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Crafts made from shells. Coconut crafts What to do with coconut shells

Many aquarists are offered ideas for decorating housing for fish using various compositions. This topic is constantly open, as the space for imagination is constantly expanding. The aquarium landscape can be diversified using natural materials and plants. What about coconut?

Coconut in an aquarium is an extremely useful and necessary item that will delight your fish. We can assume that the house for animals is ready, you just need to spend a small amount of money and physical effort. Coconut shells do not rot in water, are easy to process and do not contain harmful impurities. With its help you can make useful crafts with your own hands.

Coconuts have negative buoyancy and have a beautiful appearance, so fish and crustaceans will be happy. The following aquatic inhabitants will accept coconuts as personal shelter for aquariums:

Small cichlids (Apistogramma, Etroplusus, Liliupi-lamprologus, Tropheus, Nanochromis, Palvicachromis and others);
Catfish Loricaridae;
Crayfish and shrimp;
Boots;
Plecostomus, Panaka and Ancistrus.

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Coconut shell decorations

Everything that is made independently always has an original and unique shape. In the process of decorating an aquarium, you can gain creative inspiration and create even more. You can make decorations from scrap materials, but it is important that they do not release harmful toxic compounds into the water. It is better not to use materials with carbonates - they can rot and increase the level of water hardness. Granite and basalt can protect the lives of fish, but coconuts are perhaps one of the few materials that is affordable and safe.

Pots for aquatic plants, shelters for crustaceans and fish, grottoes and caves are made from coconut shells. This material does not deteriorate and has a natural appearance.

To make beautiful houses, you need a few ripe and high-quality coconuts, a knife, a hacksaw for cutting metal, pliers and a drill.

See how catfish like the coconut grotto.

How to properly prepare coconuts for finishing

Before preparing the material for the aquarium, you should crack the nut and cut it correctly, giving it the required shape. To prevent the shell from deteriorating and falling apart into small fragments, you should carefully select the tools. It is most convenient to use a hacksaw, a hammer and a drill. Further, other tools can be used to process the nut.

All coconuts have a so-called “back part”, on which there are three holes covered with film. By shaking the coconut, you can hear the sound of splashing milk - the “calling card” of a fresh coconut. If after shaking such a sound is not detected, this is a clear sign of an acidified or rotten product; it is better to throw it away without eating it. It is especially not suitable for aquarium fish due to its rigidity.

Using a sharp and thin object (a drill is very convenient), these holes need to be opened by pouring or drinking the milk contained in the coconut. After freeing the nut from liquid, you can safely begin processing. But first, decide what you want to make – a fish house or a boat. If the first, you should separate the back part of the nut, if the second, cut it along the line of connection of all parts.

If you want a result with straight lines, use a hacksaw; if you are happy with chaotic pieces of irregular shape, use a hammer.

How to make coconut houses

A coconut house is a wonderful composition, the manufacture of which requires physical diligence and precision. Coconut shells are 3-5 mm thick, so decide on the width of the hole in advance. Please note that after separating the back part, shavings will fly and the pulp will have to be scraped out. A half-sawn nut will also look ugly, so here you need to find a “golden mean”.

Using a hacksaw, “saw off” part of the coconut with three closed holes, after which it will appear white pulp. It is not soft, and it is not so easy to get it out even with a good kitchen knife. First, decide what you need the coconut meat for - for food or other culinary needs. Secondly, find a good knife with a thick blade, gradually peeling the pulp away from the walls of the nut. This is best done by making a cut towards the center of the coconut, and making the same cuts around the circumference. The “procedure” will take a lot of time.

Watch a great master class from Good Dad

Coconut boat

At first glance, it’s easier to make such beauty, but even here it will take time and effort. Holding the coconut in your hand, find the lines that connect the halves of the nut. If you saw these lines, you can get two parts that resemble a boat. It is more difficult to split coconuts lengthwise than crosswise; the hacksaw blade may slip, injuring your hand.

It is easier to make cuts along the line of connection of the shell walls incompletely, by splitting the nut completely with a hammer. It is much easier to remove the pulp from such a coconut.

Watch the fish swim around the coconut grotto.

Preparing coconut for the aquarium

Before placing sawn coconuts for the aquarium, it should be soaked in water for several days (changing the water every 12 hours), after cleaning the inside of any remaining pulp using a hard kitchen sponge or steel wool. After lying in the water for a few more days, it is perfectly cleaned. If you leave the nut in the water or boil it in water for 10 minutes, it will no longer stain the aquarium water, and the material itself will not harm the fish.

There is an opinion that after placing a coconut in an aquarium, the health of the fish worsens. This may be due to the chemicals with which the product was treated before being served on the counter. But during boiling, some microbes and toxins are destroyed, so there are already prerequisites for trust. In addition, few people have come across such low-quality coconuts - commodity experts are well versed in the products.

After all the procedures, the coconuts can be cooled by carefully lowering them to the bottom of the aquarium. You can make a house covered with Java moss - it will look organic and attractive. But keep this in mind: large fish can get stuck in a coconut, so be guided by the size of the aquarium animals.

Coconuts for an aquarium are an excellent decoration that creates the presence of a tropical pond indoors. The small underwater world will delight both the inhabitants of the aquarium and everyone who loves to contemplate it.

What crafts can be made from coconut shells.

Coconut shell is a truly fantastic material. IN in capable hands master, it easily turns into a practical and useful thing of extraordinary beauty - a glass, jug, box, vase, house for aquarium fish or melodious bells.

Coconut palms, as we know, grow on tropical coasts, so tourists who have visited Sri Lanka, the Maldives or the blessed island of Cuba often bring coconut crafts and traditional local symbols - figurines of monkeys or elephants - as souvenirs.

In our northern country, coconuts have long ceased to be unheard of, which means it will not be difficult to learn this strange craft - creating your own unique “miracles” from coconut shells, which will decorate the interior and become a wonderful gift for friends and family.

Directly coconut. By the way, a coconut is not a nut at all, but a fruit seed, but for simplicity we will call it a nut - since such a definition has already been assigned to it. So, the nut is round or ellipsoidal, the main thing is that the shape is as symmetrical as possible. In the store you can buy both already peeled coconut and in a fibrous shell - coir.

Tools for working with wood and metal: hacksaw, corkscrew, hand drill, emery, milling cutter...

Operating principle

The coconut shell itself is quite hard and durable - if you have ever had to open a coconut, you know how difficult it is. Therefore, we cut off the top of the coconut, saw it lengthwise or crosswise using a hacksaw. Making an even cut is not so easy, you need to carefully monitor it. Or make a special form - from a sheet of plywood, for example, with a hole of the required diameter - securely fix the coconut in it and only then saw it.

You can clean the coconut from coir both before cutting and after using a grinding attachment. The next step is to remove the internal contents of the nut; a regular knife is suitable for this: we separate the copra (pulp) from the thin woody shell. It is easier to do this if the coconut is slightly “stale”: then the copra inside the nut dries out, shrinks and freely lags behind the walls. We clean the coconut from the inside to perfect condition and only then begin to create our plans.

Coconut crafts - let's get down to practice

Candlestick, bowl, pencil holder- the simplest thing you can create with your own hands from coconut. We cut off the top of the coconut or saw it in half, and glue a leg cut from wood to the bottom with epoxy glue, or, more organically, another (smaller) part of the nut. The edges on top can be left smooth, or you can give them a decorative unevenness with pliers or cut them out like a flower - in a word, as your imagination dictates.

Cup, pot or jug with lid- in the same way, we saw the coconut crosswise, fastened the bottom, and for the cup we made a handle from wood or a half ring from a smaller coconut. We make a lid for the jug like this: either it will be the cut “top” of a nut - a simple option, or we take a part from another coconut, make a hole in the middle through which we will fill the vessel, and turn it over with a “boat”. We attach the “boat” to the neck of the jug, and on the outside we mask the joint with a rope, cord, or a strip of leather.

We close the hole on top with the top of the coconut, and glue a handle to it so that there is something to lift the lid with. It will turn out very original, the key is to maintain the proportions.

Hanging bowl for flowers. Large size coconut:

divide in half,
drill in three or four places along the upper edge of the hole,
we thread a decorative cord through them,
connect the ends of the cord at the top.

We fill it with peat, plant a flower, and hang the flower pot in a convenient place.

Bracelet It’s quite simple to make: we cut a round ring from a suitable size coconut - so that the hand can pass freely - with processed edges and decorated with carvings.

Coconut handbag. There are several ways to make a unique ethnic style bag. First: cut the nut into two identical halves, drill holes in each at an equal distance along the entire edge and sew a “zipper” to them. Additionally, we attach the handles - it’s good if they are made of some decorative material. Your bag is ready for summer! True, it resembles a ball.

The second method is almost exactly the same, with the only difference being that we do not divide a large coconut in half, but cut off only the upper and lower parts. Or the sides. We sew it with a cord or sew on a “zipper” - the handbag will turn out flatter.

Another option: cut off the top of the coconut - enough for the hand to pass through, again make holes around the perimeter and this time sew on a beautiful fabric that will be gathered and tied with a lace.

A little practice - and your talent for creating crafts from overseas walnuts will be the envy of the best coconut craftsmen for whom the Dominican Republic or Thailand are famous. You can show your originality in the decorative elements of products.

Decoration

The surface of the coconut, cleared of the fiber shell, is polished and polished to a shine. Then you can leave it in its natural form as is or decorate it with carvings, if you have sufficient skills for this - you will need a thread-cutting cutter and other tools. We coat the top of the craft with varnish.

In another way: we glue overlay elements - for example, carved from leather or wood - beads, shells, or wrap the coconut in a pattern with thread or cord.

Coconut that has not been peeled from coir also looks beautiful. On top you can apply a design with vegetable paints or cut out any motif or picture directly along the fiber.

What crafts can be made from coconut shells.

Coconut shell is a truly fantastic material. In the skillful hands of a master, it easily turns into a practical and useful thing of extraordinary beauty - a glass, jug, box, vase, house for aquarium fish or melodious bells.

Tools for working with wood and metal: hacksaw, corkscrew, hand drill, emery, milling cutter...

Operating principle

Coconut crafts - let's get down to practice

We close the hole on top with the top of the coconut, and glue a handle to it so that there is something to lift the lid with. It will turn out very original, the key is to maintain the proportions.

Hanging bowl for flowers. Large size coconut:

divide in half,
drill in three or four places along the upper edge of the hole,
we thread a decorative cord through them,
connect the ends of the cord at the top.

We fill it with peat, plant a flower, and hang the flower pot in a convenient place.

Bracelet It’s quite simple to make: we cut a round ring from a suitable size coconut - so that the hand can pass freely - with processed edges and decorated with carvings.

Decoration

In another way: we glue overlay elements - for example, carved from leather or wood - beads, shells, or wrap the coconut in a pattern with thread or cord.

Coconut that has not been peeled from coir also looks beautiful. On top you can apply a design with vegetable paints or cut out any motif or picture directly along the fiber.

In the hands of a master, even an ordinary coconut shell will become an original craft. Indeed, coconut shells are an interesting material for creativity. You can buy coconut in absolutely any store. And after you enjoy it, you shouldn’t throw away the shell. Below we will offer you beautiful and unusual crafts made from coconut shells.

What can you make from coconut shells?

Coconut shell lamps.

You can create completely different crafts from coconut shells. They can be simple or complex. A simple one is an aquarium house. But original lamps can be considered complex. Such products will fill any room with beautiful light and create an extraordinary atmosphere in it. Check out some ideas for lamps you can make from coconut.

Coconut saucepan.

In this article we will tell you about what crafts to make from coconut shells. Coconut shells can have unexpected uses in life. For example, you can make a saucepan.

For this purpose, take a large coconut. Cut off the top of it. Do not throw away the top. It will be the lid.

Make sure to scoop out all the meat from the coconut.

Glue the handles to the coconut using glue.

Coconut glass.

To make a glass. Buy a small coconut from the store. Cut off the top. Be sure to clean everything inside the coconut. Glue the top that you cut off with a glue gun to the bottom of the coconut.

Original candlestick made of coconut.

This craft is also very easy to do. Be sure to clean the coconut and then pick up a candle. Decorate the cute candle holder with some accessories.

And a few more ideas for coconut candlesticks.

Coconut box.

It is worth saying that crafts made from coconut shells that you make with your own hands can be useful in your household.

For example, if you peel the pulp from a coconut and cut off the top, you can make an original box. At the same time, in order for the box to look beautiful, you must varnish it. And stick shells on top of the box. Remember that such a craft can become an original gift.

Coconut turtle.

A turtle like this may appear in your house. To create it, use personal skills, as well as carving tools.

Coconut jewelry.

If you know how to work with wood, then you will not have any difficulties processing coconut. Take a look at what items can be made from coconut shells. And if you learn how to create such crafts, then perhaps in the future you will make money by selling them.

As you can see, these can be interesting pendants or beautiful earrings. And these can also be massive bracelets.

Coconut maracas.

Here we are talking about what can be made from coconut shells. It is worth mentioning that in addition to the above-mentioned coconut crafts. Maracas are made from its shell. And if you don’t know what gift to please your loved one for some holiday, then give him maracas. Remember that not only children, but also adults will be happy with this gift. Below we will offer you a master class on making maracas.

So, first prepare all the essentials. You will need:

coconut,
hacksaw,
putty, which is designed for working with wood,
sandpaper,
Super glue,
rope for maracas handle,
acrylic paints,
items for decoration.

Progress:

First, the coconut is cleaned of pulp and all contents. To do this, use a hacksaw to saw off the edge from it and use a knife to remove all the contents.
The coconut that has been cleaned needs to be sanded on the outside using sandpaper. As a result, you should have a perfectly smooth surface.
Now let's fill the coconut with beads. In this case, the beads should occupy 1/7 of the total volume of the coconut. And for loud sound we add several large beads.
Next, take the coconut lid and make a hole in it for the string. At the same time, carefully glue the edge of the lace using glue to the back side of the lid.

Finally

Here we were able to offer you only some ideas for crafts made from coconut shells. Maybe you will like something in this quantity. But remember that you can supplement these ideas with your imagination.

Content:

Coconut shells can be used to make interesting decor for an aquarium. Coconut is easy to process, does not contain harmful substances and does not rot in water. Coconut in the aquarium is widely used to create tropical landscapes. It’s not difficult to work with, you just need to put in a little effort and imagination - and the unusual decorations are ready!

How to choose a good coconut?

It is best to buy coconuts in a store; here you can compare several fruits with each other. Here are the signs of a fresh coconut:

healthy appearance;
light, dry surface;
whole shell, without chips or cracks;
dry, hard eyes, without rot or mold;
visually the fruit seems lighter than it actually is;
Milk splashes inside.

Attention! Shake the nut near your ear. Fresh fruit is filled with milk. In a damaged or old one, you can’t hear its splashing. This kind of coconut cannot be used in an aquarium because of its hardness.

Preparing the Coconut

So, you have chosen the ripest and freshest coconut for the aquarium. Now you need:

cut a nut;
extract the pulp from it;
drill or saw through decorative holes;
soak and boil the fruit so that it does not color the water;
place it in the aquarium.

Step 1: Cutting the nut

Inside the coconut there is valuable and nutritious milk. If you want to drink it, before sawing the nut, drill a hole in the shell and pour the contents of the coconut into a glass.

Now you can start cutting. The walnut can be easily cut using a hacksaw for cutting metal. Be prepared for shavings to fly from the shell.

It is much more difficult to saw coconuts lengthwise than crosswise. First of all, it's inconvenient. Secondly, the hacksaw blade can slip off the surface of the nut and injure your hand. Therefore, all operations must be performed with extreme caution.

Step 2: Extract the pulp

There are three ways to extract the pulp from a coconut: anthill, fermentation and scraping.

Anthill. Find an anthill in the forest where red ants live and place a sawn coconut on it. After some time, the hard-working ants will clean the nut until it shines.
Fermentation. Use a drill to drill three holes in the bottom of the nut. Wrap the nut in a bag and place it in a very warm place or in the sun. There is no need to pour out the coconut milk from the nut. After 3-4 days, the sour, mushy pulp can be easily removed with a regular spoon.
Scraping. Separating the pulp from the shell is not as easy as it seems. You need to insert the blade of a knife between the pulp and the shell and separate the pulp into small pieces. So, moving from the sawn edge deep into the nut, you will gradually remove all its internal contents.

Step 3: Drill decorative holes

Now that the coconut is free of its internal contents, you can cut or drill decorative holes in it.

Round hole. To drill a smooth, round hole in a nut, you need to use a drill with a special ballerina drill. Using such a drill, you can get a perfectly even hole, like in a birdhouse.
Uneven hole. An uneven hole has a more natural appearance. It can be done using pliers, gradually breaking off pieces from the shell until a hole of the desired size and shape is formed. To prevent the fish from getting hurt on the sharp edges of the hole, they need to be sharpened with a file.

Step 4: Soak and Boil the Coconut

After removing the pulp from the coconut and cutting out the holes of the desired shape, they begin to soak the shells. To do this, the empty shell is placed in a vessel with water for 2-3 days. The water is renewed every 12 hours. After this, the shells are boiled in boiling water for 5-10 minutes. This is done so that the coconut in the aquarium does not color the water.

Attention! Coconut can be cleaned of fibers using skins, or left in its original form. Aquarium crabs love coconut fibers and eat them with pleasure.

Types of coconut decorations

From coconut you can make hanging pots, a boat, a grotto (house) or a bridge for your aquarium with your own hands. The surface of the fruit can be treated with sandpaper, or the fibers can be left in their original form. If desired, you can “green” the scenery with moss.

House

The houses are made from two halves of a coconut, or from a nut with the lower part cut off. In the first case, the houses turn out to be flatter, in the second - more voluminous.

In the houses, holes are drilled or hollowed out, through which the fish freely penetrate into the coconut dwelling and swim out. The shape and size of the holes may vary.

Tip: The house can be stylized as a pirate treasure cache. To do this, you need to pour decorative elements into it that imitate treasure. It is important that these “treasures” are clearly visible through the holes in the coconut shell.

Bridge

A large coconut is suitable for making a bridge. The top and bottom parts of this nut are cut off and a coconut ring no more than 10 cm wide with white flesh inside is obtained. The ring is laid horizontally on a flat surface, a small section is sawed off from it and an original decor in the form of a bridge is obtained. All that remains is to clean the shell from the pulp and place it in the aquarium.

Interesting: To green a bridge, you need to lay out pieces of moss on its surface, cover it with a plastic net, wrap it with cotton thread and place it in an aquarium. After a couple of weeks, the moss will sprout and cover the mesh, and the thread will dissolve in water.

Hanging pot for aquarium plants

To make a hanging pot, the nut is cut lengthwise into four parts, the smoothest slice is selected and the pulp is removed from it. Then, according to the internal profile of the quarters, the back wall of the pot is cut out of plexiglass 2-3 mm thick. Several through holes with a diameter of 0.1-0.2 cm are drilled in this workpiece for water circulation and one hole in the center for a suction cup. A suction cup is inserted, the plexiglass blank is glued with epoxy glue to the cut of the coconut, wait until the glue dries and attach the pot to the inner wall of the aquarium.

In a pot filled with soil, you can plant plants that love intense light. It is convenient to apply root feeding in such a pot.

boat

If you look closely at the coconut, you will see that it consists of three parts connected to each other by barely noticeable lines. By sawing the nut along these lines, you can get three pieces that look like boats. These blanks can be styled as a sunken fishing boat or a pirate ship that sank with treasure.

Help: To quickly divide a nut into three parts, you need to saw it along the connecting lines with a hacksaw, and then split it completely with a hammer. It will not be difficult to extract the pulp from such a preparation.