How to Make 3D Beach Art
After moving into our new house, my goal was to decorate with touches of beach in every room. The kitchen was no exception and there was lots of creative space above the cabinets to do just that.
We also were left with some artwork from the previous owners that didn’t quite work with our decor. One of those pieces was a metal ring with wood turtles. With my new love for turtles, I was determined to find a way to repurpose them. So this 3D piece of art was born bringing a little bit of the beach (literally) into the kitchen.
Supplies you need:
- Wood scrap
- Paint
- Sponge Brush
- Glue gun
- Mod Podge
- Mod Podge Acrylic Sealer
- Sand
- Shells
- 3D turtles, fish or even just shells
Step 1- Get a piece of wood in the size you want
Easy enough. Thanks to my husband, our garage is filled with wood scraps of all sizes. Yes that’s right- we moved them! I measured the space I wanted to fill and found the right piece. It was stained but it doesn’t matter because I am painting over it.
Step 2- Paint the ocean
With paint from a craft store, I painted the tiers of the ocean, making sure to make one of the blues the paint that matched the kitchen cabinets. If you overlap while the paint is wet you can create a blending where the colors meet.
Step 3- Paint the sand
I then painted the area that would represent the sand. Since I knew I was layering real sand on top, I simply went with a neutral tan to cover up the old wood. Make sure you paint around the sides of the wood as well to create a wrapped look.
Step 4- Touching up the turtles
The previous owners left a piece of art that looked like a circle of turtles attached to a metal ring. My husband took the turtles off and we were pleased to discover they were made of wood. To repurpose them for this project, I painted over them in spots with the paint that matched the kitchen cabinets.
Step 5- Apply the sand to the board
I brought back actual sand from the beach by our house and let it dry out. I then mixed in some Mod Podge (which is really just a liquid glue) and spread it out all along the shore (the tan part). At first it looked like a glue mess, but as it started to dry, the Mod Podge becomes clear.
Step 4- Seal the sand
Although the sand seemed to be mostly glued down, I wanted to go one step further and seal it with Mod Podge acrylic sealer. The wood would be hanging up and I didn’t want sand falling off of it into my kitchen sink.
Step 5- Hot glue the turtles and shells
Time to put everything together! Glue the wooden turtles or whatever you choose to use to the wood. A hot glue gun works best but you could probably use wood glue as well. I also had some shells I gathered that I glued on. And just like that you have a 3D beach art!
Admire your 3D beach art!
To see it in my kitchen click below: