DIY shell decor ideas: photo frames, mirror, pots and vases. Mirror with shells or a mirror in a marine style Rectangular mirrors decorated with large and small shells

Record dated: 9-21-2016

This year, I finally realized my old dream - I made a decor from sea shells. I have been collecting shells for a long time - from each trip to the sea I brought with me a certain number of rapanchiks. Everyone was going to start making crafts from shells for the interior, but, as they say, “the fees were short-lived” 🙂 The only thing is that the shells were used to decorate miniature gardens in bowls, the creation of which I am fond of.

This year I was lucky to visit the sea near Anapa, in Art. Blagoveshchenskaya, where we camped on a sandy spit. There were absolutely extraordinary shells - the likes of which I had never seen in my life. They were large, bright, some even covered with some kind of calcareous coating, reminiscent of coral formations.

Of course, all the time of my vacation I was enthusiastically collecting this beauty, with the aim of subsequently making decor from shells. Other shells are smaller, I collected on the Sea of Azov when we went to the port of Kavkaz near Taman to meet a friend from the ferry.

When we were returning from the sea, we stopped at Ikea near Krasnodar and there I bought two wooden mirrors, hoping to decorate them with shells. I started decorating the mirror with my own hands while on a trip - it's nice to do something creative on vacation when there is a lot of free time. For this, I only needed pva glue, shells and the mirror itself.

How to stick seashells to glass

Many people are interested in me - how and with what kind of glue shells can be glued to glass - I will say with all responsibility that it is better not to come up with pva glue.

You need to glue the shells like this: you squeeze the pva glue onto the surface (it should be thick and create a layer of 3 millimeters on the surface. Exactly like this, and not like many people do - just smear the surface with a brush. In the latter case, the shells will fall off almost immediately.

But if you squeeze out the glue in a thick layer, then carefully place the shells in the glue (do not be afraid, this will not hurt the beauty), then they will stick very well. When the glue dries, its layer will become thinner and it will become transparent and invisible. This is how I glued the shells on the mirror. Large orange ones are collected on the Black Sea, and small ones - on the Sea of Azov.

See the shells yourself in macro photography - the glue is not visible at all!

This is the original mirror.

Well, this is how it became after decorating with shells.

The next idea for execution is to make from shells. Fortunately, after the last trip I have a lot of them.

How do you want to extend your summer vacation at sea, right? But work and other obligations are urgent, it’s good at least the memories of a wonderful sea holiday are glimmering in the soul!
But such memories can be extended, and not by viewing colorful vacation photos, but by a self-made mirror frame decorated in a marine style. Just imagine how wonderful it will look in the interior of a bathroom or hallway, constantly feeding you with pleasant memories of the warm sea!

Mirror with shells photo

If you brought shells from the sea, then in just a few days you may notice that they have darkened, and a terribly unpleasant smell has appeared, below you will learn how to bring the shells into proper form.
How to clean shells at home.
1. Freeze shells. Some people recommend freezing shells in a bag filled with water, I know from experience that no water is needed, put the shells in a bag, tie it up and put it in the freezer. After a while, when you can take care of the shells, take out the bag, wait until the shells are defrosted (do not untie the bag during defrosting - otherwise you will feel a pungent smell). After defrosting, tie a cotton-gauze bandage on your face, put gloves on your hands, arm yourself with tweezers, a knife, and a sharp wooden skewer and remove the insides of the shells.
2. Boil the shells. There is another way to clean the shells, pour water into the pan, into which the shells are carefully immersed, boil the shells in boiling water for about 15 minutes. Then drain the water, let the shells cool, arm yourself with tweezers and remove all the insides from them. At the final stage, thoroughly rinse all sinks running water.
3. How to bleach shells. Take a glass container, dip the shells into it and fill it with laundry bleach. After 1.5 hours, you can get the shells, if necessary, you can hold longer. Rinse the sinks under running water, dry, lubricate vegetable oil and after a while, cover with a colorless varnish. When drying in the sun, try not to overexpose the shells, otherwise they will crumble.

Mirror with shells photo

How to decorate a mirror with shells.
✓ Necessary materials:
✓ Mirror in a frame;
✓ Hot glue gun with glue sticks (you can use transparent glue moment);
✓ Shells, pearl beads and river pebbles;
✓ Colorless varnish;
✓ Tweezers.

Where to get seashells?
Collect on the seashore; Buy in coastal shops (usually in such departments shells of various shapes and sizes are sold at affordable prices); Buy in souvenir shops in your city; Order in the online store; Purchase at "All for Creativity" stores; Ask friends and relatives.

Well, let's start decorating the mirror with shells.
We put the mirror on the table, heat up the thermal gun or simply arm ourselves with a bottle of transparent glue of the moment. We cover the mirror canvas with a cloth or paper so as not to drip with glue and not to scratch.
We glue small shells along the inner contour of the mirror, it is better to apply glue on the shell itself, of course, when applying glue to the frame, things will go faster, but since the moment tends to harden quickly, you may simply not have time to glue seafood. Make sure that they are arranged symmetrically and do not jump out of the intended row.

After creating the shell outline, you can start gluing large shells, but before gluing, just attach the shell to the frame and evaluate whether it looks appropriate here.
After gluing the large shells, start filling in the gaps between them using pearl beads, river pebbles and small shells. If you plan to stick starfish, then remember that they are very fragile and need to be glued on first, and then lay out other decorations around them. Gaps can also be filled with clean sea sand or light beads can be used.

When the marine-style mirror is fully decorated with all kinds of marine gifts, leave the product to dry completely, 24 hours will be enough. Then we cover the frame with a glossy, colorless varnish, and after another drying - we admire the result!

I suggest you look at a selection of photos of square mirrors, complemented by shells.
Such mirrors will emphasize the interior design of the bathroom, hallway and bedroom. And how perfectly they will fit into a themed marine interior!

Mirror with shells photo

Round mirrors decorated with different-sized shells.
Such mirrors look very neat and quite compact, so they can be hung in any room of the house, in addition, such a mirror is perfect as a gift!

Mirror in a marine style photo

Oval mirrors decorated with shells and other marine gifts.
Such mirrors look really cozy, they will help to instantly revive the overall interior atmosphere. Just one mirror can dramatically change the entire home environment, thanks to its bright decor, it will become the main accessory in the house and will constantly catch the eye.

Rectangular mirrors decorated with large and small shells.
This form of mirror is perhaps the most traditional and popular. A large mirror, decorated with shells of various shapes, can be hung in a central place in the living room or dining room.
Mirror in a marine style photo

In addition to the functional mission, the mirror serves as a decorative decoration for the entire interior of the room, regardless of its purpose. Basically, mirrors are purchased ready-made, and the products offered are produced mainly in standard configurations, but you can also purchase a designer thing, but its cost will be quite high.

You can solve the issue yourself by making a frame for the mirror with my own hands or decorate the existing one with the help of improvised materials and personal imagination.

If your imagination is a bit tight, you can always resort to the help of Internet resources, where you can see a lot of photos with options for decorating mirrors.

Mirror Decoration Ideas

Perhaps, almost everyone knows the amazing property of mirrors - the expansion of the space of the room, making it visually larger than the actual size, and the role stylish decoration interior.

You can decorate mirrors various materials available in sufficient quantity for everyone. And your indefatigable imagination and great desire will translate into reality any ideas for decorating mirrors, moreover, made with your own hands, which will make your creation truly priceless and unique.

The main field for creativity in decorating mirrors is not the mirror surface, but its frame, i.e. frame. To decorate it, you do not need special knowledge or work experience at all, this process is quite accessible to everyone, the main thing is to have good taste and be creative in the design process.

To decorate a frame for a mirror, you can use: seashells, pieces of broken glass or ceramics, tile fragments, paper, newspapers, jewelry items, mosaic remnants, bamboo sticks, tree branches and much more.

Using broken dishes

It is easy to make a mirror decor from fragments of broken dishes with your own hands. Did your favorite cup or plate break? Do not rush to throw away the fragments, because they can be used to build a decoration for a mirror frame.

Cut the mosaic pieces with the appropriate tool. Prepare in advance a draft of the future creation and a field for creativity.

Glue the mosaic components on top of the workpiece using ordinary glue, small beads and pebbles with mother of pearl will not be superfluous, in addition, you can use other details at your discretion. At the end of the process, it is necessary to grout the frame surface and wipe it with a soft cloth.

Decor with shells

Decorating a mirror frame using seashells is as easy as shelling pears, with glue, acrylic-based paints and a sufficient variety of shells on hand. Prepare the surface of the frame in advance, clean it from dust and dirt. Apply glue on top of it and lay the prepared shells in the intended order.

Straight lines, wavy, in the form of circles or bends, and other configurations will look beautiful. Dry the composition for some time, then cover with acrylic paint or varnish.

Stone decoration

The frame, decorated with stones, looks quite expensive and stylish. When using glass drops, do not forget that they are quite massive, which means you should leave space around them free. Do not combine stones of different types and textures.

For decoration, the ideal choice would be: smaller than average pebbles, glass in the form of a drop, crystal elements, artificial or natural stones, rhinestones and other materials. As a fixing, use a special transparent glue.

We decorate the wall with mirrors according to the rules

In order not to spoil the wall with future creations, and to make the decor of the mirrors on the wall successful, you must follow certain simple rules:

give preference to mirrors of the same dimension, it is better to use products no larger than average;
products of non-standard forms, as a rule, are not placed in frames;
round or square mirrors should be decorated with a beautiful frame;
a composition of the same type of mirror frames will look solid, regardless of the size of the mirrors;
use no more than 5 mirrors in the composition with a spectacular and stylish frame, otherwise break the harmony;
a win-win option would be to use mirror frames, which are ideally combined with the whole style of the interior solution of the room.

Photo decor mirrors

Currently, a mirror is an essential attribute of any living room, the purpose of which is not only to admire your reflection. The mirror is also an important element of decor and decoration of any interior. Often, industrial mirrors cannot fully emphasize the individuality of a room's design. And here do-it-yourself mirrors come to the rescue.

Naturally, if we talk about the decor of an old mirror made by hand, we should not mean a forged frame or a frame made, for example, of mahogany. There are many ideas for decorating mirrors using readily available and relatively cheap materials that will allow you to make an original decorative element.

IN modern home or an apartment, almost every room is equipped with mirrors: an entrance hall, a bathroom, a bedroom or a nursery. Depending on the location in the house, the purpose of the mirrors may be different, but they are united by the fact that a modern person simply cannot imagine life without a mirror. This household item should be in the living room, although many believe that this is not the case.

If the room is spacious enough, the absence of a mirror in it, of course, can be justified, but the presence of this household item in small rooms can visually expand the space of the room.

Room decor with an unusual mirror

Do you like this frame-sun for a mirror? A detailed lesson in this article is.

These 3 very stylish mirrors can also be made with your own hands - follow the link for a detailed master class -.

At first glance, it seems that all the mirrors are similar to each other. You can avoid this by doing the decor of the mirror with your own hands. Consider below the most common decoration options.

The decision to equip the walls of a room with mirrors often leads to problems caused by the need to purchase a product of a certain size, shape and design in order to harmonize with the interior of a particular room. Decorating mirrors with your own hands helps to solve this problem.

It should be noted that this work will require not so much skill and skills in a certain area as the presence of developed imagination and good taste, as well as a creative approach to business.

Wall decoration with small mirrors

Unusual shape or frame for a mirror - perfect solution for an empty wall in a room

Such curly mirrors are easy to make yourself - you need to choose a shape and order cutting

Composition of 16 mirrors

A feather-shaped mirror is a great solution for a relaxation area

7 rules for decorating interior mirrors

When using mirrors as an element of decor, you must follow the following rules:

Products are better to choose the same size, preference given to small and medium mirrors.
If a mirror object has an irregular shape, it should not be placed in a frame.
Rounded or square mirrors are advised to enclose in a beautiful frame.
To make the composition look like a single whole, it is best choose the same frame.
It is most important to use the same frames for products different sizes.
When creating a composition of mirrors on the wall, you need to try not to create excessive clutter - sometimes in order to create a harmonious image, 5 mirrors with spectacular frames are enough.
Frames look great, which echo the decor of the room as a whole.

ADVICE! For example, a frame made of wood blends perfectly with a wooden table. In general, as they say professional designers, the design that is made with the use of imagination and creativity will look spectacular.

Mirrors are capable of visual expansion of space small rooms(for example, in "Khrushchev"), however, often this will require more than one mirror.

Three, six, or even ten items various forms and sizes will achieve the desired result. In an interior made in classical style, for such mirrors, voluminous frames made of stucco are suitable.
Modern trends in the design of rooms are ideally complemented by narrow mirror frames of various geometric shapes, sometimes with patterns on the surface.
When using lamp lighting, a bright reflection in the mirrors will contribute to the visual expansion of the space.

Large mirrors for the living room

You can order the production of "curved" mirrors and place them on one of the walls (in the form of applications or a single size in the form of a square).

Light walls will perfectly decorate the mirrors differing in shape and size. Such a “row of windows” will enliven the room and brighten it even more.

Mirror above the fireplace

A beautiful large mirror ideally placed above a sofa, table or fireplace. However, the combination of this household item with other mirrors should be abandoned.

DIY wooden frame for a mirror

The tree looks great in almost any interior. This is a very popular and time-tested natural material. Wood products have excellent performance and attractive appearance. That's why The wood is ideal for use in DIY mirror decoration.. Square or rectangular household items are well framed with ordinary wood borders, but you can and should experiment with round and oval mirrors.

Mirror sun from branches

Original for any interior will look like this called mirror-sun. It is made using blocks or twigs of wood, plywood frame, primer, special glue, aerosol, sandpaper, and a glue gun.

How to make a sun mirror:

To begin with, branches are glued with wedges around the entire perimeter of the frame, and alternating long and short, so that it looks like rays from the sun.
Each bar is necessary hold for 15-20 seconds, so that it sticks well.
After waiting for the glue to dry, it is necessary to remove its remnants with sandpaper, and then apply a primer and leave for 1 hour.
Then you need to cover the frame with paint or varnish.

Decor with dry branches

Twigs can be replaced with wooden clothespins. So, a few minutes - and the decorative frame-sun is ready!

Clothespin mirror frame

paper decor

round and small mirrors can be decorated using an egg carton. This solution is very original and requires very little effort. It will be necessary to cut out each individual cell, glue the flower and paste over the mirror with them.

Egg carton mirror frame

DIY bathroom mirror decor

By decorating an object is understood the achievement of form and colors, in harmony with the style in which the interior of the room is made, as well as with its purpose. When decorating a mirror in the bathroom, it is necessary to ensure moisture resistance and strong fixation of decorative elements.

Decor of an old bathroom mirror - acrylic painting

How to decorate an old bathroom mirror:

To get started you need wipe off the previous coating from the surface of the frame. For removing old paint use paint remover - it's not expensive and available at any hardware store.
Then priming occurs in order to prepare the basis for the glue.
After that, glue must be applied to the places of future fastening of beads or shells. Decoration can be carried out randomly.

The original design idea is a frame made of metal rulers, which are also arranged in the form of a sun.

Mirror frame made of metal rulers

The standard rule for decorating walls with mirrors: if the products are voluminous, then there should be few of them. For example, to decorate a large mirror, you can glue toy cars to it by painting them on top. One product decorated in this way is enough for the room.

Original frame for a mirror from old toys

By fantasizing and using ordinary objects that are at hand at the moment, it is possible to decorate the mirror so that it looks unique and at the same time keeps a piece of the enclosed soul and warmth.

Also in the bathroom, a backlit mirror looks very relevant - it is very easy to make it with your own hands. Here is the detailed one.

Decor mirror shells

Before starting work, make a pattern of shells by attaching them to the surface to be decorated. The composition may or may not have symmetry. Make the most of your imagination when creating a drawing.

To avoid contamination of the glass of the mirror, it must be sealed with masking tape. After that, you can begin to glue the shells on the frame. For complete drying of the glue, you need to wait for several hours.
After making sure the glue is cured, start painting the frame.
Coloring is carried out in several layers, which are applied every 20 minutes to let them dry out a bit.
The layers are carefully applied so that they are as thin as possible.

This design of the mirror with the help of shells will decorate any room, the interior of which is made in the "classic" style.

You can also make decorative candlesticks from shells - a detailed lesson:.

Mosaic mirror decor

To decorate the mirror in the bathroom with your own hands, you can use glass or ceramic mosaics.

Bathroom mosaic mirror

If you want to make such a mirror yourself - here is a detailed one.

Frame decorated with sequins

You can make such an original bathroom mirror yourself by simply ordering curly cutting of mirrors.

Decor of a round mirror with a frame of pipes: Master class

A very stylish and modern frame for decorating a round mirror can be made from ordinary polypropylene pipes for water supply.

Frame for a round mirror made of pipes

This will require:

plastic pipe;
a saw powered by electricity;
skin;
glue gun.

Assembly technology

Step 1

We cut the rings with great care. At the same time, they must have the same width, otherwise the finished product will look sloppy.
Therefore, a “trimming” electric saw with fine teeth is ideal.

In the absence of such a saw, you can use the miter box.

We take polypropylene pipes for water supply - you can choose any diameter at your discretion

Step 2

Immediately before gluing, cuts on each ring processed with fine skin to avoid burrs.
Since our task is to produce an accessory that has a beautiful appearance, every little thing in it should look neat.

We lay out the rings in any shape you like

Step 3

Rings fastened with a glue gun, which will provide an inconspicuous fastening. The gluing of the rings can occur in different ways, a different method can be used than in the photo.
The shape of the composition can be both square and oval. It is recommended to make it in the shape of a mirror.

We glue the rings together with a gun

Step 4

The mirror is also glued to the rings with a glue gun exactly in the middle. It should be noted that all elements must be cleaned of dust particles and degreased before gluing. You can hang the finished product on the wall by the rings.

So, you can make a product that combines 2 or 3 mirrors, and to give a greater effect, it can be supplemented with a glass vase or table.

Master class: Mirror with lace

A paper lace frame looks very unusual and homely. It can be purchased at any store where disposable tableware is sold.

We have to:

Paper lace for cake.
Double-sided tape.
Round mirror.
Coating paper.
Aerosol paint.
Scissors.

Technology step by step

Step 1

Take the lace from the cake paper and paint it with spray paint. Dry well for 1-2 hours.

We paint lace with spray paint

Step 2

Cover the back of the mirror with double sided tape. Then cut off the protruding end of the tape.

Apply double sided tape to the mirror

Cut off excess tape along the contour

Removing the protective film

Step 3

Remove the protective film and place the mirror on the previously dyed paper lace and press well.

We make external mounts for the mirror

We place a mirror in the center of the lace and press the tape well

Hanging a mirror on the wall

The final touch remains, attach it to the wall.

Such frames look especially beautiful if there are several of them!

Master class: Mirror decor with petals

The frame for the mirror can be decorated with artificial petals, they are usually sold in bags in everything for decor.

Mirror decor with petals

For this we use:

Petals of artificial silk flowers.
Glue gun.
Round mirror (or oval).
Spray paint (any color).

Work order

Paint the frame white.
We start from the outer edge, with a hot glue gun, glue the petals.
And so, row after row, we lay the petals.
Insert the mirror into the frame. Your amazing mirror is ready!

Glue the petals row by row with hot glue in a circle

Finished mirror with petals

Master class: Mirror decor with gold leaf

An unusual and modern mirror will turn out if its edges are decorated with gold leaf. If you did not find it, you can take the usual thin foil.

Mirror decor with gold leaf

We have to:

Glue gun.
Mirror of any shape.
Foil or gold leaf

Decor technology

Take the foil and tear it with different figures.
Use a glue gun to glue the edges of the mirror with pieces of foil or gold leaf, adjusting it tightly, one on top of the other.
Let dry 1-2 hours.

Glue the foil onto the mirror with a glue gun

Required materials for a nautical style mirror

Mirror (any shape);
Starfish, river pebbles, various small shells. If it so happens that you do not have the opportunity to collect such materials immediately near the sea, you can buy ready-made kits in stores;
Beads-pearls of different sizes;
Adhesive composition (optimally - super-glue);
Adhesive paper or bandage.
Required Tools labor: scissors as well as tweezers.

How to decorate a mirror in a marine style

1. Before starting work, you need to clean the surface of the mirror with a glass detergent, it is advisable to thoroughly rinse the shells, river pebbles, this is quite important point, because the adhesive composition does not hold greasy or dirty surfaces together well.

2. Using an adhesive bandage (or paper), we will make a frame on the mirror.

If necessary, you can also glue the shells on the mirror surface, but the advantage of this “frame” is that it will help you clearly limit the place of gluing (serves as a contour), and in case of an oversight, the bandage is easier to separate from the mirror than very fragile materials.

3. Let's start gluing small shells. First you need to glue large shells on the frame. It is highly desirable that they be arranged symmetrically.

Try not to overload the frame, otherwise it will look overly cumbersome

Before applying the adhesive to the material, attach the selected shells to the frame, create several steps back at once, look at the mirror from afar. This will help to determine in advance which shells are much better combined with each other.

Glue must be applied to the shells.

4. Moving from the already glued large figures, we will attach small shells to the frame and, in addition, medium-sized sea river pebbles. Instead of river pebbles, you can also use very light, very flat pebbles, sold in flower shops to decorate potted plants. Don't forget to leave room for the beads.

5. Gently enough to glue sea stars. The important thing is that they are quite fragile. Therefore, at first, it is much better to glue the stars on an empty certain space, and only then place the rest around them.

6. It remains to fill the empty spaces with small small shells, pebbles, beads. For convenience, I advise you to use tweezers. This will make it easier to apply the adhesive to a small material.

Using tweezers, we will also fill in all the other gaps with beads.

In the same case, if you are unable to fill out absolutely everything empty seats between small shells (for example, along the edges or even small “holes”), leave them empty - only thanks to the bandage frame they will not be conspicuous.

For all those who live near the sea, there is Alternative option- fill the "holes" with adhesive and, accordingly, pour clean sea mountain sand into them. After some time, when the adhesive is completely dry, you will need to shake off excess clean mountain sand. Another method is to use small rather light beads instead of pure sand, for example, light cream, very light sand color tones.

7. Let's move on to the last stage of decorating the mirror in a marine style. When all the materials are glued to the frame, it remains to wait until the adhesive composition dries. Following this, you need to clean the surface of the mirror, as well as the shells from the remnants of the adhesive composition.

Following this, the decorated frame can also be covered with a completely colorless lacquer composition. However, this is not at all necessary: the varnish composition is needed to strengthen the structure.