Diy beach glass art

I’ve always loved these beautiful sea glass windows.  I’ve seen them in the shops on Cape Cod and online on etsy.com and have always wanted one.  A few years ago I made this Sea Glass Dolphin and Sea Glass Sea Horse and I thought, ‘hey maybe I could try to make one of those windows’!  Well, I finally did.

Read the tutorial on how I made this DIY Sea Glass Window Art (it’s pretty simple) and see how it came out.

This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission which helps keep my blog up and running but it won’t cost you a penny more)!

Step 1: 

The first step in making your DIY Sea Glass Window Art is to dump out all the Sea Glass and arrange it by color.  I know these mosaic tiles I bought from Michaels aren’t really ‘sea glass’ but I bought them anyway.  I’m glad I did.  The colors are awesome!  Also, if you have your own collection of sea glass, use that.  I do not have my own collection so I bought these.

Step 2:

Lay out your frame and start playing around with some designs on your glass.  This step takes a while.  It is like doing a puzzle.  I knew I wanted to make a wave so I imagined a basic shape and then started putting pieces in.  You can do any shape you wish!

Also note, I didn’t have access to a real window like the ones on etsy.com so I bought a float frame from Michaels (11×14).  They were $24.99, but were buy one get one free at the time of my purchase (I used the other one to make this).  If you want to try this project and can get a hold of an old window, great!  Go for it.

After playing around with it for a while, I decided I wasn’t liking the purple sea glass so I put those aside.  I also decided to use the yellow as the ‘sand’ (see below), although I did use a few pieces of yellow in the wave part too.  I also found some shells from my collection and added in a few of those.  Once you have what you like, move on to step 3.

Step 3: 

Start gluing them down.  This is where it gets tricky.  Once you start to glue, you end up rearranging the sea glass a bit.  It takes a long time to get them right.  Be patient.  I found walking away from it and taking a break every now and then helped me to get it done.  I also took a picture of it before I glued them down so I could refer back.  I used my glue gun to glue them down.  I’m not sure this was the best glue to use, but it definitely did the trick.  This E3000 would do the trick too.

And, viola, here is the final product!

And here is how it looks hung in my living room….

Maybe not quite as good as the ones you can find on etsy.com or in the shops of Cape Cod, but not half bad and was fun putting it together…What do you think?

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Shop Seaglass for Crafting

Shop Sea Glass Art on Etsy

Shop Seaglass for Arts & Crafts

Create some funky sea glass art with sea glass and pebbles collected from the beach.  A unique piece of art thats simple to make and ready to hang!

We visited the eastern coast of Canada this summer and it was literally a dream come true!  I love the coast AND I’m a huge nerdy Anne Of Green Gables fan so it’s always been a childhood dream of mine to explore the gorgeous island of PEI, Canada. This vacation also inspired some sea glass art – the step by step tutorial is below!

On the last day and last beach of our vacation – we were exploring the shoreline in the town of Souris- a beach known for sea glass.

It was low tide and we were literally walking on the ocean floor- so cool by the way! We spotted some sea creatures like crabs, clam shells and multiple jellyfish waiting for the sea to come back.

After walking along the entire beach, I spotted a local family that were digging for soft shell clams, for a yummy traditional east coast clam meal.

We stopped and chatted with them. They even gave us a quick demo on how to find and dig out clams, which is now on my bucket list!

We told them we were looking for some sea glass and they gave us a tip to look along a pebbled path on the shore, which is where sea glass usually washes up.

It was the perfect tip! Within a couple minutes my husband yells “found one!”. It was a gorgeous amethyst colored piece. Reminded me of the amethyst brooch in Anne of Green Gables (told you I’m a AOGG geek!) 🙂

We ended up finding a couple more pieces before it started raining, then we called it a day.

This girl got her sea jewels at the end of a east coast dream vacation….couldn’t have asked for more!

After we returned home,  I wanted to create something that reminded us of our vacation while incorporating my small sea glass collection.

What is Sea glass and where can you find it?

I didn’t know what sea glass was until I saw some pretty neat art on Pinterest. I was intrigued and wanted to know more.

Here’s what I learned.

Sea glass is the result of broken pieces of jars, glass and ceramics being tumbled for years in the ocean. Cool eh? So basically the ocean naturally recycles these sharp glass pieces, and gorgeous sea jewels are left behind. Amazing mother nature!

It takes on average 30 years for the sharp pieces of glass to get their naturally frosted and soft edges.

Sea glass is traditionally used in DIY jewellery, but a recent trend has been to incorporate it into art pieces. You can find a bunch of beautiful pieces on Pinterest and even Etsy!

Where to find sea glass?

Sea glass and beach glass can be found on many coastal shores, and even on the shores of the Great Lakes.

Here’s some awesome tips on how to spot sea glass. They were given by some sea glass experts. And I totally agree with looking on a pebbled beach, versus sandy, that’s what worked for us!

Can you Buy Sea Glass?

You can buy sea glass online online on amazon and Etsy. But there are a couple of things to watch out for.

If you are looking for the authentic sea glass (I.e. made by lakes or oceans), make sure you read the description very carefully. There are many people selling “at home tumbled” sea glass pieces, which are often cheaper in price.

I personally haven’t bought any online, but from the reviews the “at home tumbled” variety can be a hit or miss.

If you’re looking for authentic sea glass, Etsy is a great place where you’ll find many people who have collected them from beaches and are willing to sell them.

But they are more expensive.

If you do choose to buy online, make sure you ask the seller before you buy- if the sea glass come from the beach/ocean or has been made by a tumbler machine (at home).

How do you Glue Beach Glass?

There are a couple of glue’s you can use to stick sea glass to card stock, canvas, wood, etc. Some experienced sea glass artists use E6000 glue (just make sure you wear gloves when using this stuff), since its an industrially strong glue.

I wanted to use something a little safer (since I often craft with my kids). I found that Aleene’s Tacky Glue worked perfectly with my Sea Glass art.

I’ve had my sea glass art hanging up on my wall for almost a year without a problem!

Now, that your up to speed on all-things sea glass- let’s move on to the tutorial!

Heads up: My post may contain affiliate links. That means if you click and buy something I recommend, while it won’t cost you a penny more, I might earn a small commission. It helps keeps this site up and running. Thank you for your support!

Materials:

1. Sea glass
2. Pebbles
3. Tacky Glue
4. White card stock
5. Shadow Box Frame. I bought the square Ribba Frame from IKEA. If you shop online I found this one which is similar and got good reviews.

Step by Step

1. Cut your card stock to the size of the frame. You can use the frames backing piece as a template.

2. Glue the card stock to the backing with the tacky Glue.

3. Place your sea glass and pebbles on the card stock in the design you want. Do NOT use glue in this step. This step is to plan out where everything goes, before gluing.

4. Once you’re happy with your design start gluing your glass/pebbles one by one, until you’re done. The tacky glue takes a couple minutes to dry, so you can readjust your pieces within that time.

5. Once completely dried, attach the frame back and your unique sea glass art is complete! I ended up drawing some seagulls with a black Sharpie, and I added in a couple of tiny sea shells from our vacation.

And there you go, a fun way to create an art piece with some sea glass!

In addition to the sea glass lighthouse I ended up making a DIY sea glass flower, which I gifted to my nephew after he collected a bunch of seaglass and seashells from a day at the lake.

Here it is…

If you can’t get enough of beach inspired crafts, like me, check out my other posts:

DIY sea glass art

I wrote aboutcreating a crafty sea glass picture for East Coast Living Magazine. Now I’m going to follow the instructions to create my own sea glass wall hanging.

If you don’t have your own stash of sea glass you can hunt for it at the beach. If you ever needed an excuse to take a walk at the beach, now you have one. You’re welcome. You can alsobuy sea glass onlineor from craft supply stores.

Sea glass facts

• White, green, and brown are the most common sea glass colours.

• Blue, red, orange, and yellow pieces are harder to find.

• Make sure your sea glass is cooked - sea glass speak for rounded without sharp edges.

• It takes many years of tumbling in the ocean for sea glass to be smooth.

Sea glass art ideas

Think about the image you want to create with the sea glass. There are lots of ideas for designs you can create. Flowers (like daisies or lupins), hearts, a simple wreath, a tree, or even a sail boat are a few suggestions to get you started with your sea glass craft project.

Sea-glass crafts are the perfect way to remember all of the fun times from your summer adventures. The glass' frost-like appearance is made from weathering by the ocean, which makes these beachside finds one of a kind.

Scour the sand for pieces of sea glass, seashells, and other beach prizes to use in crafts projects and jewelry. There are few things quite as rewarding as a craft you make from start to finish—when you source your materials, then turn them into something beautiful, you'll feel a sense of accomplishment and pride each time you see your handiwork. That's where homemade jewelry comes into play. If you're looking to make timeless trinkets, sea-glass earrings are simple accessories that will upgrade any of your summer outfits. A sea-glass necklace can offer the same effect. Adding the oceanic touches to a plain band can elevate your all-around look.

When it comes to home décor, trade out run-of-the-mill furnishings for ones you've updated yourself; adding sea glass to store-bought goods transforms basic essentials into treasures inspired by the ocean. What deserves a beachy update? A sea-glass-tiled tray or tabletop can make dinnertime a destination whenever you present a meal. You can even use sea glass to make the holidays a bit brighter. Sea-glass ornaments, made both to give and to keep, will make everyone's season a little brighter. Plus, the easy-to-make Christmas adornments are a great starting point for a unique holiday tree.

Read on for more ideas that are guaranteed to make sea glass your newest crafting tool. These pretty pieces are bound to upgrade your style, no matter the occasion or time of year.