My Newest Attempt at Creativity or Meet Shelley

There is a new Hobby Lobby near my house (O.K...two towns away but under an hour's drive). It is huge! Immediate sensory overload upon crossing the store's threshold! Any kind of craft project you can imagine the supplies are there to help you make it come true.

The Colonel and I visited Hobby Lobby about a month ago and in one of their endless isles I came across a one-page project booklet about decorating with shells. The booklet was free for the taking. The store has several project booklets in each isle that support the craft items found in that isle. This shell project in the booklet (shown below) got me to thinking I wanted to do something like it.

About two weeks ago The Colonel and I made a day trip to a little town north of us that is known for its antiques. I had my eyes peeled for a bust. I found her at one of the first shops we entered. She was up on a top shelf but not too high for me to reach and when I got her down I saw she was marked at $20...about the price I had in mind when I started shopping for a bust. She was the right size too. She was perfect for what I had in mind.

Shelley, as I now call my creation (yeah, I know, not so creative), is made of ceramic and her previous owner had painted her dress a rusty red color with highlights of gold. They had also painted the band around the base the same color.

I wanted Shelley to be a flat white color (I think it makes her look like she is made of marble), so The Colonel obliged me and spray painted her.

I had purchased some shells from Hobby Lobby and Michael's to supplement those I already had at home and some craft cement. I was ready to begin my shell project. 

As you can see, the first thing I glued to Shelley was a starfish. The directions on the craft cement said to apply some on both surfaces (Shelley and the starfish) and wait two minutes before attaching. Of course I got impatient and tried to stick the starfish on before the time was up...when they say wait two minutes there is a reason for it...the glue was not ready and the starfish began to slip. I then followed the directions (more or less) with the rest of the sea related items I attached to Shelley later.

For every item I glued onto the bust I had to wait two minutes (again, more or less). When I first saw the Hobby Lobby shell project's bust I had every intention of making mine look similar...all those pretty and fantastic shells piled high on top to form the shell-hair but after gluing the first few shells on and seeing how long (and messy) it was going to be I opted to go with fewer, more strategically placed shells. Less is more right? K.I.S.S....Keep It Simple Stupid...right?

Shelley's hair was tied up with a band and I decided to cover that band with the shells.

There was a little chip on Shelley's lacy collar so I covered it with shells...a corsage of sorts.

I am pleased with how Shelley turned out. She adds a little je ne sais quoi to the place.