This years seaside craft

Mia and I recently visited a shell shop here in town, and on the tree was a string of lights that the owner had made, with shells attached to each light.

It was just way too cute, and I decided right then and there that we would make one for our house. I have wanted to put some white lights above our kitchen cabinets and leave them up all year to give a nice glow in the evening while I prepare our dinner. A glass of wine, some glittering lights and the witching hour complete with tired children falling apart left and right. Folks, it is all about ambiance.

So, I talked with the shell lady, and she told us how to create our own.

Now a word to the wise on your supplies. Some of the shells I used are a bit pricey, especially if you make a large string. One way to save money, of course, is to collect your own shells. You will still have to buy the large, delicate, puffy sand dollars at $2 each if you decide you want to use them, but most of the others can be collected at the beach if you are coasties. As for the rest of the supplies, you will need a string of lights (I used a 50 light string bought for $1.69), and a glue gun. That is it!

Now, I did not want a shell on each light ($$$$$$), so I glued one to every other light in the string. I laid the sting out, and as you can sort of see in the above image, the individual lights naturally go one up, one down. I glued a shell to all the “downs” to keep it even.

By doing this, if you string them in a straight line across a cabinet top, the shells will all fall evenly and you won’t have to manipulate the string much……which can be a pain when you have little $2 a piece, paper thin shells clanging against each other.

Put a glob of glue on the main body of the light, just above where the bulb is inserted.


With the puffy sand dollars, the opening on top is usually large enough for the bulb, but if it is not, with a razor blade gently “shave” the opening large enough. Be very careful as they are fragile.

It took Mia and I less than 30 minutes to complete our string of shell lights.




Now we have some glittering, homemade lights to make the kitchen more festive this Christmas and beyond.