Shell Purses and Decor Ideas

I have been looking into some fun ideas for the neat Shell Coin Purses you can find online (or in your grandmothers things). Not only are they fun, they also remind me of the 20's fashion my great grandmother used to wear. She used to tell me about her shell purse on a chain that was "just darling". I got my hands on some of these shell purses and did not see much use of them as a purse as they are quite small. It was just big enough to fit some cash, coin, and lipstick into. No ID, no credit cards etc...
(I flash to my "purse" which is more like a wallet and toy carrier than a woman's purse. Sad.)

I thought about using them as coin purses and I have to believe, that inside my purse/toy carrier they would break my cell phone before my phone would break the shell, not to mention they are a bit heavy. (Things were made so much better back then!)

Then I remember my grandmothers side table in her bedroom. She used her old shell purses as a trinket hold when she stopped using them as purses. She had her rings and jewelry in it, or just random trinkets she thought to be treasure. Usually treasure the great grandkids brought her.

I thought I would get these for my family as it would be a fun novelty gift. My nieces LOVED putting small "white rocks" and treasures in their small purple cowrie shell purses. They carried them around like the best gift ever. My sisters loved that the large purple clam purse reminded them of our "Gram".

They used theirs on their side table and on their bathroom counter. I used mine for a night out on the town!

Mine was a bigger one, a large Clam Coin Purse with a clasp to hold it closed. It had no chain like Gram's did, I just carried it in my hand. It matched my outfit perfectly, and was a huge hit with the girls.

If you are looking for a fun gift, that may bring back memories, this would be a GREAT idea!