Since I have so many shells that I was collecting for my Playing in the Sand post, I thought I’d use them for yet another project. This time I decided to try a Sea Shell Wreath shape for my centerpiece.  I like the way it turned out.

Here’s what I used:

I got a floral foam ring from the Dollar Tree.

Shells collected from Michaels, the Dollar Tree and Walmart & friends

Hot glue gun & glue sticks.  (I used a lot of them)

A serrated knife.  (I use a bread knife)

I gathered my supplies together

And then I started to shape the floral ring.  The edges were too sharp for what I had in mind, and it was 2″ deep.  I took off 1/2″ from the bottom.

     

After playing with the shells to find the ones that I liked, I started to glue them onto the floral foam.  I used a large puddle of glue & pressed the shells into the foam.

I kept adding glue & shells until I got the first layer completed.

Then I started to fill in with other shapes & sizes of shells.  But for this layer, I only added glue to the outside rim of the shells.  (Please be careful when doing this, I managed to get burned a few times)

I kept adding shells until it was covered.  Then I cut out a circle of cardboard to cover the underside of the centerpiece.  (floral foam is messy & I certainly didn’t want that on my table)

I glued the cardboard to the underside of the centerpiece.  When it was completely glued on, I painted the cardboard with acrylic paint.

   

Once it was done, I tried different candles for the center of the centerpiece.

A Pillar Candle:

A Candlestick (but it was much too high):

And a large sea shell balanced on top with a votive candle:

I liked the pillar candle the best.

So, keep saving all of those shells from your vacations.  There are a lot of things you can do with them!

Happy Creating everyone!

I’m linking up with A Stroll Thru Life’s 167th Inspire Me Tuesday