Coquinas the Hard Way

Birthdays at the beach are the best. for boy2's 5th birthday, we took him to VA beach. not a mecca for shells, mind you, but i did do pretty well. as boy2 played at waters edge, i would spy a small coquina. like the herons on our lake, i would plunge my hand towards the shell in order to pluck it up before a wave crashed down on it and rolled it out of my reach.

it seems like everytime i visit a beach, the beach has something unique and different to offer. this time, the beach was offering baby razor clams. there were many of them and they were just the right size. i also scored a good number of coquina, some in the sought after yellow and white colour. my husband laughed and asked if i was going to try to find enough purple coquinas to finish kayleigh's valentine.

it was relaxing, tho, to casually look for shells and enjoy the rare beach day. when we came back, i started sorting through the rose cups i purchased and i just placed an order with another seashell vendor for the purple and white coquinas. wish me luck! friday i will work on the center rose.

friday.

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.