I saw this shelf on Pinterest and loved the asymetry of it and thought it would be a nice addition to Bijou's room and perfect for her inherited shell collection we had recently brought out of storage.
The seashell collection came from Doug's grandmother who enjoyed collecting things from her travels, some near and some far. She lived the last quarter century of her life at the top of Nob Hill in San Francisco and would often ride the cable car down the hill to browse the seashell shops at Fisherman's Wharf. After each purchase, she would write the type of shell and where it was from onto a little piece of paper and tuck it inside like a little fortune. These little notes are treasured by us and her great-grandchildren, whom she never had the chance to meet.
Bijou and I did a 30-day drawing project over the last month, each choosing one shell to draw (or paint) each day. Both are displayed on the shelf, Bijou's in the top left corner. I loved the simplicity of her painting on day 12. It was such a nice way to connect and wind down from our busy days. I admit, we did cheat a few times, missing a day and playing catch up the next night. I totally encourage you to try this with your budding artists in your household.
The shelf was spotted on Pinterest but knocked off by Grandpa. Thank you Grandpa! It was fun spending the day with him in his wood shop even though I really didn't participate in the building of the shelf very much. In my spare time, I snapped photos of the junk treasures laying around and played dress-up with some of the safety gear.
I love how it turned out and how you are using it for display.
Posted by: Mimi | December 10, 2012 at 05:11 PM