Animal Crossing: New Horizons: All Summer Shell DIY Recipes

Wondering what the new blue shells are for? Here's how to craft all eight of the summer shell recipes in Animal Crossing: New Horizons!
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It’s summer time in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, and that means it’s time to head out to the beach! While you’re walking around by the water, you may notice that the pink shells are gone and new blue shells are appearing. These are known as summer shells and can be used to craft a bunch of different recipes. In this guide, we are going to take a look at all the Animal Crossing: New Horizons summer shell recipes and how to unlock them.

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Animal Crossing: New Horizons Summer Shell Recipes List

If you’ve noticed the new blue shells that have begun appearing on the beach in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, it’s because it’s officially summer in the Northern Hemisphere. These new summer shells will be in the game from June – August and will be replacing the pink shells for now. The summer shells will begin appearing in the Southern Hemisphere in December. 

With the addition of the Animal Crossing: New Horizons summer shell, there are eight new DIY recipes that have been added to the game. Players can unlock the first of the summer shell recipes in a morning announcement from Isabelle starting on June 1. However, it’s worth noting that it seems she will only make the announcement when there is nothing else happening on your island. So if there are newsworthy events going on, like a new villager moving in or something, it looks like you’ll have to wait until the next day without a major announcement to get your first recipe.

Related: How to Get Star Fragments in New Horizons

The rest of the blue shell recipes can be collected from flying balloon presents. To get the balloon, you’ll need to craft a slingshot and shoot it down. However, just because you see a balloon doesn’t mean there will be a summer shell recipe inside. 

Now that you know how to get the summer shell recipes, let’s talk about the crafts themselves. Below is a complete list of all of the Animal Crossing: New Horizons summer shell DIY recipes.

Recipe Name:

Materials Needed:

Shell Wand

Summer Shell (3)

Star Fragment (3)

Shell Wreath

Summer Shell (1)

Sea Snail (1)

Sand Dollar (1)

Coral (1)

Giant Clam (1)

Cowrie (1)

Shellfish Pochette

Summer Shell (6)

Giant Clam (2)

Starry-Sands Flooring

Summer Shell (3)

Sandy-Beach Flooring (1)

Topical Vista

Summer Shell (5)

Underwater Flooring

Summer Shell (3)

Coral (3)

Underwater Wall

Summer Shell (3)

Coral (5)

Water Flooring

Summer Shell (6)

It’s worth noting that after August, the blue shells will no longer be available in New Horizons. So if you think you may want to craft one of these items post-August, you better collect some extra shells or be prepared to beg a friend in the Southern Hemisphere to gift some to you. If you want to craft all of the recipes, you’ll need a total of 30 blue shells.

If shell hunting isn’t your thing, there’s plenty of new fish and bugs that were added to your island in June. Below are some helpful tips for catching specific creatures:

How many blue shells have you collected so far? Let us know on Twitter or Facebook!


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About the Author

Andrew Smith

Andrew Smith is a Guides Writer at Prima Games. Previously he has worked with IGN, GameSpot, and a handful of other great outlets. When Andrew isn't writing up game guides, you kind find him playing single-player, narrative-driven games. Wanna say hi? You can email Andrew at [email protected]