3/17/10

Ships in Bottles in The Lovely Bones


Have you seen the movie The Lovely Bones? Since I'm not going to the movie theaters I'm waiting for the video release. I love "ghostly suspense" (and get to the story in a moment), but what's also featured in this film...


... are the masterfully crafted ships in bottles by Jim Goodwin.

The Lovely Bones
Similar to David Fink's Driftwood Boxes that were used for the movie Nights in Rodanthe, Jim Goodwin was contracted by Dreamworks Production to provide ships in bottles for their adaption of Alice Sebold's 2002 Novel.

The Lovely Bones (2009), directed by Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings films), centers on a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family – and her killer – from heaven; and she must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal. And there is a video clip of this father daughter scene that you can watch here.


It gives you a close look of the ship in the bottle. Here the sails of the ship are still collapsed that's how it got into the bottle. Or in Jim's word's, "The main secret in how a ship goes in is collapsing the mast."


Then when the string is pulled...


... the masts stand up.


In a previous life Jim Goodwin was a geologist and an educator. Now he devotes his time to preserving this maritime art form.


You can find a large selection of his ships in bottles @ Village Craftsmen here.


And check out Jim Goodwin's Lighthouses in Bottles too!

I leave you with this short clip of one of Jim's presentations. I love the part when he says, people who knew him in the past would say, "Eventually Jim's going to end up in a bottle."


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3/15/10

HGTV Dream Homes

I don't know how many of you have been following HGTV's Dream Homes, but every year HGTV scans the country to find a builder/developer team to design, and construct a dream home in a different part of the country and millions of people enter to win. Today, March 15th, it's that time again -the winner of the HGTV Dream Home 2010 will be announced (see HGTV Dream House Blog). The home is located in the desert of New Mexico, not exactly coastal, but it inspired me to feature all the coastal HGTV dream homes of the past -and out of the 12 homes, 8 are by the sea! Only for half of them though I have the interior shots. So let the tour begin.

HGTV Dream Home 2008
HGTV Dream Home in the year 2008. A colorful beachfront dwelling in Islamorada, the heart of the Florida Keys.

HGTV Islamorada FL
The living room looks out over the ocean as you would expect from a dream home by the sea.

Tropical Bedroom
"I think you feel like you have awakened in the middle of a rain forest," says HGTV Dream Home interior designer Linda Woodrum. A pretty wild color, don't you think!

Beach Bathroom
I love the guest bathroom. Clean white tiles with bold artwork. "The clean white subway tile became the perfect backdrop for featuring some fun local artwork," says guest designer Monica Pederson who you probably know from HGTV's series Designed to Sell.

The couple who won the home sold it after enjoying a vacation there. They stated that it was always their intention to sell the house due to the anticipated tax burdens. You can read more here.

HGTV Dream Home 2004
Next up. A very large coastal Victorian in Cumberland Harbour, three miles from historic downtown St. Marys, Georgia. HGTV dream home 2004. The historic houses in St. Marys were used as a guide to build this beauty.

"When I watched the television show that year there was a small town feel that I will never forget. The people seemed so friendly, it was like a flashback to 1950's America," Susie of Caliendo Design says.

I have to admit that I have not seen any of these shows, and wonder where I have been.

Beach Theme Entry Way
This is what you see when you enter. A rustic shelf with sea life, an old shutter above and beautiful wainscoting that is prevalent in the house.

HGTV Dream Home 2004
Then you arrive here and you get a sense for the classic and traditional style that you find throughout the home.

HGTV Dream Home 2003
Dream home 2003 was built on the outskirts of Mexico Beach, FL, along the Panhandle's "Forgotten Coast".

HGTV Living Room
The interior is traditional in style and different shades of blue are used for furnishings and accessories.

Outdoor Tub
A lovely spot for a bathtub -just outside the master suite.

HGTV Dream Home 2002
A contemporary style home with a vast deck and views of Chesapeake Bay in Sherwood, MD, was chosen in 2002.

HGTV Dream Home 2002
You would imagine that stardom comes with winning an HGTV dream house, but not so much according to this Interview with the Winners. They were contacted for several weeks afterward by the same magazines and newspapers to do some follow-up about them and the house, but that was it.

HGTV Dream Home 2002
These winners from Texas also had no intention of keeping the house and sold it to This Couple for $1.3 million, within minutes of getting the title.

HGTV Dream Home 2001
Dream Home 2001, a classic New England shingle-style cottage that overlooks the Maine coast in Camden, a town known for having the state's prettiest harbor.

HGTV Dream Home 2000
Nehalem, OR, location of HGTV's Dream Home in 2000. A "cabin" with a spectacular view of the coast, said to be northwestern through and through.

HGTV Dream Home 1999
The location for the dream home contest in 1999, Rosemary Beach in Florida, one of the master-planned communities on the popular beachside road, 30-A.

Hgtv Dream Home 1998
And you made it to the final destination! Built in 1998, this classic low-country beauty is located just outside Beaufort, SC on Bermuda Bluff Island, which has become a popular tourist stop when visiting the Beaufort area. I'm sure that is true for all the HGTV Dream Homes -you want to check them out when you're in the area! Only Bermuda Bluff is a gated community and this home usually goes unseen.

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3/13/10

Coastal Decorations -Painted Wood

If you love the beach cottage look and the colors red, blue and yellow, Coastal Decorations has some fun accessories for you. From shell hooks to coat racks to planters to lighthouse decor, and more.

Seashell Hook

Oar Rack

Nautical Wood Planter

Painted Wood Boxes

Lighthouse Decor

Lifesaver Mirror

Wood Shorebird

Nautical Wood Signs

Sailboat Sculpture

Wooden Beach Sign
And in case you don't want or don't have the time to Make a Wooden Beach Sign, check out their collection!

Happy Weekend!

Stores to Sea
Featuring a coastal online store (or two) on most weekends.
Previously featured:
Home at Sea
Wisteria
Go Zazzle
Save on Crafts
Outer Banks Trading Group
Shopping New York City
Uncommon Goods
Christmas Coast
Origin Crafts
Chic Beach Cottage Style
Handmade Beach Decor
Vietri Accessories inspired by Italy's Amalfi Coast
White Flower Farmhouse
West Coast Glass Float Shop on Ebay
Treasures from Tuvalu
Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville

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3/11/10

Kids Paint Shells in Wild Colors

Painted Seashells
Speaking of Painted Shells earlier this week, I thought I'd follow up with these fun pictures from Pink and Green Mama who publishes the craft adventures with her two girls.


Here she gave her youngest some watercolors and sparkly dot paints to ad a little personality to a bunch of white shells.

Painting Shells
Mission accomplished, and happy as a clam!

And just as colorful, the Marvellous Beach Marbles, posted at my other blog Daily Vitamin Sea.

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3/10/10

Super Bowls

Nothing to do with the NFL! Only "winner bowls" that my fellow bloggers use to showcase their seashells and sea treasures.

Pink Urchins
First off, Michelle of Vintage Junky. It think her beautiful mercury glass bowl truly makes these gorgeous pink urchins shine.

Shell in Ashtray
And for all of you who gave up smoking, but still have some ashtrays around. They can be re-purposed to hold your sea treasures! Seen at Kendall's Finesse your Nest.

Coconut Bowl
Think tropical, or more specifically coconut. Sylvia of My Trinkets finds the perfect bowl in a coconut fiber liner for her shell/coral arrangement.

Cake Forms with Shells
Forget about baking. Annie of Firefly Hill Design shows us how cake forms make wonderful bowls for jingle shells -so named because a handful of these thin, translucent clam shell halves make a jingling sound when shaken together.

Bowl of Starfish
Barbara of The Book Blog finds her bowl in the kitchen also.

Glass Floats
And who would have thought that you can fit so many Japanese Glass Floats in a small bowl like this. Just stack them up like Therese of La Dolfina.

Ceramic Vintage Bowl
For Rhonda of Blue Creek Home it's a white ceramic vintage bowl that houses her beautiful shells.

Sealife bowl
Diane of Lavender Dreams goes "au natural" in her Florida room.

Starfish Bowl
And you find this sweet starfish bowl in Laura's casita of Sea Laura.

Shell Bowl
And lastly, Susan of T-Cozy keeps adding the seashells she brings home from the beach to this decorative bowl.

All winner bowls, don't you think?

Feel free to copy and paste the code for this button -it links to this post!

Featured on Completely Coastal



And on Daily Vitamin Sea, Sue's taking the trolley out to the Scallop Shanties, come and see!

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