Years ago, I pinned a mussel shell wreath I saw from Martha Stewart but could not for the life of me find a tutorial on how to make one. So finally, this year, I decided to make my own!

I ordered 75 mussel shells from Coastal Glamour on Etsy. The shells showed up just days later and were packaged wonderfully! She even threw in some extra shells which I really appreciated because if she hadn’t, I wouldn’t have had enough to finish my wreath!

The only supplies I needed were a 20″ wire frame wreath, hot glue, and the shells. I started with the middle row of the frame, gluing the bottom of the shells only and stacking the next shell so that they slightly overlapped.

My advice here is to look at the way the shells are angled. Some angle to the right, and some to the left. Try to get each row of shells angling in the same direction for a more cohesive look. 

Once I finished the middle row, I moved on to the outer rows. I changed the direction of the outer rows to add some visual interest. This also made placing them on the wreath frame much easier. 

For the inner row, I angled the shells slightly in, as pictured here. 

Surprisingly, this wreath was one of the quicker ones I’ve made and extremely light! I watched a movie while gluing and was done in no time! I bought some red white and blue ribbon from Hobby Lobby and hung it up on my front door!  

If I made this wreath again, I would definitely buy a larger wire wreath frame as well as more shells. I think the mussel shells used in the Martha Stewart wreath were much larger. I even think a foam wreath might add more dimension to the overall look of the wreath. That being said, I’m thrilled with how it turned out and think it adds a great summertime welcome to my front door!

Happy Summer crafting, friends!