Top Decoration

There's a tongue twister for you! Say that fast three times!
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I am working on a project with a client to give her living room a new look. She likes "beachy", so we're adding small touches, here and there, to make it feel fresh and new!


When I saw this...

...I knew it was the perfect inspiration and I had to recreate it in my own way, specifically for her living room!


I found these shadowbox frames at Target for $12.99 a piece...

...and these bags of seashells at our local one-stop-shopping store for $2.49 a piece...

I bought 5 bags:

two bags of medium sized shells

two bags of small shells

and one bag of tiny shells...

Total cost for all 5 bags: $12.40

I started filling the frames with the medium sized shells and left out those that were too large for me to put the frame back together...

I then layered in the small shells and then the tiny shells...

I used the back side of the sheet of paper that came in the frame to create my background.

It was white, so it worked perfectly...

Once I had the back of my frame securely in place, I lifted the shadowbox to let the shells settle into place and to see where any gaps may have been created.

You can see here where the "holes" appeared...

So I removed the back of the frame again and started adding in more of the tiny shells. I filled every possible gap and was able to get a lot more shells in than I had thought was possible...

I checked and rechecked to make sure that I was filling in every single space!

I wanted the frames filled to the brim so that only shells would be visible and not the white background!


I repeated the entire process with the second frame and for

less than $40

and only about 30 minutes of time, I was able to give my client two pieces of custom artwork that fit the "beachy" criteria perfectly!

Hung vertically on the wall, they will be a great addition to the space!

The only problem is....I like them so much that I want some for myself!

But I am going to try and resist!

At least for a little while...

A few other accessories that are going into the living room...

My Carpenter is in the garage, as I type this, putting the finishing touches on two benches that are going in my client's living room too. I love how they are turning out and can't wait to see them after they are stained and sitting in their new home!

And just between you and me, that has got to be the only downfall to having a husband that can build things for clients...

he's so good at it - I want one of everything he makes!


Off to start staining...





P.S. Want to see more DIY projects? Check out "DIY Day" with Kimba over at
A Soft Place To Land!