Unique Photo Frames
with Seashells, Rhinestones, Faux Pearls

Of course, once you have your photograph inside the shellcraft photo frame, the orientation will be made for you. As you can see from the photo, I'm using my seashell photo frame in the horizontal position. This goes really well with the shot of the pier going out into the ocean.

When you are ready, get into the detailed instructions that follow and have fun in making your own handcrafted photo frame.

Specific Materials:

1. a wood photo frame with a glass protector

2. a variety of sea shells – small

3. rhinestones

4. pearls or beads

5. sand

General Materials:

1. a bottle of Elmer's Glue-All or equivalent

2. a can of polyurethane - gloss or semi-gloss

3. sand paper - medium grit

4. set of hobby brushes 5. a nail or a picture hanger

Other Materials:

1. newspaper for protection and collection

Preparing the Unique Photo Frames :

Examine the wood frame you have chosen for this project. Pay special attention to whatever is holding the glass and backing on the frame. Carefully remove or move aside the holders and take out the backing and the glass. Set the backing and the glass aside in a safe place. You will need them later.

Set the frame down and take a look at it. Take a piece of sandpaper and lightly buff the sections of the frame on which you are going to place your seashells and sand. The unique photo frames I show you here have the design on the upper surface. I did not place any design on the sides of the frame. That doesn’t mean you have to do it the same way. If you want to add seashells and sand to the sides, by all means do so – it is your project.

After you have sanded the sections of the frame you are going to design on, remove the sanding dust from the frame. First shake loose any particles onto the newspaper you put under the frame and empty the particles into a trash bin. Then take a damp cloth or paper towel and wipe the frame down to remove the fine dust that the sanding has made.

Let the frame dry for a bit. If you are in a hurry, try using a hair dryer to speed the drying process up a bit.

The design on this frame is set up so that you can use the unique photo frames in any position and they still look good. The seashells, pearls, and rhinestones are set up more or less symmetrically. One side of the frame matches the other side.

Place the frame in front of you with the sand papered side up. Take a look at the way the frame is designed. This particular frame has a scalloped face. Because of this, the best shells to use are small ones. The design on this frame uses dove shells and bubble shells about a ¼ inch on the round side.

Pick up some of the shells you have and place them on your frame. Take a look at how they fit. Make sure they can be placed without a lot of trouble on your part. Follow the pattern on the photo.

As you can see, if you set the frame so that the narrow parts are to the left and right, the first pattern is a bubble shell in the center of each side. Place a dove shell above and another below the bubble shell. The dove shells should be about half the distance from the bubble shell to the unique photo frames edge.

The long parts of the frame, top and bottom, use the same style of shells in sets of 2. There are 2 bubble shells about equal distance from the center of the frame side. Between the bubble shells and the frame edge, to either side of the bubble shells, are sets of 2 each of the dove shells.

Place all the shells on the unique photo frames. Then place the rhinestones and the pearls. If the pearls won’t stay put, just place them on the inside of the frame on the newspaper close to where you want them to be. When you are happy with the design, remove the seashells, rhinestones, and pearls (if they are on the unique photo frames). Place them on the sides of the frame, more or less in-line with their position on the frame. This will help you place them in the right place when you are ready for gluing them in.

Applying Your Design to the Frame:

I have found that for unique photo frames , the best way to glue the design is as follows. For the seashells and rhinestones apply a small amount of glue – enough to cover the bottom – to each shell and rhinestone. For the pearls, apply a small amount of glue to the frame, then set the pearls on the glue.

Pick a spot to start. I usually start the gluing the same way I laid out the design. In this case, I started with the left side on the frame. First I glued the bubble shell in the center, then the dove shell above the bubble shell, and finally the dove shell placed below.

Next, I did the same on the right side of the frame. I lined up each shell with it’s mate on the left side of the frame. More or less, this isn’t factory work after all.

Next, the bottom of the unique photo frames is set up. Again I start at the center and then glue down the left and right side shells.

Carefully turning the frame around on the table, I did the top of the frame to match the bottom of the frame. I just turned the newspaper carefully on the table top and the frame went along. Again the shells on this part of the frame are set up to copy the design from the bottom (now top?) of the frame.

After checking that none of the seashells had been misaligned, I selected some rhinestones to place on the corners. In this case the rhinestones are all the same color – purple. Apply the glue to the bottom of the rhinestones and set 1 in each corner of the frame.

Finally select some pearls. There are eight on this design, so you may as well select eight of them. The pearls should all be of the same size. Place 2 pearls on each section of the frame as shown on the photo.

Take a final check to make sure nothing moved on you, and then take a break. Go eat a few carrots, or an apple and have a drink of water, juice, or tea. All this gluing sure can make a person hungry and thirsty. Besides you need to allow the glue to dry so the design doesn’t change in the next section.


Applying Sand to Your Design:

You will need a hobby brush, your glue, and your container of sand. Make sure the glue from the previous step is nice and dry. This is so you don’t knock your design around while putting on the sand.

Now apply some lines of glue directly to the frame. Then use your brush to spread the glue around so that it forms an even film on the frame. I usually do 1 side of the frame at a time. You need to apply the sand over the glue while it is still wet. So, just for the heck of it, start with the top side of the frame.

Apply the glue, spread it out all over the wood. The glue needs to go right up to the edges of the seashells, rhinestones, and pearls. Make sure that are no voids or empty spots. Once you have a spread a nice thin coat of glue on the frame, pour sand over it. Make sure you cover all the glue.

Wait a ½ minute or so, then carefully tilt the frame over so that the excess sand falls on the newspaper. If you want, gather up the loose sand and return it to your container.

Now do the left side of the frame the same way, then the right side. Finally, apply and spread the glue to the lower part of the frame. Pour sand on, wait a bit, and finally lightly shake off the loose sand.

Move the frame to the side, where it can sit and dry without being disturbed. Disturbed frames have a tendency to develop bald spots and other damage.

Gather up the loose sand and return it to your container. Let your unique photo frames design sit so the glue dries all the way. I usually wait 2 or 3 hours.

Cleaning up Your Unique Photo Frames

Once the glue holding everything together is dry, you may want to remove any excess sand. For the loose sand, just turn the frame over and give it a light shake. Gather up your sand.

Next pass a dry brush over the rhinestones, pearls, and seashells. This should knock off any sand that may have stuck to them.

Finally, you can use something to scrape sand off. I use a pair of tweezers to gently remove any unwanted sand from the seashells, rhinestones, and pearls.

Preserving Your Design

The best way I have found to preserve the design and add a bit of shine to the seashells and sand is to apply a coat of semi-gloss polyurethane. Liquid polyurethane is best for this purpose, so you can apply it where you want it to go.

Use a hobby brush to apply the preservative to the sand and the seashells. DO NOT apply the polyurethane the pearls and rhinestones. Although it will give some shine to the sand and seashells it has the opposite effect on rhinestones and pearls – makes them dull and listless looking.

Once again, when you finish covering all the seashells and the sand, set your project aside and let the paint dry.

Finishing Up Your Unique Photo Frames

Now that everything is dry, it’s time to bring out the photo you want to use in your frame. In my case, I placed a photo of Pompano Beach and it’s pier (a photo that I took with my Olympus Camedia D-595 camera) in the frame. The beach, the ocean, and the pier are excellent candidates for these types of unique photo frames.

First put the glass back in the frame. Make sure it is clean before you put it in. Then place your photo on the glass. Finally place the backing over the photo and lock it all down.

There you are. Beautiful Shellcraft-Guides unique photo frames for your home. Enjoy!

the Shellcrafter

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