When I was in Morocco a couple of years ago, I noticed the sweetest little handmade specimen boxes in some of the shops. They would be displaying teeth or something equally as absurd in a simple wooden or cardboard box, with a layer of cling wrap over the top as pseudo glass. The objects displayed had little descriptions written in pencil to make such a beautiful souvenir. I’ve also seen similar displays in museums that hold turn-of-the-century artifacts (*The Museum of Oceanography in Monaco has incredible cabinets of curiosity if you ever get the chance to visit).
It’s such a simple way to organise the goodies you might find beachcombing or on a nature walk.
What you’ll need:
Ephemeral objects to display; feathers, rocks, seashells, butterflies, leaves…
Paper (I used a strong card paper in white)
Boxes (half boxes really); in cardboard, wood, plastic…
Scissors
Glue
What you’ll do:
1) Gather your goodies.
2) Trace around your box onto the paper.
3) Cut paper to size- you may have to trim a little along the way.
4) Glue your objects down where you want on your paper.
5) Write a description below. Have a little fun with this and write whatever comes to mind- give it a name, an adjective, a noun…anything!
6) Glue your finished paper down into the box.
7) Show it off on a wall, prop it up on your mantle or give them as gifts. One Christmas everyone got personalised seashell boxes from me- they were a hit ;)
{Project by Nicole Valentine Don for The Jungalow}
For more Nicole, visit her blog and follow her on instagram.
Photos by: Dara Tippapart
Sweet and simple!
It really is!
Love a good DIY! This is a great way to display treasures.
Thanks, I’m glad you like it!
Cute.
Thanks x
OMG I love this DIY project ! So cool and simple way to decorate a wall with souvenir! I may borrow you the idea for my appartment wall ! Thanks for sharing :)
Awesome- so glad you love it! Do it for sure!
This is adorable! So beautiful and exciting and a fantastic idea. Makes me smile, thank you for sharing.
Oh, thanks for your feedback- so happy to know it made you smile :)
This is such a cute idea Nicole, love it! Will try this brilliant one with my beloved bits and bobs:-)
Thanks for sharing, best, Mette
Thanks for the feedback Mette! I’m so glad you like it and are going to give it a try x
It’s an amazing blog post, and it is really helpful as well.