DIY Craft Project: Seashell Framed Large Wall Mirror

I’ve been admiring all of those beautiful seashell framed large mirrors that I’ve seen in coastal and beach home decor stores. They come in a variety of different sizes and shapes. Some that I’ve seen have been really elaborate but one thing that they all had in common was that they’re expensive! I’ve seen some for around $100 (small ones) and large ones going for around $350 each.

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If you have access to seashells (live near a beach) you can make one for around $25.00. If you need to buy the shells from a craft supply store it will cost you more. However, it will cost less than buying one and you can customize it the way that you like it.

To cut down my costs I went to the flea market and picked up a large wood framed mirror for $5.00. It measures approximately 1 1/2 feet by 2 1/2 feet in size, maybe a little larger. The frame was an off-white color and had a painted floral design. Yuck. I used painter’s tape and masked off the edges of the mirror and covered the rest of it with newspaper. I then used white spray paint and gave it two coats of paint. Let it dry overnight. Now I had a solid white frame to work with.

We go down to the beach several times every year and I always come home with boxes full of shells that I’ve picked up off of the beach. You need to make sure you use clean and dry shells, so wash and dry them before starting this project. I opted to use Scallop Shells and small Triton Shells in my design.

Lay your item onto a table top or the floor. You’ll want to lay your shells out around the item in a pattern that pleases you. It took me a good 2-3 hours to do just this part. I needed to make sure that the shells that I selected were the perfect size and fit into the proper spaces in my design. Once you come up with a design that you like…it’s time to decorate!

I used my hot glue gun to adhere them onto the wooden frame. You need to use a generous amount of hot glue so make sure you have plenty of glue sticks on hand for this project. Make sure you get a strong bond with the surface. I glued down all of my Scallop Seashells first. I made 2 rows around the frame. I then filled in the little gaps with the small Triton Shells using hot glue.

To give it more of a coastal and beach-y look I decided to glue nautical rope around the outer edge of the frame using hot glue. I picked up a bundle of nautical rope from my local Dollar Tree store for $1.00 and had plenty of it to go around the entire frame. Heck, enough leftover to use in another project too!

Need a little bit more pizzazz and bling? You can opt to glue small faux pearls into the center of a few of your Scallop Shells, clear Rhinestones and/or sparkly beads. The choice is your’s on how you want to decorate it.

Overall I’m very pleased with how it turned out! I’m really looking forward to hanging it in our new coastal casual dining room once the remodeling has been completed.

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