Restoring the shell mirror...

About a year ago, shells started to fall off the shell mirror on my porch. I think the sunlight hitting the mirror directly in the late afternoon helped weaken the glue a bit ~ and to be honest, the whole thing has always been a bit fragile and delicate. Finally, this past weekend, I decided to take the time to repair this treasured possession.
For those who have not previously read about the shell mirror, it was the brainchild of one of my dearest friends. Right before I moved to California, she decided I needed a visual reminder of all the good times we had spent on Edisto Island off the South Carolina coast, so she bought a mirror with a plain wooden frame and we culled our shell collections to create this mirror, simply arranging and hot gluing the shells as we went. Once completed, the mirror was extremely heavy and very delicate ~ not exactly the easiest thing to transport from one coast to another and back again. But I did it anyway, even if my husband did think I was nuts.
Of course, after two coast-to-coast trips, it needed repair, so my friend and I repaired it and it took up residence in its new home on the porch. Several years later, its fragility was once again evident.

Luckily, the weak spots were just the top and the bottom of the mirror, so I was able to repair it without too much trouble. It is once again whole, though funnily enough, I changed the look of the top of the mirror without meaning to. The shell poking down into the mirror used to be at the top, sort of like a crown. And I created a cluster at the bottom that reaches higher than before, also without meaning to. Still, evolution is good and I am glad to see this memory piece restored.

Once I had fixed the mirror, I decided to take all the shells off the old mantel and clean it well. I also hung a light curtain to help deflect the direct sunlight the mirror was getting. All that got me cleaning the rest of the porch and getting it ready for summer.

So with all that done, I’m looking forward to many enjoyable afternoons and evenings spent here. It really is a wonderful spot.

Wishing all of you a lovely weekend...

Photos by The Art of Living Beautifully