🩵 Seashell & Orbeez Suspended Display Jar
- Raquel Bernhardt
- Oct 6
- 3 min read
A beautiful way to showcase your favorite shells — suspended like treasures in water.
Hello everyone! Today we’re showing you how to create this gorgeous seashell display suspended in a glass vase using deco beads, also known as Orbeez or water beads.
This is one of our favorite coastal crafts because it makes your shells look like they’re floating underwater — without the mess of a real tank!
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🪶 Materials You’ll Need
(As an Amazon Associate, we may earn from qualifying purchases — thank you for supporting our coastal crafts!)
🩵 Here’s all the stuff we used:
Orbeez (clear or blue): https://amzn.to/4bgQocO
Pearls: https://amzn.to/4dGrR2h
Glass jars with lids (preferred): https://amzn.to/44NCo7F
Distilled water: https://amzn.to/3wEY8pO
Blue glass gems: https://a.co/d/ap3SqkX
Extras:
Assorted seashells (clams, scallops, olives, sand dollars, lightning whelks, sea stars, etc.)
Clear gloss acrylic spray (we used Rust-Oleum)
Jumbo glitter bits (picked up from Dollar Tree)
Optional: floating candles, ribbon or twine for decoration
🫙 We prefer jars with lids to help prevent mold and keep your display fresh longer.
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🌊 Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Soak Your Orbeez
We let our Orbeez soak overnight, but a minimum of 4 hours is required before they reach full size and are ready to use. Once fully expanded, they’ll be bouncy, clear, and ready for layering.
2. Start Layering
Pour a small layer of Orbeez into the bottom of your jar or vase.
Next, add a handful of imitation pearls (we used some from Hobby Lobby — about $6.99, often on sale).
Then sprinkle in a few turquoise glass gems for color and sparkle.
3. Add Your Shells
Begin layering your favorite shells. We started with clams from Estero Island (a night shelling favorite!) and added some purple and red scallops for a pop of color.
After your first shell layer, add more Orbeez to cover them completely before adding more shells.
4. Protect Fragile Shells
For sand dollars and sea stars, coat them ahead of time with clear gloss acrylic spray (we like Rust-Oleum). This helps prevent them from getting brittle or disintegrating in the water.
5. Keep Layering
Continue alternating shells, pearls, gems, and Orbeez. We added a lightning whelk (after giving it a good clean!), then a giant olive shell, and more Orbeez to cover everything.
6. Add Some Sparkle
Before finishing, sprinkle in a few jumbo glitter bits from the Dollar Tree and another small handful of scallops.
Top off with one more layer of Orbeez to make sure everything is covered.
7. Pour the Water
Slowly pour distilled water into the jar, watching as the shells, pearls, and gems appear suspended in the water. It looks amazing — everything becomes crystal clear and beautifully layered.
8. Finishing Touches
If you’d like, use tweezers to adjust the shells until they look perfect.
Add a few more bits of glitter for that floating shimmer effect.
For an optional touch, we love placing floating candles on top — it creates a relaxing, beachy glow when lit.
Finally, secure your lid (if your jar has one) to help keep dust and mold out.
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🌴 Display & Enjoy
Place your finished display on a windowsill, bathroom shelf, or anywhere the light can shine through. It’s such a pretty way to showcase your shell collection — and the glitter sparkle through the beads looks magical!
We’d love to see your version if you try this project! Share your photos in our Facebook group:
Florida Shelling Fanatics 💙
As always — happy shelling, happy crafting, and thank you for watching!
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💡 Materials Recap
Here’s everything we used again for easy reference:
Orbeez: https://amzn.to/4bgQocO
Pearls: https://amzn.to/4dGrR2h
Glass jars with lids: https://amzn.to/44NCo7F
Distilled water: https://amzn.to/3wEY8pO
Blue glass gems: https://a.co/d/ap3SqkX
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