Authored by Donna Johnson in Crafts 
Published on 10-23-2009

A very popular theme in decorating is a beach or seaside theme. While this theme used to be found primarily in bathrooms, many kids may now want a beach themed bedroom, especially if they are fans of Spongebob Squarepants. Although you can buy many accessories with this theme, you can also involve your child in decorating his room by helping him make seashell crafts for the bedroom.

One of the simplest forms of seashell crafts for children is a picture frame. You can take various seashells and glue them to a plain wooden picture frame for a nautical look. You may choose to paint the frame before gluing on the seashells or leave the wood bare, depending on what type of look you’d like. Some parts of the frame will show through between the shells. Let your child choose the types of shells to use. Using the same type of shell all the way around the frame will look more uniform, but mixing up different sizes and shapes of shells looks very nice as well.

Another way to use seashells and glue to make a fun kid’s craft is to cover a plain wooden or cardboard box with shells for a memory box or treasure chest. Your child can use whatever size box he wants for this purpose. An advantage to making a memory box covered with seashells is that the large area will allow your child to use a greater variety of sizes and shapes of shells. He can also add large pieces like sea stars and sand dollars to a medium to large memory box for even more design interest and variety in texture.

Larger shells can also be hinged together to make small boxes for jewelry or other tiny treasures. Your child can choose to paint the shells or leave them natural. He can also choose to line the shells with material. Help him attach a small piece of velcro to the lining material and the shell, stretching the material taut across the bottom shell instead of following the curve of the bottom shell. This will create a secret compartment in the box underneath the material. If he wants to store things on top of the material as well, you can help him reinforce the secret compartment by placing cardboard beneath the material.

Seashells can also be used to make creatures. Your child can glue various seashells together in the shape of an animal or make-believe creature. The addition of features such as eyes, nose, and mouth can be accomplished easily with paint pens. Your child could also choose to add google eyes to his seashell creature for a fun touch.

Seashell crafts are a great way for your child to decorate his room. With a little imagination, you and your child can come up with a number of great ideas for projects that he will enjoy making and will allow the two of you to spend quality time together. As a bonus, if you gather the shells while on a beach vacation, your child will be surrounded by reminders of that fun family trip all the time.