Got Shells?

A few years ago we made a simple Saturday day trip to the beach. Our daughters were younger then and enjoyed collecting shells in their leftover cold drink cups. We arrived home late and never gave the collection another thought... that is, until we jumped in the car Monday morning for school and jumped right back out. It smelled like something had died in our car. Of course, it had... some small unsuspecting animal collected along with his shell. It took us a shorter amount of time to clean our shells properly than it did to get that smell out of the car.

If you have shells you brought back from vacation, don't throw them away! Even if they begin to smell, there are several ways of cleaning your shells so you end up with beautiful souvenirs of your trip. After you clean them, don't just pack them away... display them! I have gathered several ideas on how to decorate with shells. Or, you can turn them into holiday ornaments with these crafty ideas:

• How to make a Sand Dollar Santa
• How to make a Sand Dollar Ornament
• How to make a Shell Angel

Got ideas of your own? Send them to me at goflorida.guide@about.com and I'll feature your idea in a future blog.

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