I am new to your channel and recently subscribed. I just want to say thank you for taking the time share your journey with us. Your videos are beautiful and peaceful to watch.
i have found that soaking them in a fragrance oil & setting in a dry place on an old towel , not only gives them a great smell . but hardens them as well, check it out !!!
Another sheller gave me that tip recently - to try vinegar. With the next acid dipping round I do I am going to try vinegar at the same time and see how it works. I'm really hoping it will clean up my FCCs!! Thanks so much for watching!
Nice video! I never knew you could seal shells with a mixture of water and Elmer's glue. Have you ever tried mineral oil on shells to seal them? A guy told me on a Facebook post that it works really good. I was also sorry to see the purple urchin got broken. 😔 Maybe you'll find another one that your even more excited about! Thanks for all the great information!
I did clean some shells and then seal them with mineral oil and posted a quick link during the video but it was probably easy to miss: ua-cam.com/video/YB_PHF63f0E/v-deo.html Those shells had been out and drying for quite a while, so simply boiling them worked. Not so much on the urchins! Hope I find more pretty ones too. Thanks for your comment!!
I like your decorating in the BEACH motif. Love it Shell Sister. Love the phone chair and the bubblegum machine too. Love Terri Simmers. Happy Shelling my girl friend.
I always wondered why people who live a few miles to the beach were obsessed with decorating with beach things. NOW I get it :) Thanks so much for watching and learning how to not make yucky urchin soup!
I seal the urchin just to give it a little more oomph. They are sometimes a bit fragile, so I try to protect them with that layer of glue and water. I do not seal my shells, only my sand dollars and urchins 😃
I'm just now seeing this video. I recently found some really small urchins on a beach in France, but they're quite brittle. I think I'm just going to leave them (one still has spines).
Maybe yes, maybe no. I would soak it in water with a splash of bleach first and then let it air dry a while. I'm lucky and almost everything I find doesn't smell!
Someone was kind enough to share that info with me years ago. I would use it on the sand dollars but the urchins I want to keep purple so I don’t introduce any chemicals with those.
If you were to watch any of my other videos you would know I have the upmost respect for sea life. The urchins had already expired when I collected them from the beach, so I can assure you no urchins were "mutilated" :)
I found a washed up urchin today on the beach. Stuck it in my pocket so I could bring it home. I went to the record shop after, and I was telling my friend how bad the record shop smelled. Turns out it was the urchin in my pocket. Boy, they smell horrific.
I think the worst thing I've ever smelled in my life was a decaying sand dollar. Those creatures can STINK! if you take empty/really, really dead ones they won't smell but if there's any body left it will eventually smell really, really bad.
@@SWFBeachLife That's amazing. I've only found urchin shells while diving, and there's never been anything living in them. The critters in the water clean them up pretty well I guess. Thanks for letting me know how to seal them up.
I did have other people suggest modge podge so my understanding is that would work as well. Just be aware that if it dries shiny, your final goodies will also be shiny. I prefer mine to look "natural" or have a matte finish, so I only use one coat of the glue/water mixture.
Yes you sure can but they will probably be a little stinky unless you can clean and soak them in bleach before you get on the plane. I would recommend getting a reusable plastic hard container to try to protect them while traveling. They can be quite fragile!
@@SWFBeachLife If you head out on any rocky beach with tide pools on an extremely low tide, you're bound to find a few live ones, here and there. Just be sure you're not breaking any laws when harvesting- you probably need a fishing license of sorts. Or in my case, drop five bucks at the live seafood business down at the fisherman's wharf, lol.
balzonurchin I do have a fishing license but Lee county is funny with the harvesting. I think I like the creatures too much to kill them! For now I’ll stick to finding the dead ones and making them look pretty. ☺️
@@SWFBeachLife For sale locally, I've seen air plants mounted upside-down in urchin shells, suspended like mini, upside-down hanging baskets that look like jellyfish. No doubt you've probably been there, done that, but it's a neat idea for you in case you haven't. Cheers!
Nope. If they are out there long enough in the surf, waves and sand will help remove the spines but they do die with their spines on. I prefer to collect the ones that are already pretty much cleaned up for me 😃
Im a big Sea Urchins collector and I wanted to warn every urchins collector ! Never boil your sea urchin tests because this can make them more fragile and never apply glue on them because contrary to what one might think, the material of the sea urchin is impregnated with it and becomes very thin
Thank you for the tips! I have had decent luck with the glue on the urchins so of course I'm curious as to why you recommend not painting the urchins with a layer of glue. Is there something else that you've found works better?
@@SWFBeachLife Drowning sea urchin tests in bleach mixed with hot water works very well, however if the test exceeds a certain temperature that is too high, it may break when taken in the hand (I experienced it), and having bought tests of sea urchins having been smeared with glue, the test then became very thin due to the glue which separates the fibers of the sea urchin. Its a pleasure to give some tips I love sea urchins tests and want to help every collectors and you by the way 🤗
@@ZeroxxGod Good to know! I try to just choose really good conditioned ones (I’m spoiled) so I don’t have too much cleaning but I like to know my options. Thank you! 🐚
Hubby..."Why are you watching how to clean a sea urchin, we live in Utah?" Me..."I might find a sea urchin, you never know!" Chances of me finding a sea urchin....less than1%.
The urchins were dead when I found them. It's not illegal to take dead urchins from the beach. And I would love to try Uni but I don't harvest it myself.
Another great day at the beach! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for telling us how to clean these. That’s great to know. Thanks
You are so welcome! Thank you for watching!
Wow.. the gum all machine full of seashells... that was kool, love that cute table❤️
Thank you 🤗
Thanks!
Thank you so much Lori!!!
Thank you again I really enjoy your videos you've got quite the sense of humor. I also love the ocean and its bling.
Well thank you Amanda! And thanks so much for watching 😊
I am new to your channel and recently subscribed. I just want to say thank you for taking the time share your journey with us. Your videos are beautiful and peaceful to watch.
Welcome aboard! I hope you learn something about all the shells and critters I encounter along the way too!
i have found that soaking them in a fragrance oil & setting in a dry place on an old towel , not only gives them a great smell . but hardens them as well, check it out !!!
What kind of oil do you use? I'd be willing to give it a whirl!
I usually clean my shells with vinegar and water, I wonder if that would help with the smell and disinfect them at the same time.
Another sheller gave me that tip recently - to try vinegar. With the next acid dipping round I do I am going to try vinegar at the same time and see how it works. I'm really hoping it will clean up my FCCs!!
Thanks so much for watching!
Nice video! I never knew you could seal shells with a mixture of water and Elmer's glue. Have you ever tried mineral oil on shells to seal them? A guy told me on a Facebook post that it works really good. I was also sorry to see the purple urchin got broken. 😔 Maybe you'll find another one that your even more excited about! Thanks for all the great information!
I did clean some shells and then seal them with mineral oil and posted a quick link during the video but it was probably easy to miss: ua-cam.com/video/YB_PHF63f0E/v-deo.html
Those shells had been out and drying for quite a while, so simply boiling them worked. Not so much on the urchins! Hope I find more pretty ones too. Thanks for your comment!!
I looooove colacting sea shells 🐚👩🏽
Me too I love shelling.
It's like my hobby I love shelling and beach .💙💙💙💙
I like your decorating in the BEACH motif. Love it Shell Sister. Love the phone chair and the bubblegum machine too. Love Terri Simmers. Happy Shelling my girl friend.
I always wondered why people who live a few miles to the beach were obsessed with decorating with beach things. NOW I get it :) Thanks so much for watching and learning how to not make yucky urchin soup!
Ok may be a really stupid question but I gotta ask because I need to know. What is the purpose of sealing the urchin? Do you also seal your shells?
I seal the urchin just to give it a little more oomph. They are sometimes a bit fragile, so I try to protect them with that layer of glue and water. I do not seal my shells, only my sand dollars and urchins 😃
I'm just now seeing this video. I recently found some really small urchins on a beach in France, but they're quite brittle. I think I'm just going to leave them (one still has spines).
They can be SO brittle!
They are pretty. I love the beach.
Great video!
if you just leave the shell air dried in the sun, would the smell still be there after a month?
Maybe yes, maybe no. I would soak it in water with a splash of bleach first and then let it air dry a while. I'm lucky and almost everything I find doesn't smell!
You could try hydrogen peroxide, it's usually recommended for cleaning and brightening shells and bones. Thanks for sharing
Someone was kind enough to share that info with me years ago. I would use it on the sand dollars but the urchins I want to keep purple so I don’t introduce any chemicals with those.
Were the urchins still alive when you mutilated them?
If you were to watch any of my other videos you would know I have the upmost respect for sea life. The urchins had already expired when I collected them from the beach, so I can assure you no urchins were "mutilated" :)
@@SWFBeachLife fair enough but you never said .. all I heard was “use a stick to get its guts out”! So you can see what I meant!
I found a washed up urchin today on the beach. Stuck it in my pocket so I could bring it home.
I went to the record shop after, and I was telling my friend how bad the record shop smelled.
Turns out it was the urchin in my pocket. Boy, they smell horrific.
I think the worst thing I've ever smelled in my life was a decaying sand dollar. Those creatures can STINK! if you take empty/really, really dead ones they won't smell but if there's any body left it will eventually smell really, really bad.
@@SWFBeachLife That's amazing. I've only found urchin shells while diving, and there's never been anything living in them. The critters in the water clean them up pretty well I guess. Thanks for letting me know how to seal them up.
would midge podge work at alternative??
I did have other people suggest modge podge so my understanding is that would work as well. Just be aware that if it dries shiny, your final goodies will also be shiny. I prefer mine to look "natural" or have a matte finish, so I only use one coat of the glue/water mixture.
Why do you need to seal them after?
I seal mine with 1/2 white glue (like Elmers) and 1/2 water. I make that mixture, paint a thin coat on (thicker coats will dry shiny) and viola!
@@SWFBeachLife Thank you, for what purpose do you do that? Just for them to be shiny? Or not stinky? etc.
@@WanderlustButterfly To make them just a little bit stronger to prevent them from breaking. 😀
I'm not sure this is gonna work on my urchin shell barely bigger than a penny...
If it's still intact - I would just leave it be!
Am I able to take these on a plane or no?
Yes you sure can but they will probably be a little stinky unless you can clean and soak them in bleach before you get on the plane. I would recommend getting a reusable plastic hard container to try to protect them while traveling. They can be quite fragile!
how to make them unbreakable??
Unfortunately you can't. Maybe if you put one in a block of resin!
Useful video
Hydrogen Peroxide is really good for bleaching bones (and shells). It doesn't eat away at the material in the same way as Chlorine Bleach will
Someone that preserves bones gave me that tip! I use HP to whiten my sand dollars now.
I clicked this thinking it was for food preparation, lol.
I wish! I’ve heard they’re very good but the ones I find are for collecting 🤣
@@SWFBeachLife If you head out on any rocky beach with tide pools on an extremely low tide, you're bound to find a few live ones, here and there. Just be sure you're not breaking any laws when harvesting- you probably need a fishing license of sorts.
Or in my case, drop five bucks at the live seafood business down at the fisherman's wharf, lol.
balzonurchin I do have a fishing license but Lee county is funny with the harvesting. I think I like the creatures too much to kill them! For now I’ll stick to finding the dead ones and making them look pretty. ☺️
@@SWFBeachLife For sale locally, I've seen air plants mounted upside-down in urchin shells, suspended like mini, upside-down hanging baskets that look like jellyfish.
No doubt you've probably been there, done that, but it's a neat idea for you in case you haven't.
Cheers!
I chuck em in a bucket of water for a week and they come out clean. I’m lazy
Solid plan!
I thought if they had spines they were alive?
Nope. If they are out there long enough in the surf, waves and sand will help remove the spines but they do die with their spines on. I prefer to collect the ones that are already pretty much cleaned up for me 😃
Im a big Sea Urchins collector and I wanted to warn every urchins collector !
Never boil your sea urchin tests because this can make them more fragile and never apply glue on them because contrary to what one might think, the material of the sea urchin is impregnated with it and becomes very thin
Thank you for the tips! I have had decent luck with the glue on the urchins so of course I'm curious as to why you recommend not painting the urchins with a layer of glue. Is there something else that you've found works better?
@@SWFBeachLife Drowning sea urchin tests in bleach mixed with hot water works very well, however if the test exceeds a certain temperature that is too high, it may break when taken in the hand (I experienced it), and having bought tests of sea urchins having been smeared with glue, the test then became very thin due to the glue which separates the fibers of the sea urchin.
Its a pleasure to give some tips
I love sea urchins tests and want to help every collectors and you by the way 🤗
@@ZeroxxGod Good to know! I try to just choose really good conditioned ones (I’m spoiled) so I don’t have too much cleaning but I like to know my options. Thank you! 🐚
Hi. What can be done to preserve them instead of the glue and water solution? Thanks
Hubby..."Why are you watching how to clean a sea urchin, we live in Utah?"
Me..."I might find a sea urchin, you never know!"
Chances of me finding a sea urchin....less than1%.
😂😂😂 There's nothing like being prepared right? And in the off chance you come to Florida and find one, you'll know how to clean it!
🐬🐚
👋 hi😍
i prefer the real sea urchin with spines
Why do this?….first of all it’s illegal…and second you are not even eating the Uni!!!!
The urchins were dead when I found them. It's not illegal to take dead urchins from the beach. And I would love to try Uni but I don't harvest it myself.