Make a Mermaid Crown

—TRICIA SAROYA

Actress Sonalii Castillo models a mermaid crown in this image by Steve Parke.

Steve Parke

THE RIGHT HEADPIECE C AN MAKE THE MERMAID. HERE IS a stately easy-to-make crown that will make any mermaid look more royal.

TOOLS AND MATERIALS

• Simple plastic adult-size headband, substantial enough to attach shells with glue to it. Double-headband style recommended.
• 3 spiral-shaped shells, one roughly 2 inches tall and the other two about 1½ inches tall
• A wide variety of small shells, including 2 small clamshells
• 2 tiny sand dollars
• 3 strands of costume or thrift store pearls
• Pearl-wired garland, available at a crafts store or online
• Sparkly vintage earring
• An array of sparkly items: crystals, pieces of jewelry, Christmas decorations, etc.
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Heavy-duty diagonal wire cutter

DIRECTIONS

1. Hot-glue the 2-inch spiral shell to the center of the headband.
   

   Tricia Saroya

2. Work out from the center, hot-gluing shells as you go.
   

   Tricia Saroya

3. Continue adding shells, making sure that you leave a tiny bit of room between each shell so that as you put your headband on and it flexes, the shells have room to move.
   

   Tricia Saroya

4. Take apart a few strands of the pearls; add the individual pearls to the shells.
   

   Tricia Saroya

5. Take a piece of pearl-wired garland and cut it into two small pieces. Hot-glue it to the center of the crown.
   

   Tricia Saroya

6. Take a vintage earring and cut off the clip part using the wire cutter. Glue the earring to the top of the center shell.
7. Hot-glue lots of sparkly pieces for added bling.
8. Take loose pearls from thrift store necklaces, and glue them into the empty spaces. Don’t hesitate to keep gluing several layers. Just make sure you leave room so that the headband can flex as you put it on your head.
   

   Tricia Saroya