Iniyaal's Shell Canvas

I'm honored to have a reader and blogging friend who drops in from India! Meet Iniyaal of Art, Beauty and Society who writes a blog about her world of crafts, art and photography. A painted sea shell featured on Completely Coastal, see here and here, inspired her to do this Shell Canvas, and she even created a ceramic "sea" base to mount the shell on it.


Here's what she writes about shells, it's as lovely as her craft:

"Seashells are one of nature’s most fascinating creations. Their colours, sizes, shapes and textures are so perfect that every shell is a piece of art, exquisitely perfect in all details. The simple fact that these beauties were created by marine invertebrates is another proof of the artistic power nature has bestowed on every creature."

Thanks Iniyaal for posting about your shell canvas!

Other Inspired Readers: Laura's Beach Patio.

Have you been inspired?

If you have been inspired by something you saw here on Completely Coastal or my other blog Daily Vitamin Sea and blogged about it, let me know, I want to feature it!

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For Pink Flamingo Fans

Chances are you're probably not a pink flamingo fan! Well, some of you did love the Pink Flamingo Wallpaper, but most of you wanted to win the seahorse or the tropical fish, not the fabulous flamingo canvas! See Canvas Art Giveaway by OBX Trading Group.

Anyways, I took this picture of pink flamingos in a store window during a recent visit to Stonington Connecticut, and I did find some of these graceful creatures (flamingo sculptures) in homes, all via flickr.com, except for the last one. For more information just click on images.










And here's a fun flamingo fact: Why are they pink? They're pink from their diet! Flamingos eat foods high in beta carotene, mostly shrimp and algae.

Browse everything in the subcategory Flamingos.

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Canvas Art Giveaway by Outer Banks Trading Group

I have mentioned this before, Deanna (left) from Outer Banks Trading Group who many of you know from previous Giveaways represents many talented Artists in her online store, and now she is giving away one of the lovely Canvas Giclee Prints (24" x 36", retail value $100) shown below by painter Gerri Hyman, here with Deanna at the High Point Furniture Market.










Perhaps you guessed it..., Gerri's wonderful whimsical works are mostly inspired by warm, tropical locations, and the colorful sea life, fowl, and foliage she paints are representative of what she calls "her imaginary island". Love that! To see all of Gerri's work go to My Island Gallery on OBX Trading Group.

Enter this giveaway:
Let us know in a comment which of Gerri's Canvas Giclee Prints featured above you would like to win!

Additional entries:
If you are a follower of Deanna's OBX Trading Group Blog enter again with another comment, and if you blog about this giveaway, comment yet again.

This giveaway ends May 2nd and the winner will be announced on Tuesday May 4th. Best of Luck!

Feel free to grab the code for the giveaway button -thanks so much!


<a href="http://www.completely-coastal.com/2010/04/canvas-art-giveaway-by-outer-banks.html" target="_blank" title="Art Canvas Giveaway"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qVUoD9EHNdY/S9cInIa-hOI/AAAAAAAAPxM/KFSmcZPEtGM/s400/art+canvas+giveaway.gif" /></a>

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Vintage Glass Bottles Topped with Sea Shells

I'm sure many of you are familiar with these beautiful Vintage Glass Bottles topped with Sea Shells and Sea Life from Greyfreth...


... and might have seen the ones from Wisteria too.


So Sharlotte of Ms. Sharlotte's Southern Reflections studied them, and thought, she could make them! So she did, and posted a great tutorial on her blog. "I had the sand, seashells, jute...I just needed the bottles and a soldering iron," she wrote. The good news is, turns out that you don't have to solder to create the look.


Sharlotte bought the vintage glass bottles from a local antique shop for $1 each...


... and filled them with sand from her local beach, using a funnel, then added a few tiny shells from her collection.


Apparently soldering only works metal to metal and resin is needed to make the melted metal stick to the glass bottle neck. So Sharlotte decided to use Bondo. Bondo is a two part mixture that repairs the body of a car. My husband actually used it to repair a wooden window sill. The stuff dries fast and solid like a rock, and you can hold the shell for the drying time.


While it's wet, it can be wiped away if you have too much. After all the shells were afixed to the bottles, she added more around the top of the bottles, getting the desired look.


To get the "soldering" look, she went over the Bondo with black acrylic paint. As you saw above, some of the inspirational glass bottles were left at that, others have their neck wrapped with jute.


Thanks Sharlotte for the step by step instructions -your vintage sea shell glass bottles look gorgeous!

Related Posts:
Bloggers Craft -Project Ideas with Seashells, Fabric, Bottles, Rope and more

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Fabrics -From Seashell to Beach to Nautical

One day I will have something upholstered in a seashell, beach or nautical fabric for sure! The patio above (photo by Russell Sadur) and dining room below (design by James Radin) inspired me to find great fabric sources.


Whether you search for outdoor or indoor nautical and beach fabrics, there are tons of great patterns available out there!


Sea theme from Calico Corners.


Harts Fabric.


From Robert Allen's Seaside Collection.


Tommy Bahamas...


... Waverly...


... Susan Sargent and others, all from Housefabric.


Seashell Fabrics from Donna Elle.


Ralph Lauren.


Duralee and other Nautical Fabrics from Interior Mall.
Check out this Octopus Fabric on a chair makeover.


Town Toile Fabrics.


Brick House Fabrics.


Beach Fabrics and Photographic Fabrics from Spoonflower.


Shore House and Summer House Fabrics from Cottage Home Maine.

And check out more upholstering with nautical and beach fabrics:
Signal Flag Chair
Upholstered Lounge Chair
DIY Octopus Chair
Red Lobster Ottoman
DIY Bar Stools

Fabric.com Coupons!

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Nautical Drinkware

Based in the seaside town of Marblehead, MA, UP 2 Code sells fun Nautical Drinkware imprinted with signal flag designs and the meaning they have for ships at sea..., and you might just relate!


Ever had difficulties maneuvering? Let's just say, it might have happened but way in the past.


But I never let it come to this.


And it's good to keep clear from the ones that had too much!

I don't think you need to be a boating enthusiast in order to love these!

UP 2 Code's Nautical Drinkware is available in sets of four as glasses, acrylics (perfect for the patio!) and as tankards.

Related Posts:
Decorating Ideas with Nautical Signal Flags
Nautical Decorations with Signal Flag Designs

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