What To Do With All Those Pistachio Shells

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We usually always have a bowl of pistachio nuts on our coffee table.  As we were eating them one evening and tossing the shells into another bowl – I started thinking there must be something I can do with these – so I started collecting them in a large zip lock bag.  I did a search for What to do with pistachio shells and the list of items that came up surprised me.  One was to ground the shells and make soap – that just looked like it would hurt – so passed on that one.  I saw a cool picture of bowls made from the shells and I definitely wanted to make that.  I figured my first try would probably be a learning experience and end up as decoration so I decided to paint the shells.

Pistachio Shell Bowl

Items Needed

Pistachio Shells (a couple hundred)
Spray paint (optional)
Newspaper
Plastic wrap
Bowl or mold
White glue

1. I did not do this step, but will probably do it next time – wash the shells and get the salt off.  I did clean them of the nut skins.

2. Lay them out to dry if washing –  or lay them out on newspaper (outside) and spray paint.  This was a couple step process.  DO NOT put a lot of pressure on the nozzle – the shells will fly when hit with the paint.  I did both the inside and out side.  Make sure that they are dry completely.

3. Pick a bowl as your mold – cover with plastic wrap.  This makes cleaning the bowl easier, but it also helps in taking the pistachio shell bowl out.

4. In another bowl put a handful or two of shells and add about a tablespoon of glue.  Mix with your hand – making sure all the shells are coated.

5. Take the gluey shells and press them into your bowl mold.

6. Repeat steps 4 & 5 until all shells have been used.

7. Allow to dry overnight.  In the morning lift the bowl out by the plastic wrap.  Gently pull the plastic wrap off.  The underside of the bowl may still be a little wet -turn the shell bowl over and place on the plastic wrap to allow the bottom to dry.

8.  Some of my shells did not stick the way I wanted them to – so I just put a drop of glue on them and stuck them to the bowl.

Now you have a great bowl, made from something that most people throw away.  This will be a conversation starter!

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