Nothing prettier than a coastal wreath. How frustrating is it when the pretty wreath falls apart. The oyster shell is one of my favorite elements for diy. They all look pretty once they are done, but once they go outside after a few months the oysters starts falling off. There has to be an easy way to keep these treasures from falling off.
After much research and burning many of my fingers I soon discovered the secret to making DIY Oyster Shell Wreath. In my previous projects I used regular glue stick. There are two kinds of glue stick regular and gorilla. The gorilla one works the best and the oysters are on extremely well. But that’s not the only dilemma. You have to sand the oyster down and make sure you are glueing them on fabric, wood or something that is a porous surfaces. I had made several wreaths where I used regular glued stick and shells on top of plastic wreath form. Initially it stayed on but eventually after being exposed to the elements of outdoors they fell off.
Oyster Shell Wreath Instructions!
Step 1:
Wrap fabric around the wreath ring. I used burlap. You can use anything like cotton, denim, or wool. I am reusing a wreath ring.
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Step 2:
Get some thick rope and make a nautical loop. To make the loop I used this video I found on Youtube. I made some adjustments and was able to create a loop for this wreath.
Step 3:
To make the oysters stick find flat ones. It makes them easier to glue to fabric. Make sure the oysters are clean. I use half water and half white vinegar solution. Let them soak for a few hours and with a little brush I scrub the dirt off them. Rinse with water and let dry outside for a few hours.
Step 4.
Sand the whites of the oysters. Make sure they are free from dust before you apply the glue. I started using the gorilla glue stick but I ran out. Unfortunately there was no gorilla glue anywhere to be found. I found a new glue called Seashell Glue. It worked great. But to me the real winner is the gorilla glue stick. This is going to be a very simple wreath with just one row of oysters all the way around.
For more oyster shell crafts see my oyster shell mirror. I used grout adhesive to paste the oyster shells onto the wood. It worked great. Don’t run out of Gorilla Glue sticks like me, stock up. Amazon has it all the time. Love the blue shutter color I painted it with DecorArt Paint
I think my favorite part of your project was that great knot! When my kids were little, my ex put their VERY sandy seashells finds in his dishwasher and promptly clogged it up!I’ve been known to throw sandy dishwater on my flowers! I have never heard of Gorilla glue sticks and will see if I can find them locally. Wreathes, especially those sandwiched between the door and a glass storm door fall apart from the heat buildup.
Thanks, that knot was time consuming, there really isn’t a perfect way to tie it. It takes much twisting and turning with the hands.
I LOVE a good DIY and this one is so cute. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Krisit, Its been a learning process. Maria
What a great tip. I would never have thought to sand the oyster and I can see why porous elements would adhere better and now I know why. The wreath turned out great and makes me want to head to the seaside.
Thanks Patti, Now that I the glue look out for more oyster projects.
Maria
I think oyster shells are beautiful and your wreath turned out great! …glue for seashells?! who knew!
🙂 gwingal
Thanks, i’m planning to put another row on top, now that the shells adhere. Hopefully they will stick on top of each other.
Beautiful…and love the tip. I live at the beach and am always crafting with shells. They are tricky to work with…I’m trying that glue and the sanding!
Thats great that you will try! I found another glue E6000 thats suppose to be even better.
Maria