Crafts with stones and shells - ideas for children

• Crafts with stones and shells
  • material
  • Tinkering with shells | ideas
• Shell Stones Candle Holder | manual
• Mill game with stones and shells | manual
• Sweet shell dog or cat faces | manual

Crafts with stones and shells is a great idea to let the little ones live their creativity. For children, shells and stones are among the first objects that they consciously play in nature or in the garden. This makes the tinkering with these materials so interesting, as children can collect them and then immediately use them for crafting.

In the search for new crafting ideas for children, the first question to be clarified is which form of material should be used. Crafts with stones and shells is one of the many ways in which the little ones can let off steam creatively together with adults. The big advantage of the two materials is their availability. You can find stones in different sizes, shapes and colors even in urban centers when you visit a city park. Shells abound on the beach and even snail shells can be used.

Crafts with stones and shells

material

Materials and utensils

Children are particularly fun making things with stones and shells, if all necessary utensils and materials are available. These allow a smooth flow of craft ideas, without you have to accept bottlenecks, which could strain especially the patience of the little ones or reduce the concentration. For this reason, in addition to the stones and shells, take a look at the list below, which gives you an overview of some materials and utensils that you can use for a variety of the ideas below. You can easily collect stones, shells and snail shells in nature.

You need the following materials for crafting with stones and shells:

• Adhesives: superglue, hot glue or glue
• possibly sharp knife
• scissors
• String, twine or wool
• craft wire
• suitable colors

In addition to these utensils, it is advisable for a variety of craft ideas to put on a drill with a thin attachment. Shells can be provided with holes through which cords or wires can be passed, which is essential to some of the ideas. For the colors, select according to the material. For example, you need different colors for shells, such as stones or paper.

Tinkering with shells | ideas

More great crafting ideas with shells can be found here: Crafting with shells - 4 great ideas for decoration.

The same applies to the tools you use for painting or coloring. Always choose these according to the idea presented. Building with stones and shells is a fun alternative to traditional projects and makes children especially happy.

Note: If you do not live near a beach and can not find any snail shells, you should look for shells in craft shops or internet shops. Here you will find mixed packages of different shapes and colors, which you get for around ten to 15 euros and which are ideal for crafting ideas.

Crafts with stones and shells: 30 ideas for children

If you decide to do handicrafts with shells and stones, you will find many ideas that you can implement together with your children. All of the ideas can be carried out easily for the little ones, if they advise you. In addition, this ensures bond between parent and child, which is especially important in the first years. So take some time and pick one of the following 30 ideas, three of which are even presented with a detailed guide.

• Pour seashell candles
• decorated seashell candle glasses
• Flotsam-Mobile
• Earrings made of shells and stones
• stones and shells painted with flowers
• Decorate sand glasses with shells and stones
• decorated picture frames
• Shell napkin rings
• Paperweight made of stones
• Shell and stone wreaths
• Stone plant signs for garden beds
• Ladybugs made of stones and shells
• stylish shell necklaces
• Stone card holder with wire
• Shell or stone letters
• Plant decoration for the flower pot
• Domino game of painted stones
• Shell stones Tic-Tac-Toe
• Mini flower pots from shells or snail shells
• pretty stone flowers with flower petals from shells
• Birdhouses embellished with shells and stones
• Shell castanets
• paint painted, round stones in shells as a pearl
• Man does not fret with stones and shells as figures
• Stick stone and shell towers
• mysterious bottle post
• Paint runes on shells or stones

As you can see, a wide variety of ideas can be implemented with sufficient creativity . Crafts with stones and shells can be implemented quickly and requires little experience. For children, the individual craft ideas encourage creative thinking and problem solving, especially if one of the steps is a little harder to implement than expected. In this way you can stimulate the thinking of the little ones with regular craft projects . Below you will find three tutorials that can be used to creatively implement various craft projects.

Tip: Stay with your children with stones and shells all the time, especially when working with scissors, knives or glue. Even when dealing with colors, you should always be there when you do not want your child, your table or your walls full of color.

Shell Stones Candle Holder | manual

This candlestick is a particularly creative idea, with which you can connect stones and shells.

For this you need:

• big, flat stones, also smaller stones are suitable
• a few shells
• Bar candles or tealights
• Super glue or hot glue
• 1 x wax adhesive tile per candlestick

The stones should be shallow enough for you to place the candle on top of it. Yes, you use the flat stones as candlesticks. Do not worry, you do not have to drill into the stones or work them with a file to create a hollow for the candle. For this you need the wax adhesive plate and the following instructions.

• Place the stone
• Cut off candle base
• Heat wax sticks
• Place wax sticks between the candle and the stone

That's all you need to make a candle holder out of a stone. Then decorate the stones with shells, according to the decoration ideas of the children. Also use several small stones and shells and stick them together with hot glue.

The candlestick made of stones and shells is now finished!

For example, decorate the table with your new candlestick and conjure a very special ambience on the banquet table.

Mill game with stones and shells | manual

Tinkering with stones and shells does not have to be difficult. A good example of this is this mill game, where you have a working game within a short time. Important here are of course the mill stones, which consist of shells and stones. Choose smaller white shells and stones in darker colors. For each side you need sufficient shells and stones. The characters can be painted, but they do not have to.

Next comes the game board . If you do not already own one, just take a large piece of cardboard or wood and draw a classic mill field. It's that easy. In this way you can also proceed with chess or checkers.

Free download of the mill game template from Talu

You can stick our printed template for the mill game on thicker cardboard or cardboard and your game board is ready.

Sweet shell dog or cat faces | manual

If your children are fans of cats and dogs, be sure to try this guide. This idea is the design of large shells as velvet paws or the best friend of man. You do not even need a lot of utensils for this because you only use shells that you paint.

The decoration is then made with stones of your choice, as you can place the figures in a variety of different scenarios or use them for other purposes. Depending on the breed of dog or cat you use other shells, from which you make the animal's head, nose and ears. Of course, you can also use many other shell species to make them animal or human faces.

Three examples:

• Yorkshire Terrier: Scallop (head), 3 x mussel shell halves (nose and ears)
• Chihuahua: Scallop (head), 2 x mussel shell halves (ears), 1 x sand clam (nose)
• Tiger cat: Scallop (head), 3 x clam shell halves (ears and nose)

Let your imagination play if you choose the shells. Of course, you can simply try to make an animal out of the existing shells. In general, you only need four shells for each animal, because only the face is displayed from the front. If you are a little more knowledgeable about the process, you can also accept the body if you use more shells.

In addition to the shells you need the following items:

• Acrylics
• Acrylic clear coat
• brush
• Super glue or hot glue
• Wiggle eyes and other decorative elements as desired

If you wish, you can also add a small metal hook to the material list if you want to hang up the shellfish afterwards. Likewise, you could stick a magnet in the inside and make a cute figure for the fridge. Let your children decide which shellfish they want to make.

Then proceed as follows:

Step 1: Begin by cleaning and drying the shells once you have collected them on the beach.

This is important because organic residues could adhere to them, which could rot over time, attract insects and even be consumed, which would have a negative impact on the health of the youngest.

Step 2: Then paint the shells according to the dog or cat breed you have selected. For a dog like a Dalmatian, of course, you will need a completely different pattern than a red cat. This is exactly where your child can incorporate all the creativity. Color, pattern, eye color, position of the nose and even the whiskers. Such freedom makes children fun and they like to compare their ideas with those of their parents.

Consult with your child about the individual patterns and colors. Always paint both sides of the shells to keep the look consistent. The eyes of the animal belong in the upper half of the scallop, directly over the place where the nose is placed.

Paint the eye color and the nose with acrylics and a brush.

Step 3: Let the paint dry thoroughly. This is important, because only on a dry paint you can then apply the clear coat, which is like the hue of the color. Spray the clear coat far enough from the shells and let it dry as well. It is important to spray both sides here as well.

Step 4: As a next step, stick the nose in the lower part of the scallop on the front. The ears are stuck head to head on the back of the scallop shell. While on the nose the outside of the shell points to you, it can also be at the ears, at will, the inside. This creates an effect where the ears are turned in your direction.

Step 5: Now let the glue dry and the animal is ready. You can place several animals in a bed of stones that you have previously placed in a dish.

A creative modification of this idea is the implementation of a stone slug . For these you only need a snail shell, an elongated stone and color. The stone is then painted like a snail. Then glue the housing to the stone and the screw is ready. Sometimes this variant is even easier for children to implement. No matter which variant you and your little ones choose, the shellfish provide a lot of fun and a great way to make something together.

Tip: According to this guide you can make numerous other animals such as pandas or bunnies from shells, if you select the right mussel for the head and the ears. For children, this is also recommended, as they can learn more about the individual shells in this way, especially if you are looking for them together on the beach or in the craft shop.