DIY: Seashell Necklace
A special moment here, I may be on trend for once in my life. Let me just say that before these styles were EVERYWHERE I started this project based off one Instagram post. Since then jewellery similar to this seashell necklace is all over the place. To me, they are reminiscent of a Botticelli or Vermeer painting. Hope that’s not too pretentious. They are undeniably gorgeous but when first on my radar they came with a hefty price tag. If I had the money I would buy all the gorgeous pieces. Sad times I just don’t right now so here is an affordable alternative. I’ve lived close to the ocean for most of my life and the beach is my favourite place to be. I love feeling like I have a little piece with me. Lots of reasons to love seashell jewellery but let’s get into the actual project.
My First thought was just to go to the thrift store and see what I could find and get ‘inspired’. This approach did kind of work. If you spend some time actually looking through the jewellery section there are lots of hidden treasures. However, there are a lot of options and it can get very overwhelming. I did also waste a lot of time looking at things over and over because I didn’t have a clear idea of what I wanted. In need of guidance, I came back home and made a plan and a Pinterest board (as you do). Feel free to check it our if you need a little direction.
https://www.pinterest.ca/mostlydoingokay/shell-necklace-inspo/
If Pinterest isn’t your thing a good place to start is looking for gold chains, nice looking artificial pearls, earrings with long pins, and of course shells! When selecting your chains check that the clasps will be easy to remove and reattach. With Pinterest board created I went back to the thrift shop again! This time was a lot easier to make decisions.
I didn’t see a lot of seashells in the jewellery section other than some 2000’s puka shell surfer bro necklaces. Not the look I was going for. Luckily I found this weird decorative ball that was covered in the perfect shells. I also see a lot of shell-covered boxes in the thrift stores so that’s a good place to look if the jewellery section lets you down. The decorative shell boxes just need to have the glue peeled off. If the glue is really stubborn soak them in some hot water. If you aren’t having any luck sometimes the dollar store will have bags of seashells as well as some extra jewellery making supplies. I’m fortunate my thrift stores are pretty reliable but this is a great option if the ones where you live aren’t.
However, you get your supplies the next step is to put holes into the shells in order to string them. I have a mini tool set from IKEA that has a small rounded screwdriver head and a hammer. Place the shell on a soft surface (I used my carpet) to keep it from shattering. Place the screwdriver where you want the hole to be and then firmly tap the hammer on the bottom of the screwdriver. You might want to keep a couple of shells on hand for practice rounds. It takes a couple of times to get your technique down.
The only thing missing now is gold paint! I did a lot of research into different options. Gold acrylic paint always seems flat and bland to me so I didn’t want to use that. It is really cheap if you need to save some $$$ or already have some on hand. I also looked into some gold leaf. It looks like it would be amazing and super luxe but I didn’t really want to spend the money and waste the time waiting for it to arrive. I’m impatient and cheap you should know this by now. Hello third and best option: Nail Polish! It’s a couple of dollars, immediately available, and has a nicer shine than acrylic paint!
I painted an edge on some of the shells and fully painted the rest. To spare yourself so much headache take your time. Pretty standard nail polish procedure, let it dry between coats!
At the thrift store, I picked up earrings with long pins. I then used the pin from one of the earrings I bought to string two pearls inside one of the shells. There are a lot of selections of faux pearls in pretty much every thrift store. I bought a long necklace with different sizes of pearls. Highly recommend this if you’re wanting to make a couple of necklaces. This allows you to change your mind and have a bit of freedom with your design.
Loop the earring pin back around to form a loop. This will be super easy if you have a small set of pliers. I didn’t so it took a little effort and some sacrifice from my manicure but it’s totally do-able. If the chain you are using won’t be able to string through the loop then form the loop around the chain. A little finicky perhaps but definitely do-able.
Finished product! Once you get the hang of things this DIY is pretty easy and the results are a lot better than I ever thought they could be! A very unglamorous process for a beautiful final product. I rambled a bit with this one but really you can adapt and change pretty much every part of this depending on the supplies and materials you are able to find.
Since I had so many shells and pearls I went ahead and made some matching earrings.. then another set of earrings with gold shells.. then another necklace..it goes on.. and on.. and on. I’m a little obsessed now that I’ve figured out how to make them. I found a really great sale at the mall and picked up some chains with ugly pendants and earrings for a couple of dollars each. Immediately tore them apart and made seashell necklaces and earrings. For real these are my new favourite earrings. The perfect accessory to feel like a goddess this summer. Very mermaid meets Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus. *Pats self on back*
My initial idea was just to make the shell and pearl necklace but this faux mother of pear caught my eye. Typically thrift stores have this type of shell in multiple colours. I just loved this neutral one so although it wasn’t in my original plan I wanted to make something with it! (Side note: with the leftovers, I kinda want to make a mermaid crown. NO idea where I could ever wear it but still.) There wasn’t a super clear idea in my head what to do with it so I winged it!
For a couple of dollars, I picked up this layered gold necklace. It was easy to open the clasp at the back of the necklace and remove two of the three layers. With a chain and the mother of pearl I just needed a plan. With the extra pearls I had, I used them as spacers.
Lay out the mother of pearl shells and the pearls how you like them. Then string them onto the necklace. The mother of pearl shells might need to be a little widened depending on what chain you choose to use. If needs be you can take the protector off of a bobby pin and use it to drill out the hole.
I just used some pliers and a hammer to close the clasp up again once all the faux mother of pearl and faux pearls were in place. If you use this technique make sure you are happy with your placement before you close the clasp because taking it apart is THE WORST.
Once it’s all done though it is quite gorgeous! The shimmer really doesn’t come across very well in pictures but you get the idea! I definitely went full on with this seashell necklace DIY. It’s just so easy once you get the pieces all together. The beachy vibes are definitely there and I have been wearing these pieces all the time! Hope you give it a try!
-Hannah
