DIY Recycled Shell Collector Bag

This summer, have you heard the words every parent dreads? The 'I'm bored!!!' wail. Yeah, it drives me crazy. When it's too hot to go outside (and there's no pool available) you need distractions.

And before I could crack open the new book Project Kid: 100 Ingenious Crafts for Family Fun, my daughter snatched it up and headed to her room. To do a 'project.' On her own.

Happiest day ever? Perhaps!

All of author Amanda Kingloff's projects are clever but still simple for tiny hands (and with a blessedly clean aesthetic that won't make you cringe to show them off). Most Project Kid crafts use supplies you have on hand or recycled materials too. And if you don't have them, you can easily improvise. Trust me, your kids are genius at this. No crepe paper for a collage? Cut up mommy's entire stash of ribbon instead! And it turned out amazingly cool.

If you're going to the beach this month, a shell collector is the perfect project and a great way to upcycle mesh produce bags. Plus, really, could this be any cuter?

Supplies needed:

• Mesh produce bag - you know, the ones that bags of oranges or lemons come in?
• Small 5-inch embroidery hoop
• Ribbon
• Glue
• Beads to decorate
• Fishing line or string

Little hands can do most of the work on this project.

Step 1

Cut the top off of the mesh bag (not the closed bottom part!) and insert the net bag into the embroidery hoop ring.

Step 2

Glue a ribbon handle to the outside of the embroidery hoop. Cover by gluing ribbon around the outside of the hoop.

Step 3

Time to decorate! We strung a few beads onto fishing line and then mommy tied them to the bag.

Now to figure out what to do with all the shells! Surely there's a project for that?