Bring The Beach Into Your Home With This Crafty Glass Vase DIY

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If you love coastal decor, you may want to learn how you can decorate your home like a beach house. The idea of creating a serene space with natural elements using beautiful beachy hues is more than just aesthetically pleasing. Beach decor actually has a calming effect on your brain and can help lower stress levels. There's a cheap, easy way to capture breezy seaside charm at home without the need to dive into the ultimate guide on coastal decor. Bring the beach into your home with this simple glass vase DIY that creates a statement using some air dry clay, water, and colorful seashells for a perfectly imperfect coastal piece.

To achieve this easy DIY, you'll need to get yourself a glass vase, which you may already have on hand. However if not, you can order something like this Nisoger Clear Glass Vase. Next, you'll want to get some of this Crayola air dry clay, since it's the perfect, forgiving material for this DIY project. It doesn't require a ton of skill or any baking since it hardens naturally at room temperature.

You'll need a small bowl of water with some paper towels to keep things from getting too messy. Pick up some assorted, colored seashells such as these iao.v.p Natural Decorative Seashells. You can also use real seashells you've collected. Finally, get some clear acrylic paint for the finish, like the Rust-Oleum Gloss Clear Spray Paint.

First, prep the vase by washing and drying it so that the clay can adhere properly. Take small portions of the air dry clay out and press them onto the outside of the vase. Work in sections to gently flatten and blend the edges, covering the entire outside. The thickness doesn't need to be even since the variations can enhance the handmade coastal look of the finished piece.

Use water to help smooth out the clay as you work, blending fingerprints and seams and adding a natural, wave-like texture to your vase. Don't use too much water since it can make the clay slide around or lose its shape. While the clay is still soft, your next step is to take seashells and gently press them into the clay. Arrange them more randomly to give it a more organic beachcomber style, or you can create more of a pattern if you feel decorative or want to match or complement a design in your room. Press the shells firmly so that they stay in place. You can also add sand to the clay for more texture, or use all white seashells for a more minimalist look.

Allow the vase to dry for one day and continuing hardening for a total of 72 hours. Finally, apply a clear coat of paint or resin to protect the surface and give it a glossy sheen, which will also help prevent any cracking. And now you've got a beautiful glass vase boasting coastal charm. To keep the theme going, next you can repurpose your sea glass into beach-inspired wall decor.