Sea Shell Votive Jars for a Party!

Rather proud of how our 50th Wedding Anniversary Party votive "jars" turned out.   I wanted to make something that would reflect my mom and dad's love of the beach and their many travels to all over the United States picking up seashells and sea glass along the way.

These sea glass, shells and vintage mason jar votives were pretty easy to make  - once we had all of the supplies assembled!

*raffia

*tiny drill  We used Kristy's jewelry dremel (and her expertise!) to drill tiny holes in the seashells to adorn the outside of our jars.

*Votive Candles - In glass, not just the candles by themselves.  I found white vanilla ones at Michaels for a very reasonable price.

*shells.  We did buy a few packages from our local dollar store, but between my mom and I, we have piles of them that we have been collected from beach walks in Florida, Texas, and Washington.  I tried to use as many local Puget Sound ones as I could. We filled over 30 jars and just did not realize how many shells it actually takes to fill them up!

*sea glass.  Or "faux" sea glass.  For the party, I used the tumbled glass that Allison and I picked up in Seattle at Bedrock Industries.  We specifically picked out colors to match the theme of the party; lavender, light aqua and a pretty Caribbean turquoise-blue...

*Mason Jars.   My mom had all of the vintage mason jars. (Cannot begin to tell you how many jars of canned peaches, pears and plums these have held!)   The turquoise pretty ones all came from my grandparents farm, as my mom just could not bear ever getting rid of them.  So for us, these jars also held a lot of meaning to our family.

My pretty sister-in-law drilling the holes for the raffia tie...

We layered the seashells and sea glass to about 2 inches deep before setting in the glass votives.  Then layered in more shells and glass around the candles to keep them standing up straight in the jars.   

Ta-Da!

Have a great Monday - thanks for stopping by Everything Coastal. If you get a chance, we would love to have your vote in the Business. Inspired by ASUS Contest - for every vote and every share we'll enter your name into our drawing!

Here's a quick link for the voting: Business Inspired by ASUS

P.S. The party turned out wonderful!

Seashell Natural Decorating

Now that you've collected all the seashells, what to do with them?

Here's 5 of our favorite ideas!

1. Display them in a glass lamp, so easy to change with the seasons.  Add your most prized shells, mix with sea glass or driftwood to create an ever changing display piece.  (Caron's Beach House)

2. Make your own shell mirror.   So easy to create something that can easily be the focal point of your room, by using a large scale frame and large scale shells. Keep it all natural with sand and shore colors, or mix in tropical shells for an island feel.   Love this vignette, with the beachy blues and creamy white shells, not to mention the fabulous tall polished lantern!  (image found on Pinterest)

3. Create a wreath, starting with driftwood.  Collect your own driftwood to create a wreath base, or better yet, start with one that is already pre-made especially if you don't live near a beach where there is ample driftwood to take home.   Get creative with not only shells, but other flotsam and jetsam!

From Everything Coastal (used to be my front door!)

Driftwood Wreaths - Bases Only

4.  Create your very own special shadowbox with your most precious shells.  Love this simple beautiful idea from Danielle Oakley Interiors. The blue background with bleached starfish  is just stunning!

5. Use large glass jars, with interesting lids filled with seashells for bookends.  So simple, functional, and the shells are protected from dust.

Stay tuned for 5 more ideas!