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Animal Crossing New Horizons: Summer Shell DIY Recipes List and How to Get Them

Summer means a whole host of new features have been added to Animal Crossing New Horizons. Here's what you need to know about Summer Shells and the DIY Recipes they're used in.

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Guide by Jake Green Contributor
Updated on

Once Summer rolls around in Animal Crossing New Horizons you'll start to see blue shells wash up on the beaches of your island. These are Summer Shells, and are a new seasonal item that can be used to craft certain DIY Recipes. In this guide we'll show you how to get Summer Shells fast, what you can do with them, and give you a full list of the recipes associated with them.

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How to Get Summer Shells Quickly in Animal Crossing New Horizons

To get Summer Shells fast in Animal Crossing you'll need to login daily and walk through the beach areas of your island. Check all of your beaches and you'll find blue Summer Shells. Up to 3 can spawn at a time, and more will spawn if you check back later. We've been searching for Summer Shells in the morning, afternoon and evening, managing to find Summer Shells in each session. This means you can collect Summer Shells as you go about your day, we recommend not focusing too much on them, as they spawn randomly and sparingly.

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What Can You Do With Summer Shells?

Summer Shells are a seasonal crafting item, much like cherry blossoms that appear in Spring. There's a whole new set of Summer Shell DIY recipes to collect and craft, which we'll go into more detail on in the next section.

Collect those shells! | Jake Green/USG

How to Get Summer Shell DIY Recipes

To Get DIY Summer Shell recipes you will need to do one of two things:

  1. Shoot down balloons as they float in over your island. You can read more about shooting down balloons here. There's no specific kind of balloon to aim for, and it's possible to get duplicate recipes.
  2. Wait for a special Isabelle announcement that occurs in early Summer, where she'll transfer a Shell Wreath recipe to your NookPhone. For more info on getting Isabelle on your island, head here.

We have plenty more Animal Crossing New Horizons guides to check out. You can find close to 100 guides right here on USG, and if you head to our AC: New Horizons Walkthrough you'll see them all in one handy place. From guides on the different kinds of buildings, to detailed breakdowns of how to catch specific bugs and fish, we've got you covered.

Long hot Summer | Jake Green/USG

Summer Shells DIY Recipes List

There are eight Summer Shell DIY Recipes to craft in Animal Crossing New Horizons. We've detailed each one below, alongside the number of Summer Shells required for each.

Shell Wand

To craft the Shell Wand, use the following:

  • 3 Summer Shells
  • 3 Star Fragments

Shell Wreath

Once you have the DIY Recipe for the Shell Wreath, you will need these materials to craft one.

  • Summer Shell
  • Sea Snail
  • Sand Dollar
  • Coral
  • Giant Clam
  • Cowrie

Shellfish Pochette

The Shellfish Pochette is a shell-themed bag which is made from the following:

  • 2 Giant Clams
  • 6 Summer Shells

Starry-Sands Flooring

This sandy flooring can be crafted using these materials:

  • 3 Summer Shells
  • Sandy-beach flooring

Tropical Vista

To craft the Tropical Vista wall decoration you will need:

  • 5 Summer Shells

Underwater Flooring

This awesome Underwater Flooring can be made from the following crafting materials:

  • 3 Summer Shells
  • 3 Coral

Underwater Wall

To make the Underwater Wall, collect these items:

  • 3 Summer Shell
  • 5 Coral

Water Flooring

Finally, we have the Water Flooring. Take these materials to a crafting bench:

  • 6 Summer Shells
Here's what Summer Shells look like | Jake Green/USG

Summer Shells Sell Price

If you don't want to craft the Summer Shell Recipes, you can sell them at Nook's Cranny. You'll get 900 Bells apiece, making them pretty valuable when compared to other shells.

When Will Summer Shells Stop Appearing?

Given that they are a seasonal item, Summer Shells will only be available during a short window of time. You'll have until August 31 to collect and craftall of the recipes, so make sure you sign each day to get the shells you'll need.

How Many Do You Need in Total?

To craft all 8 Summer Shell Recipes you will need to collect 30 shells. This is actually pretty difficult but if you make sure you sign in every couple of days you should be fine.

That's all we have on these seasonal crafting materials for now. There's plenty more Animal Crossing articles to read right here on USG, including Caty's review. Elsewhere there's our writeup on the protests that have been happening in the game.

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