Saturday, April 26, 2014

Framed Sand Dollar - DIY Wall Art

sand dollar, framed sand dollar, DIY wall art

I love sand dollars! They're so fragile and beautiful. But with 3 clumsy little monsters ~ wait, what? I mean... with 3 beautiful and energetic children ~ it's hard to display sand dollars. In my case it means framing them, or keeping them waaaaay up high!

We just returned from an amazing Spring Break on Jekyll Island, Georgia. We have tons of awesome pictures (on FB) from the trip, and lots of fun memories. It's such a beautiful place.

sand dollar, framed sand dollar, DIY wall art

Every year one of my fondest memories is of walking along the beach finding sand dollars. Many of the sand dollars we find are still alive, and we happily throw them back in the sea. Sometimes we get lucky, and we find a whole dead sand dollar ~ well, lucky for us, not so lucky for the sand dollar.

When we find a whole dead sand dollar, we pack them carefully in paper towels and schlep them back to Central New York.

They're so breakable they best way I've found to display them is to hang them up, but I'd love any new ideas!

For this little sand dollar frame: All I did was use a tiny frame, some burlap, a dot of hot glue and the sand dollar. I didn't bother to put the glass back in the frame, just left it open.  I added it to my gallery wall, and it should be safe for years.



I've got a few more sand dollars, so I looked on-line for ideas to safely display them.

The first thing I realize is that I need to "harden" them. A mixture of half glue/half water (which is just homemade mod-podge) is the best way to give the sand dollar "shell super powers". Just brush the glue mixture over the sand dollar and allow to dry. This should help reduce breakage. 

Now on to a couple of ideas that I found: 

I've got plenty of pillar candles that could be embellished like so. Love. 

 

I love the idea of a garland ~ would be perfect draped over a mirror!



Oops! My hand slipped and I ran into a sand dollar cookie recipe. Sweet. :-)

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What about you? Do you love sand dollars? What do you do with them? Do tell! 

sand dollar, framed sand dollar, DIY wall art

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5 comments:

Audra @ Renewed Projects said...

I love sand dollars. Back when I lived near the beach I'd get so excited to find one. Those sand dollar cookies are adorable!

Unknown said...

Sand dollars are so beautiful! ;)

Unknown said...

Audra - I love finding them too! We go to Jekyll Island and they're everywhere! Most are alive but if I find a dead one, I grab it!

Marilyn, thank you for stopping by! They are soo delicate and pretty!

Julia

Marti @ SewLicious Home Decor said...

I love sand dollars, too! This is a great way to keep them up and safe from breaking! Thanks for sharing it with us. :)

One More Time Events said...

Love all the great uses for sand dollars and those cookies are adorable! Thank you for sharing at One More Time Events…Tammy