Make a Mermaid Crown

You've just bought or finished your mermaid costume. All that you need is the crown. A regular princess crown won't do, however, and buying the perfect one at a store can be as difficult as finding a unicorn. Luckily, making mermaid crowns at home is easy. All you need are some shells, a tiara, hot glue gun, some paint, and a handful of embellishments. With a little bit of time and creativity, you can have a crown that will be the envy of all the mermaids in the sea.

Steps

Preparing the Shells and Embellishments

1. Design your crown. Do you want a large, fancy crown or a simple tiara? Do you want it to look natural or fantasy-like? Take a look at the different types of shells, and see how they could be put together to form a crown. For example, pointy turret shells that look like unicorn horns would make great points for your crown. Starfish, sand dollars, or scalloped shells could make pretty centerpieces.
2. Gather the shells for your crown. Try to get an assortment of shells, such as: scalloped/fan shaped shells, pointy "unicorn horn" turret shells, conch shells, and snail/cat's eye shells. You can also get some sand dollars or a star fish for the center. It would also be a good idea to buy some embellishments and fillers, such as: pearl beads, glass beads, sea glass, and tiny rhinestones. You can use these to fill in any gaps.
   • You don't have to head out to the beach to get shells. You can buy bags of them from the craft store.
3. Paint the shells with pearly acrylic paint, then let them dry. You can paint all of the shells the same color, or you can use different colors. Purple and teal are great options, but you can use other colors too, such as pearl, pink, or gold. You can also skip painting the shells if you want a natural-looking crown.
   • You may need to apply several coats of paint. Allow each coat to dry first before you do, however.
   • If you want something more natural, but still shimmery, paint your shells with a single, light coat of pearl-colored paint.
4. Add some glitter, if desired, then let the shells dry. Paint your shells decoupage glue (ie: Mod Podge), then sprinkle extra-fine scrapbooking glitter over them. Tap off any excess glitter. For something more subtle, outline the shells' edges, ridges, and grooves with liquid glue, then add the glitter.
   • Use a glitter color that matches the shell to prevent any clashing. Iridescent is also a good option.
   • You don't have to add glitter to all of your shells. You can leave some un-glittered.

Preparing the Tiara Base

1. Choose a plastic or metal tiara that fits you. Tiaras made out of hard, study plastic work great. You can also use a metal one as well. Avoid tiaras made from cheap, flimsy, or brittle plastic, as they may not hold up well to the weight of the shells.
   • Make sure that the tiara has combs at the end. This will help anchor the crown when you wear it.
2. Remove any embellishments on the tiara. If the tiara has any clunky rhinestones or fuzzy boas, you will need to remove those first. If the tiara has any protruding pieces that you feel will interfere with your final design, cut them off with a craft blade; you can also try carefully breaking them off instead.
   • If you have a metal tiara, you can try cutting parts off with wire cutters.
   • If you really like a certain embellishment, save it so that you can glue it on later.
3. Wrap metallic pipes cleaners around the tiara to completely cover it. This will give the shells something to stick to. If your tiara has lots of curly designs, be sure to wrap the pipe cleaners around each individual design. You will end up with a tiara that looks like it's made out of pipe cleaners. Don't use the standard fuzzy pipe cleaners.
   • Use colors that match your shell colors. If you have lots of warm colors, use gold. If you have lots of cool colors, try silver, blue, or green.
   • For a more natural looking crown, use jute cord instead. Secure both ends with hot glue.
   • Another option would be to use thin, satin ribbon. Choose a color that works with your design, and secure both ends with glue.

Assembling the Crown

1. Glue down the focal shell. Choose a large, scalloped shell, starfish, or sand dollar as your focal point. Glue it down in the center of the crown with hot glue or industrial strength glue.
2. Add some spikes along the sides. Pick out your pointy shells, and glue then along the edges of your crown. Make sure that the opening of the shell is facing the tiara's band; this way, the hole won't be visible in the end. For a more interesting effect, glue the taller shells towards the center of the tiara, and the shorter ones towards the ends.
   • You can add as many spikes as you want. You can have them go from the focal point all the way to the combs, or you can have just a few on each side.
   • For a more interesting look, alternate between turret and conch shells.
3. Create more layers. At this point, the base of your crown is done. You can make it look more interesting by adding more layers. For example, you could glue some clam or snail shells along the base of your crown. A smaller clam shell to either side of your focal point would also look pretty.
   • If you used a sand dollar as your focal point, consider gluing down a tiny starfish in the middle.
4. Fill in the gaps with fillers, if desired. You may have some gaps between your shells, especially along the bottom. You can fill these in with small items, such as glass beads, pearl beads, or tiny rhinestones. Bits of sea glass would also look pretty.
5. Finish off with the details. Your crown is essentially done at this point, but if it feels like it's missing something, consider adding some rhinestones. Use super glue to attach tiny rhinestones to the shells. You can put the rhinestones around the edges of the shells or down the ridges. If you used a starfish, you could add rhinestones down the middle of each arm.

Tips

• Most types of acrylic paints dry a shade or two darker. Keep this in mind when picking your colors.
• Don't get carried away; sometimes, less is more.
• Avoid using too many heavy items, or your crown may become uncomfortable to wear.
• If your crown is too heavy, it may not sit properly on your head. You may have to use bobby pins to help secure it.
• Match the crown to your mermaid costume.
• Choose a color scheme, such as warm colors or cool colors.
• Try to use higher-quality materials. Chunky glitter, large rhinestones, and plastic beads will make your crown look too costume-y.
• Add some other items to your crown, such as pieces of fishnet. Scraps of crinkled green silk can also look like seaweed!
• If you want a more natural-looking crown, you can buy fake, green fish tank plants, and add that to your crown.
• Try basing your crown off of a specific region, such as: a tropical sea, the deep sea, or an arctic ocean!

Things You'll Need

• Metal or plastic tiara
• Metallic pipe cleaners
• Hot glue gun and hot glue sticks
• Pearlescent acrylic paint
• White, liquid glue or decoupage glue
• Martha Stewart Paints
• Paintbrushes
• Seashells, starfish, sand dollar, etc
• Extra-fine scrapbooking glitter
• Rhinestones, pearls, and other embellishments

Sources and Citations

See also

• Make Your Own Fake Grill
• Make Handmade Jewelry
• Make Fingerless Gloves
• Make an Indian Headdress
• Make Lanyards
• Make Silk, Satin or Ribbon Roses
• Gold Plate
• Make Ankle Bracelets
• Make Chainmail
• Cast Jewelry

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