Collecting seashells on the beach is a universal thing for children. My little ones love looking for rocks as well, and then they insist on taking them home.
What do you do with all that when you get home?
Do you:
a) throw it all away before you even get home?
b) hide the seashells and rocks until the children have forgotten about them and get rid of them?
c) use them and turn them into pretty things you will actually be happy to keep?
I have to say I was wondering what we could possibly do when we received a handful of seashells. I am a ‘b’ kind of mum. I would not generally add clutter to our already full house, but we thought of a nice crafty idea you might want to reproduce. It is quick, easy and requires no preparation at all.
As you are using heated shells, do not attempt this with very young children. At six years old, Crevette understands that if he touched the shells, he would burn himself, and I would not do this activity with a younger child.
We started by using an oven glove to keep the shells in place, but quickly swapped it for Blu Tack, which made the process much easier.
I liked seeing the crayons melting, but I have to say the shells were not staying warm for more than a minute, so we had to be pretty quick.
What you need:
Seashells
Crayons
Foil
Bostik Blue tack
What to do:
Preheat your oven to gas mark ¼ (110⁰C / 225⁰).
Place the shells on a baking tray to warm in the oven for 5 minutes. Paint the shells once by one, keeping the rest in the oven. It could not be simpler: the crayons melt when in contact with the warm shells, giving them a paint-like consistency.
Please make sure you use oven gloves to take the shells out of the oven. Stick the shell on a piece of Blu tack and instruct your little one not to touch the shell.
Crevette made a frame with these, bless him!
Disclosure: Bostik sent us a selection of crafting supplies free of charge as part of the Tots100/Bostik Craft Bloggers’ Club. All photos and opinions are my own.
I had no idea you could do that with crayons!! That’s so cool Mel! 🙂
My little man couldn’t believe it when the crayons started melting. So sweet!
We love collecting shells too. I usually put them in a clear vase, but this is such a nice project too! #sharewithme
I used to love doing this when small – and my youngest two still enjoy collecting shells. They prefer painting on stones though! #sharewithme
Wow! What a clever, creative craft – would look great in a bathroom or playroom. #sharewithme
It looks fab on his shelf!
What an original idea, they look fab! Congrats on your BIBS nomination! x
Now that is clever! You really are so full of brilliant ideas! We come back with hundreds of pebbles around here…sometimes they get painted. More often they get thrown out in the garden!!!
It would work with pebbles, too! It would be much easier than doing it on seashells, and I guess the pebbles would stay warm for a longer period of time. Must try!
This is such a lovely idea Mel and those coloured sea shells look so pretty. Crevette has done such a great job and love the frame. Will have to remember this idea for when my girlies are a little older.
what a lovely idea , we live near near the beach and my oldest is always collecting shells and i never know what to do with them x
what a lovely idea they look so good! my girls are a little too young but definitely an idea for a couple of year time they look bringing home pockets full of shells from the beach! x
What a lovely craft idea Mel. I love the framed ones at the end. Bet it was so fun. Thanks for linking up to Share With Me #sharewithme