Decorative Ideas for Seashells


Who doesn’t have at least a few seashells saved from a favorite beach vacation?  Recently, my beautiful friend Leif came over for dinner and brought me these:




I suppose the intended use of these is for serving oysters.  But we both thought these would be great to serve salt and pepper!




Which got me thinking . . . what are some other creative uses for seashells?  I mean, why not put your collections to work in a functional AND beautiful way? 



Who better to ask than Martha Stewart?  She and her minions always have great ideas for crafty projects.  I sifted through her seashell craft ideas and eliminated anything that was cheesy or took any work and chose the ones that I would actually go to the trouble of doing myself.  shell = soapdish.  Easy!



I heart this seashell vase!  Greenery from the yard is tucked in this beautiful shell and elevated with a simple footed dish.




Votive candles nestled between large clam shells set in a sand-filled tray make a romantic centerpiece for a summer dinner table or subtle lighting for an evening on the back porch.




Large, heavier shells make lovely and unexpected bookends.




Glue small shells to toothpicks to make your own seafood skewers.  Perfect for a seafood-themed dinner party.




Hot glue a variety of shells to form interesting borders on your flowerpots.  Grouping them on shelves creates a beautiful display, doesn’t it?



Photo Credits:  Kristie Barnett, Martha Stewart.

7 Comments

  1. Karina Aguon

    Love the use of seashells. If someone is interested in making the seashell into a bookend I remember reading somewhere that you can fill the seashell with plaster of paris to weight it down a bit. You can glue a small peice of felt in a complimentary color to the bottom of the shell to protect the furniture.

    I love all your posts. Beautiful pictures!!

    Reply
  2. heather

    gorgeous. and perfect ideas. thanks for sharing your genius.
    thanks for your prayers and blessings too! 🙂 hope you are doing well..
    hugs!

    Reply
  3. kristiebarnett

    Karina, thanks for the great idea of using a little plaster of paris to wear down the bookend shell! it didn’t even occur to me that it would be too light without something to weigh it down, but of course it would.

    Reply
  4. Cindi

    Leif Garrett? 😉 just kidding. I LOVE these. what a great idea – I’ve seen them used before as place cards for dinner guests. names were painted in the shell….

    Reply
  5. Leif

    What is wrong with Leif Garrett? So he had a little drug problem! 🙂
    I feel so honored to make the post!! Love the ideas!

    Leif Erikson

    Reply
  6. Yvette

    Thanks for posting the wonderful ideas, I am inspired! Oh, I just have to say, Kristi has such a sweet face, I can see a lot of love in her. It is refreshing to see.

    Reply
    • Kristie Barnett

      Yvette, wow, what a nice thing to say! Thank you for reading – hope you’ll be back soon 🙂

      Reply

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