Top Decoration

There's a tongue twister for you! Say that fast three times!
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I am working on a project with a client to give her living room a new look. She likes "beachy", so we're adding small touches, here and there, to make it feel fresh and new!


When I saw this...

...I knew it was the perfect inspiration and I had to recreate it in my own way, specifically for her living room!


I found these shadowbox frames at Target for $12.99 a piece...

...and these bags of seashells at our local one-stop-shopping store for $2.49 a piece...

I bought 5 bags:

two bags of medium sized shells

two bags of small shells

and one bag of tiny shells...

Total cost for all 5 bags: $12.40

I started filling the frames with the medium sized shells and left out those that were too large for me to put the frame back together...

I then layered in the small shells and then the tiny shells...

I used the back side of the sheet of paper that came in the frame to create my background.

It was white, so it worked perfectly...

Once I had the back of my frame securely in place, I lifted the shadowbox to let the shells settle into place and to see where any gaps may have been created.

You can see here where the "holes" appeared...

So I removed the back of the frame again and started adding in more of the tiny shells. I filled every possible gap and was able to get a lot more shells in than I had thought was possible...

I checked and rechecked to make sure that I was filling in every single space!

I wanted the frames filled to the brim so that only shells would be visible and not the white background!


I repeated the entire process with the second frame and for

less than $40

and only about 30 minutes of time, I was able to give my client two pieces of custom artwork that fit the "beachy" criteria perfectly!

Hung vertically on the wall, they will be a great addition to the space!

The only problem is....I like them so much that I want some for myself!

But I am going to try and resist!

At least for a little while...

A few other accessories that are going into the living room...

My Carpenter is in the garage, as I type this, putting the finishing touches on two benches that are going in my client's living room too. I love how they are turning out and can't wait to see them after they are stained and sitting in their new home!

And just between you and me, that has got to be the only downfall to having a husband that can build things for clients...

he's so good at it - I want one of everything he makes!


Off to start staining...





P.S. Want to see more DIY projects? Check out "DIY Day" with Kimba over at
A Soft Place To Land!

The past week in the Puget Sound has shown us some super low tides at our local beaches!

On Wednesday night my best friend let me know that we really needed to be sure to take the kids and check it out because of the opportunity to see some really cool things that we normally don't get to see -
because the tide never goes out this far.

So on Thursday afternoon we took the kids to our closest beach, just a few minutes from home, and checked it out.

WOW!
Will and I have grown up here and neither one of us have ever seen Dash Point Beach look like it did on Thursday!

The tide went out to

-3.92 feet

It was definitely impressive!

One of my favorite things to do is go beachcombing for seashells. And we lucked out on Thursday! We found lots of them!

Granted, they were covered in sand, seaweed, and who knows what else - but we brought them home with the hopes that they would clean up nicely!

I put them all in a large bowl and covered them completely with hot, soapy water and let them sit for a few hours. But, the soapy water didn't do much to get rid of the leftover beach...

So I looked online and several sites said that it was as easy as soaking them in

equal parts water and bleach.

I tried it, and sure enough, all of the dark brown and black stains started coming off!

I rinsed them with water and soaked them a second time in the bleach and water mixture and,

Viola!

I think they look great!

The shells were in the solution no more than a couple of hours and we can't believe how pretty they turned out!

So if your beachcombing leaves you with shells that are a little on the dingy side, try what I did!

It works!

I wanted to share a few Surprises that I received over my birthday weekend...

The first one came as a complete surprise!

In the very early hours of the morning on my birthday, my husband got called out to fly. It was 3am and I didn't want to be awake, but it was hard to stay asleep while he was getting ready to head to work. So, I decided to check my email.
(Tell me that you do that too when you find yourself unable to sleep in the middle of the night!)
Waiting for me was a message from my friend, Kelly P., saying that she had visited her grandma that day and had noticed a basket of seashells that her grandma had. She mentioned to her grandma that one of her friends (me) loves seashells, so her grandma gave her some for me! Kelly said that they were waiting for me on my front porch!
Sure enough, two ziplock bags filled with some of the prettiest shells I've seen were sitting on the bench outside my door!

Here they are, grouped together in two glass urns that I found for 50% off!
I think they look beautiful filled with these shells!

Kelly P., thanks again! And give your grandma a big hug for me next time that you see her! Her seashells will be well loved here!


The next surprise was a handmade treasure that my best friend, Kelly, gave me!

To make a long story short, months ago I had noticed a blanket draped across a chair at her house. I was on my way to the front door while saying goodbye and the blanket immediately caught my attention. I turned back around to ask lots of questions about where, when, how she got it, who made it, etc.
Turns out that it was handmade by a friend's mom.
I loved it! Not only because it was beautiful, but because of the knowledge that it was handmade! Definitely makes it even more special!

To my surprise, Kelly had her make one for me for my birthday!
It is so soft and cozy and wonderful...all of the things that the perfect blanket should be!

Thank you, Kelly!

I absolutely think that the knitting-extraordinaire should start selling them on Etsy!
I would gladly advertise for her!


This next gift wasn't technically a surprise...

We have a bench that sits on our front porch and the cushion that it came with was....well, I'll be nice and just say that it wasn't great.
I had found some fabric last summer that I really liked and was hoping to recover the cushion with it. I am extremely sewing-machine-challenged! So I handed the fabric to my mother-in-law hoping that she could help me with the project.

She decided to go beyond what I had been hoping for and got new foam for a thicker, sturdier cushion, got more fabric to accommodate the extra thickness and put a border around the edge in a complimentary color!

Here is how it turned out:

I think it looks great! And it is actually a place that my husband and I will enjoy sitting now!

Thank you, Diane!

I just need to find a small throw and a couple of pillows and it will be the perfect place to watch the sunset come this summer!
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Quite often, handmade gifts are the best gifts - right along with things that are passed on from one person to another! I can't tell you how happy I was to receive the seashells! And the blanket and bench cushion are both gifts that were made with love, from the heart.

Thank you Kelly P., Kelly O., and Diane!

You made my day!

I have seashells scattered throughout my house. For me, they are the perfect accessory. They come in a wide range of shapes, sizes and colors and look great added to a display or all on their own. And I love that really beautiful shells make people stop and take notice of them. But, I've found that they can be difficult to find in stores, so I found a website this morning that has a great selection! I think I may try them out.

SeaShellCo.com

Do you decorate with seashells?