So that walk I took last Wednesday when I collected all those shells, here's what I'm doing with them.
First I rinsed all the sand off of them. Then I soaked them for about 30 minutes in a mix of water and bleach. That usually works to get rid of the "I once housed a living organism" stench that usually clings to shells from the beach.
After drying the shells off from their odor killing bath, I coat their outer surfaces with a clear acrylic primer. Then comes the fun painting parts. Every shell is painted differently, and I'm never really sure how one will turn out until after I finish it. This time around I've been having lots of fun accenting with some gold paint I had from a previous painting. The shell fragments that I turn into pendants are a bit more tricky because I have to use my jewelry files to make notches in them for ties. But I'm really pleased with how the two necklaces I've made so far have come out. After the shells are painted, I coat them again with the clear primer to protect their colors.
My most ambitious goal is to take some of the matching shells I have and find some pretty way to add a secure hinge, and thus turn them into little jewelry boxes. I made a shell box for my mom for Mother's Day once, but I'd like to think I could do a nicer hinge job now.
Mentioning my mom, she's been gone this week, which is why I even took a walk on the beach, as normally we walk together on the roads of our neighborhood. She came back today though and I'm glad for it. Not only have I just missed her company, but my mom is usually the person who lets the cat out in the wee hours of the morning when he needs to relieve himself. Without her here I've had to leave my bedroom door open so the cat could wake me up. The problem is that the other cat, who usually doesn't need to be let out takes advantage of the open door to jump on the bed and be social with me at 3am. It wouldn't be so bad if he was just on the bed, but no, he nuzzles my head, and then decides to start gooming my hair, which for him includes as much teeth as it does tongue. So my hair and I are overjoyed that my mom is back.
First I rinsed all the sand off of them. Then I soaked them for about 30 minutes in a mix of water and bleach. That usually works to get rid of the "I once housed a living organism" stench that usually clings to shells from the beach.
After drying the shells off from their odor killing bath, I coat their outer surfaces with a clear acrylic primer. Then comes the fun painting parts. Every shell is painted differently, and I'm never really sure how one will turn out until after I finish it. This time around I've been having lots of fun accenting with some gold paint I had from a previous painting. The shell fragments that I turn into pendants are a bit more tricky because I have to use my jewelry files to make notches in them for ties. But I'm really pleased with how the two necklaces I've made so far have come out. After the shells are painted, I coat them again with the clear primer to protect their colors.
My most ambitious goal is to take some of the matching shells I have and find some pretty way to add a secure hinge, and thus turn them into little jewelry boxes. I made a shell box for my mom for Mother's Day once, but I'd like to think I could do a nicer hinge job now.
Mentioning my mom, she's been gone this week, which is why I even took a walk on the beach, as normally we walk together on the roads of our neighborhood. She came back today though and I'm glad for it. Not only have I just missed her company, but my mom is usually the person who lets the cat out in the wee hours of the morning when he needs to relieve himself. Without her here I've had to leave my bedroom door open so the cat could wake me up. The problem is that the other cat, who usually doesn't need to be let out takes advantage of the open door to jump on the bed and be social with me at 3am. It wouldn't be so bad if he was just on the bed, but no, he nuzzles my head, and then decides to start gooming my hair, which for him includes as much teeth as it does tongue. So my hair and I are overjoyed that my mom is back. |
| odor be gone! |
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| This fragment is about the size of a quater. I painted most of it with a toothpick. |
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| Gold is good for accenting anything; spray, rocks, waves, etc. |
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