Disney Little Mermaid Inspired Mermaid Shell Crown
My family recently went to The Hollywood Bowl to watch Disney’s The Little Mermaid Live In Concert. How could I make the show even more magical? I created a mermaid shell crown inspired by Disney’s The Little Mermaid for each of my little mermaids! The mermaid shell crowns were a hit! Read on to learn how to easily make your own mermaid shell crown!
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Supplies Needed
You will want to grab the following items for your mermaid shell crown:
- Tiaras (I used plastic)- Make sure there are combs on each end so that you can anchor the weight of the crown evenly on your head.
- Shells of various shapes and sizes
- Starfish
- Clear and color craft glass (often used in floral crafting)
- Pearl beads
- Gold sparkle spray paint
- Hot glue gun
- Hot glue sticks
DIY Magical Little Mermaid Shell Crown Basics
There were three girls attending Disney’s The Little Mermaid Live to Concert show at The Hollywood Bowl. Therefore, I thought it would be fun to design three different crowns based upon each girl’s style preference. I purchased three crowns that had different shapes and determined which type of shell to use on each crown based upon the base shape of the crown. I will walk you through how I made each one.
General Crown Prep and Tips
- I popped off the jewels that were originally attached to the crowns. A butter knife or flat-head screwdriver can be used to slide under each jewel and pop them off.
- Gold sparkle spray paint was applied to each crown. However, I found that the light pink crown was the easiest to thoroughly cover with gold spray paint.
- Determine what type of design you are going for before purchasing items or gluing them on the crown. Are you going for a natural look? Do you want to go for a tropical or whimsical look? Naturally, this type of planning will make creating the mermaid shell crown much easier down the line.
- Before gluing the shells and accents on the crowns, take some time to see which shells go together, how you want to arrange them, and decide if you want your crown to have shells of varying heights and shapes.
- Hot glue is excellent for attaching the shells and other accents to the crowns.
- Be sure to place hot glue both on the shell AND the crown to make sure that it stays attached. Make sure to place glue on any “open” areas of the crown and the shell to ensure that the shell is as secure as possible.
- Whenever possible, I placed the shells and accents on the “flat” surfaces of the crown. This made it easier to attach the items to the crown.
- Keep in mind that the shells are heavy and the crown is plastic. You want to make sure that the crown will not tip over by making it front-heavy. Also, you want to be sure that the plastic crown is able to hold up the weight of the shells and accessories.
The Unicorn Among the Mermaids
Yes, you read that right. My oldest is a magical unicorn, whether she is under the sea or on land. She insisted that she had to have a unicorn-themed mermaid shell crown for The Hollywood Bowl Little Mermaid Live In Concert show. Can I just say…this child was testing my crafting abilities 😉 But, I prevailed!
The key element was placing a tall long shell for the horn in the center of the crown.
Next, I placed two symmetrical shells on either side of the long shell. The rest of the accents just sort of came together after that.
I unexpectedly added blue glass gems when my daughter said she needed color on the crown that she previously claimed she wanted to look natural (what a contrarian). So, I added blue beads and really love the way this mermaid crown came out.
The Simple Yet Regal Mermaid Shell Crown
There is something to be said for more understated elegance. I knew that I wanted to have at least one crown with a big wide shell as the focal point. My other daughter is all about that bling. So, I decided to use clear glass gems (to emulate diamonds) and pearls. The pearls and gems make me think of Ariel’s grotto, where she has her whose it and what’s its galore 🙂
I simply glued the large shell in the center of a triangular shaped crown. I then surrounded it by a combination of small and large pearl beads.
Ariel and Her Sisters
I placed a large grouping of shells together for this mermaid shell crown. As a result, I think it’s reminiscent of Ariel and her sisters hanging out together during the movie. Also, with the multiple points, I think this mermaid shell crown might be the most representative of the pointy crowns you see throughout the movie.
I placed a medium clam-shaped shell at the center base of the crown. Then, I placed a large pearl bead directly above the clam-shaped shell. The pearl bead served as the anchor for the five shells at the top of the crown. I fanned out 5 similar shaped shells around the pearl, with the largest being at the top center, and the surrounding shells getting symmetrically smaller.
I placed some additional glass beads and shells around the crown for a little more decoration.
What design will you make?
This is a fun DIY project because no two Little Mermaid crowns will look alike. The options are endless for these Disney Little Mermaid Ariel inspired shell crowns!
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