https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/shell-flower • Posted by Gabbo
So I've been collecting shells for a few summers now and I have such a collection I've decided to put them to good use. Firstly I tried with the pointy side inwards- glueing shells directly onto shells. Painstaking! So I looked up other ideas with shells and found a project similar but more thought out and visually appealing! But without a styrofoam ball I had to improvise. And voila! If anything doesn't make sense just give me a holler and I'll help you out. Many props to Bailey!
So I've been collecting shells for a few summers now and I have such a collection I've decided to put them to good use. Firstly I tried with the pointy side inwards- glueing shells directly onto shells. Painstaking! So I looked up other ideas with shells and found a project similar but more thought out and visually appealing! But without a styrofoam ball I had to improvise. And voila! If anything doesn't make sense just give me a holler and I'll help you out. Many props to Bailey!
1. Make a base with stacked cardboard glued together and the fimo/clay/putty/styrofoam/whatever works! in ~5mm thick pancake of whatever diameter as can be accommodated by your shells. Mine was ~5cm
2. Line up your shells from smallest to largest. The bigger range of shells you have makes for a more realistic flower and having really small shells makes it ever so intricate. Dip the smallest shell in glue and stick into the middle of the pancake- round side down.
3. For the centre you can either make a closed bud by facing the inner shells inward or to glue another shell/bead/whatever there. Be quite generous with the glue and don't push the shell in too deep to the pancake that it bulges around the side and becomes visable. Rely on the glue much more, perhaps less so with an air drying clay
4. Using larger shells as you go, glue the shells as close as possible together, in a spiral outwards-just like a rose.
When you reach the outside of the pancake trim away the excess. Then to hide it, glue the largest shells on the other side of the cardboard. If it suits your purposes to completely hide the base and make a full shell, try another layer. These would need to be quite large. Now wait to dry!