Fleur: Chrysanthemums Savoureux

just like tiny bon-bons, each of these shell flowers is a treat!

these shell flowers can be purchased at my etsy shop. i've modeled them after chrysanthemums (mums) and made them from coquina shells. the largest measure 1.5" in diameter. the smaller buds can be positioned at an angle, creating variety and a sense of dynamism in a design.

these dainty fleurs are one of my favorite flowers to make. i think they are so sweet! one of my ideas it to encrust a mirror in thousands of these tiny flowers, creating a texture treat. but that's for another day, after i finish my first sailor valentine. what would you do with them?

i think the coquina is the ubiquitous craft seashell, certainly one of the most useful. the bivalve comes in a variety of colours from white to pink, yellow, purple, blue and a tea-like colour. sometimes they are solid colour and sometimes a mottled, multi-coloured, like the mums pictured here. they also have different widths—the ones i'm currently working with has narrow shaped shells, but i have made some gorgeous pansies from wider shaped, multi-coloured ones with pink, yellow, purples and tans.

i go through these different spells of shell preferences, but the coquina is always there, always ready for my imagination.