomes a temptation. But what if you could learn to make this type of jewelry? After all gifting souvenirs you have made only makes them only more special for the person you are giving the gift to.

The Creation Process

In order to make this jewelry, you do not need many things. All you need are shells that you can collect from the beach, a small drill, needles, threading material that is preferably transparent, clasps for the jewelry, and beads, in case you decide to accentuate the jewelry using different material.

Necklace

The first step that you need to take is to understand a basic design that you want to use. First finalize how you would want your final product to lookand then work towards making the necklace. Once you know your design, follow the simple steps given here.
✤ Depending on the design that you have finalized on, place out the seashells accordingly.

✤ Take the threading material and make a knot at one end so that when you bead in the seashells, they stay in place.

✤ Once you have knotted the threading material, it is time to thread in the seashells according to your design for the necklace.
✤ With some seashells, you may need to use a small drill, in order to make a hole, to allow the threading material to pass through.

✤ You can choose to use different beads with seashells in order to give it a slightly different and unique look.
✤ Once you have finished threading in all the seashells, you will need to tie a knot at the other end as well to secure the necklace.

✤ Attach clasps at both ends, and you are done creating a seashell necklace.
You can easily use the same method to create seashell bracelets of different kinds. You can use multiple strands of threading material to create a multi-stranded necklace.

Earrings

The difficulty level for making earrings depends completely on the design pattern that you are following. You will, very obviously, need ear hooks so that you can wear the earrings. You will also need needle nosed pliers.
♦ As with any other piece of jewelry, the first step is to decide on the design that you want to use.

♦ Once you have decided on the design, it is time to recreate it practically. A great idea that you can use is to use invisible threading material to create looped earrings.
♦ Measure out the threading material to create loops of the size that you are comfortable with.

♦ Now tie a knot at one end, and start threading in beads. Once you reach the middle of the loop, thread in a seashell, and then again thread in beads.
♦ Now create a loop by making the ends meet and securing it by knotting the two ends together.

♦ Attach the earring hooks to the loops, and you have your jewelry ready. Remember to use the needle nose pliers to ensure that the hooks are secured properly.
These are just some ideas that you can use to make jewelry from the shells you find on beaches. Give your creativity a free rein and you are sure to come up with many more innovative ideas.