Seashell Wall Art

Yesterday I got out my seashell stash to arrange the mantle.  While I had it all out I decided I still had so many pretty shells that I needed to find a way to display them.  After thinking about it for a few minutes, I remembered that I had some old frames hidden away in the closet that were just waiting for a new lease on life.

Here are the lovely 1980's beauties before...

First, I removed the print and the glass and then I used my sanding sponge to scuff up the frame.





Then I started painting with some craft paint I had on hand.  I needed 3 coats to cover both frames.  As I was putting it on it was not covering very smoothly so I decided that the frames were going to have to have more of a rustic look.

Once the paint was dry I added some dark walnut stain using a paper towel.  Then I rubbed it off with a wet paper towel.  It actually turned a sort of gray which I decided was very beachy.





After the stain dried - about 15 minutes - I added a coat of polycrylic.  I did this because the paint and the stain were flat and the colors of the shells were flat so I felt the project needed a little more shine or depth.

In between paint coats I had arranged my shells and glued them on to some off-white cardstock I already had.  I used a ruler to find the center of the paper for my first shell, but I eyeballed it when placing the rest which I glued down with regular craft glue.

Here's the finished product...

Here they are on the shelf in the upstairs hallway.

I think they turned out great and best of all they were free.  I did this whole project just repurposing items I already had around the house.

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~