Beachcombing With a Purpose: 2 DIY Shell Projects

DIY Shell Curtain

Want to give beachcombing a purpose? Colorfully-toned shells come in so many unique shapes and sizes. Set out to find the perfect shells to complete these shell projects. The image above is a sweet and simple shell project from Sweet Paul. Create this Shell Curtain with shells, ed a hammer, physician nails and twine.

DIY Shell Chandelier

This Shell Chandelier tops my list of creative reuse of junk. Underneath this stylish number wrapped carefully in twine and adorned with shells, is a tacky old lighting fixture that was headed for the landfill. Reused, recycled and reconsidered, the Shell Chandelier created by Lindsey Cheney of the Pleated Poppy via Completely Coastal is a thrifty and creative reuse project.

For more beach-inspired projects check out: DIY Decorating With Nautical Knots What The Sea Left Behind Sun Senses: Beach Inspired Home Décor DIY Stone Knobs

Credits: Sweet Paul and Lindsey Cheney

Namaste Norway

A quick thank you to Yogaportalen from Norway for making econesting's post: Ditch The Plastic: DIY Knitted Shopping Bag, their story of the week:

Ditch the Plastic: DIY Knitted Shopping Bag

“Hey, check where’d you get that great shopping bag? Oh, it’s so cute. Can I touch it?” Did you ever carry a little puppy around? If so, strangers clamor for a touch and to oogle the precious pup. If you needed any more incentives for ditching the plastic bag, this DIY knitted bag will elicit the puppy effect at the grocery store, farmers market and food coop. Creator of the Monteagle Bag, Kay Gardiner from Mason-Dixon Knitting says, “One ‘eco’ thing about the Monteagle Bag is that it can be made in almost any linen or cotton yarn (including the cheap-but-tough dishcloth cotton brands), and it looks great made of several leftover colors. So it’s a way of using yarn that would otherwise be wasted or (shriek!) thrown into the landfill." CLICK HERE FOR MORE

Rock, Paper…Table

Brazilian designer Domingos Tótora's table appears to be balanced on large stones. Right? On closer inspection, the Agua Table is easy to move, eco-friendly, and no stones were harmed in the making of it. The table is created from recycled cardboard. Check out these amazing photos of the artisan's process behind making the Agua Table via Contemporist:

Making Stuff From Stuff

It’s one of those eerily beautiful, rainy days here in the Hudson Valley. We’ve hardly had any rain to balance the assault of crazy hot, humid stickiness that’s enveloped the area. The summery mood and dimly-filtered lighting is just delightful for creating projects that may have been put on the back burner because it was just too damn hot. I love creating stuff from found stuff. It is especially sweet when the stuff is free, the directions are self-explanatory and the materials are mostly natural

I’ve seen this project done before, but this morning I followed the links around the globe to find the source of the images of this simple project. My pointing and clicking started in the Netherlands at the Stylefiles (a fabulously creative site for interior design inspiration), which took me to Poppytalk from Vancouver. It’s a design blog that collects inspiration from emerging design talent. One such talent hails over at the totally awe-inspiring, aqui pelo campo blog from Portugal, which is the source of these photos.

No DIY directions needed for this one. Just create this rustic and functional coat rack from a few sturdy branches, a piece of nicely weathered leftover wood and some nails. Then relish in the satisfaction of making stuff from stuff.