Shell Turtles

Materials:
Glue gun/ clear glue sticks
Assortment of small shells (picked up at any craft store or the beach)
Specifically: 1- cowrie shell for the body, 4- very small dogwinkles for the legs, 1- very small snail shell for the head, 1- tusk shell for the tail

Need help identifying which kind is what? Check out eNature.com's guide.

1.) Heat up glue gun and put in glue.
2.) Sort through your shells, if you got an assortment bag from the craft store, this might take a little while. For the legs, try and match them up size-wise as best as possible. This assures that the turtle will be able to stand on his own and not be lopsided or fall over.
3.) Start with the body, applying a dab of glue to one of the dogwinkles, preferable in the small opening of the small and press to the side of the cowrie body shell. Repeat 3 more times, once for each leg.
4.) Next apply a small dab of glue the side of the snail shell right by the opening and press against the cowrie body shell. You want to make sure to orient the head so that the spiral of the shell is running counter clockwise.
5.) Last but not least, time for the tail, apply glue to the widest end of the tusk shell and press to the underside of the cowrie shell body. It's up to you how long you want the tail to be. If longer, then apply the glue at the very end, if short, apply the glue mid-tusk. Be sure to press the tusk shell glue into the cowrie shell opening so that it will bond nicely.

That's it! Super cute, great little knick-knack, adorn gifts, zen gardens, potted plants or anything else you can think of!

Tags: glue+gun+crafts, glue+gun+projects, craft+projects, shells, turtles, cute+crafts, animal+crafts