Simple DIY Framed Seashell Art Tutorial

Our family recently vacationed with friends in the Florida Panhandle. Our condo was right on the beach, and every morning, I walked along the beach with a bucket collecting shells and sand dollars. Most of the shells I collected were broken pieces, but they were still so beautiful, even though they were just partial shells. I wasn't sure at the time what I was going to do with my bucket full of broken shell pieces, but during the long car ride home, I came up with a plan. 

My plan was inspired by my previous seashell art wall hanging I made from the shells I collected in Hilton Head a few years ago. Check out my full tutorial on how I made this gorgeous seashell wall hanging. This time, I wanted to make several smaller pieces to give to each of the families we vacationed with as souvenirs of this trip. I basically used many of the same steps from the previous tutorial, but added some modifications to create a brand new piece of art.

Follow along with me as I explain to you how I made these framed seashell art pictures.

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HOW TO MAKE A SIMPLE DIY FRAMED SEASHELL PICTURE

SUPPLIES

• Wood panels with solid wood center or a piece of wood cut to the desired size (8" x 10")
• 1" x 4" scrap wood (for the mounting block)
• Glue (see recommendations below)
• Seashells
• Picture frame mounting kit 
• Paint - indoor house paint or acrylic paint

PREPARE THE WOOD PICTURE FRAME:

Years ago, I got a bunch of white wooden picture frames that have a solid wood center. For this project, I started by painting over center panel with some interior house paint I had on hand to create a solid color background for the shells. 

If you have trouble finding a solid wood picture frame, you can either build your own or use just a square or rectangular piece of wood cut to the size you want. 

CUT WOOD "MOUNTING BLOCK"

Use a small piece of scrap wood cut to a size you think looks best when centered in the middle of your picture frame or wood back. I used a 1"x 4" and cut it down into a slightly rectangular shape of approximately 3" x 4".  I call this small piece the mounting block

Paint the small piece of wood and let it completely dry. I painted the wood to match the paint color I used for the center of the frame, but you could use a bold background color, too. Most of the wood will be covered up, but small pops of color would look nice too.

If you are using a cut piece of wood rather than a picture frame, make sure to add mounting hardware to the back of the wood so you can hang it up.

ARRANGE THE SEASHELLS 

This step is where you get to be as creative as you want! You have endless options on how to display your shells, whether it is by color or size, or type of shell. I like a blend of shells with at least one or two large shell pieces as the main focal point. Lay the shells out on the mounting block, adding any smaller-sized shells to fill in any gaps. Make sure to take a picture before you start gluing it down, in case the shells get bumped!

APPLY THE GLUE

It is important to use a strong, long-lasting glue for this project. Here are my recommendations to choose from for this project:

• Gorilla Glue
• Wellbond Universal Adhesive
• E6000 Clear Craft Industrial Strength 

There are two methods you could use to glue the shells to the mounting block: 

Method #1 

• Remove the shells from the mounting block
• Apply glue to the surface of the shell that will be touching the mounting block 
• Then, place the shells back on the wood mounting piece using the picture you took as a reference for the location of each shell

Method #2

• Leave the shells on the mounting block, arranged the way you like it
• Pick up one shell at a time, apply glue, then press back down onto the wood mounting block
• Fill in open spots with additional shells as needed

Make sure to let the glued-on shells dry completely before the next step.

ATTACH THE MOUNTING BLOCK

Once the shells on the mounting block are dry, spread a generous amount of glue on the back side of the mounting block. Center it onto your solid wood frame (or cut and painted piece of wood), gently press down, and then allow the glue to dry completely. 

I really like how these framed seashell pictures turned out! Before I gifted them to our friends, I wrote the date and location of our trip on the back so they would always remember where the shells came from. These beautiful pieces are one of a kind and full of great memories.

DIY Easy Hawaiian Paper Lei Craft

Looking for a great way to make your summer party extra special? Whether you are throwing a Hawaiian-themed luau or just want to add a little something extra to a birthday party or summer cook-out consider making a colorful paper lei for each of your guests. 

Making your own paper flower lei is super easy and budget-friendly! This is a great activity to do with kids at a birthday party because almost any age can make this craft and it requires very little pre-prep work too. Kids will love making their own lei in their favorite colors to wear during the party. 

This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on a link and make a purchase I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. For more information please see my Disclaimer page. Thanks!

If you are looking for a fun, simple craft to make with your kids this summer this is it! I love having a few fun crafts ready to go for those rainy summer days or days you hear "mom, I'm bored" a million times. Even an older child or teen can enjoy this craft too. They might even be inspired to use their finished flower lei for room decor. 

Having a summer BBQ? Make a DIY flower lei for each of your friends or family members in their favorite colors to wear at your summer party!

How To Make A Colorful Crepe Paper Lei & Garland

Here are the supplies you will need for this craft:

• Cotton twine

• Scissors

• Crepe paper in various colors

Step 1 -

Cut a piece of twine about 24 inches long so that it is long enough to fit around your neck when the cut ends are tied. For a garland cut the twine to the length you desire for displaying it plus a few extra inches on each end for tying it up.

Step 2 -

Next cut pieces of crepe paper into 3” long lengths for a total of about 30 pieces, give or take a few. Twist the middle of each piece a few times so they look like mini bow ties.

Step 3 -

Starting in the middle of the cut piece of twine bend one piece of twisted crepe paper in half to form the shape of a "V", wrap the "V" over the twine then twist the ends of the crepe paper around each other to secure the crepe paper to the twine. Continue the same process with the remaining pieces of crepe paper over and on top of the first piece. Alternate the colors as you work your way along the length of the ribbon. 

If you are making a garland, leave about 4-6 inches open on both ends for tying up the garland.

Step 4 - 

Tie the cut ends of the ribbon or twine together to finish the lei. 

Now give each one of your guests a colorful tissue paper lei to welcome them to your luau party! These festive leis will definitely put everyone in a tropical mood!

Fun Crafts For Kids

Doing crafts with your kids is a fun way to spend summer vacation! I have a few more fun activities I know your kids will love as much as mine do. Check out these other craft ideas and get ready to have even more fun this summer!

How To Make Colorful Layered Salt Jars

How To Make A Paper Mache Pinata

How To Make Tie Dye Coffee Filter Butterflies

How To Color Dye Pasta Noodles For Crafts

 

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10 Trendy & Creative Uses For Embroidery Hoops

Today we are taking a peek at various cool projects that have one thing in common, they all use embroidery hoops! If embroidering is not your jam don't worry, none of these projects require you to embroider a thing! I'm excited to share 10 trendy and unique projects that use embroidery hoops. 

Embroidery hoops are inexpensive, can be purchased in bulk quantities, and come in a variety of sizes. I usually get my embroidery hoops on Amazon. 

This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. For more information please see my Disclaimer page. Thanks!

10 Trendy Uses For Embroidery Hoops

1 - DECORATIVE WOOD ORBS

Wood orbs are a simple home decor item that is very trendy right now. Wood embroidery hoops are stained or painted, fit together in an orb shape, and secured with glue so they don't shift out of place. Plastic hoops could work however they can't be painted or stained. These embroidery hoop orbs look lovely displayed on a shelf, mantle, or side table in your home. 

Find a tutorial on how to easily make your own at The Creek Line House. 

2 - CIRCULAR SHELF

Stack and glue a few large wooden embroidery hoops together then mount the hoops on a wall. Add a small potted plant or decorative trinket to display on your new circular-shaped shelf. 

If you want to make your own shelf you can find the tutorial at Beyond The Picket Fence.

3 - SUNCATCHER

Secure light colorful fabric between the hoops and then hang the hoop in a sunlit window. These colorful embroidery hoop suncatchers will brighten any dull space, especially during the drab days of winter!

Find the full tutorial on how to make your own suncatcher at Sadie Seasongoods

4 - WREATH

Because embroidery hoops are quite solid they make a great base for a wreath. A little floral wire, some faux springs of greenery and flowers, and an embroidery hoop are all you need to create a lovely wreath. The great thing about using an embroidery hoop for a wreath base is that the hoop's bare wood looks great if you leave a section uncovered by greenery. 

Isn't this wreath just lovely? To make your own just like this one find the tutorial at The Dreamery Events.

5 - YARN-WRAPPED EMBROIDERY HOOP WALL HANGING 

Need to fill a space on a bare wall? These yarn-wrapped hoops are easy to make, budget-friendly, and can be customized to fit your room's color scheme.

 

Want to make your own yarn-wrapped embroidery hoop wall hanging? Find the full tutorial right here on MommySuburbia!

 

6 - HOOP & RIBBON PICTURE FRAME  

I love this unique way an embroidery hoop is used as a display for individual pictures. This would be lovely hanging on a wall in your living room or used as a photo display at a party, wedding, or even a graduation celebration. If you want to really go big in size substitute a hula hoop for the embroidery hoop.

Style Me Pretty has the full tutorial on their blog so you can make your own photo hoop!

7 - MOBILE  

Decorating a nursery or little child's room can get expensive quickly! This easy DIY mobile uses simple, affordable supplies but results in a cute and colorful mobile you and your child will enjoy for years to come. 

Martha Stewart provides a complete step-by-step tutorial for this colorful mobile.

8 - CUSTOM CORK BOARD

Add a little extra style to a plain corkboard by affixing it to an embroidery hoop. Your new corkboard will look updated and finished with the wood embroidery hoop as the edging. A little hot glue and an embroidery hoop make this craft so simple!

Check out this simple tutorial from Purely Katie to make an embroidery hoop cork board.

9 - EMBROIDERY HOOP FIBER ART  

Gather your favorite colors of embroidery floss and get ready to make something beautiful. Instead of actually embroidering with the floss you are just going to hot glue floss to the back edge of an embroidery hoop and wrap it around the hoop frame several times. Add different colors, change directions, and use your imagination to create a beautiful piece of fiber art. 

10 - WALL ORGANIZER 

This is a unique way to combine functional storage with your wall decor! Select two contrasting pieces of fabric about an inch larger than the circumference of the embroidery hoop. Place the small section of the embroidery hoop down first then layer the two fabrics on top of each other with the right sides facing each other. Next, fold the top fabric in half (it should be showing the right side of the fabric now) to create the pocket. Slide the larger embroidery hoop over the fabric and the bottom hoop and tighten it closed. Slip notes, pictures, or pencils into your new wall organizer. 

Polka Dot Chair provides a full tutorial on how to make these useful hoop wall organizers. 

Embroidery hoops are so versatile and fun to craft with! I hope you give some of these trendy ideas a try. Leave me a comment or picture of what you made with your embroidery hoop!

How To Make A Clothespin Christmas Wreath Ornament

Clothes Pin Wreath Ornaments are so much fun to make! Here at my house we are in full Christmas crafting mode. Glue, glitter, scissors and paper are regularly scattered over the table while we craft our little hearts out. 

Holiday themed crafts are some of my favorites and every year I'm always on the hunt for the perfect new craft project to try. The catch is that the craft must be multi-age friendly so that the younger ones in the group can participate and the older kids enjoy it too. We host a big craft party with our friends from Bible study each year with 25+ kids whose ages range from 6 to 18.

This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on a link and make a purchase I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. For more information please read my Disclaimer page. 

Last year we made 3-D wood (and cardboard) Christmas trees which were so much fun. You can find the full tutorial and pattern for the tree HERE.

This year I found another great multi-age friendly Christmas craft to do with our Bible study friends! We are going to make clothes pin wreath ornaments! I'm so excited for this craft since it is super simple, budget friendly and great for a group to do together. 

Before our big craft day arrived I whipped up a clothespin wreath ornament of my own to show the kids and hopefully inspire their imaginations! Follow along to see how it is done so you can make your own too!

Easy Christmas Clothespin Wreath Ornament Step-By-Step Tutorial

Supplies Needed:

Stiff Cardboard (5"x5")
Scissors
20-25 Wooden Spring Loaded Clothespins
Acrylic Craft Paint
Paint Brushes
Ribbon 8" long
Holiday Flowers or Jingle Bells (optional)
Hot glue gun & glue sticks

Let's get started making our clothes pin wreath ornament, shall we? 

Oh, and don't for get to Pin this project to share with others. I've got tons of great ideas pinned to my Pinterest Crafts-holiday board too so please follow me so you don't miss out on any other great ideas!

1 - To begin we will make the base for the wreath. Cut the cardboard square into a circle measuring 4 inches in diameter. Then cut a 2 inch diameter circle out from the center of the circle. You will be left with a shape like the letter "O". 

Once the cardboard is cut out it is time to paint it. Small parts of the cardboard will show between the clothes pins so you can choose to use a paint color that either "pops" or is neutral and blends in with the colors you will be painting your clothes pins.

Tip - give each crafter a paper plate to do all of their painting on so that your table and other items don't get full of paint. Also, if you are hosting a large group have the children keep their clothespins on their plate so they don't get mixed up or lost! 

2 - While the cardboard base is drying it is time to start painting the clothespins. Let your imagination lead the way here! Paint the flat side of each of the clothespins in whatever pattern or color you want. Since this is for Christmas you might want to do a red/green alternating pattern or even add a few silver or gold clothespins to give it a little sparkle. Other ideas might be to paint holiday characters like an angel, gingerbread, Santa or even a green Grinch on your clothes pins. 

Again, imagination and creativity is encouraged here!

Make sure you let your painted clothespins dry completely before assembling your wreath ornament. After the paint is dry start clipping the clothes pins close together around the cardboard base. Make adjustments as necessary until the entire base is filled.

3 - To finish your ornament twist the ribbon in a loop between two clothespins and add a dab of hot glue to the cardboard base then press the ribbon into the glue until it is dry. Now you're ready to hang it on the tree!

How did your finished clothespin wreath ornaments turn out? What colors did you paint your clothespins? Please share your finished projects with me in the comments. I hope you and your children loved making them as much as we did.

Clothespin Wreath Ornaments Make Great Homemade Gifts!

Wouldn't Grandma and Grandpa love getting a homemade clothes pin wreath ornament from their beloved grandchildren? Make a bunch to give to all of your family members as gifts this Christmas!

This is the fourth year I've hosted the kids from our Bible study over to make Christmas themed crafts. Curious to see what we've crafted over the years? These are all fun projects that won't drain your budget and work great for any size group. 

click HERE to read more

to read more click HERE

The key to hosting a group for a craft party is planning and prepping it all ahead of time. Not only is it less chaotic but you as the host have more time to enjoy your guests and help them with their craft. 

If you loved the clothespin Christmas wreath ornament tutorial please don't forget to follow me HERE so you don't miss out on other great kid friendly craft projects.

Easy DIY Bath Bombs With Custom Flavor Recipes

DIY bath bombs are a ton of fun to make and are a fabulous homemade gift idea! Because they are quite simple to make, are fairly forgiving when it comes to measuring the ingredients and can be shaped into almost any form you have available they are a great project to do with your kids.

Did you know that you can make custom scented bath bombs too? There are endless scent combinations you can use to truly make your bath bombs one of a kind. Customize your bath bomb scents and give them as gifts for celebrations like Christmas, Easter, birthdays, Valentine's Day and many more special occasions. They truly make the perfect gift for those you and your kids care about! Keep the simple ingredients handy so you are ready at a moment's notice to whip up a batch for gifting to a last minute party or just to surprise your child with at bath time!

This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on a link and make a purchase I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. For more information please see my Disclaimer page. Thanks!

I remember the first time my kids got their own bath bomb. A small box from an out of state aunt and uncle arrived a few days post Christmas and they were so excited to open this belated gift. They tore it open and stood looking confused at the big colorful set of 4 bath bombs. At the time they didn't know what they were so I had to explain that they made your bath all fizzy and scented as they dissolved in the water.

Of course the kids insisted that they needed baths at that exact moment so we ran up to the bathroom and filled the tub! They were pretty little at the time and we often called the bath our pool so they all threw on their swim suits and jumped into the tub together. Needless to say the bath bombs were a BIG hit! The kids loved holding the bath bombs just under the water to feel them bubble and dissolve. The bathroom smelled AMAZING too! The biggest surprise for all of us was the little toy hidden inside each bath bomb! Since then my children have all loved bath bombs and love getting and giving them as gifts!

Ready to make your own bath bombs to give as gifts this year? Gather the following ingredients and follow the step by step instructions below!

Easy DIY Bath Bomb Tutorial

Supplies Needed:

• Large or Medium Size Stainless steel bowls or glass bowls
• Gloves
• Stainless steel bath bomb mold - you can also use muffin tins, melon ball scooper, plastic Easter egg, silicon mold or candy molds, ect. (be creative)
• Squirt bottle / spray bottle
• Non-stick spray

Dry Ingredients

• 1 cup Baking Soda
• 1/2 cup Citric Acid
• 1/2 cup Epsom Salt
• 1/2 cup Cornstarch
• 2 1/2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
• 3/4 Tbsp Water
• 12-15 drops Essential Oils (follow recipe below)
• 3-4 drops Natural Food Coloring or Cosmetic Grade Colorant (optional)

Mix The Dry Ingredients
In a large stainless steel or glass bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients together. If you are going to make multi colored bath bombs, divide the dry mix into two or three separate bowls and add different color pigment to each bowl (this step is optional).

Mix The Wet Ingredients
Melt the coconut oil in a small microwavable bowl or over a double boiler. In another stainless steel or glass bowl mix the wet ingredients together including the melted coconut oil, water and essential oils. (For custom flavor scents see the recipe options below)

Combine Wet & Dry Ingredients
Start by SLOWLY adding the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix all the ingredients together until they are the consistency of wet sand and won't crumble. Depending on the climate where you live you may want to use the spray bottle to spray the water over the mixture evenly. The amount of water may vary slightly depending on the humidity of your area.

Shape & Mold The Bath Bombs
Lightly spray the non-stick spray on the inside of whatever molds you are using to ensure the bath bombs don't stick to the mold. Fill each mold completely packing the mixture in until the mold you are using is slightly overflowing. 

If you are making a multi colored bath bomb you will want to fill the mold with the desired colors and continue packing the ingredients into the mold until it is completely full. If using the ball shaped molds fill each half them press the halves together firmly. 

Allow the mold to sit for 2 minutes then gently tap the mold and slowly pull the halves apart to remove the bath bomb. The bombs will be fragile so be careful when separating the halves! 

Set your bath bombs somewhere where they will be left alone to dry for 24-48 hours. 

Packaging Your Bath Bombs
Are you giving your bath bombs as gifts? In this case you will want to wrap them in clear cello sheets and tie them closed with string or ribbon. Don't forget to add these FREE printable Christmas gift tags from Fragrancex.com! All you have to do is print these cute gift tags onto card stock, punch a hole at the top and tie them to your gifts. 

Click HERE to find the free gift tag printable.

click HERE to get free printable Gift Tags

*Fragrancex.com has all sorts of great fragrances for both men and women! Make sure to check out this site when you are looking for perfumes, fragrances and many other great scented products.

8 Holiday Essential Oil Flavor Scent Recipes 

Here are 8 great custom holiday flavor scent recipes you can mix and use in your bath bombs this winter or holiday season.

* remember these are NOT edible! They may smell yummy but they will not be good for your tummy! Please supervise children when using bath bombs to make sure they don't eat them.

Make sure to PIN this post so you can refer back to it when you are ready to make your own bath bombs! Let me know how your bath bombs turned out in the comment section!