How to Make Seashell Earrings

 Hello everyone! Today I am going to show you how to make a cool pair of earrings from shells. I found my shells on the beaches of Florida, but if you aren't planning a beach vacation anytime soon, you can also buy shells in the craft store.

Materials and Supplies:

• 2 matching 1- to 2-inch-long bivalve type shells (such as clam or scallop shells)*
• 20-gauge wire
• Needle-nose pliers
• Flat-nose pliers
• Hot glue gun
• 2 jump rings
• 2 French hooks

*Make sure your shells aren't too delicate or they might break when you try to make them into earrings!

Here's What You Do

1. Measure your shell from top to bottom and cut a piece of wire about twice as long as the length of the shell. Using your needle-nose pliers, carefully form a loop at one end of the wire you just cut.
2. Now, using your shell as a guide, bend the piece of wire to fit the inside of the shell (the flat-nose pliers should help with this). The loop you bent should just stick up over the top of the shell, so the jump ring can go through it. The wire should be touching the inside of the shell so it can be glued down. You may need to do some bending so the wire is just right. Trim any excess wire at the bottom of the shell.
3. Once the wire fits inside the shell perfectly, use the hot glue gun to glue it to the inside.
4. Now, using the flat-nose pliers, open a jump ring and slide on a French hook and the loop of the shell. Before you close the jump ring, hold the earring up to make sure the shell isn't facing backwards!
5. You're halfway done! Just make the second earring exactly the same way as the first, and enjoy wearing your new shell earrings!