Our recent trip to Punta Cana really got me ready for warmer weather and summer. I’m always looking for little seashell crafts for my large collection of seashells. I’ve told you many times how much I love walking on the beach and finding seashells. I do that for hours daily. So when I came across a snail shell bracelet on the Free People website (Sarasota Shell Bracelet), I wanted to find a way to make my own easy DIY snail shell bracelet.
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Supplies needed
I used 24 snail shells. The amount of shells you need depends on the size of the shells and the size of your wrist. I have tiny wrists. (Of course, you could turn this into a snail shell necklace too if you made it really long)
I’m using Shark Eye (Neverita duplicata) moonsnail shells and Northern Moonsnail (Euspira heros) shells. The Shark eye has a dark eye at the tip of the spire. And the bottom is closed meaning the hole of shell on the bottom is covered in the center of the shell versus the Northern Moonsnail having an uncovered hole at the center of the shell. (learn more about all the seashells )
Here you can see what I mean:
I also want to make a bracelet with American Mud Snails or Mud Dog Whelks (Tritia trivittata) if I find enough this upcoming summer.
Video tutorial about how to make a snail shell bracelet
I always have a video so you can see what I was doing with my hands during the project. If it doesn’t load for you here on my blog, then you can watch it on my YouTube Channel instead. I had a hard time focusing on the drilling and having my hands in the way. Sorry!
Step-by-step instructions
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Step 1: How to clean the snail shells before using
Especially snail shells can keep all kinds of bacteria and even parasites hidden far down in their spiral shell. You can soak them in peroxide or a water and bleach solution, but the bleach can discolor the shells. Discoloring the shells can look pretty too which is what I needed for my seashell flower tutorial .
For example, freshwater and land snails can house parasitic worms that can transmit schistosomiasis, which is a chronic disease. (You can read a lot more info about snail-borne parasitic diseases )
This is not to scare you, just to make sure that you handle them the right way. I never had any issues with any of the snail shells that I collected since I was a child.
Step 2: Drilling holes in the shells
I have drilled holes with both, the hand drill and the Dremel. The hand drill takes much longer and is better if your shells are brittle.
If they are sturdy like these snail shells, then using a Dremel with a small drill bit is the faster and easier solution.
I used an old cutting board to drill my shells on. Simply hold the shell with one hand and the drill in the other hand while slowly pressing on the shell with the rotating drill.
As I mentioned earlier, I needed 24 snail shells for my bracelet. So the drilling can take a bit of time, and the Dremel helps speeds things up for sure.
Step 3: Threading the shells onto the stretch cord
Start with wrapping some of the elastic stretch cord around your wrist to see how much you need and add about 4 inches to be safe.
I attached a small clamp to one end about two inches in so the snail shells don’t slide off again while working on threading them all onto the cord.
Slide all the shells onto the cord and keep wrapping it over your wrist to make sure you have enough shells for the circumference of your wrist.
Tips and other ideas for making a snail shell bracelet or seashell bracelet
If your elastic/stretch cord keeps breaking or ripping then you can string the shells on a wax cord or hemp cord instead and adding a macrame sliding knot clasp instead the way I did in my Square Knot bracelet tutorial (check out the tutorial at step 2: adding the adjustable closure of the bracelet). That’s what I will do if mine should break. Or you can hang them on a bracelet chain by adding little jewelry-making jump rings to the holes and adding those to the bracelet. I prefer the look of the shells strung up though.
These elastic seashell bracelets look great when you stack them with other different shell bracelets.
You could add beads and other embellishments onto the stretch cord but I prefer the look of the plain shells
Where to buy snail shell bracelets
If you don’t feel like making your own, there are always great places to buy them. Etsy is always my favorite source to support small businesses and shops.
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More seashell craft ideas
Anyways, I hope you liked this little jewelry project.
Tschüß,
Materials
snail shells (or other shells work too of course)
elastic stretch cord for jewelry-making
flat protected surface to drill on like an old cutting board
(small clamp or paper clip is optional)
Tools
micro hand drill or Dremel (aka power rotary tool)
small drill bit
scissors
Instructions
How to clean the snail shells before using seashell flower tutorial . If you boil the shells you can avoid discoloration and still accomplish destroying bacteria and diseases hidden within. Let them dry all the way after boiling or soaking.snail-borne parasitic diseases )This is not to scare you, just to make sure that you handle them the right way. I never had any issues with any of the snail shells that I collected since I was a child.
Drilling holes in the shells If they are sturdy like these snail shells, then using a Dremel with a small drill bit is the faster and easier solution.
I used an old cutting board to drill my shells on. Simply hold the shell with one hand and the drill in the other hand while slowly pressing on the shell with the rotating drill.
As I mentioned earlier, I needed 24 snail shells for my bracelet. So the drilling can take a bit of time, and the Dremel helps speed things up for sure.
Threading the shells onto the stretch cord I attached a small clamp to one end about two inches in so the snail shells don’t slide off again while working on threading them all onto the cord.
Knotting the ends
Notes
If your elastic/stretch cord keeps breaking or ripping then you can string the shells on a wax cord or hemp cord instead and add a macrame sliding knot clasp instead the way I did in my Square Knot bracelet tutorial (check out the tutorial at step 2: adding the adjustable closure of the bracelet). That’s what I will do if mine should break. Or you can hang them on a bracelet chain by adding little jewelry-making jump rings to the holes and adding those to the bracelet. I prefer the look of the shells strung up though.
These elastic seashell bracelets look great when you stack them with other different shell bracelets.
You could add beads and other embellishments onto the stretch cord but I prefer the look of the plain shells
Credit to Source link
