Got Shrimp?

A close friend of mine has a friend who heads down to the Outer Banks in NC every year on a 'shrimp run'.  I have gotten a few pounds a couple of times, and because I was out of town, she has cleaned them and frozen them for me!  (Thank You So Much Kathy!!) 

This year, it just happened that I was in town, so....time to learn! I had 27 pounds of shrimp on the way, and had no idea what to expect!

Thanks to you tube, and lots of advice from my friend and the shrimp runners themselves, I rolled up my sleeves, grabbed my gloves and got down to business!

The very first thing I found out was that shrimp have this spike on their heads that is very, very sharp! Gloves and being careful are a must!

I had no idea!! They really are pretty interesting when you check them out! they look a lot different then they do in the bag from the local grocery store! :)

Long antenna and bulging eyes, this was actually very interesting....and lots of fun!....work, but fun!! 

This is the 'throw away', it would be great for making a seafood stock, but I don't have much experience with that, that is a plan for the future!! 

....usually the heads end up to be about 1/3 of them and is thrown away, out of 27 lbs I ended up with right at 19 pounds of shrimp, not too bad!

I found this guy caught up in the cooler, poor thing, he was about the size of a nickel (that's my index finger in the glove next to him.)...not sure what kind of fish it is, looked like he should have been in an aquarium... :(

Fortunately he was the only rider, other than the shrimp.

I cleaned them and bagged them up, and they looked just like they do from the grocery store!

I felt a little challenged at first, but I had a system that worked pretty well....and the added benefit is shrimp whenever we get the urge!  If you get the chance....try it..!!

::Shelllady Hugs!::

Practice, Practice & More Practice

While we were in Ft. Myers I managed to go to the Sanibel Shellcrafters on their normal work days, twice! I am still quite the newbie, but with practice I hope to become a 'Professional' and make beautiful things that will benefit the Community.  I continued making the coquina flowers...

 Adding the crushed shell centers made them more beautiful...

I also learned about adding the crushed shell base and stems....another professional touch.  

I have so much to learn, many, many tips and tricks that make such a difference! I have found that I have quite a heavy hand, too much glue, and even a little impatient! I never realized how difficult this is!


One of the ladies was working on an arrangement and asked me if she could use some of my flowers in it!! Talk about feeling honored! Of course, I was more than happy for her to do so...

Slowly but surely I am going to become one of the Sanibel Shellcrafters, but it is going to take some time and I am going to do all I can to become a 'Professional'.

Since I have been home, I've been thinking about it, so I decided I would practice....so I tried to be creative...

For some reason, the angle that this picture was taken makes the closest scallop look huge, it is symmetrical!

...and since my Mom's Birthday is coming up, I thought I would make her something to put on her door....(She doesn't go online, so don't spoil it for me and tell her about this until after Sept. 1!)  

This is what I came up with....

What do you think??


While I was working with the ladies on Sanibel, I took some pictures of some of the flowers that the ladies had made, these flowers were waiting to be placed into an arrangement...these are just lovely, don't you think?

Aren't these flowers also made out of Coquinas amazing? I don't know if I could EVER make anything this beautiful....but I'm going to try!!

I truly do need some practice, so whenever I can I'm going to do just that and Practice, practice, practice....and hopefully gain a little more confidence so I can make the Sanibel Shellcrafters proud! (Besides, it's GREAT therapy too!)  :)

::Shelllady Hugs::

The Rest of the Story, The Therapy Continued....

The last few days of therapy have been just that, therapy.  I tried early morning at sunset (which is my favorite time for beach therapy), but fairly near high tide....

I tried middle of the day, lots of folks, little lower tide, but lots of wind and murky water....

I found a few small little treasures, and several 'craft' shells... like this little beauty...

I met up with a Shellinator Shelling buddy of mine, (Whose name is also Cheri)! She came in last weekend and we tried other beaches, like Blind Pass and West Gulf, they both had very clear water, and the weather was beautiful! We had a great time and a long early morning walk on these beautiful beaches.

The rest of the time, the shelling wasn't fantastic, but it's always great therapy! 

I did get pretty lucky with the 'flats' (Flat Scallops) this time, I only had found 2 ever and left with several more and lots of pieces!

Cheri and I both found several small shark's eyes, (the quarter is there to show size)...These guys will always be special to me! 

There were also a few small dead sand dollars along the high tide line...

....a first for me at Sanibel was some sea glass!..and a couple of small keyhole limpets...

and a Bittersweet clam shell, (orange shell in center) which we rarely find at Sanibel, they are mostly on the east coast of Florida...

I did find a piece of a Junonia,(spotted piece in center) which is fairly rare and highly sought after...I have yet to find a whole one, but Hubby has!

 I can never resist the colorful little scallops, so many color variations, I just love them!

We have left our paradise in Florida and are home now, back to real life and business as usual, but I still have a couple more posts of pics from this trip!  

Stay tuned!!

::Shelllady Hugs::