Crafts from natural materials: panels made of shells

Author's products made of natural materials can decorate the interior of almost any room. They can be made not only for themselves, but also as a gift to close people. In such things there is a special energy, warmth, because the author invests in the creation of a piece of his soul.

Shells - a material for creativity

Collected on the seaside shells - a wonderful ornamental material. Making panels from shells with your own hands is an exciting hobby, and for some - even a source of income. To create a similar product, you do not need special skills. The main thing is enough material, imagination and patience.

It is worth remembering that shells are a material of increased fragility. It requires special careful handling. In the process of work, especially in the absence of proper experience, some shells inevitably deteriorate, split. Do not worry: this is normal.

Shells, especially if they were collected independently on the seashore, will evoke pleasant memories from you. A carefree holiday, a warm sea, a comfortable beach - with all this will be associated with a picture of seashells.

A useful lesson for adults and children

The production of panels from shells is not only for adults, but also for children. Moreover, such an occupation will bring a lot of benefit to the child. Creating paintings from natural materials develops creativity, perseverance, imagination, as well as fine motor skills and imagination.

To small children it is possible to suggest to fasten seashells on a basis by means of plasticine, instead of glue. It is easier to deal with it, and there is an opportunity to change the picture if something does not like it.

Before you start working with the child, you need to show him how the picture will look like from the shells in the photo, picture or sketch. Let him approve the idea chosen by the adult. In this case, the child will have an increased interest in the occupation and motivation to bring it to the end.

Children need to be taught how to handle the material carefully. Shells can not only crack with too much compression. They can also injure the child with a sharp side.

Determine the idea

By connecting a fantasy, you can create a panel of shells with your hands on almost any topic. After all, with their help you can fill out the outline of any image. The main thing is to think about how to beat it, how to supplement it, so that the whole work will turn out. However, this is just one of the ideas. Sometimes, on the basis of simply creating a composition of shells in which there is no specific contour, and from this it looks no worse. Hearts, flowers, landscapes, seabed, fish, aquariums, seahorses, still lifes - a panel of seashells can display any topic.

Preparatory work

Before you start creating panels from sea shells, you need to do the preparatory work. If the shells you collected independently, they need to be washed from the sand and dried, and if they were bought in the kit, they are ready for use in creative works. The next stage is sorting by varieties and sizes. It is desirable to use shells of different shapes to make the picture more interesting.

Next, you need to decide what other materials will be involved in creating the picture. Sea shells are well combined with beads, sand, pebbles, twigs, beads, sea moss, ropes, decorative mesh, burlap.

For the panel also need a base of plywood or thick cardboard, glue, frame. You can use acrylic paints, stain to paint shells in the right color, and you can do without them. It is very convenient to use an adhesive gun for gluing parts, especially if the panel of shells is created for the first time. With its help, the work will be more accurate. Cover whether the finished painting with acrylic lacquer? It's a matter of taste and personal preference. There is an opinion that the product, covered with varnish, looks more finished.

The panel of shells with their own hands: the stages of creation

• The first - to determine the subject and the plot.

• Next you need to put a sketch on the base. It can be a drawing by hand, drawing a contour of the scanned image or simply marking with a pencil.

• If the shells are to be painted, then you must first perform it, allow the material to dry well, and then glue it to the substrate.

• The objects from which the picture will be drawn should be arranged on the basis, and filled with contours. This part of the work is similar to folding a mosaic. It may be necessary to spend a lot of time to achieve the ideal picture.

• The next step is to glue the shells and other components onto the base. To do this, glue PVA or plasticine.

• When a panel of shells is almost ready, you need to make it in a frame and, if desired, cover with varnish.

Those who did not have the experience of creating pictures from shells, for the first job, it is not necessary to choose some complicated idea from the point of view of execution. It's not always that difficult, it looks more beautiful. The main thing is to create a panel with a soul, and then it will please you or your loved ones with its beauty and uniqueness.