I grew up on the gorgeous, if climatologically unpredictable shores of the Great Lakes. On those summer days when it was too chilly to swim, I’d occupy myself sifting through rocks. Fun, right? Right. I hauled myself back to the car at the end of the afternoon with my pockets full of rocks. Not just any rocks. Pretty rocks. The car would ride lower the whole way home.

As a young adult, I found my childhood experience recently replicated during a trip to the beach. Though the water was rough, the Pacific had coughed up some of the prettiest rocks I’d ever seen. To satisfy both my inner child and my current desire to add interesting decorations to my apartment, I decided to once again fill my pockets with stones.

When I got home, I filled a simple square vase with these stones to create a basic but beautiful decorative reminder of my time at the shore. I made sure that the most beautiful were on the outside of the vase, easily visible. I then filled the vase almost to the top with water, which amplifies the stones’ color and brings out patterns that aren’t visible dry.

You can also make this decoration, which is so simple it barely counts as a crafts project, using polished bits of glass, seashells, or marbles. Just make sure you put the finished project somewhere it won’t get knocked over- cleanup’s rough.

Tags: crafts, decorating