Make Your Own Shell Specimen Box

I've developed quite a shell collection and I wanted to give these beautiful little objects enough space so that each one could be admired- as in an old fashioned cabinet of curiosities.

To make your own little display, you'll need a shadowbox (mine was on sale at Target for $12!) some pretty paper to mount it on (mine has sort of a cool linen texture) your trusty glue gun and, of course, lots of pretty shells (some of mine came from the wonderful supply shop 32 North).

Choose the shells you want to showcase and play around with them until...

you create a pleasing arrangement. (Look at mandalas and specimen collections for inspiration!)

Once you are happy with your arrangement, hot glue those suckers down! After a bit of experimenting, I found it worked better if I applied glue to the shells instead of the paper. Just apply enough to adhere it to the page.

Dust off any sand with a soft brush and place the page inside your shadowbox.

Set it next to your apothecary jar of shells and your tiny model sailboat and imagine a sea breeze blowing in the windows.

Do you have any collections on display? I have a feeling this is just the beginning of my shell collecting.