let's begin

The first thing I was concerned with was the fireplace wall, which needed to be coquina. I masked off the place for the builtin bookcase and for the mantle and above and for the bay, and I slathered spackling compound on fairly thick. While it was still soft & gooey & wet I embedded tiny seashells into it. I removed the masking tape. When it was all dry I replaced the masking tape & gave it all a coat of gesso, which I then wiped off lightly. This will help keep the shells in the spackle.