We love living in Florida. While the rest of the country survived a record amount of snow this year, we have watched the azaleas bloom in January. My kids wear shorts 10 months a year and we enjoy the beach all year-long. Even if you do not live in Florida, odds are if you enjoy going to the beach. And you probably have a stash of shells the kids have collected that you do not know what to do with. Why not use them to make cute jewelry while working on the Creative Crafts merit badge.
While going though our shell collection we discovered that several of them had holes in the top and would be perfect for turning into a necklace. I have heard that you can drill holes in them but I have not tried.
Lily decided this previously bland looking shell needed some color, so she grabbed some acrylic craft paint. After two coats of teal paint (left over from the bathroom makeover) we were ready to go.
Next, she used the following supplies I already had in my jewelry craft bin: Bead Stringing Wire – size .48mm, jump ring, clasp set, black glass beads, 2 crimp beads and my tool set.
The jump ring was attached to the hole found naturally in the shell. Using the crimp bead, she attached half of the clasp set to a length of wire. Next, she added half of the black beads, followed by the shell and the remaining beads. Next came the remaining clasp part. And she was ready to go.
This was a free project because I already had all of the supplies. I’m not certain what I intended to make with the black beads when I purchased them 3 years ago (in my beading days) but I’m glad they were put to use and my bin is a little lighter.
This project can be used toward completing Creative Crafts merit badge requirements #1, 2, 6, 7, 12 and 14. Or made just for fun.
NOTE: The requirements have been greatly simplified here. Please be sure to read the full text in the American Heritage Girl Handbook to make sure you fully understand the requirements
