Sunday, April 22, 2012

Sea Shell Plate Charger

A couple of years ago I saw an ad for some dinnerware that included a charger made of seashells.  Ever since that time, I wanted to make some.  I searched and searched for the magazine but was unable to find it.  I wanted to included a scan of the ad with this post.  Oh, well...
My son cut out 14 inch circles from 1/4 inch luan plywood.  I considered using a pre-made plastic charger but I wanted to have a little more height to work with.  The plastic charger has a recessed area that holds the plate but by using a flat piece I was able to build up around the plate to give it a more 3D dimensional effect.
 
Yes, I made a trip to Hobby Lobby! I bought a basket of shells for $7.99 (less the 40% coupon) and some 4 ply jute string.
I spray painted the circles white.  After they dried, I hot glued the jute string around the outer edge.  Then I started hot gluing shells.  I first arranged two rows on the outer edge as shown above.  This gave me a starting point to work off of.  Before I started adding more shells, I put my plate on the charger to make sure that I didn't go too high with my arranging.  And here is the finished product!
 After a couple of burnt fingertips, I was finished!...with one at least.  It took me about 1 1/2 hours to complete one but I took my time in arranging the shells.  I broke it down into four sections my gluing a larger piece on each quarter area...does that make sense?  Let's see...I glued a larger piece in the 3, 6, 9, and 12 o'clock spot.  Is that better? I hope so. This gave me a way to focus on a section at a time and I was able to balance out the shells.
Here is a close up. You can see where I glued the string on the edge to give it a more finished look.  By placing the plate on the charger while I was working, I made sure that the height of the shells did not interfere with the plate.
I love the colors of the shells!  As I said last week in my post about my coastal art, I'm loving the coastal, nautical, tropical...whatever you want to call it, look!  and I think these chargers fit right in.
I am tickled pink over how they have turned out.  I finished 4 of them today.  Of course, after the first one, the process speeded up a little.  Now, I have to figure out to store them!

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Thanks for stopping by! I'm sharing with:
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch
Masterpiece Monday @ Boogieboard Cottage 
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm
Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style
Swing into Spring Party @ DIY by Design
Treasure Hunt Thursday @ From My Front Porch to Yours
Your Cozy Home Party @ Cozy Home Scenes
Thrifty Things Thursday @ The Thrifty Grove    

17 comments:

  1. Tammy, that is awesome, I love it! You are making me want to try that and I don't need to add anything to my list right now!! Love it, love it, love it!!!

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  2. Thank you, Melanie. I know how it is with the "list!" Mine is quite long as well! Blessings, Tammy

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  3. Amazing idea! I love your shell chargers, I think I'll try these! Thanks for the tutorial. Have a great week.
    FABBY

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  4. This is so cute! What a great idea and a great tutorial!

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  5. What a great look you achieved! These are so cute!!!

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  6. Great charger! I love seashells and thanks for the tutorial.
    Babs

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  7. Fun to see what you've done with shells! That's a great idea.

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  8. Love the shell art! Cute cute charger!!

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  9. Oh, Tammy, thanks so much for your comment and telling me about your chargers! I love these! Great idea making the base. You are going to love using these for years to come. I totally know what cha mean about burning the fingers. NOT FUN! But the outcome is definitely worth it. :) Happy Summertime!

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  10. I love it being a seashell and Sanibel Island lover it is almost a requirement for me to love anything made with shells but I don't. These however I do love. Fab job!!

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  11. Thanks to everyone for their comments. I'm so glad you enjoyed the post. I still can't get my "reply" button to work. Blessings, Tammy

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  12. Oh thats so great, I love your charger plates! its getting cold here in Australia and your lovely sea shells are so bright & cheery, thank you for sharing :)

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  13. They are lovely! Bet it took a lot of patience!

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  14. Hi Tammy, thanks for dropping by my party to show off these beautiful chargers. They are so creative, yet elegant. I love crafts like this that are so easy to make, yet look so nice. Hope to see you next week!

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  15. I wanted to stop in and say hello and congratulations on being mentioned on "Cozy Home Scenes". I look forward to following your blog and reading your posts!

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  16. I did something similar with a mirror but would never have thought to do a plate charger! Genius...I might just have to borrow this idea for display...so Coastal!

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Thank you so much for all your lovely comments! I try to return the favor and visit each one of you! ~Blessings, Tammy~