Every beach I went to this week (before it starting raining) seemed to shout “JINGLE SHELLS!” to me. I’m not the only one who has seen gobs of JINGLES. Remember, Barb was picking them up too last week…
So now that it’s been raining for 2 days, I figure this is the perfect time to think about sorting, organizing and displaying some of these treasures I’ve been picking up lately…. JINGLES! Who doesn’t love a JINGLE!
I’ve now started a “Jingle Jar” that I bought from Home Goods. Yeah, yeah. I know it’s really, really, reeeaaaally tall and I need a oodles of JINGLES to fill it up. But JINGLES are very common to find on Sanibel so I don’t think I’ll have too much trouble filling it all the way to the top by the end of the summer…. Maybe.
When I find different ones, I love to sort shells by color so I’m always tickled when I find them sand color, bright orange, charcoal black, snow white and mellow yellow.
The bright orange ones make great accents to any display in smaller jars everywhere in my house… especially by my fave ANGULAR TRITON find from our January trip to Turks And Caicos…
The black ones look so handsome together just laying in a dish…
I am going to make time for shell craft projects the summer (hopefully on rainy days like today) because when I thought about organizing my JINGLE SHELLS, I always get inspired by thinking about Jane’s JINGLE SHELL frame I featured at the top of this post. Here’s a close up of her precious piece with her darling family…
Jane loves to embellish anything and everything with shells! Somebody was going to throw out this old lantern but Jane rescued it and encrusted it with JINGLES and other shells. It’s a gorgeous accent lantern now for her seaside home.
She even adds shells to the edges of her plain cork coasters to make them adorable cork coasters! She lined one with BUTTON SHELLS, one with KITTENS PAWS, another with different CLAMS and of course one with JINGLE SHELLS. She is the glue gun Craft Queen!
And other people do fun things with JINGLES too. Remember this “Jingle Cat” I showed you from the 2012 Sanibel Shell Show last year? LOL It still makes me smile!
So okay, what I’m trying to say is this…
If you aren’t finding the larger shells on the beach, don’t get disappointed. It’s the perfect opportunity to look at the other beautiful shells that are right there in front of you on Sanibel that you might not otherwise see. So many people overlook JINGLES. They are precious! And when it’s cold or rainy or you are stuck inside, get that box of shells out of the closet where nobody can see them and get these beautiful treasures displayed! Even if you arent as crafty as Jane, you can easily put them in a jar, dish or vessel to always admire them. Every day you will be brought back to that memorable trip to the beach.
We were there last week and couldn’t believe how many jingles there were. They have quickly become a favorite and we collected a bunch to make a picture frame after seeing the idea here. The orange ones are my favorite too. Thanks so much for keeping our Sanibel memories alive and well with your blog. We *heart* it!
My favorites are the orange ones. But I don’t discriminate. I collect all the colors. lol. Its fun to see what others do with their shells. I love the tiny ones for making resin jewelry.
I’ve got shells…..that jingle, jingle, jangle….
I love collecting jingle shells. We have them in North Carolina too :)
Your post is so true! Yesterday was my last day and I wanted to show my husband the dolphins that come up to Lighthouse Beach. There weren’t many shells, but it did indeed get me to see all the beautiful coquinas! And jingles, of course! While I was picking up coquinas, a lady started talking to me & we were both so excited about the coquinas & talking about shells. She asked if I go on iloveshelling.com and then she remembered my posts from the other night. It turms out that it was Sue from Syracuse, New York, and her husband, Ken!! Small world! We shelled for a good hour or more together! So fun how your blog brings people together! It was so fun meeting her! Hi Sue & Ken! Also I met two other iloveshelling people. Now I am forgetting their names but they were on an anniversary trip and were from Jupiter, FL. So much fun!!! I was so sad to leave this morning!
Sherri from MN
OMG Sherri, I just got back from shelling at the lighthouse and I saw Sue and Ken… Who told me they ran into you! I’m so sorry I never saw you but as you know by being here this week, it’s a very busy week with lots happening on this little island. But I’m so happy you got to meet them and made the connection. It’s a wonderful iLoveShelling community!
PS- the dolphins were back in action tonight!
Oh! Those dolphins are so amazing! I wish I could have met you, too! Maybe next time. I plan to come back this summer! It is so hard being home wjere we are supposed to get more snow today! Ugh.. It was a bery busy week on Sanibel. The traffic was insane & the line at Pinnochio’s was all the way into the parking lot many of the nights! I loved every minute of my trip! Thanks for your wonderful blog! I heart iLoveShelling!! Did you know that Donna R. from New York offered to send her lighted iLoveShelling hat to my hotel? So sweet! :)
Sorry i couldnt get you the hat, Sherri, but I emailed you pics of my shell wall installation. I bet you didnt need the hat to grab lots of shells and have a great time ! :)
Yes, we had a great time! One night my husband took me shelling at 11:30 at night to get the low tide. It was really fun! We used flashlights. Thanks for the offer of your hat! That was so sweet of you! Sherri from MN
Sayyyy, we’re you there around 4:00ish? did one of you find wormies? that storm must have blown in more fish than shells because I’ve seen a lot of dolphins feeding, and lots of terns and pelicans sitting in the surf close to the shore on the gulf side, about a half mile from the lighthouse.
anyway, wish I would have run into you two, or Pam!
Pam, I love the new jar for Jingle shells. Did you add the twine at the top? It’s a great addition. When I was there in February, I found larger jingles than I’ve ever found before. And most of them have the little “baby’s footprint” inside. :-)
Gail, Your comment about the baby footprint caught my eye. Even though I read every blog I don’t remember ever hearing about this. Can you or anyone else tell me the story with the baby footprints inside of shells. I will be on Sanibel Island in early June and want to know as much as possible when combing the beach. Thanks
Yes! We heard this about the baby’s ears in January on the first iLoveShelling adventure cruise to Cayo costa. Check it out here.., http://www.iloveshelling.com/blog/2013/02/18/i-love-shelling-cruise-to-cayo-costa/
Since I found your site Pam, and having since started to collect shells, I have started “collecting” jars (jelly jars, candle, caper jar-great for Wenties!) and have been placing my clean shells in them. One jar per type of shell. My ultimate plan is to have them displayed on picture shelves, somewhere in the house.
I also pick up jingle shells. I found a whole one at Blind pass near the jetty in February. The surf was rough that day and I walked back up to the point and there it was on the sand. The sun was shining through it . I was tempted to take a picture, but I was afraid the surf would wash it away. One of these days I’m going to do some picture frames I did put some coquinas in a cotton box frame. Hope the weather clears up.
Pat
Of course I had to blow up every picture and I’m so envious of those wormies in the one pic…is it just a group of them or a “project’? I have never found even one that is a big as those!
Hope the rain stops!
Beautiful post, excellent sentiment!
The last paragraph really says it all, especially the last half!! I am not an artist, maybe a little bit of a crafter, but knew that I wanted to see my shells at home all the time! So i bought six 4″ deep floating shelves each about 3 feet long and mounted them on the wall one above the other, about 6 ” apart, in groups of three, flanking a doorway in my living room. On each shelf, I placed 13 glass jars all of the exact same type. Each jar holds a different type of shell I’ve collected, mostly from Sanibel. It reminds me what amazing diversity in species exist on Sanibel’s beaches, and it created a cool ‘museum’ feel to my living room, I really love it :).
What cool ideas!
I collected bunches of jingle shells when we visited Sanibel in February and was scratching my head about what to do with them.
Jingle shells remind me of those gorgeous luminescent glass tiles used in kitchen backsplashes now. Who knew Mother Nature could be so modern and chic?
I have always wondered what a jingle looks like in the ocean, whole and living.
Me, too!!
Pam, thanks for another great post. There are just so many fun and interesting things to do with shells. If the “Big” shells are not plentiful, one can always look for the smaller ones. If the smaller ones are not plentiful, then look for the common ones with different colors or shapes. If that does not work, then enjoy looking for different sea critters that have washed up or enjoy watching all the water birds. The longer the time on the beach, the more one sees. Often when looking for “other” things on the beach, I have been surprised to find some really nice shells. As for the Jingle shells, http://shellmuseum.org/shells/shelldetails.cfm?id=197 , they are similar to the oyster shells with the bottom half of the bivalve cemented to the surface of a more stable object, such as reef, rock or larger shell. When the Jingle shell dies, the top half of the shell usually separates from the bottom half and often washes onto the beach. The bottom, thinner and more delicate half usually stays on the reef, rock or larger shell and is less often seen on the beaches. Even when the bottom half also breaks off, it often breaks in transit to the beaches. However, when the underlying substrate (larger shell) washes onto the beach, you can frequently see the two halves of the shell together. On Sanibel Island the “larger shells” most likely to have attached Jingle shells are the Pen Shells. You had a post about this a few years ago, http://www.iloveshelling.com/blog/2010/11/06/beachcombing/ I enjoy the shell craft, but am just not very good at it.
Great ideas with the jingles! I picked up quite a few today since there wasn’t much else in the offering.
I saw a large pinkish half clam shell stuck to a bunch of egg casings. Made me wonder if it had been feeding on them, or if it came from the clam.
Pam,
another awesome post, I enjoyed it immensely. I so appreciate the time, effort, information and obvious love of the subject that you manage to intertwine so well into each blog. Such a gift, to be able to write as you do.
Rhonda M., PA/Fort Myers :-)
Hello from the sands of San Clemente, CA…What is the best glue to use for affixing shells??? Many thanks for your reply…from Me with the wet, sandy toes
Katie, Check out Mary’s comments on this post about her lovely home and what she uses for her shell crafts… http://www.iloveshelling.com/blog/2011/09/19/tips-to-decorate-your-home-with-seashells/
Filled a tall spaghetti jar with olive shells from Honeymoon Island this winter, found a beautiful golden tulip which I am going to display all by itself.
OOps… meant to post that “sorting” comment here! Posted it in the wrong place! LOL
Hi Pam,
I’ve used the jingles in a number of crafts. I love the orange ones and they’ve always been the only color I’ve picked up. After seeing your crafts with the white and black, I’ll have to start adding them to my collection. Thanks for the ideas!
Tammy
How should you clean/polish jingle shells? I’ve been wanting to get crafty with my collection, but unsure of how to really make them shine. Thanks!