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With the hustle and bustle of Christmas being stressful for many of us, decorating your home in calming, tranquil blues will lend a serene feel – the ideal antidote for a busy time! It will also tie in with those sun-soaked beach days, sandy feet and long hours of sunshine.

Find your inner artist and create your own decorations this year. Crafting them is a festive fun project of its own, transforming your house into a summer wonderland with a shell Noel garland, shell gift tags, shell tree decorations, and shell name place settings.

Choose your tones

With blue tones often associated with the ocean and clear skies, it makes sense to embrace these beach-inspired hues at Christmas time in New Zealand. With festivities falling into our summer season, most of our time is spent at the beach so it’s natural to bring these blues of nature indoors when we’re celebrating.

Explore Resene’s tonal blues and create the perfect summery Christmas at your place.

Collecting shells

Wandering along the beach collecting shells is a lovely relaxing activity to enjoy as a break from the end-of-year frenzy. However, don’t forget that they are part of the coastal ecosystem – birds use them in nests and hermit crabs and other organisms use them as a home. With this in mind, collect only what you need and ensure that nothing is living inside.

Before you start crafting with your shells, soak them in water and give them a good scrub. If you can, leave them to soak for a few days, changing the water regularly, then leave them to dry in the sun.

How to make a shell Noel garland

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Paint the four large shells in the same colour. Ours were painted in Resene Teal Blue.
2. Paint the four small shells in the same colour. Ours were painted in Resene Kumutoto.
3. Paint the letters ‘Noel’ onto the large shells in white paint using a very fine art paint brush.
4. Cut a piece of string which is approximately 140 cm in length.
5. Lay out shells onto string, first and last shell should be 20cm in from the end of the string. Shells should be approximately 15cm apart.
6. Once you have worked out spacing, glue the shells to the string using a hot-glue gun.
7. Leave shells to set for an hour before hanging garland up.

How to paint a shell name place setting

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Paint your smooth shells in your desired colour and leave to dry.
2. Using a fine paintbrush, paint the person’s name onto the shell in white paint and leave to dry.
3. Place named shell on table setting.

How to make shell Christmas decorations

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Take a ruler and pencil and create a tag shape which is approximately 12cm in length and 6.5cm wide (use our image as a guide).
2. Cut tag shape out with scissors and use as template to draw more tags onto your cardboard.
3. Cut out tags and hole punch the end.
4. Paint small shells in desired colours.
5. Cut some twine which is 20cm in length, fold in half and loop through punched hole.
6. Using a hot-glue gun glue the small shells onto the ends of the tags and leave to dry.
7. Write message on back and tie to present.

Main image: Paint: Tongue-and-groove wall and floor in Resene Cut Glass, dining table in Resene Black White, bench seat in Resene Teal Blue, chair in Resene Wishlist, cabinets in Resene Kumutoto, large tray coffee table in Resene Teal Blue,, small tray table in Resene Foam, reindeer in Resene Ziggurat and Resene Scandal, star on tree in Resene Scandal, tealight holder in Resene Dauntless, mid-size round vase in Resene Scandal, coasters in Resene Norwester, small bowl in Resene Wishlist (on book stack), smallest round vase in Resene Hippie Blue, tall mid-size vase in Resene Wishlist, jumbo tall shaped vase, place mats and large bowl in Resene Teal Blue, wooden Christmas trees, large in Resene Teal Blue, small in Resene Ziggurat, rounded tall ceramic Christmas tree in Resene Scandal, faux books in Resene Teal Blue, and Resene Scandal and low flat large bowl in Resene Dauntless.

For more projects and colour inspiration visit Resene.co.nz.

Article provided by Resene. 

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