Decorating Mirrors, Glass Containers and Lamps With Sea Shells

Are you looking for some new and different home decorating ideas? Try incorporating sea shells into your decor. Sea shells are natural sustainable decorating items and will add a nautical touch to your home. A trip to the beach is not necessary to get seashells. Order them on line.

Sea shells are of course free from the beach and inexpensive elsewhere. I like to mix the common ones that I find at the beach with the more exotic ones sold in specialty shops. Hot glue guns and glue sticks work very well when "shelling" mirrors that you perhaps bought at a yard sale or thrift shop. Glass containers, fill-able glass lamps and baskets will help display shells.Below are some ideas to get you started on crafts with seashells. Incorporate nautical beach side creations into your home decor.

Please remember the less is best rule when applying any theme in decorating. Let your shell creations be a part of a nautical decor or simply have your shell decor blend in to a bigger scheme of things.

For a lovely shell garden simply choose a tall glass container and arrange shells. Start with smaller shells at the bottom and then alternate with small and larger shells. Play around with them until you achieve the look you like.

Purchase a fill-able glass based lamp and follow the same procedure as with the shell garden.Then add the shade and Voila! You have a lovely nautical table lamp.

This shelled mirror looks much harder to make than it actually is. Just be sure to plan it out before gluing the shells with the hot glue. Use smaller shells to fill in gaps around the bigger shells. Plan for a special grouping for the top and the bottom. Here a star fish is the "star" attraction.

You may wish to make a smaller one like the one below to gain some experience first in shelling a mirror. The rectangular mirror on the smaller one is 30 inches x 22 inches.

Make your first shelled mirror project with a smaller mirror. Notice the grouping in the top middle (oysters shells) and the spiral shells in the corners.

The idea is to create a focal grouping on the top and bottom of the mirror and then follow a sort of pattern down the sides.

Add a nautical look to a window sill with large scallop shells, star fish and a sand dollar. Fish figurines complete the nautical look for this bath room window.

Make a garland of shells and starfish to string across a window. Use twine such as that used for wrapping packages. Most shells have a "natural hole" in them to help you with your stringing.Or if necessary use a dremel tool for boring a small hole.

Anchor a pretty peachy pink candle in a glass container with lots of small and medium shells. Lots of cowry shells are included in this cluster. Use any small to medium shells for grouping.

Simply purchase a wreath form: natural, grape vine or Styrofoam. Hot glue your found and/or purchased sea shells to the wreath form. This wreath form is completed using starfish, sand dollars and scallop shells.