Just Beachy Monogram Shell Decor

Mom & Dad bought a place down in Florida in 2012 and have been fixing the place up ever since.  Perhaps some of the "Florida style" has rubbed off on me; I had a Pinterest-inspired idea for a Christmas present!

I have a board for all kinds of "monogram decor*" and I've made monogram gifts and have 2 projects in the works at home as well.  One of the styles I've seen is where you put buttons on a decorative background.  That gave me the idea to put shells on a canvas!

I started by using paint to make a beach scene (air-quotes) by using 5 different paint colors and basically blend the colors together for an ombre effect.

While the paint was wet I dragged the brush through a little to give more depth.  Not sure it worked.  :-)  Also, the blue paint has a pearl finish while the sandy colors are matte.

When the paint was dry, I hammered a couple of cable staples on the back so that the ribbon to hang it from could be changed easily, if so desired.  I ended up using a tan/gold thick ribbon.

I actually really love this now, and will probably add these to all the things that I need to hang, it if works.  I put these on the back of a black frame that I glittered, and it works very well (more on that in a later post).

I found the shells I wanted to use at Michaels and bought them on sale.  While I had initially wanted to use all-white shells, I'm glad I wasn't able to find that kind of an option, because I like that some of the shells I used have some color, some striations, etc.

I used Alene's glue (and have since fallen in love with it for other projects) and so far it appears to be holding the shells well.  I guess we'll know otherwise if Mom calls me because falling shells woke her up at night.  :-)

I got opinions from a few different people on the shape of the letter, but it was Rhyanne who suggested making the "B" a serif letter by adding the little shells at the top and bottom on the left.  Think she was right.  Without those, it looked like an "8".

The result:

This shows the depth of the shells from the canvas.  I especially like the starfish.  Someone said that it looks like it's running away!

Maybe we can convince Mom to send a picture once it is hung in her Florida house?

*I use an asterisk because I don't consider it a "monogram" when it's just one letter.  I always thought a monogram was all 3 initials...  But what am I going to call it?  "Letter decor"?  "Initial decor"?  Neither of those options are really the best...  So "monogram decor" it is.  <sigh>