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Shellcrafts Vase
"V" Pattern Project
A beautiful Shellcraft vase designed with seashells, red rhinestones, shell pieces and sand. This decorative vase would be perfect on a desk, in an office, on a shelf, or as the centerpiece on a table. It can also be used as a candle lantern. Place a votive candleholder with either a votive candle or a tea light candle inside it. Place this holder in the vase and light the candle.
The front and back of this unique vase has seashells that form an upside down “V” from the center of the glass vase toward the bottom edge. Above the central seashell is a row of shells anchored at either end by a larger seashell. Surrounding the central seashell are 4 red rhinestones placed in a diamond pattern.
On the left and right sides of the vase, there are shell pieces that follow the curve of the vase. They flow from the bottom edge to the scalloped upper edge in a straight line. To either side of these shell pieces are wind and water sculpted seashell remnants that have unique shapes.
One shell looks like a ewer. Another has the looks of an oil lamp. The third reminds me of a mug. The final piece looks like a very miniature set of shark jaws.
By following the instructions in the Guide that follows, you can craft a similar seashell vase. If you have done a similar project before, just skip down the page to the areas you need help with.
Specific Materials:
1. clear glass Ivy Bowl vase
2. seashells and shell pieces
3. sand
4. red rhinestones about ¼” diameter
5. shell remnants, coral pieces
General Materials:
1. a bottle of Elmer's Glue-All or equivalent
2. a can of polyurethane - gloss or semi-gloss
3. set of hobby brushes
4. fluffy rag or towel
5. newspaper
Preparing the clear glass vase:
Remove any stickers that may have been placed on the glass. You can leave the ones on the bottom, if any. Make sure the glass is clean and dry. Wipe it down with a soft clean rag or towel. Look for cracks, chips, or other damage.
DO NOT use glass vases that are damaged. You can cut yourself up pretty bad if the cracked or damaged glass vase breaks while you are handling it.
Once you have it dust and grime free place the glass vase on top of the holding towel. Use the towel to steady the work so it doesn't roll around on you. You may have to move the towel around and push it up so that the vase remains in one place.
Making shell pieces for your Shellcraft project:
If you don’t have a beach near by where you can pick up shell pieces cast up on the beach by ocean waves you can make your own. They won’t be as smooth as the ones I used but will work just as well.
You’ll need some larger seashells that you are willing to break up. If you have some damaged seashells this may be a good use for them. Place the shells inside a rag or old towel.
Place the towel on top of a hard surface, such as a steady table or flat rock. Take a hammer and hit the shell that is inside the towel. Try a medium hit, then if that doesn’t work try a bit harder. The idea is to break the seashell up into usable chunks not to pound the seashell into dust.
Open up the towel and pick through the pieces until you have all the good ones out. You may want to save other pieces that look usable to you for other projects. I would trash the dust and itty-bitty pieces but that is your call.
For this Shellcraft you will need 6 or so nice pieces near to 1” long.
Starting your Shellcraft project:
We will be placing the seashells and seashell pieces on the glass first. Let’s start with the seashell pieces that will go up each side. This will help define where the rest of the shells are going to be placed. The idea is to divide the vase into two large areas of bare glass.
Pick up the first shell piece and lay it on the glass. You may need to adjust the vase on the towel so that the shell piece stays on the glass. If you still like the way it fits and looks, pick it up and apply glue to the underside. Place it back on the glass.
You can move it around and position it the exact way you want it to be while the glue is still wet. Let it sit for a while (an hour or more) while the glue sets in place. You don't want the seashell to move or fall off when you move the vase around to place the next shell.
Do each of the other pieces the same way until you have a line of shell pieces running from the lower face of the vase to just under the top edge. If the pieces you have are smaller that 1” you can either put more pieces in the line, or open up the space between the shell pieces. Let it dry so that the shell pieces do not fall off when you move the vase around so you can do another face.
Once it is dry, turn the vase around so you are looking at the opposite face of the glass. Put another column of shell pieces here. This column should be as close as possible directly across from the first column you did. When done you should have two expanses of glass that are very close to the same size.
Attaching the seashells to your decorative vase project:
Like all the glass vase projects, this one requires time and a bit of patience. Waiting for the glue to dry enough so that the seashells don’t move or fall off when you move the vase around can be a little frustrating. Just remember to work of art that will come of your patience with this Shellcraft Guides project.
Now that you have got the straight shell piece columns set in place, let’s start setting up the seashells for the upside-down “v.” First, go through your collection of seashells and decide which ones you want to use on this project. You’ll need two sets of 13 seashells. Each set will need 11 smallish seashells and 2 larger ones.
Pick out one of the small shells from each set to be your central seashell. This one will be used to lock down the center of the design. All the other items will be placed to support this seashell.
Turn the vase around until you are facing the glass that is about ½ way between the two columns. Start with the central seashell. Find the center of the glass both side-to-side, and top to bottom. Put the seashell on the glass. Adjust the vase so the shell stays in place. Pick it up, apply glue around the bottom, and return the shell to it’s place on the glass.
Place one other shell about an inch above this shell, and another about an inch below it. You need to leave space for the red rhinestones that go in-between. Wait for the glue to dry.
The rest of the seashells get placed to either side of these central shells. From the central seashell place 3 shells on either side at a diagonal toward the shell pieces bottom edge. Do one side then the other side. Move the glass vase around so the seashells don’t move or fall off, then glue the shells in place.
From the top seashell, place a small shell on the right side angled slightly down. Then place a larger shell after that shell. Repeat this for the other side of the top shell.
The rhinestones go around the central seashell. Place one to the top, one to the bottom, and one to either side. Check how they look to you, move them around as you feel like, them glue them in place. Put a drop of glue right on the glass, then replace the rhinestone right on top of the glue.
When this face of the vase is complete and dry, turn the glass vase around and place the other set of 13 seashells on the vase. Use the same method you used above for the first side. Check out the photos with this guide to help keep you on track.
Finally find and place 4 seashell remnants, coral pieces, or 4 more seashells. These will be placed and glued to either side of the shell piece columns toward the top of the vase.
You now have a glass vase with seashell pieces, seashells, and rhinestones in a pleasing pattern. Let them dry thoroughly before going on with the next section.
Applying the sand to your decorative vases:
To finish off these unique decorative vases we will be using sand. The sand will both provide texture to these craft vases, soften the edges of the shells so they become one with clear glass vases, and help hide any glue streaks that may be showing. We are going to apply the glue and the sand at one sitting so remove the towel and replace it with some newspaper. The newspaper is there to catch any sand that falls off the decorative vases project at this point.
Pick a section of the vase to start. Apply some glue to the glass and use a hobby brush to spread it around - kind of like painting the glass with the glue. Try not to get glue on the topside of the seashells, seashell pieces, rhinestones, or coral. Don't take too long at this, you want to the glue to be wet when you apply the sand to the decorative vases.
With the glue still wet, pour sand over it. Pour a bunch of sand on the glue so that it covers the glue completely. Wait 15 seconds or so and tilt the glass vases over the newspaper so the excess sand falls off. Place the jar aside on its base. Pick up your newspaper and return the excess sand to your container.
Pick the next section of the vase. Apply glue and spread it around. Make sure you get the glue between the seashells or seashell pieces. Pour sand over the glue - wait a few seconds - dump the excess sand on your newspaper and recover it.
Repeat the above until you have covered all the areas of clear glass with sand.
Lightly shake off any excess sand that hasn't already fallen off. Place the decorative vases aside on its base and let it dry completely. Recover your loose sand from the newspaper and return it to your container. The only places that should not have any glued sand are the inside of the glass vase and the bottom.
Once the glue has dried you can brush and scrape off any sand that may have stuck to the top of the seashells, and other items you have placed on the vase.
Finishing your decorative vases:
To protect and give your project some shine use the clear gloss or semi-gloss polyurethane paint. Apply a coat to each of the seashells, seashell pieces, and coral.
DO NOT put polyurethane on the rhinestones as it will dull them. Finally, apply a coat of the polyurethane over all the sand. Set the decorative vase aside to thoroughly dry.
Try Another Vase Project
Project 2 – Rhinestone Flower Pattern
Project 3 – Horizontal Pattern
Project 4 – Circle Pattern
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