Effortless Coastal Style: DIY Shell Tiebacks

DIY shell tiebacks are a delightful way to add a breezy beach vibe to your windows or bathroom while using those collected seashells. This simple project requires minimal crafting experience and lets you personalize the design to match your unique coastal taste.

Let’s use a large shell to create a unique DIY tieback that you can use around the bathroom towels, shower curtains, or curtains in your bathroom.

I love to evoke the feeling of the ocean in this space with a few calming touches. We can incorporate natural textures and soft colors that remind us of the seashore.

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DIY Shell Tiebacks

SUPPLIES

• A Large White Sea Shell
• Jute Twine
• Decorative Paper Napkin
• Matte Mod Podge
• Metallic Gold Paint
• 2 Flat Artist paintbrushes
• Hot Glue Gun & Glue
• Scissors
• Sanding Block

Step-By-Step Tutorial

1. Separate The Tissue

You should remove the extra paper from your 2-ply napkin. This will make the napkin thinner, like tissue paper, and easier to work with.

2. Mod Podge

Select one large white shell. Next, lay a single, separated napkin (from step one) over each shell, ensuring it completely covers the surface with some overhang for the edges. Remember, Mod Podge will cause the napkin to shrink slightly.

Now, grab your artist’s brush and dip it into the Mod Podge. Carefully coat the inside surface of the shell. Gently drape the napkin over the wet Mod Podge and smooth it with your finger. Aim for a good bond between the napkin and Mod Podge, but be careful not to tear the paper. Let the shell dry completely before you move on to the next step.

Trim the extra paper around the shell with scissors. Next, use a sanding block to sand the paper off the edges of the shell.

3. Top Coat & Gold Accent

Carefully apply a top coat of Mod Podge to seal the napkin on the shell. Allow to dry completely.

Add a touch of elegance with gold metallic paint around the edges of the shell.

4. Creating The Tieback

For the tieback, cut three pieces of jute twine to the desired length for your tiebacks. I am using a jute twine cut that is 36 inches in length.

At the end of the three strands, tie a knot. You should leave extra on the end. Do a simple braid of the twine.

To finish, knot-tie the braid and trim the remaining strands to the same length as the other end. This will give your braid a cohesive appearance.

5. Hot Glue

Add a generous amount of hot glue to the back of the shell. Use a small tool or pencil to press the jute braid into the hot glue across the entire shell.

OPTION: What just a sea shell tieback without the decoupage? No worries. You can create a beautiful plain tieback without decoupaging the sea shell. Just skip steps 1-3. Instead of hot gluing the jute braid to the back of the shell, glue it to the inside of the shell. The back of the shell becomes the center of attention for the tieback.

Effortless Coastal Style: DIY Shell Tiebacks

You can see how easy this project was to create. Move over, boring towels!

This large shell tieback is the ultimate upgrade for your bathroom. Check out this beautiful Sea Shell Wreath that coordinates beautifully with this tieback.

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Bring a touch of the ocean breeze into your bathroom with these easy-to-make, one-of-a-kind shell tiebacks. This project perfectly showcases your favorite large shell and adds a personalized coastal charm to your bathroom decor. I hope you give it a try.

Have a wonderful day, sweet friend!