How to Make a DIY Seashell Box that Holds Treasures

This tutorial shows you how to make a DIY seashell box for holding treasures such as jewelry, shells, photos, and more.

If you are new to this blog: Welcome! My name is Anna and I share information on collecting antique/vintage items, refurbishing furniture and making small crafts/projects. The purpose of this blog is to show you how to use creativity and antiques to make your home beautiful. In addition to information on the blog, you can also follow me on the following social media accounts Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest.

Handcrafted Society

Welcome to the Handcrafted Society! This is a group of talented bloggers who come together monthly to collectively craft creations using a shared medium or theme. This month’s theme was “maps”. Each blogger created a project that incorporated or was made from a map.

The projects by the Handcrafted Society are fun and inspiring because we see the varied perspectives and interpretations of the theme by each participant. These women are amazingly creative in making projects for each month’s theme. Towards the conclusion of this post, you’ll find images and links to the projects made by each blogger. I hope you enjoy browsing through all the ideas these ladies have created. Simply click on the image or blog name to view their full post.

Back Story

This past summer, I had the great fortune of going to Nantucket for a week and staying in a beach house.  It was a lovely beach trip with the family and while we were there, we collected a wide array of shells during our walks on the sandy beaches. We spent hours walking on the beaches near the ocean waves looking for all sorts of seashells, sea glass, sand dollars and more. Of course, when we arrived home, I wanted a place to store my seashell collection to remind me of the trip.  I realized making a DIY seashell box would be a great way to store our collection of shells as well as any other treasures found on the trip. Today, I am sharing the process I used for making this little box.  This is a fairly simple craft project that doesn’t require many supplies. It’s also a creative way to make a vacation memory keepsake and the perfect way to store your favorite seashells.

DIY Seashell Box

Supplies

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Most of these supplies are available at your local craft store such as Hobby Lobby or Michaels.  Where possible, I have provided links to online sources.  

• Wooden box with a lid.  I used a cigar box
• Bag of seashells.  I found this bag from Walmart.
• White paint. I used chalk paint.
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks or E6000 glue
• Paper Maps 
• Xacto knife
• Straight edge ruler 
• Clear sealant.  I used Krylon color maxx clear
• Rubber cement glue

Step 1: Paint the Box

You can use any wooden box for this project.  I used a cigar box.  You can find similar boxes at a thrift store, craft store, or even yard sale.

The bag of shells I purchased were primarily white.  I wanted to attach them to the exterior of the box but knew, they would look best against a white background.  Using some chalk paint, I applied two coats of paint to the exterior of the box. You can use either a small 2 inch paint brush or a foam brush to paint the box.   Before moving on to the next step, ensure the paint on the exterior of the box is dry.

Step 2: Line the Interior of the Box

Using a ruler, measure the interior of the box.  The bottom, sides and top.  Then cutout the corresponding measurements from a map.  Just a quick note, you can also use any type of paper such as scrapbook paper, wrapping paper, sheet music, or images from a book.  I decided to use a map because they included the ocean, which is where the seashells are from.  TIP: an Xacto blade and ruler ensure you have straight cuts and works better than using scissors. (I linked an Xacto blade kit with a cutting mat in the supplies list above) Take your time with this process.  Make sure all the cutout pieces of paper fit into their respective areas in the box without gluing them in place.  

​Once you are certain all the pieces will fit correctly, apply rubber cement glue to the sides, bottom, and underside of the lid to attach the paper. TIP: using rubber cement glue ensures the paper won’t wrinkle or bubble.  

Step 3: Attach Store Bought Shells

Once the interior of the box is lined with paper, you can attach shells to the exterior of the box.  I laid out all the shell from the bag I purchased and created piles of similar seashells.  Then I started to place them on the top of the box in a pleasing pattern.  It took some time to arrange them to ensure there were no gaps.   I placed the larger shells first and then filled in gaps with smaller shells.  I used a different type of shell as a small handle to open and close the lid – it’s the perfect accent piece. 

Once the layout looked good, I attached each shell using E6000 glue.  NOTE:  E6000 glue requires a full 24 hours to set.  So you will need to glue the shells to the box over the course of a week.  If using E6000 glue requires too much time, you can also attach the shells using hot glue but the shells may not adhere to the box as well in the long-term. 

Step 4: Apply Clear Sealer

Finally, you will want to seal the exterior of your DIY seashell box.  I used Krylon gloss in crystal clear because it dries quickly and is non-yellowing.  Be sure to apply the clear coat in a well ventilated area or outside. I applied a second coat of the sealer to ensure I didn’t miss any spots. 

Other Seashell Craft Ideas

Here are some other ideas for seashell crafts, all of which make great gifts. 

• mount your seashells in shadow boxes
• turn them into ornaments
• create a seashell picture frame
• make seashell wind chimes
• make a seashell bookmark

Other DIY Keepsake Box Ideas

This concept doesn’t have to be limited to the beach, it can be applied to other vacation sites as well.  Here are some ideas:

• If you visit a forest, make a box covered with small pinecones
• If you visit a mountain, make a box covered with small pebbles
• if you visit a lake, make a box covered with leaves from the trees

Enjoy Your DIY Seashell Box

This was such a fun project to make and it’s a great way to store all the found seashells.  It’s also a fun way to reflect upon our vacation.  Finally, this idea can be adapted to can vacation you take.  Using natural elements inspired by the area you visit, you can make a box to store any treasures or trinkets to remind you of the occasion.  

Pin any of the images below to bookmark this tutorial for future use.

As you can see, I used a gold paint pen to write the date and location the shells were found.

​In this photo, you can clearly see the shell used to open and close the lid.

Map Projects from the Handcrafted Society

Below are other projects that incorporated the theme of “maps” created by the ladies in the Handcrafted Society. They are all tremendously talented so be sure to visit their sites for more inspiration.

In Closing

Thank you for stopping by the blog today. If you liked this post, you might enjoy the projects below. Happy creating!

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Peel and Stick Wallpaper in a Cupboard