Introduction: Bowl of Shells
Make your own decorative and food-safe bowl using just pistachio shells and some Elmer's glue!
Step 1: Eat a Bunch of Nuts
The first step is just to eat a bunch of nuts or somehow acquire a lot of shells. Make sure to save your shells if you are eating them. You might need about 100 shells to make a small bowl and maybe 250 for a larger one.
Step 2: Materials
To do this project, all you really need is some pistachio shells (or any shell really) and a bottle of white glue or other non-toxic glue.
Step 3: Clean Shells
A good way to clean your shells, particularly if they are very salty, is to boil them. This step is not necessary but makes for a nicer finished product.
You can do this all with your hands, but if you have it available you can use an existing bowl or tuper-ware as a mold and you can line the mold with suran-wrap or parchment paper for easy clean up.
Mix a handful of nuts with about a Tabelspoon of glue to create your mixture. Once the mixture is tacky, push your mixture into your mold or desired shape.
Step 4: Finishing
Let your mixture dry in the mold for a couple of hours. If you'd like to speed up the process, let the glue dry under a fan.
Remove the bowl from your mold.
Locate weak spots and touch them up with small amounts of glue.
Dry again, and you have a bowl!
Step 5: And You Are Done!
Enjoy your bowl! It is safe to put your food in, because it was made with non-toxic glue... just don't put it in the dishwasher or microwave!
Try to make it with other types of shells or different shapes!