If you’ve been eyeing those shell-covered beach totes but not the price tag, here’s exactly how to create a DIY shell beach bag that looks high-end and is totally custom. For a fraction of the cost!

DIY Shell Beach Bag (Inspired by a $245 Designer Tote)

If you love coastal-inspired beach accessories and a good DIY moment… this one’s for you. FYI, I can’t say “moment” without thinking of Amanda from RHOBH now. IYKYK!

This easy DIY shell beach bag transforms a simple woven tote into a statement summer accessory using seashells, gold charms, and a little creativity.

Perfect for:

• Beach vacations

• Pool days

• Coastal outfits

• Resort wear styling

• Summer market bags

I just love that it gives designer vibes without designer pricing.

Shell-embellished straw bags are trending everywhere right now. But many retail between $150–$300! The inspo above is currently selling for $245! I think we can do better.

Supplies You’ll Need

Base Bag

• Woven straw or raffia beach tote

• Open weave styles work beautifully because charms can hang naturally

Shell Embellishments

• Small natural seashells (mine are actually hair braid charms)

• Optional: gold shell charms or starfish charms for contrast

• Optional: starfish pin for the handle (I used a hair clip!)

Hardware

• Gold jump rings (if you don’t buy the shells I used)

• Jewelry pliers

Step-by-Step: How to Make a Shell Beach Bag

Step 1: Choose Your Shell Placement

Lay your bag flat and play with the arrangement before attaching anything.

You can:

• Scatter shells randomly for a relaxed beachy vibe

• Cluster them along the top edge only

• Mix white shells with gold accents

Pro tip: Step back and take a photo before attaching. It helps you see spacing better!

Step 2: Attach with Jump Rings

If you didn’t purchase the shells I used that came with rings, you may need to add jump rings :

1. Open a gold jump ring using jewelry pliers

2. Slide the shell charm onto the ring

3. Loop it through the woven strand of the bag

4. Close the ring securely

Step 3: Add Statement Details

For extra personality:

• Clip a pearl or beaded starfish pin (or hairclip!) to the handle

• Add a few gold shell charms for dimension

• Mix shell sizes for visual interest (I may add some larger shells to mine!)

There is something very satisfying about turning inspiration into your own version! And honestly? I kind of love it even more knowing it didn’t cost $245!

If you make one, tag me @thestylishhousewife on social media. I need to see your shell placement strategy!

YOU GUYS.

It has basically been you, me and ChatGPT trying to keep this blog afloat.

I’ve been using Mailchimp for my subscriber list since 2015. And if I’m being completely honest, I set it up and never looked back. I pretty much forgot it even existed!

Fast forward to now and things are starting to break because I am running a custom theme that is basically a dinosaur. THANK GOODNESS for ChatGPT. I am not a fan of AI when it comes to fake images, fake videos, fake news, etc. But when it comes to fixing backend website issues, it’s like having a web designer in my back pocket.

All that to say, I still don’t entirely know what I’m doing.

I thought you guys were receiving “new post” emails every time I published something. Then I discovered there were supposedly no ongoing campaigns, so I assumed nothing had been going out for years. Turns out…there was an RSS campaign quietly running in the background. I THINK.

So if it feels like I am suddenly bombarding you with notifications, I promise that’s not the goal. I’m just trying to clean things up around here. The plan is to officially close down the old Mailchimp email service since it is attached to an outdated blog email that no longer exists.

If you’d like to receive updates when I post something new, please re-subscribe here.

And thank you for sticking around through the chaos.

Last Summer I stumbled across a charm bar inside the cutest little gift shop. I had never seen a safety pin charm brooch before and it instantly appealed to my love of nostalgia. I still have my plastic charm belt from the 80’s, after all.

So of course I bought the safety pin and a couple of charms… and then completely forgot about it.

To be honest, I don’t even know what inspired me to pull it back out. But now I am a brooch making machine! I even made one for my bestie as a birthday gift.

Supplies You Need

This is one of the easiest jewelry DIY projects ever.

You’ll need:

• Oversized safety pins (gold or silver)
• Assorted charms
• Jump rings
• Jewelry pliers

How to Make a DIY Safety Pin Charm Brooch (Step-by-Step)

1. Pick Your Vibe

I’ve made:

• Beach themed
• Evil eye themed
• Groovy 70’s themed

2. Attach Your Charms

Use pliers to open jump rings and secure each charm onto the body of the safety pin.

3. Add Dimension

Mix charm sizes. Add one slightly larger focal charm. Maybe a chain for movement.

Ways to Style a Safety Pin Charm Brooch

• On the lapel of a blazer
• Pinned to your jacket
• On a tote bag/purse
• As a shoe charm (SO cute on Birkenstock clogs!)
• On a baseball cap or even a cowboy hat

This is 100% my favorite DIY accessory trend right now! What do you think? Will you give it a try?

First of all, hello!!! Long time no see! Happy 2026! I have been contemplating disappearing from the internet entirely after having my PayPal account, blog email and basically entire identity stolen in 2025. BUT…I got through it. And here we are. It has been a long process figuring out how many things are attached to my old blog email address. I still have many things attached to it. But one day at a time, I suppose.

Anywho…this post is to let you know that I am officially closing down my mailchimp subscription list. So anyone who was subscribed there will no longer receive updates regarding new posts after this post goes live. I sent an update through mailchimp originally but should have set up my new subscription service before I sent it. I got ahead of myself there. So THIS will be the last post sent via mailchimp. For anyone who still wants to get new post notifications, I have added a new subscribe button in the right sidebar should you wish to sign up. I appreciate you being here! So many of you have been here since the beginning! I spent an ungodly amount of hours on chatgpt yesterday getting this blog up and running smoothly. It was built back in 2010 (WHAT) so everything was running on fumes. LOL. Ok, well that is all for now. Hope to see you on here again soon!

Disclosure: This content is sponsored by adidas. I received compensation in the form of a gift card for creating this content. All opinions expressed are my own.

When you want to wear Fall clothes but it’s still too dang hot! This adidas matching fleece set is giving Fall…but the tube top is saying “Girl, it is still 80 degrees outside”. Don’t get me wrong…you will never hear me complaining about warm weather. But sometimes I hate waiting to pull out my cozy matching sets!

These pants also came in a jogger style but I am in my wide leg era at the moment. Speaking of, have you been seeing all of the posts that leggings are no longer in style? Puh-lease. I love a wide leg more than most people but you aren’t going to catch me in wide leg pants at the gym.

Ah who am I kidding…you won’t catch me in a gym, period. =) I have been an at-home worker out-er since 2020. I can’t be wasting my time driving to/from the gym and fighting to get a spot in a class and then getting there 20 mins early so I can get a good spot.

In conclusion, a little unsolicited advice from me. Wear the matching fleece set. Even if it is 80 degrees outside!

See related adidas posts here.