🏡 Home & Design
Mediterranean Interior Design: Bringing the Adriatic Home
Sea blues, whitewashed walls, terracotta and old wood: Nonna Do's guide to Adriatic-inspired interiors, from color and materials to orchids, shells and light.
Made by hand, with heart
Arts, Crafts & Collecting
Dorina is a true artisan — a skilled tailor, a creative decorator with a real design eye, and a beachcomber who turns seashells into picture frames and keepsakes. Add stamps and coins from around the world, and you have a life full of beautiful things.
🐚Beach walks → keepsakes
🎨 Make something beautiful
Craft projects & skills
🖼️
Seashell picture frame
A plain wooden frame + cleaned shells + hot glue or E6000. Arrange largest shells first, fill gaps with tiny ones and sand.
Step by step →🪞
Shell mirror
Border a round mirror with scallops, cones and sea glass for a coastal statement piece.
How to →🎄
Shell ornaments
Drill a tiny hole, add ribbon and a touch of gold leaf — a beach memory for the tree.
Make them →🧵
Perfect hems
The invisible blind hem, taking in a waist and buttons that never fall off — a tailor’s secrets.
Sew like Nonna →🌸
Orchid art & photography
Golden-hour light, backlighting, macro details and watercolor studies of blooms.
Get creative →💐
Pressed-petal cards
Press fallen petals in a heavy book for two weeks, then glue onto cards and bookmarks.
Try it →🏺
Mediterranean decor
Whitewash, terracotta, sea blues, linen and wicker — the Adriatic at home.
Design ideas →🧺
Organizing with love
Baskets, labels and a place for every spool, spice and seashell.
The Nonna method →🪙 The joy of collecting
Stamps, coins & shells
Little windows into history, geography and nature. Beginner’s guide →
📮
Stamp collecting
- Tools: stamp tongs, mounts, a stock book and a magnifier
- Soak stamps off paper in lukewarm water
- Collect a theme: flowers & orchids, Croatia, Italy, ships
- Join the American Philatelic Society
🪙
Coin collecting
- Hold coins by the edges; never clean them
- Store in 2×2 holders or flips
- Croatia adopted the euro on 1 January 2023 — collect the last kuna and the new Croatian euro coins
- Learn with the American Numismatic Association
🐚
Seashell collecting
- Collect only empty shells — never live animals
- Check local rules before taking shells
- Clean with a soak and a soft brush
- Label with beach & date for a family “shell diary”
Beach walks
Sun, sea & seashells
Some of Nonna’s happiest hours are spent walking along the beach — the same way she once walked the pebbly coves of Cres and Lošinj. Every walk comes home with a pocketful of treasures that later become frames, mirrors, ornaments and gifts for the grandchildren.
- Go at low tide, early in the morning
- Bring a mesh bag so sand falls through
- Look along the wrack line for tiny perfect shells
- Leave anything still living right where you found it
💼 Business-savvy crafting
Turn your craft into a little business
Nonna’s creativity + a few smart tools = gifts, income and joy.
🛍️
Sell handmade crafts
Shell frames, pressed-flower cards and aprons make lovely listings on Etsy and at local craft fairs.
📸
Photograph like a pro
Window light, a white board as reflector and your phone — the same tricks Dorina uses for orchids.
🤖
Let AI help
Use AI assistants like Claude to write product descriptions, recipe cards and captions — then add your own voice.
📣
Market with heart
Share your story on social media and grow with AI marketing tools like Starcaster Pro.
📰 From the blog
Crafts, collecting & home stories
🏡 Home & Design
The Nonna Method for an Organized, Joyful Home
A calm, room-by-room approach to home organization from Nonna Do: a working pantry, a tidy linen closet, happy craft supplies and a weekly rhythm that lasts.
🪙 Collecting
Stamps & Coins: A Beginner's Guide to the Joy of Collecting
Tongs, stock books, coin flips and a good loupe: Nonna Do's gentle guide to starting a stamp or coin collection, from choosing a theme to Croatia's euro coins.
🎨 Arts & Crafts
Orchid-Inspired Art: Photographing, Painting and Designing with Blooms
From phone macro shots at golden hour to watercolor studies and pressed-petal cards, here is how Nonna Do turns her orchids into art you can make at home.
🎨 Arts & Crafts
A Tailor's Secrets: Mending, Hemming and Simple Alterations at Home
Nonna Do's tailoring know-how for home: an invisible blind hem, a waist taken in, buttons that never fall off, neat darning, and knowing when to call a pro.
🎨 Arts & Crafts
Beachcombing & Seashell Crafts: Frames, Mirrors and Keepsakes
How Nonna Do turns quiet beach walks into shell frames, mirrors and ornaments: collecting kindly, cleaning gently and gluing it all together so it lasts.
📺 Watch & learn
Top craft videos
Shell mirrors, hemming by hand and collecting for beginners.
▶️ Seashell crafts More on YouTube
How to make a Seashell Mirror Frame - DIY shell artShellman · Watch on YouTube
Creating Shell Art - Seashell mirror frameShellman · Watch on YouTube
Creating a colorful Sea Shell Mirror Frame - Master Shell Artist Reveals TechniquesShellman · Watch on YouTube
▶️ Sewing & mending More on YouTube
How to Hem Pants by Hand - Step by StepEasy Sewing for Beginners · Watch on YouTube
How to hem pants, sew a button and fix a hole | How Do You Do That?Mercer University · Watch on YouTube
How To Sew On A Button By Hand Like A Pro!Sew Anastasia · Watch on YouTube
▶️ Stamp & coin collecting More on YouTube
A Beginner's Guide to Collecting Stamps Ep. 1Silk on the Web · Watch on YouTube
Stamp Collecting 101: Beginner Tips and Tricks with That Dad GuyThat Dad Guy · Watch on YouTube
Coin Collecting 101 - Beginner's Guide to build, Identify, and Preserve your coin collectionDan the Collecting Man · Watch on YouTube
📚 Nonna’s bookshelf
Books for makers & collectors
Beloved books to learn from, cook from and dream with.
🧵Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to SewingReader’s DigestView on Amazon →✂️The Sewing BookAlison SmithView on Amazon →🐚Seashell Craftsshell art ideasView on Amazon →🌼Pressed Flower Artflower pressing craftsView on Amazon →
📮Scott Standard Postage Stamp CatalogueScottView on Amazon →🪙A Guide Book of United States Coins (The Red Book)R. S. YeomanView on Amazon →🔍Stamp Collecting for Beginnersphilately guidesView on Amazon →🌍World Coins Standard CatalogKrauseView on Amazon →
🧺The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying UpMarie KondoView on Amazon →📦The Gentle Art of Swedish Death CleaningMargareta MagnussonView on Amazon →🏺Mediterranean Style Home Decorinterior design booksView on Amazon →
As an Amazon Associate we may earn from qualifying purchases — at no extra cost to you.
🔗 Supplies & societies
Craft & collecting resources
- 🧶EtsyHandmade supplies — and a place to sell your crafts.
- 🎨MichaelsFrames, glue, paints and craft supplies.
- 📮American Philatelic SocietyStamp collecting education and clubs.
- 🪙American Numismatic AssociationCoin collecting education and events.
- 🏛️U.S. MintCommemorative coins and collector sets.
- 🖌️CanvaDesign labels, cards and printables for your crafts.