Enjoy collecting sea shells while relaxing on the beach? But the question is: what to do with them after you return home? They will already have an unpleasant odor and the first thing that will come to mind is to throw them in the trash. But sea shells can be easily cleaned and later used for crafting various decorations.

How to clean sea shells?

Put them in plain water to soak for a while. Then place them in a container with 1/8 bleach and some boiling water (depending on the state of sea shells you may need to increase the amount of bleach). Wash them again in plain water. In case you can still smell the bleach you can add some detergent to the water. Leave them to dry on a towel (or a paper towel).

Sea shells can be used for creating interesting decorations. Here is a little something to get you inspired:

– Glass jars: Place the memories you collected on the beach in a glass jar and arrange them nicely inside. If you have also collected sand from the beach, place it on the bottom of the jar and put the sea shells on top of it.

– Photo frames: Glue the sea shells to a photo frame. Play with the combinations so you can decorate just one angle or an entire frame. For an even better effect glue the sand and arrange the sea shells on top of it.

– Sea shell box: Glue the sea shells on top of a decorative box. To decorate small boxes choose smaller sea shells.

– Sea shells on a rope: Pierce the holes on the shells and arrange them on a rope. This rope with the shells can be placed on a window or be pinned to the wall.