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I first became interested in shells when we were on a fishing trip on the Muskingum River in Southeastern Ohio, about forty miles from where we live. There we gathered mussel shells and used the "meats" for fish bait. Then we cleaned the shells and brought back the pearly pink and purple ones to make borders for the flower beds.

About two years ago a friend showed me some shell jewelry which she had purchased in the South. I had never dreamed of anything so beautiful being made from shells. Instantly interested, I asked her question after question about how it was made and where to get supplies. She told me as much as she knew and I was determined to learn more.

I looked through many different magazines and finally found an advertisement from a shell supply company. This company sold materials to make pin and earring sets, so I ordered a "dogwood" kit. The kit included a plastic brooch disc, two earring discs, two ear-screws, a pinback and a small assortment of shells.

BEFORE I could start, I had to purchase a pair of tweezers and some clear household cement at the local department store. Then, armed with these new supplies plus a vivid imagination, I set to work. My first efforts were crude and I had to try again and again before some semblance of a pattern was created.

Since the kit only included materials for one pin and earring set, I needed more supplies. So with only shell names to guide me, I ordered more stock including several packages of shells, pinbacks, earscrews, plastic discs and cement. After a time I decided to start on plaques. I bought a wall tile about 4¼ inches square from a local department store.

First, I cemented a hanger (purchased from the shell company) to the back with clear household cement. When this was dry, I turned it over and started on the design.

As I was unfamiliar with the craft in any form, I first made several sketches on paper of the designs I might be able to work out in shell. After several tries, I decided on a simple design which could easily be copied with the shells I had on hand.

Using pink lucine cup shells for petals, white pikaki for centers, pink rice shells for buds, green tear shells around the buds, artificial lily leaves and green wire for stems, a design soon emerged that resembled a gladiolus. Finally, I cemented over the stems a sunset shell for the vase. A coating of clear lacquer gave the shells a shiny and lasting finish and my first plaque was completed.

My older daughter took this plaque to school to show her teacher and classmates and came home with orders for four more of them! So I had gained a market. These four orders were just the start and soon I was making them for all of our friends and neighbors.

In time, I learned the names of more shell companies and ordered a catalog from each of them. I rotated my orders until I found where I could get the best grade of shells at the lowest cost to me. I found that some companies cleaned their shells better, others had prettier colors, and still others had lower prices. So I sent out orders to my own advantage.

AFTER MY start with brooch and earring sets and plaques, I experimented further until I learned to make necklaces, bracelets, and novelties. I also learned to make snell lamps—the night light type with the bulb inside the shell and also the kind with a standard fixture and shade. After working in shell craft for several months, I decided to specialize and really give my best to a few particular items. So I chose plaques, my "sweetheart" necklace and my crescent necklace.

To make my sweetheart necklace—I first cut a length of sterling silver chain to the right size. I used to measure this around my own neckline at first, but soon found that the average person could use either a fifteen-or-eighteen-inch chain. So I always make these sizes unless otherwise specified.

Then I fasten a jump ring to each end and a sterling silver clasp to one of the jump rings. I find the center of the chain and, widening the link a little with my pointed tweezers, I attach a mother-of-pearl heart to this link with a jump ring. I then space four more of the pearl hearts on the chain, making five in all and each the same distance apart. I next cement a tiny shell rose (usually pink, red, or yellow) on each heart with glass cement, as mother-of-pearl has a very glossy surface and ordinary clear cement is not as permanent. I then cement three tiny green tear shells around each rose for leaves. I apply pearl essence in the proper color to each rose and leaf and it is complete.

To make the roses for these necklaces I first take five baby cup shells the same size and cement them in a circle, hinge side up and overlapping each other. Then I take four more of the cup shells and cement them inside the first circle, keeping to the same idea—hinge side up and overlapping each other a little. Last, I place two cup shells together and cement them in the center. The result is startlingly like a rose.

When the completed necklace is "cured out," I place it in a gift box—plastic when available—and it is ready for sale at $2. I do not make a handsome profit on each one as I spend some time on it, put it is very satisfying because of the pleasure derived from creating with my own hands. These sweetheart necklaces have been a fast seller from the time I first made them and I sell all I make. I first sold to friends and relatives with no thought of expanding further. However, these contacts led to their friends and relatives and on and on until orders were coming in regularly.

IT WAS entirely by accident that I started to sell to gift shops. On one of our Sunday drives, we (my husband, two daughters and myself) stopped in a novelty and gift shop about twelve miles from home. In the course of the conversation with the gift vendor, I mentioned that I was especially interested in novelties as I made them myself. He inquired as to the kind of novelties I made and if I ever sold wholesale to shops. I told him that I hadn't even thought of it.

It so happened that in the car I had two pairs of plaques which I used as samples to show my friends and I showed these to the vendor. He was immediately interested and asked if I'd sell them at a price which allowed him room to make a profit.

Doing some rapid mental arithmetic, I sold the two pairs to him at 62 per cent of my usual price. He told me to come back in a week or so and if these sold well, he'd be in the market for more.

In a week's time I returned and he had sold both pairs to tourists. So he looked over my stock and purchased $20 worth—with the promise of more orders in the future. I was elated and thought, "If he will buy, why not try another shop?" So we drove ten miles north on another federal highway until we reached a novelty shop. Noting that he had no novelties in my line, I mentioned to him that I was a shellcrafter and would be willing to sell items to him at reasonable wholesale prices. He looked over my stock and made a $29 purchase and my spirits soared again. Now I was in business for sure. I deliver to these two shops every two weeks and more often if they request, especially during the height of the tourist season.

I found my family's help was indispensable at this time. My husband helped me deliver my wares and my two daughters helped with housework so I could devote more time to this new paying hobby.

I FELT that two shops were all I could supply besides the individual sales at retail prices. However, I decided an advertisement in a hobby publication would do no harm. So I sent out a small advertisement describing my sweetheart necklace as a "beauty of a buy for only $2."

I was amazed at the response and since then, I've filled orders from coast to coast. Of course, I take a little less profit this way, due to postage and wrapping, which I am very particular about. But I still maintain a profit of 50 to 75 per cent on most items.

I now sell to these gift shops, by mail, and to the many friends whom I meet or who come to my home to buy a gift for that "special someone."

Another form of advertising is to wear your own jewelry. I make it a point to wear striking and unusual shell earrings wherever I go. When I receive a compliment on them, I am quick to tell the person who praised them that I make them myself and it almost invariably leads to a sale.

ANOTHER OF my good selling items is the shell flower crescent necklace. To make it, first I take a crescent shaped disc and drill a tiny hole in each end. Then I insert a jump ring in each and fasten a piece of sterling chain to each side, making the necklace fifteen to eighteen inches long. At the ends of the chain, I fasten two jump rings and a clasp.

Now I start on the design itself. I make up eight shell flowers, using five lucine shells for each flower. I place them in a circle as for a rose, hinge side up and with a rhinestone or seed pearl in the center of each. I build up the center of the disc with cotton and clear cement. When this has set a little, I place the shell flowers on the disc in a nice cluster arrangement until all the disc is covered. A coating of pearl essence in the same color as the shells gives it a nice sheen.

When this has dried (it only takes a few minutes) I tip each shell petal with silver (silvering liquid and powder) and the effect is startling. These easily sell for $2 or as a gift set with earrings to match for $3.

Sometimes I make variations of this design by using Venetian pearl shells for the border and flowers in the center, but the silver touch and rhinestones go with most designs.

I HAVE improved my plaque designs considerably since I first started. I find that the oval tile is the more popular, although some still prefer the square type. Since wall tile is rough on the back side, I now cut a piece of felt to fit and cement this on for a smooth finish, next to the wall when hanging.

I make up the flowers for plaques with clear cement, working on waxed paper although some prefer a square of glass as a working surface. I cement the design on the tile with glass cement always as it is permanent and washable.

As to designs—sometimes I use a plastic basket cemented on the tile and filled with shell roses. Other times I use a scallop, a sunset, or a pectin shell for the vase and fill it with shell flowers. I make roses, dogwoods, or mixtures of several kinds of flowers.

The oval plaques sell for $1.50 each by mail and the square ones for $2 a pair. They are slightly less around my home town where no wrapping or postage is involved. Many of these are bought for Christmas, birthdays, weddings, and other special occasions.

During the month of November, 1951, alone, I made over eighty pairs of plaques, not to mention dozens of necklaces, bracelets, and earrings, all selling at retail price. My home was really a beehive of activity.

With every sale goes a guarantee of satisfaction. If for any reason any item gets broken, whether it is my fault or the buyer's, I will repair or replace it free of extra charge. But because I set a high standard on my work, I have very little breakage.

MY WORKSHOP is my roll top desk in the corner of our living room. Here I keep quite a collection of shells. I have two wooden trays with seventy-five compartments in the two of them. I also have several jewelry trays with separate compartments where I keep all the different kinds and colors of shells. I also have drawers full of supplies and have even confiscated a corner of one bedroom for stacking boxes of tile, gift boxes, and "extra" shells.

I devote most of my spare time to my craft—thanks to the understanding and wholehearted cooperation of my husband and two young daughters. I sell all I make except for jewelry I keep for personal use.