Julie’s Beachy Crafts

Sea Shell Chandelier

I started this project at home and then brought it with me to the condo to hang over our ‘Beachy Thanksgiving’ table.

Our Beachy Thanksgiving

Two things we love a great deal, Thanksgiving and the Beach.

If you would like to check out our Beachy Thanksgiving click here:

Beachy Thanksgiving

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Sea Shell Chandelier Project

I haven’t worked on a craft project in awhile and I had forgotten how much fun they are.

An Old Gold Gaudy Light Fixture

First I did spray paint the light fixture from that gaudy gold to a subtle white and with using lots of hot glue I proceeded to attach the shells all around, making it a one-of-a-kind chandelier. Just think, no one else on the planet has one exactly like mine. 🙂

It is best to lay out all of your supplies in front of you.

To any creative person we love all our materials out in front of us. It inspires you to go into a different direction that you may not have thought of before. When you have materials packed away it really is ‘out of sight, out of mind.’

I discovered that as I worked on it it evolved into something different than I had originally planned out in my mind.

My Supplies

Lots of sea shells and pearl beads.

Hot glue is the only adhesive that I used. My old reliable glue gun and plenty of glue sticks.

TIP: Always keep a bowl of water beside you when you are working with hot glue just in case you get some on your skin. It can be quite painful. I also cut a little bit of aloe from my plant to keep beside me in case I do burn myself. It’s amazing how quickly it heals your skin and relieves the pain.

Everyone Should Have an Aloe Plant

(Great for sunburn too.)

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I think that you need to start with your main area, which to me is in the middle of the light fixture and then build around it. The big most beautiful shells (or whatever materials you decide to use) should be the main feature. Here I’ve used some coral, my sea shell roses that I make, and some larger shells.

My Sea Shell Roses are the Main Feature

I also use a lot of pearls with my shell projects. Not only because they are beautiful, but because they come from the sea.They also add a very elegant quality.

I then start to fill in the gaps on the light fixture with smaller shells and I glue in the beads when I have finished with the project.

These are just inexpensive pearl beads that I cut up and glue around my projects.

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I just wish that I had a craft room where I could have all my supplies out in front of me at all times. Instead of dragging out all my stuff it would be so nice to just walk into a room and start to create.

I love to make roses out of the jingle bell seashells and fashion them into a rose. Then adding a pearl bead to the center. Here is a treasure box that I made a few years ago. I wanted you to see the roses as I have glued them all around my seashell chandelier.

I always like to accent my projects with some kind of bling other than the faux pearls. First I had Gordon to wire the coral to the bottom and I added a faux crystal that I bought at the Dollar Tree years ago. I wish that I had bought more of them at the time.

I also have draped around my chandelier a string of my grandmother’s crocheted beads from about 30 years ago. She used to sit around and crochet them all the time. The women of that generation never had ‘idle’ hands.

I’m really proud of it. It’s a good feeling when I create something out of nothing, or make something better than it was. I guess that’s why we do it, huh?