Chiara's Artwork: Making a Picture with Sand and Shells (by MaxLaiena)

Did you bring home seashells and sand from your holidays but don’t know what to do with them? Why not turn them into a beautiful DIY beach-themed picture? In this tutorial, we’ll show you how Chiara created her own seaside memory frame using a simple photo frame, glue, sand, and shells. It’s a fun and easy craft—perfect for kids and adults alike!

Introduction

Our dear friend Massimo (MaxLaiena) and his talented daughter Chiara have kindly shared this creative project they’ve put together using just a few simple items collected from the beach, titled "Chiara’s Artwork."
Let’s dive right into the article they’ve sent us, which I’m sharing here below.

My daughter loves drawing. She’s definitely inherited that from her dad. She also enjoys collecting shells when we’re together on the shoreline, much to the detriment of her dad’s poor L5 and S1 vertebrae!
So, what happens when we combine these two passions? Let’s find out what our quirky dad has come up with!  

Materials Needed

Here’s everything you’ll need:

• Two canvases (one for me and one for Chiara)
• Acrylic paints for decorating
• Shells
• Beach sand
• Vinyl glue
• Transparent silicone

Let’s Paint the Sea

We started by painting the sea, and that’s when I realised my daughter is already better at it than her dad.
The one on the left was painted by Chiara, just to give you an idea (my little rascal is only 3 years and 5 months old).

Adding the Sand

The second step, after the paint had dried, was to prepare some vinyl glue diluted with water. We then applied it to the white part of the canvas and sprinkled the sand over it.

After Applying the Glue

Once the vinyl glue has been spread onto the white section of the canvas, wait for 10 minutes. Then, begin sprinkling the sand onto that area, shaping it into small, delicate dunes.

The Next Day

The following day, the excess sand is removed, and the diluted glue is sprayed over the remaining sand using a spray bottle. This helps solidify the sand on the surface as well. The result is this:

Adding the Shells

Once everything has thoroughly dried, the next step is to attach the shells using ordinary transparent silicone.

Touching Up the Sea Painting

Once the shells are attached, don’t think the job is done!
My daughter picks up the brushes again to perfect the sea, which, in her opinion, looked too flat (I was already amazed by what she had done, to be honest). And here’s her almost-final result:

The Little Fish

My daughter kindly pointed out that the picture, though cute, was missing something... something alive and colourful… Perhaps some little fish, which she’d love to paint. How could I say no?
We spent a day at the beach (our last day at the sea) and collected lots of small pebbles. With indispensable help from mum, we created the little fish you can see in the following images:

Ah… that one is dad’s picture. This one is Chiara’s! What do you think… wasn’t she amazing?
I definitely think so… but most importantly, she had so much fun!

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this article, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you all.
See you soon!

MaxLaiena