Coastal Shadow Box with Shells and Beads

Turn a thrift store find into a coastal decor piece using shells and beads. This shadow box wasn’t my style at all, but that didn’t stop me from bringing it home and giving it a makeover. 

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I love finding thrift store items that need simple makeovers to work my coastal decor. Using beads, shells, and paint, the shadow box is a great fit for our mantel now.

Coastal Shadow Box with Shells and Beads

Supplies Used for Coastal Shadow Box with Shells and Beads

• Thrift Store Find Shadow Box
• Laminated Burlap
• Spray Adhesive
• E6000 Glue
• Assorted Sea Shels
• Chalk Paint
• Medium Grit Sand Paper

The shadow box was looking pretty worn and dated. When I bought it, I wasn’t sure what material the flowers were made of. I thought it would be easy to remove it and replace it with some coastal decor pieces. 

I was wrong! It was made of ceramic and it was glued very securely to the backing. I used a flat head screw driver to pry it away from the backing. As you can see, that didn’t go so smoothly. I chipped away at the ceramic until I had large chunks of it out. Then, I continued to work the screw driver around the edges of the backing until it began to lift away. 

Once I had the inside of the box cleared out, I applied a light coat of spray adhesive to a cut to size laminated burlap sheet. 

I recently bought a couple of packages of beads that were on clearance at JoAnn’s. They were marked at $3.47, but when I checked out, they were only $1.50 each. I love when that happens! 

The amber colored beads match well with the burlap backing and they make a great background for the sea shells that I planned on adding to the shadow box.  I used E6000 glue to adhere the beads to the burlap. I worked in small areas of the box to set the beads. I left it to dry overnight. 

I tried out a few different placements for the shells before gluing them in place. 

 

The top portion of the frame of the shadow box got a quick chalk paint using Waverly Agave paint. I left the back section of the box unpainted. 

I rearranged the shells until I was happy with the placement of them. More E600 glue keeps them in place.  I let the shells dry overnight before adding the top frame back onto the shadow box. 

I decided that I wanted to sand down the edges of the frame. I used medium grit sandpaper to lightly distress it. 

Using beads and shells to change the look of the thrift store find was an easy way to give a new look to the old piece. This is a great way to display shells you’ve collected from beaches or if you don’t have a beach nearby, you can purchase a bag of shells for crafts. 

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Coastal Shadow Box with Shells and Beads

You might also enjoy this coastal tray makeover from a thrift store find. 

What’s your latest thrift store flip?

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Bring on the Crafts — A Craft & DIY Blog Hop

 

On the first Friday through Sunday of each month, a group of DIY and crafty bloggers join forces. Together Marie from The Inspiration Vault and Habiba from Craftify My Love they bring you the #BringontheCrafts blog hop. Each blogger creates a fun craft or DIY project to share that follows a monthly materials theme. July’s theme is Buttons & Beads! Each blogger chooses their own craft to make as long as they love it and it uses Buttons & Beads in the project.

Our July Co-hosts

Jenny at Cookies, Coffee and Crafts  
Marie at DIY Adulation  
Beverly at Across the Blvd  
Gail at Purple Hues & Me  
Kim at Day To Day Adventures

Join in on the fun! If you’d like to participate next month, you can request to join our Bring on the Crafts Facebook Group. Next month’s theme is Cutting Machines!

Not a blogger, but a creative mind none the less!? Don’t worry, share your awesome creations in our Craft Cult Facebook Group. This is also a great place to ask craft & DIY related questions and find inspiration for your next project. Now let’s see all of those amazing craft and DIY projects!