Tuesday 24 May 2011

A Nautical Box- what to do with a shadow box frame

I dedicate this post about shadow-boxes , what to do with a shadow box frame and nautical decor, and nautical decorations,  to my inspiration, Bri with her funny and fab blog Me, you and a wiener.
She has just about the funniest post about a shadow-box with a sea fan here, you really must read it - it's hilarious and on top of that, she makes one heck of a nice box !!!
Her post reminded me I still had one of those boxes lurking in a corner and no idea what to do with it.
           It was previously owned by a famous spoon man.Here's the spoonman's spoon box.
                                   It's the only explanation I can come up with for the rails.
            I normally use my spoons and don't hang them on the wall .Not sure if I ever would.
I was pretty stumped what to do with this box .Thankfully I read Bri's post so the whole sea-and-nautical idea then dawned on me.
The wooden rails had to go, though, that was a given.The back came off too, with inside some faded velours .
                              
I was just too impatient to spray-paint the inside and outside of the box .Plus it was a really tight fit. It would not have closed properly  if you would only have even1 inch too much paint on the box.
                                                  Now for the inside....
I still had a whole stash of oyster shells- from the time we had this some time ago.

I had washed and cleaned the shells and stored them- and they were in my garage with all the other stuff         " that may come in handy one day ".
Do you have a garage like mine - by the way ?? I daren't let one of my cats in there, as he a recluse and extremely good at hiding. There is so much stuff,( waiting for " make-overs" or just because " it might come in handy"  he once stayed there for months and you couldn't find him .
                He came out eventually though- when he wanted ( Cats! ) !( Yes- he was fed ! )
  I also had tons of leftover fabrics ...and pale blue seemed to go best with the oyster shells. So I had a look if  the oyster shells fitted in the box- as mine was very shallow .
                           The door of the box closed OK- so we were in business.
        I wrapped the fabric around the backpanel and  glue-gunned it ( at the back )  so it was stuck on.
  Did a paper pattern of the shells - to see where it would look best to glue them on. See the shell to the right.                                  You need to have a bit of a visual idea so the paper helps.
   Once I had decided, what looked best, I glue-gunned three rows of three oyster shells inside the box.
    To get rid of the wood- I glue-gunned a striped ribbon I had with the same colours on the outside.
     I made a cockade, topped with a mother of pearl button, and glue-gunned that at the top of the box..
                                                       Here you can see the whole thing.
                                                                  
                                                                    But I liked it best here .
                                                                          Here's  more of a detail.
                                                                       And more detail.
                                                                 Stop!Enough pictures!
                                        I suppose you can tell Iam pretty pleased with my box.
                                           Also this was not really my idea but Bri's- sort of.
                                                                    Thanks Bri!
                       Get yourself some shells, a box and a glue- gun and you're ready to roll-
                                               make your own nautical decor !!
                                                                   Happy crafting !

This project was featured by Rebecca Restrepo on www.examiner.com under National/Home & Living /Hobbies  here.

                                                                                  

                                                                                                                                 

17 comments:

Unknown said...

How simply clever & lovely! Fits in your decor beautifully.
Have a great day ~
TTFN ~
Marydon

Bri@Meyouandawiener said...

Awesome glad you got some inspiration out of that post. Amazing how garage stash alawys comes in handy. Your shadow box came out pretty. Oysters were a genius idea.

Poppy @ With a Dash of Color said...

Such a great post! I love your oyster collection and they look wonderful in your shadow box. Loving the beautiful lamp as well! Everything goes so well with your decor. Dropping in from Masterpiece Monday.Have a great week!~Poppy

http://withadashofcolor.blogspot.com/

Marty@A Stroll Thru Life said...

This is so clever, I love it. Your display is wonderful. I love that lamp and chair too. Goreous work. Thanks for joining TTT. Hugs, Marty

Mariette VandenMunckhof-Vedder said...

Dearest Bea,

What a clever idea! Perfect shadowbox now and far better than it's spoon-hanging duty before!

Lots of love,

Mariette

Nita Stacy said...

Love these shells in a shadow box. Very pretty. Thanks for leading me to Bri's blog. Thanks so much for linking up to my very first party.

Moois van mie said...

hé ! tha&t's nice!!!!!

The Dragonfly On Iron Gate said...

ohhh this would be so nice to "save" a special dinner.. clean shells and for the back ground use a copy on the menu from the restaurant you went to !!!!! LOVE Happy I stopped in. Happy Thursday, Jules ♥

LV said...

What a difference a little ingenuity and work can do with things. You did an excellent job.

Jane@Cottage at the Crossroads said...

Wow! This is fantastic. I'm even imagining some oyster plates surrounding it. Thanks to you, I'll never bypass a spoon rack again.

Unknown said...

Very elegant! I like it! :)

~Liz

Kristine@thefoleyfam said...

GREAT idea! This will go wonderful in our bathroom!!! Thanks for sharing!

http://jandmseyecandy.blogspot.com/

Arabella said...

It's fabulous and gorgeous!!! Great job.

Happy Memorial Day weekend :O)

Hugs,
Marie

Simple Daisy said...

I think it's beautiful!! GReat job!!!!

At The Picket Fence said...

Hello friend! This is just an amazing transformation and I love the light and airy feeling it has and the ribbon on it is perfect. It looks just lovely on that table and I'm thinking that lamp might just have to make a trip to visit my home! :-)
Thanks so much for linking this up to Inspiration Friday this week~
Vanessa

The Charm of Home said...

I really like that you found a wonderful use for an old spoon display box. I also love nautical decor. The color for the background and everything was just perfect. Really nice! Thanks for linking it up to HSH!
Sherry

Naomi@DesignManifest said...

This is so sweet! Such a great way to showcase a collection.