Best Florida Beaches for Shelling

I took some relatives to Sand Key, FL, just south of Clearwater Beach on August 1.  This beach has a lot of common shells you find at many beaches along the Gulf Coast of Florida.  I especially wanted to stock up on venuses and cay shells (I think that is what they are called.  If I’m wrong, someone please correct me!)

I use these shells to make flowers on my seashell crosses, seashell trinket boxes, and seashell flowers in pots. 

For more great seashell items visit www.seashellcrafter.com.

Mother’s Day is the day to celebrate what the women role models in our lives have done for us.  Make sure you let all the “Moms” in your life know they are appreciated.

 At http://www.seashellcrafter.com/, we create beautiful handmade gifts that are always special because they are one of a kind.  We specialize in seashell crafts, but also have a variety of jewelry items, including our Crocheted Ribbon Yarn necklaces, bracelets, and anklets.

Go to http://www.seashellcrafter.com/ to view our entire selection. 

 Seashell Crosses for Mother’s Day

What a beautiful way to display your faith! The Heavenly Seashell Cross is made with a wooden base and has a small round cut out on the back for easy hanging with a nail. The center of the cross is decorated with a flower made of seashells. The face of the cross has a colorful variety of seashells all hand picked from Florida beaches. The sides of the cross are sprinkled with crushed seashells. The cross measures 4.5 inches across and 8 inches long. The Heavenly Seashell Cross makes a thoughtful Christian gift that will surely be cherished.

Seashell Jewelry Boxes for Mother’s Day

Seashell boxes come in many shapes and sizes.  They are either finshed with a wood stain or a colored sand-like texture.  The interior of the boxes are either wood stained or have a red velvety liner.  If the box does not already have a  liner it can be added for $2 more. 

Crocheted Ribbon Yarn Necklace for Mother’s Day

Available in 7 vibrant colors combinations and bracelets and anklets to match.  The crocheted necklace has been a best seller since we introduced it.  Its trendy design makes it look like beads but it is very light-weight and comfortable to wear. 

 Many times, we can customize your Mother’s Day gift.  Go to www.seashellcrafter.com or email us at seashellcrafter@hotmail.com.

Here’s an update on my favorite beach for shelling, Shell Key. Its been a while since I’ve been to any beach to collect seashells so my boyfriend, David, and I went to Shell Key for my birthday. We collected almost 3 five gallon buckets of shells!

There weren’t as many sand dollars as last time, but we found about a dozen. There were lots of surf clams, scallops, venuses, arks, cockles and more. Check out the picture of all the shells after they were sorted.

The most exciting part of our day trip was right before the ferry came to pick us up. David was looking for sand dollars in the water. I heard him yell something so I walked over to see if he was finding anything good. He showed me a handful of our favorite shells, Lettered Olives. And they were the biggest ones I had ever seen, measuring in at about 3 inches long! He said that the water kept washing them up and he could barely catch them all. We collected about 30 and then decided to walk closer to where we would be picked up by the ferry.

A boat had docked and there was a man standing next to it. Right next to his foot was a large Lightning Whelk in perfect condition. I ran up and asked, “Is that your shell?”

He said, “No, you can have it.”

As I picked it up, it seemed heavier than what it should be and I knew it was still alive. I don’t take live shells from the beach, but I had David take some pictures before I threw it back.

I was reminded of two things that day.

1. Shelling is better in the winter months (although, 3 buckets of shells isn’t bad!)

2. Always reapply sunscreen!! Sunburns are not something you want to take home.

For those of you who are like me and love going to the beach to find seashell treasures, this is for you…

Here are my favorite 5 beaches to go shelling on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

A few things to keep in mind when looking for shells are:

*Go at low tide.  More shells will have washed up on the shore and you will be able to sort through them and find the good ones.

*If possible, go to the beach the day after a good storm.  The choppy water will wash up more shells.

*Go in the winter months.  There are less people on the beach to collecting shells and winter storms are good for bringing shells ashore.  Be sure to wear sunscreen even if the temperature is low!

Top 5 Beaches on the Gulf Coast

#5 Fort Desoto
Fort Desoto has been named America’s Top beach by TripAdviser for a few years in a row.  It is a state park where  you can go fishing, swimming, biking, camping, and shelling.  I went to this beach last year in May and there were many shells washed up on the beach to collect.  Calico scallops, fragile surf clams, prickly cockles, and sunray venuses were easy to find.

#4 Turtle Beach
Turtle Beach is only a few miles south of the white crystal sanded beaches of Siesta Key.  The amazing thing to me is how dark and coarse the sand is on Turtle Beach.  This beach is one of my favorite beaches because there is usually very few people there and there are lots of Calico Clams.  On most beaches these bright colored shiny clams are a rare find, but on Turtle Beach you can many washing ashore and even more if you dig in the dark sand.  Kitten paws, scallops, slipper shells, and venuses are also common on Turtle Beach.

 #3.  Sanibel Island

Sanibel Island is usually rated number one for collecting shells.  It does have an abundance of many types of shells, but because of its fame for collecting shells, many of the shells are picked over.  I have heard that shelling on some of the barrier islands is fantastic, but I haven’t been out there yet.  Getting to Sanibel at low tide is your best way of finding the lesser common shells.  One of my favorite spots on the island is at the southern tip near the lighthouse.  I was lucky to have been there at low tide on a cool winter morning.  On the shore line, where island turns toward the pier, I was able to gather many murexes and scotch bonnets.  Also, furthur up on the beach there were piles and piles of shells where I found many augers, lettered olives, and small conchs.

#2 Honeymoon Island
If you don’t mind the rocks, Honeymoon Island is a great place to find seashells.  You can dig through the piles of shells on the store or watch the waves wash of some seashell treasures.  You can find a huge variety of shells on this beach, but most will be small unless a storm has just came through.

#1 Shell Key
This secluded island is located next to the southern tip of St. Pete beach and can only be accessed by boat.  There is a ferry that will take you over for about $22.  The fee is worth it if you want a lot of shells.  My mother and I went in February and we took home 9 grocery bags and 1 five gallon bucket full of shells.  On top of that we collected over 300 sand dollars.  You can find many large shells including Van Hynings cockles, lightning whelks, fighting conchs, lettered olives, sunray venuses, pen shells, large fragile clams, and many more.

Tell us your favorite beach to find seashells.

Good luck shelling!

To see hand made seashell gifts and decor from the shells I have collected, go to www.seashellcrafter.com.