Today I’m sharing a fun DIY wall decor specimen art project that I put together for the gallery wall in my bedroom.

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I had a couple of Melissa and Doug wooden boxes sitting around, leftover from toys that belong to the twins. When it came time to put together my gallery wall, I knew that I finally had a use for these little boxes.

This project came together in a snap!

DIY Sea Urchin Specimen Art – Supplies

wooden toy boxes
sand paper, brush, and wood stain – I used Minwax “classic gray”
Craft glue
Scrap fabric
Hanging hardware
Sea urchin craft shells

DIY Sea Urchin Specimen Art – Instructions

Step 1 – Sand & Stain

Lightly sand the wooden boxes with fine grit sandpaper – mainly focusing on any areas that have logos or ink.

Stain the wood whatever color you would like. I chose chose Minwax “classic gray” because (1) I’ve used it on, like, 27 other projects and I had it lying around, and (2) I think it gives a great beachy, driftwood feel.

Step 2 – Fabric Backing

Glue squares of fabric into the back of wooden box. I recommend using craft glue dots (that won’t seep through the fabric) around the edges and something more heavy-duty, like hot glue, in the center.

This would be a great project for a fat quarter or remnant. I actually used the fabric case that my linen duvet set came in!

Step 3 – Hanging Hardware

Add hardware to the back of each of your wooden boxes. I just used hot glue and leftover hanging hardware from a previous craft project. This would also be a great project for command hooks.