How To Turn Your Summer Seashells Into Cute Table Dishes

Seashells come in various shapes and sizes and can make for some beautiful beachy decor around your home. If you're looking to turn your summer seashells into cute table dishes, then this hack by @domesticallyblissful on Instagram is right up your alley. All you have to do is attach your favorite napkin design to the interior of the shells and include a metallic border around the edge. Not only does this transform your seashells into more decorative items, but it is also incredibly versatile, meaning you can add any design to create your desired look. 

You could use it to store jewelry, keys, or other miscellaneous items around your home. This makes it a fantastic addition if you're looking for something eye-catching yet useful. Further, they're great pieces to use when decorating a nightstand, especially if you want to store your jewelry inside the dish at night. In addition to their striking nature, they are also incredibly easy to craft. If you have a bunch of seashells that you've collected from the beach, then this hack may be perfect for you. After all, you can put some of them to good use and perhaps even give them away as unique gifts. 

The first part of the process is gathering all the items you need. Clam-shaped or scallop shells will probably work best for this hack, as they have a wider surface area for you to place things inside. You will also need some liquid glue, such as PVA or Mod Podge, a golden pen or paint, scissors, a paintbrush, and some decorative napkins of your choice. You can choose any pattern you want to reflect your personal style.

To craft your table dish seashells, apply a thin layer of glue inside your shell with a small brush. Next, separate the two layers of the napkin, as you should only apply the decorative part. You can then cover the inside of your shell with your napkin with the pattern facing you. Gently press it down with a brush before adding another thin layer of glue and cutting the edges off with scissors. You can also apply some glue around the edges. Now, all you have to do is allow it to dry overnight. Once it's dry, you can go in and outline your DIY shell dish with your golden pen or paint. Make sure to be patient and take your time with this part, as it will be difficult to remove if you make a mistake and you'll likely have to restart. As a result, you should be left with a cute seashell table dish.

This hack works great due to the shape of the seashell, as it's large enough to hold several items. For example, you can use it to store your jewelry, keys, small trinkets, buttons, coins, and any other miscellaneous items around your home. Likewise, the curve of the shell also makes it more difficult for things to fall out of the container. However, you can always just use the empty shells for decoration, too.

Of course, you need to ensure that you find the right shape and size shell for this hack to work. If your shell is too small, then it may be difficult to use as a fully-functioning dish. There are also other factors to take into consideration. As it turns out, purposefully taking shells from beaches may have a negative impact on the local ecosystems, as they are used as homes for small critters, and removing large amounts could cause erosion. For this reason, it's better to leave them undisturbed. Although the choice is yours, it may be best to only try this hack if you already have a handful of shells stashed away somewhere. There are also plenty of other ways to decorate your home like a beach house.