for as long as i can remember, i've collected mementos from the beach...
tiny bottles of sand, sea glass remnants, little pieces of driftwood, and seashells.
*NOTE: i DO make sure it's permissible to take these natural 'artifacts' from their locations,
and i don't take a lot. *
finding new ways to display these treasures is a fun creative exercise,
and this summer i've re-worked a former project to highlight a few of my seashells.
and yes, it's yellow! sunny, bright, warm, happy yellow for summer.
continue reading to see a few of my summer seashell shadow boxes...
(try to say THAT fast!!!)
tiny bottles of sand, sea glass remnants, little pieces of driftwood, and seashells.
*NOTE: i DO make sure it's permissible to take these natural 'artifacts' from their locations,
and i don't take a lot. *
finding new ways to display these treasures is a fun creative exercise,
and this summer i've re-worked a former project to highlight a few of my seashells.
and yes, it's yellow! sunny, bright, warm, happy yellow for summer.
continue reading to see a few of my summer seashell shadow boxes...
(try to say THAT fast!!!)
i love the simple, crisp look of these pieces displayed on my faux mantel.
paired with glass pop bottles and those fun fake flowers (that remind me of fireworks!)
they just bring a wonderful beachy vibe to the room!
and making them is really easy. let's start with the seashells...
i'll admit i have a LOT of these, due to living just a block from the beach on an island in Washington.
i sorted through my box o' shells and found some of similar size and shape for this project.
paired with glass pop bottles and those fun fake flowers (that remind me of fireworks!)
they just bring a wonderful beachy vibe to the room!
and making them is really easy. let's start with the seashells...
i'll admit i have a LOT of these, due to living just a block from the beach on an island in Washington.
i sorted through my box o' shells and found some of similar size and shape for this project.
i painted these two shells in a gradient, and there's an easy trick to that:
brush the shells with a bit of water before you apply the paint!
load your paintbrush with a light shade and begin on one end of the shell, and paint halfway.
load your brush with the darker shade and paint from the other end, to the middle.
as the two merge on the wet shell surface, a third shade is created!
brush the shells with a bit of water before you apply the paint!
load your paintbrush with a light shade and begin on one end of the shell, and paint halfway.
load your brush with the darker shade and paint from the other end, to the middle.
as the two merge on the wet shell surface, a third shade is created!
for the 'four shell' piece, i used four shades of paint
(two came straight outta' the bottle, the lighter shades are mixed with white)
and simply painted each shell a different shade.
(two came straight outta' the bottle, the lighter shades are mixed with white)
and simply painted each shell a different shade.
if you'd like to add MORE detail, here's an easy way to do that: paint pens!
alternatively, you could NOT paint the shells and just add details with paint pens.
to affix the shells to the box frames, i created 'paper hinges'...
heavy cardstock cut into small rectangles, folded in half.
hot glue holds the 'hinge' to the shell.
heavy cardstock cut into small rectangles, folded in half.
hot glue holds the 'hinge' to the shell.
after i prepared the box frames, i applied hot glue to the back of the 'hinge',
then placed the shells in the boxes where i wanted them.
speaking of preparing the frames... you've seen this one before!
it's a gift box that i saved, and i used it for some scrap paper hearts last winter.
then placed the shells in the boxes where i wanted them.
speaking of preparing the frames... you've seen this one before!
it's a gift box that i saved, and i used it for some scrap paper hearts last winter.
because i knew the shells would be yellow, i needed to change the yellow interior of the box,
so i cut two pieces of cardstock to fit in and create a white background.
it also has a clear acetate cover, which could easily be embellished
with a word like 'summer', etc. using a paint pen, stickers, or stamps:
so i cut two pieces of cardstock to fit in and create a white background.
it also has a clear acetate cover, which could easily be embellished
with a word like 'summer', etc. using a paint pen, stickers, or stamps:
the larger frame is actually a piece of wall art from a thrift shop,
covered in yellow gift wrap and given a fun pom pom trim.
covered in yellow gift wrap and given a fun pom pom trim.
these are a simple 'shelf sitter' art project -
tho if you wanted to hang them on a wall, you could easily add a hanger to the backs.
tho if you wanted to hang them on a wall, you could easily add a hanger to the backs.
i came up with another version of this idea, as well - stay tuned!
links to previous related posts:
my 'famous' beach in a jar
more seashell display ideas
coastal style,beach style,,DIY,seashells,dollar store crafts,diy decorating,summer,wall art,re-purposing,up-cycling,trash to treasure,Pantone color of the year,summer home decor,summer decorating,decorating with seashells,seashell art
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