Beach Decor | How to Display Shell Collections

This beach decor DIY project was made several years ago. Inspired by a Stampington project I saw and for the life of me I can’t remember if it was on their website or in a magazine. I can’t find it now so if you’ve seen it somewhere please let me know so I can leave a link back to the original. Thanks!!! These little beach shell packets are a great way to preserve memories of family summer vacations.

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Supplies Needed for Beach Decor Shell Packets

The year I made these we had been to quite a few beaches. We always pick up shells on the beach so I included those. Then I added a few beaches we hadn’t been to yet and supplemented with shells we had bought.

Even if you’re just dreaming of going to the beach this summer you can still make these. Just buy a bag of shells at the craft store and make a list of beaches you’d like to visit.

shells
felt or other solid fabric (I used tan felt and some white fabric from the thrift store.)
tulle scraps (Mine were left over from a wedding veil and slip.)
parchment printer paper
white thread
pinking shears
basic sewing machine
printer (or old typewriter)

I started off by printing beach names on the parchment paper and cutting them apart. They’re each approximately 3/4″ x 1-2″. Then I cut 4″ x 5 3/4″ rectangles of the felt, fabric, and two different styles of tulle. I found the fabric at thrift stores. The tulle is leftover from the wedding veil and slip I made. That’s a little bigger than the finished size. I trimmed them after adding the shells.

I sewed a straight stitch, about 1/2″ away from the edges of the fabric, catching the paper in the upper left corner. I left the bottom open to add shells. After adding the shells, I sewed the bottom shut and trimmed the edges with pinking shears so they’d all be even.

Every year I pull these out after the 4th of July decorations get put up. We don’t live in a beach house but this gives us a little summery feel with some DIY beach decor. There’s my upcycled casserole carrier tray in the background!

I added a few more beach decor style pieces to it: a vintage brown bottle, silver shell tray, dried sea urchins, dried florals (I got these from a vendor at Roses and Rust and can’t remember what they’re called? Leave a comment if you know.), and a faux sage plant from IKEA.