Ideas for Beach Sea Glass

Beach Glass Zen Garden

• Zen gardens bring harmony and peace of mind. Spend a day at the beach to gather objects to design your own desktop Zen garden. Find a piece of driftwood with "prongs." It will be used as a rake and should be the size of a pencil. The driftwood must be capable of raking and smoothing. Fill a small bucket of fine sand or purchase white sand at a craft store. Collect four out-of-the-ordinary shaped shards of beach sea glass. Purchase a shallow tray for the garden foundation. Votive trays with ridges or lips work effectively to prevent sand from spilling onto the table or desk. Once you have assembled all the objects, pour sand into the tray just below the ridge. Even the sand out so that it's smooth as glass. Place the shards of beach sea glass onto the sand. Add the driftwood rake and enjoy.

Beach Glass Shadow Box

• Go to flea markets, garage sales or look on eBay to find an old, wooden printer tray/drawer. Choose tray size akin to selecting a picture frame. It will need to fit on the wall. Clean the tray thoroughly. Then, either stain the wood to complement the existing décor or paint it in a creamy white. Find a space on the wall in which to hang the tray. On beach days, look for shards of beach sea glass to fill in one of the sections. Consider the shelf that it will fit on when collecting. Place the shards of glass against the wood to add a bit of coastal accent to the room and bring a bit of the beach home to share.

Beach Glass Paper Weight

• On beach days, scour the beach or riverbed for a smooth, flat bottom rock and one small sea-worn pebble. Collect desirable colors and different sizes of beach glass. Clean both the rock and the shards of glass with warm soapy water and allow to dry. Take the rock and the shards and make an appealing arrangement. Pile them on top one another or across the rock next to one another and build from there. When you find a design that is pleasing, glue each shard of glass with epoxy glue onto one another using the rock as the base. Take the sea-worn pebble to top off the paperweight. Spray the final piece with lacquer for luster. Lay the paperweight on a desk or coffee table. Use the weight as a door stop or place on the mantle as part of coastal décor.