As a family we love roaming beaches, hunting for treasures. We particularly love looking for pieces of sea glass. But once we get it home we then wonder what to make or do with the sea glass. We have several containers of collected sea glass ready for us to have a play and experiment with. I have made some pendant jewellery (sea glass jewelry DIY). My husband has been experimenting with ways to create three-dimensional forms.
His first experiments did not quite pan out – although a glue gun worked initially overtime the sculptural form collapsed. Today I am going to share with you his sea glass bowl, which particularly looks lovely when lit with battery operated candles.
How to make a sea glass bowl
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- Selection of small pieces of sea glass
- Small bowl to act as a mould
- Cling film/plastic wrap
- Tacky PVA glue
Start with a small bowl which is going to act as mould, cover with three to four layers of cling film. A large bowl will is not likely to hold its shape.
Using some very tacky PVA start at what will be when finished the top of the bowl (currently face down and therefore the base). Layer up the tacky PVA and place your sea glass pieces to create a smooth edge around the rim.
Gradually build your way up, all around until your reach the top. As you make the flat base pick pieces which are as similar as possible the same depth so you have a flat base once dried.
Allow to dry for a good week, or longer as required. Once you are sure the glue is dry carefully remove the bowl.
You may be able to peel the cling film off from inside the sea glass bowl, but if you can’t don’t worry as it won’t be particularly visible, just trim the cling film to the top of your finished bowl.
We have battery candles in our sea glass bowl which give a little light shining through highlighting the wonderful different colours. If you also love gathering finds at the beach check out my sea glass Christmas decorations or how about a heavyweight doorstop from washed up bricks.
Where can I purchase the sticky film and Pv glue?Went to hobby lobby. They do not have
The cling film is a kitchen product for wrapping food which appears to be called plastic wrap in the US, and the PVA tacky glue I found in a craft shop. I have added Amazon links to the products. I hope this helps, Vicky
It turned out great! But i do have a question, can I put any coating on the outside of the finished bowl for it to feel smooth? Thanks!
that’s an interesting thought – I’m not sure what you could apply to make it even feeling, our sea glass varies a fair amount in thickness. I have never used resin so have no knowledge how it works but it is a product that springs to mind.
Thank you!
This is just gorgeous! I really want to try this out. It must be amazing with light shining through!
What exactly is sea glass?could a person nust use broken glass? Also, is there a way to be able to use it?
Good questions 🙂 Sea glass is broken glass that has been washed lots by the sea, its the equivalent of wood being sanded, the sea softens the edges so they are no longer sharp.You could use broken glass but then you would have sharp edges. Here is a post how to make fake sea glass at home https://www.instructables.com/id/Making-fake-sea-glass-at-home/ Hope it helps, Vicky
My sea glass pieces all start to slide down the bowl before the glue is dried. How can I prevent this?
Do you have the bowl the wrong side up? You definitely need to stack the sea glass on top of each other (like laying bricks) and have a sticky thickish glue – perhaps try a different glue?