Seashells – Go To Shell

Legend of the Sand Dollar

Sand dollars, dried. — Beautiful pile of sand dollars.

I love this poem. It really gives you so much info in a lovely way. Just to be clear, I didn’t write it! We made this poem into beautiful bookmarks for my nephew and his bride’s Florida wedding reception; guests took them home as a sunny reminder. (Ask me how we made place card holders from seashells and a Dremel tool!)

The Legend of the Sand Dollar

There’s a lovely little legend

That I would like to tell,

Of the birth and death of Jesus

Found in this lovely shell.

If you examine it closely

You’ll see that you find here

Four nail holes and a fifth one

Made by a Roman’s spear.

On one side the Easter Lily,

Its center is the star

That appeared unto the shepherds

And led them from afar.

The Christmas Poinsettia

Etched on the other side

Reminds us of His birthday

Our happy Christmastide.

Now break the center open

And here will release

The five white doves awaiting

To spread Good Will and Peace.

This simple little symbol

Christ left for you and me,

To help us spread His Gospel

Through all eternity.

Bookmarks made from the Sand Dollar Legend poem.

Above is a photo of the bookmarks that we made for the wedding. I got a hole punch from Michael’s Crafts (it’s a Martha Stewart item), that makes a cutout of a sand dollar (or starfish, depending on your view). We glued it onto sparkly paper stock, also purchased at Michael’s. A little hot glue and we were in business. They are so pretty in person.

Double Rainbow and an Imperial Venus

The one good thing about rain and thunderstorms is that they produce shells like crazy, AND rainbows. This double rainbow made its appearance as we were shelling at low tide at Blind Pass. Pretty, right? (That’s my niece, Kaitlyn, making the funny face as she didn’t know I was taking the photo!)

Here are a few of our finds:

While those fighting conchs are nice (and empty!), here is my favorite: an imperial venus.

I’m going to do a post on these elusive shells (at least here on Sanibel, imperial venus clam shells are elusive)! This one is super pretty, and glossy, as it must be newly empty. Ever found anything good under a rainbow?

Hello shellers!

Hi. Here’s a quick intro. My name is Jill and I’m a seashell freak. I love them. I especially love to hunt for them on the beaches of Southwest Florida (or anywhere for that matter). No, I don’t keep live shells. I take a photo of them and gently put them back.

I live in South Florida so I frequent the beaches down this way, from Miami and Islamorada to Marco and Siesta Key. So, if you’re a shell lover like me, follow my blog! I’d love to hear about your finds, too.

I’ll be writing about the different beaches where I shell and what folks are finding there. I’ll also be writing about where to stay and play while you’re in the area. If you have questions, just ask. I’m on twitter @FlaFamilyGuru (trying to get gotoshell at the moment)! Stay tuned.

That big horse conch in the photo was found right behind the West Wind Inn on West Gulf Drive on Sanibel. He went back in the water after his photo.