How to Make Beachy Hanging Solar Seashell Lights

$5
30 Minutes
Easy

Summer is here and there is no better place to be than at the beach. Here in the midwest though, we are far from any of those beautiful sandy beaches, so it is up to us to bring that beach vibe into our homes.


We spend most of our evenings outdoors whenever the weather permits and have worked very hard to make out patio and backyard our own little paradise, and these beachy little lights fit right in. I especially love the way the light makes the shells glow at night so you don’t ever lose that adorable accent. We put these in the urns we have around our fire pit and they are just the perfect accent even when we don’t have the fire lit.

How to make Hanging Solar Lights


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These sweet summery solar lights are so easy to make and the best part is, they don’t cost much either. Heck, you may already even have everything you need lying around your home. If not, they can be picked up very easily and inexpensively. I even found these glass shades that I used for only a dollar each at my local Restore. I absolutely love this place and we shop there every week. You never know just what you will find there. I already had the shells, paints, glue, and rope, so I had everything I needed with the addition of these very inexpensive solar lights.

Supplies Needed for Seashell Solar Light


  • Globe Shades
  • Solar Lights
  • Rope
  • Seashells
  • E6000
  • Hot Glue
  • Hot Glue Gun
  • Outdoor Paint
  • Small Shepherd Hooks


These are amazingly simple and I was able to complete two of these in under a half-hour, excluding the time it took for the paint and glue to dry completely.


I started out by removing the outer cap stainless steel cap on my solar lights. If yours do not have this, or if they do not come off, that should be fine. This outdoor paint works on multiple surfaces. I painted the darker brown over the cap of the solar light, being very careful not to paint over the solar panel. If you do get some paint on it, don’t worry, once it dries you can scrape it off with your fingernail. Set this aside to dry. Once the dark brown paint was dry I took the lighter brown paint and dry brushed it over the dark brown. If you do not know what dry brushing is, it is simply taking a brush and dipping it lightly into paint and then removing most of the paint before you lightly brush it onto your surface. You do not want a solid layer of paint with this method, just whispy lines that give a weathered look to the painted surface.

While the paint was drying on the solar light cap I took the rope and cut a 10″ length for each light. These will be the hanging ropes for the lights. I glued these on the glass shade, one end on each side of the top rim. To do this I used E6000 for strength and hot glue for quick adhesion so I could keep moving.

After the handles are on, I took the hot glue and ran a thick bead around the indented part of the rim at the top. This is the indented part of the glass where the shade is screwed into the light fixture. I did this so that when I wind the cope around the top the middle layer will not sink down into this. It may look just fine but I wanted my rope to be lever all the way up the light. I let the hot glue set up for a couple of minutes and then started winding my jute rope around the top of the shade, starting just under the area I added the hot glue to. I cut the rope at an angle so that it would lay a bit smoother at the beginning, glued it into place in between the two handles, and started winding it around the shade, using both hot glue and E6000 to secure the rope in place. I wound it three times around the shade and cut the rope off at another angle. I then glued and smoothed it into place. Again, you want the beginning of the rope coil and the end of the rope coil to be centered in between the two handles.

Once the rope was on I took the solar lights and removed them from their posts. This is so easy to do as they pop right off. I then placed the lights onto the top of the shade. I did not want to glue these in because if they were to quit working it would be simple to replace them. I wanted have the light in place before I glued the seashell in place so that it would not end up at an angle that would prevent the light from sitting correctly on the shade. I then used both the E6000 and hot glue to place the shell directly over the area where the rope coil started and stopped. Once the shell is in place your Beach worthy hanging solar lights are done and ready to go outside.


I put them in the urns we have around our fire pit, and they make the perfect accent both day and night. to hand them I used these mini shepherd’s hooks, which are the perfect size for our planters. I love the way these came out. What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Sarah Almond | Salmonde
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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  1 question
  • Tara Eason Tara Eason on Jul 01, 2022

    So I actually have few questions so my first question is it's been my past experience that when I use the glue gun and glue sticks on a DIY project if you used an outside for some reason they don't stay together now I noticed you used E6000 with the glue sticks but in the video you put it together all at once so what could I possibly be doing wrong for it not to be working out for me also my second question is have you tried using larger Globes and if so has it worked out for you?

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  • Stephanie Morris Stephanie Morris on Jun 21, 2022

    I’m going to do this on our new deck on our old country home. I think I will use polished quartz and fools gold around the rim for more of a gold rush feel. ( we live in gold rush country) . It just happens that I recently changed out my light fixtures and have several of these tulip globes laying around! Thank you so much for this great idea!

  • Cynthia Frasier Cynthia Frasier on Jun 07, 2023

    I will be doing this as soon as I return home from visiting my daughter. Awesome idea!


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