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!

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