Easy Beach Craft Idea: Shell Necklace

A couple weeks ago I told you a little about our Outer Banks beach vacation. I have more of that trip to share in the next few weeks! While we were at the beach I picked up some very cool shells, so I wanted to use them and not let them sit in a bag someplace. I went through the shells and found some with holes in them. Many shells have holes in them where other creatures bored into them to get at the little creatures inside. I found quite a few of those shells, so I paired them with some blue beads, and found some blue embroidery thread and a needle to string them all together.

I used about 16 shells, and about the same amount of beads to make the necklace. Some of the shells I used were a little larger and heavier than others. I didn’t want all the shells to fall to the center of the necklace so I slipped the needle through the thread to single knot each shell and help hold it in place so they wouldn’t slide as much. The single knot still lets them move around if you want to adjust the shells, but they don’t all fall to the center when you put the necklace on.

To make the single knot, put the needle and thread through the hole in the shell then just loop the needle around and put it through loop in the string to finish off the knot.

To finish off the necklace you can add a clasp to each end, or make a loop in the embroidery thread a little larger than the beads, then loop it over the last bead on the other end of the necklace to wear it. The weight of the necklace will keep it fastened around the bead.

It’s a wonderful keepsake from any trip to the beach. It can be a great way for kids to remember a fun summer, and show what they found to their friends. I’ll be back with more of our Outer Banks beach trip, and more beach craft ideas to share over the next few weeks.