beach in a box!

years ago, i started filling vintage jars with seashells, and sand, and seagrass.
i call them 'Beach in a Jar' - and i sold a LOT of them at vintage shows.
saving souvenirs from vacation trips is a great way to relive summer memories...

here's a fun and easy way to use inexpensive materials and found objects
to create a 'beach in a box'
(and you really don't even have to GO on vacation to make these!)

continue reading to see how!

supplies:

scissors . glue stick . hot glue (please supervise children)
old magazines (travel or AAA mags are perfect!) or prints of vacation photos
small boxes or box lids
small seashells . a bit of sand

1. cut photos of locales from magazines, or use copies of photos from your own fave vacation spots.
(i nabbed these images from AAA magazine and ads in the back of Martha Stewart mag!)
when choosing boxes to use for this project,
you want the images to cover the entire back of the inside of the box (or lid).

2. use a glue stick to adhere the image to the inside of the box.

3. gather up some natural elements to add dimension to your shadow box -
i chose a few VERY small seashells and a bit of sand.

4. squirt some hot glue onto the bottom inner edge of the box,
letting it 'pile up' a bit onto the bottom edge of the image...
then quickly sprinkle the sand over the glue.

5. before the glue dries, add the tiny shells - press gently into the sand.
i laid one shell flat on the bottom, and placed another vertically against the back image.

when the glue has hardened, shake any excess sand off and out of the box.

if you wish to hang these on a wall, add a stick-on loop for hanging on the back of the box.

i thought the sunset scene needed more yellow, so i added a paper drink umbrella!
it's not glued on, just tucked behind the back shell and propped on the top corner of the box.

btw, this isn't just a beach trip souvenir...
it would work just as well with sand and rocks from the desert,
pebbles, tiny pine cones and pine straw bits from the mountains,
or what about a miniature figurine of the place you vacationed?

a figure of the Space Needle, nestled in 'clouds'  made from simple cotton balls
in front of a piece of iridescent paper, to evoke rainy gray skies.

 it's one of a set of ceramic salt & pepper shakers
that i bought at a gift shop in Seattle on a visit to see my daughters' family.
the small white figures are a nice addition to a growing collection
of miniature mementos from the places that mean the most to me...
so far, i've got the Space Needle for Seattle, a small 'Alamo' building for San Antonio,
and a white ceramic Sleeping Beauty Castle from Disneyland.
i just need something from Nashville and Kauai to complete my collection!

ps: this is a great project for kids at the end of the summer - 
they can take it back to school for those inevitable
'what i did on my summer vacation' reports!


links to previous related posts:

painted seashell shadow box art

beach in a jar

shared online:

funky junk interiors | new upcycled projects to make #586

thank you for featuring my project, Miss Donna!

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