Hi there, just popping by to let you know my first ever giveaway is over on my Facebook page. It's to win one of these beaded bookmarks.
See my pinned post!
Open to UK residents!
Closes Wednesday July 30th!
Karen x
Wednesday 23 July 2014
Giveaway
Monday 21 July 2014
Shell wind chime/suncatcher
Hi all, Sorry for not updating more regularly. I have been so busy. Hope you are all having a great Summer :)
I recently came back from holiday to Devon, It was lovely! My favourite thing to do is look for shells or sea glass on the beach. Previously I've used these to decorate my home or garden and have also used sea glass in my jewellery, like in this piece thats on my Etsy at the moment :) I've always wanted to do a shell wind chime/suncatcher/hanging thingy lol but never had much luck with drilling the holes in the shell. However, after much reading, decided to give it another go. I was previously using a drill bit which didn't help and I also read laying the shell on folded towel is best, to stop breakages.
So I started by using a diamond head bit from my drill set. Like this one..
Then I lay the shells on an old folded towel and started drilling. I occasionally stopped to add water to the shell and I'm pleased to say most shells survived the drilling :) The best tip I can give is to be very patient and to drill in the thickest, therefore strongest, part of the shell. I also put 4 holes in the large scallop shell I found which I used to hold the different strands.
So you will need - Beads, shells (of course) and twine/thread.
I found it best to add a knot in the thread/twine whenever I added a shell so it didn't fall down over the beads. And here it is, the finished article...
I recently came back from holiday to Devon, It was lovely! My favourite thing to do is look for shells or sea glass on the beach. Previously I've used these to decorate my home or garden and have also used sea glass in my jewellery, like in this piece thats on my Etsy at the moment :) I've always wanted to do a shell wind chime/suncatcher/hanging thingy lol but never had much luck with drilling the holes in the shell. However, after much reading, decided to give it another go. I was previously using a drill bit which didn't help and I also read laying the shell on folded towel is best, to stop breakages.
So I started by using a diamond head bit from my drill set. Like this one..
Then I lay the shells on an old folded towel and started drilling. I occasionally stopped to add water to the shell and I'm pleased to say most shells survived the drilling :) The best tip I can give is to be very patient and to drill in the thickest, therefore strongest, part of the shell. I also put 4 holes in the large scallop shell I found which I used to hold the different strands.
So you will need - Beads, shells (of course) and twine/thread.
I found it best to add a knot in the thread/twine whenever I added a shell so it didn't fall down over the beads. And here it is, the finished article...
I absolutely love it, its currently hanging in my beach themed bathroom. I used my favourite 3 scallop shells for the bottom of each strand and I used blue, white and silver beads.Hopefully now that I'm able to drill holes in shell you will see a lot more shell inspired items on here or in my Etsy shop :)
Does anyone else have any handmade items from your holiday/s?
Karen xx
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)