On a recent trip to Grandpa's my daughter spent some time collecting clam shells that had washed on the shore of a lake. Her various collections are so important to her that we either keep them as is for play or nature table or use them for a craft. These shells were thin and dark on one side and light on the other, not very attractive as they were. The first thing we did was pick through them and washed the uncracked and empty shells with soap and water.
I found myself wondering if they could be dyed like the shell of an egg? We tried it and it worked. Just like dying eggs, we got hot water in mugs, a splash of vinegar and food coloring. We stirred a bit and added two shells to each mug. Some took the color in just 15 minutes while others stayed in for half an hour or longer.
Next, I used my hot glue gun to glue the two shells together while my daughters colored mini clothespins with crayon. After the glue dried, I then used the glue gun to glue on the mini clothespins to the front or back of the "wings."
The clothespins allow us to hang the butterflies from flowers, stems and branches at the nature table and on freshly picked spring flowers.
4 comments:
These are gorgeous! What a lovely idea!
Brilliant idea using 'egg dye' on the shells. I assume it woould work on any shells.
Great idea! And they look convincing too but not overly heavy.
i love this idea!! those shells are fun to find but this momma doesn't think them very pretty, either. ;)
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