At First I Thought These Decorated Shells,

were from an age long past,

I could imagine them being 100 or so years old,

but I was fooled, they are all new, 

these are all from a self-confessed “crafts addict”, Mary Kenyon, who inherited her passion for arts and crafts from her father, who was a talented oil painter. They did a lot of different things together, from painting to leather carving, and after he passed away, Mary inherited his workshop and was inspired to use all those tools and supplies to come up with a whole new art form,

“We did everything from carving leather to oil painting on canvas. When he passed away I inherited a studio full of tools, leather, paint and canvases. With that much inspiration around me how could I help but feel creative and inspired,” Mary told Buzzfeed,

the artist starts by decoupaging an image onto the real seashell’s surface, then hand-paints decorative details using gold gilding paint, and finally attaches three-dimensional decorations like brass and colourful Swarovski rhinestones,

Kenyon’s first created some seashell jewellery for her sister, as a gift. She loved them so much that she encouraged Mary to start selling them. She started an online Etsy shop, and before long she was struggling to keep up with demand. She has been on Etsy for a decade now, and the hundreds of reviews on there express just how popular her creations are, “This is my 5th purchase of these beautiful shells and it’s stunning! 3 of them were gifts and so is this one for my friend who loves mermaids. Every shell I’ve purchased has been beyond perfect. I got one with the peacocks, a dragonfly, butterfly, hummingbirds. I will keep buying more for gifts because they are so unique and gorgeous!” one woman wrote,

“The reviews that I have had over the years have been rewarding and have given me the confidence to continue with my passion for art,” Mary herself said, for more of Mary Kenyon vintage-looking seashell jewellery, check out her Instagram, where she regularly uploads photos an videos of her newest creations, and I am still stunned as I thought they were from so long ago, what a talent Mary truly does have.