I have had the idea for a long time….trying to make an artful branch featuring shells as leaves and flowers.  When I discovered this heavy glass vase, I was pretty sure the vase would be perfect to hold my experiment.

I paid $1.00 for the vase when I went to Longview, Washington at their thrift store row…. and someday I will give it a makeover.

 

I cut the branch from a bush in the backyard…I think it works best to use a green branch  so there is no chance of brittleness.

Shells LOVE hot glue!  It is almost impossible to remove hot glue from a shell, so I applied a bead of hot glue to the edge of each shell and pressed it down on regular printer paper.  Use scissors to cut out each shell, being careful to not disturb the paper bottom, (like punching a hole in it).  The paper bottom will make it easy to attach the shell to the branch.

 

 

To secure the shells with the paper bottoms to the branch, cut a piece of paper, put on a bead of hot glue on it,  then make a sandwich of shell-branch-paper with hot glue working quickly.

 

Use larger shells on the inner branches changing to smaller shells higher up on each branch, finally finishing with shells that resemble buds.

Use hot glue to attach the “flowers” where you wish to place them.

 

I love how my beach fantasy branch turned out!  My new glass vase is the only container that would have worked to hold it in place with it’s skinny neck.  It makes a nice little vignette with a watercolor of my surfer hubby “Seadog” and a glass ball I found on our beach.