A few months ago my friend Meaghan brought me a bag full of clam shells straight from the waters of Cape Cod.  To be honest, I forgot about them and they had been sitting in that paper bag in our garage until a few weeks ago.  Finally, it was time to turn them into lil jewelry dishes…

Clam Shell Jewelry Dishes

What you’ll need:

• Clam shells
• Paint
• Paint brush
• Pearls
• Liquid cement
• Clear sealer

When I’m prepping any shells for crafts, they get a good cleaning, then a 3-5 day bath in a water & bleach mixture (a little bleach goes a long way) before drying and being sorted by size.  They get one last bath in the sink before becoming jewelry dishes (or candles).

All of my jewelry dishes are hand painted, and I have to admit I like using metallics like gold & silver the best.  I also hate covering up the tops of the shell that have all the character and purple!

These were hand painted in gold or silver, and either on just the edge or the bottom + the edge.  The top gets a coat of clear sealer, I attach pearl feet to keep it standing up right and the jewelry dishes are ready for their new homes!

Some of the shells were so wide that they could fit watches & bracelets, not just rings.  Special thanks to Meg for the clam shells!  I only have a few, but will make the most of what I have and will have to plan a trip up north for more!

PS – You can find all my clam shell products in my Etsy shop here.