My husband and I share a love of nature... most especially the ocean. When it's too windy to fish, we often go beachcombing for treasures together.

On one of our treks, we discovered an aged, weathered turtle shell washed ashore. I loved it's natural form and decided to give it new life as a Wall Sconce for our casita in Baja.

Since I tend to be the creative/artistic half of our relationship and my husband is the practical/technical half, our collaborations (usually ;-) work out perfectly.

Here is our most recent project, from start to finish. It was easy, fun and inexpensive to make. We hope it inspires you to think outside-the-box and create something uniquely your own.

Step 1: Artist Tools and Materials:

Tools:

Dremel Rotary Tool
Dremel Diamond Cutting Wheel
Dremel Drum Sander

Materials:

Turtle Shell
Pencil and black sharpie
Masking Tape
Black Spray Paint
Polished Craft Seashells (purchased from Michaels Craft Store)
Gorilla Wood glue
Dry Lentils (really)
Black Spray Paint
Black and Champagne Acrylic Paint
Artists' paint brush
Clear Gloss Spray Paint
Wood wall plate
Light Socket and Cord
40 watt Appliance Bulb
Wood wall plate and screws
2 small Eye bolts
Picture frame wire

Step 2: Pre-mosaic Work:

To designate the mosaic outline, I traced the natural lines of the actual bone plate with the black sharpie.

Next, I sketched a line around the areas to be removed. I used the Dremel fitted with the diamond wheel to cut them away. I also cut a rectangular section from the backside of the shell where the wall plate would eventually be attached.

The cut edges were sanded smooth with a sanding barrel.

I masked off the frontside cut-out sections and spray painted the inner shell and backside completely black.

Step 3: Mosaic Work:

This sconce is for indoor-use and would only require occasional damp-dusting. For that reason, I decided to use dried lentils as a textural outline for the polished seashell mosaic.

I drew beads of Gorilla wood glue (tough stuff!) along the pre-marked lines then firmly applied the lentils one... by... one. Once the lentil outline was finished and the glue was dry, the turtle shell got a full coat of black spray paint.

From there, I scattered the polished seashells out on a large work surface and the FUN mosaic-puzzling process began. Gorilla wood glue dries clear, so I used it to affix the polished seashells, too.

I initially anticipated the artistic phase of this project would end here, but I felt like the sconce needed a little more color and texture. As an afterthought, I affixed more lentils to act as a "border" around the cutouts. I painted them with black acrylic then accented each lentil with a tiny dot of champagne-colored acrylic paint.

2 coats of clear gloss spray paint where applied to the exterior of the artistically-complete sconce...

It was my husband's turn to light it up!

Step 4: Lighting:

A scrap of 3/4" pine board was cut to size and painted black for the wall-mounting plate. A hole was drilled to bolt the fixture on.

This sconce is wired with a basic pull-chain light socket* and lit with a 40 watt appliance bulb. An elbow made from brass tubes and couplings was attached to the base of the socket and bolted to the wall plate. The plate was then screwed directly onto the turtle shell.

For hanging: Eye screws and picture frame wire was affixed to the wall plate. Ta DA... all finished!

*Pre-wired sockets (Lamp kits) can be purchased at hardware and craft stores. DIYers can wire a light bulb socket in a few minutes and probably save money. Check out this easy step-by-step Instructable: How To Wire a Light Bulb Socket and examine the last picture for additional clarity.