Summer Seashell Decor

About a month ago, I got a really exciting job making a few shell art props for the BBC TV Show Redwater which was shooting in my town. After spending weeks collecting, arranging and gluing seashells onto random objects, I’m basically a self-proclaimed Shell Craft Expert at this point.  Incidentally, I just posted a Top Summer Posts Poll  last week asking you guys to vote for what posts you wanted to see this summer and DIY Room Decor seems to be the most popular topic. And so, I thought it was the perfect time to post a few tutorials for some cute and easy shell DIYs!

Note: You’ll need to use a glue gun for these DIYs, so please be careful! The glue is extremely hot and trust me when I say, you don’t want to get burnt.

1. Beachy Shell Frame

This DIY is really simple and a great way to display all your summer photos.

What you need:

• a plain wooden frame
• shells of your choice
• glue gun

Steps

1. First arrange your shells on the frame.
2. Once you’re happy with your design, stick the shells onto the frame using the glue gun.
3. Leave to dry and you’re done!

2. Ocean Jar

OK, so maybe ocean jar isn’t the best name but to be honest I was just really tired of repeating ‘seashell’ over and over again. You can use this jar as a candle holder, a place to store your pens, or even a quirky vase. Either way, it’ll add a cool, nautical vibe to your room.

What you need:

• a jar
• small shells of your choice
• a glue gun
• PVA glue
• sand
• paint brush

Steps

1. Mix 1 part sand and 1 part PVA glue. Paint sand-glue mixture onto the jar and leave to dry (this part gets a bit messy so have a few paper towels handy!).
2. Once the jar is dry, stick on the shells in a mosaic-like pattern using a glue gun.

3. Seashell Bowl

This DIY is probably my favourite of all the pieces I made! I used a large bowl and large shells,  which means wrapping the twine around it took ages, but the end result was definitely worth it!

What you need:

• a bowl
• twine
• shells of your choice
• a glue gun

Steps

1. Slowly wrap the twine around the outside of your bowl, gluing it down as you do so.
2. Glue the shells around the bowl and leave to dry.

 

4. Shell Curtain

I feel like this shell curtain really screams ‘summertime’. I used fishing tackle to make it because it’s transparent, strong and also fits the whole ‘ocean’ theme, but you could use string instead. In this tutorial, you’ll see that you can either drill holes in the shells and tie them on to the tackle, or just tape them on. I personally tried both methods, and found that the first option looks better and is much sturdier (though it’s a little more time consuming). Lastly, instead of tying each length of tackle onto a wooden poll and hanging that up somewhere, you could also hang individual strands around your room which will look very pretty too!

What you need:

• fishing tackle
• shells of your choice
• a drill / tape
• wooden poll/ pipe

Steps

1. Depending on how long/wide you want your curtain to be, measure out the number of lengths of fishing tackle you’ll need.
2. Tie each length of tackle onto the poll.
3. Carefully drill a hole at the top of each shell (OPTIONAL).
4. Now, on a flat surface arrange your shells in the pattern you want on your curtain.
5. Once you’re happy with your design, string the fishing tackle through each shell making sure to tie a knot below each shell to secure it in place.

OR

tape fishing tackle onto the back of each shell.

6. Now hang your curtain up wherever you like!

. . .

That’s all for today! Let me know in the comments below which DIY was your favourite :).