October 2010

10/29/10

Pumpkin Jack o'Lanterns

Magical Pumpkin Jack o'Lanterns photographed by Jeannie of Desperate Housewife during the Scarecrow and Antiques Festival in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia..., "the loveliest little seaside town in a province with many lovely seaside communities," Jeannie says. And part of the festivities is the Pumpkin walk with 150 Pumpkin Jack o'Lanterns to admire, all carved by local Deli owner Jo-Ann with only a small paring knife and carrot peeler -wonderful!

Happy Weekend and Halloween!

Related Post:
Fall Pumpkins

Flag Display in Frames

You can decorate with signal flags free style (as seen here: Decorating Ideas with Nautical Signal Flags), or turn them into wall art and create a flag display in frames.

red white and blue bedroom with flag display

And the color combo Red, White and Blue has never felt more soothing (Elle Decor)!

Beach House Decorating at Country Living -red seems to be the preferred choice.

In the Pool House of this Nautical Southampton Home, the flags are on display above the doors. A good example of Not Following the Rules of hanging art at eye level.

Framed Nautical Flags in all colors at The Vintage Flea, giving you an idea how a large grouping can look.

Browse everything in the category Framed It..., and find Signal Flags on Ebay!

Related Posts:
Nautical Drinkware with Flag Designs
Home Decorating with Red

DIY Chandeliers

I've seen them here and there, DIY chandeliers -standard chandeliers decorated with ornaments, wreaths, garlands and precious seaglass such as Lili's Chandelier. Something to think about for this coming holiday season!

decorate chandelier with shell ornaments

Your DIY chandelier could be fully decked out with shell ornaments like this one from Ercole Home...

... wrapped with a lovely garland as seen at I Love Shelling.

... or adorned with starfish like the chandelier Erin of Elements of Style found in one of the Cabot Cove cottages.

Then, let's revisit the driftwood adorned Living Room Chandelier that was up for vote.

Maybe a little bit too much? A clear Yes from 87% of you! In the comments, Puna of Life Signatures and Rita of Beach House Living agreed: it's a great idea..., but not sure about the execution, which is exactly what I thought, and Heidi who blogs here and here nailed it for me: too random. Some of you cracked me up too. Like Sue of I Need Mom: "As much as I love driftwood...I'll just keep mine on the shelf." So thank you all for the great comments!!

Related Posts:
Making a Shell Chandelier
Currey & Company Lighting

Glass Display Boxes

A few weeks ago Linda of The Lennoxx wrote about Plantation, an online store that sells Glass Display Boxes (and other interesting things, such as these Carved Bone Sea Creatures.

And glass display boxes are perfect to showcase and protect your cherished sea treasures! Pottery Barn once sold them, but not anymore. Update! They're available again here.

The boxes are similar to bell jars and cloches (see Decorating with Seashells), only more formal, with museum quality...

... which I would want if I ever brought home a trophy like this from the beach!

Island Life by India Hicks

One of the perks of living the island life -clear warm waters and colorful sea treasures!

Former British model, turned designer, author and TV host India Hicks lives on Harbour Island in the Bahamas where she can indulge her love of Coral, and on her last diving trip she found this discarded dead Sea Fan. "I would never disturb a live reef, but carrying these to the surface felt like responsible recycling, especially as they now stand proudly above my office doorway..."

I bet most of you have heard the name India Hicks and are familiar with the book Island Life in which she and her husband share their vision for island-inspired living...

...documenting the work on their own island home and the restoration of a 200 year old plantation house that they turned into a hotel (see here).

"When we bought our house, it was a typical Palm Beach, Florida, style home," India Hicks says in an interview with Belle. "We tried to turn it into an 18th-century plantation-style villa. We got rid of all the cement and glass, and replaced them with wood, paper and straw materials inspired by the natural surroundings."

"I like to keep things more neutral and natural and then just add hints of color," she explains while shopping with NY Times.

And when asked by Belle what in her home was simple to create yet impacting as decor, India Hicks points to the old printer's tray filled with shells found on the beach. And if you haven't seen them yet, go to Stunning Shadow Display Boxes to view some examples of printer trays gone display boxes!

Related Posts:
Framed Sea Fan
Books for Beach Home Decor Inspiration
Coastal Style by Sally Hayden and Alice Whately

A Trip to Seabrook WA

If this photo looks familiar to you it's because you have seen the scenery not too long ago! Meet Karen of Ocean Soul, an Inspired Reader who went on an 8 hour trip because of a post she read here on Completley Coastal!

She wrote: "This is how it all started. With a picture that was featured on Completely Coastal entitled: Coastal Living Idea House 2010 in Seabrook WA. I saw that picture from Meadow Lake Cottage and read the entire article. I had no idea that there was an “Ultimate Beach House” in Seabrook, Washington! Or that it was open for tours!!! Well, I wanted to ride those bikes and see that house! So what did I do? I went!!!

To read the whole story click here, and to join Karen and her friend on their trip from Canada to Seabrook click here.

If you have been inspired by something you saw on Completely Coastal and blogged about it, let me know, I would love to feature it!

Other Inspired Readers and Friends:
Authentic or Fake? A Close Look at Floats
Monkey Fist Knot
Love of the Sea -Glass Floats
Scallop Shell Pot
Recycled Crafts with Beach Bottles
Shell Displays at Coquillage Cottage
Sea Inspired Cottage Living
Iniyaal's Shell Canvas
Laura's Beach Patio

Happy Weekend!

Sea Glass Jewelry by Tears of the Sea

Tears of the Sea is a sea glass jewelry business run by a husband and wife team based in Maine; the two have been collecting sea glass for nearly 10 years, accumulating thousands of pieces -can you imagine! Their primary hunting ground is Maine and Nova Scotia, and the rare multi colored pieces that you see in some of their bracelets are from the coast of England.

So needless to say, all their gorgeous sea glass jewelry creations are made with authentic genuine sea glass tumbled by the ocean. Beautiful sterling silver Sea Glass Necklaces that showcase a single piece...

... or exquisite Sea Glass Bracelets, crafted with a variety of sea glass combined with unique sterling silver accents, many also including semi-precious gemstone beads, Swarovski crystals and freshwater pearls.

genuine sea glass jewelry in different colors

Sea glass jewelry in the most amazing colors...

... even a "seasonal" bracelet, called Autumn Tides.

And timeless Sea Glass Bracelets for girls who love pearls!

handmade sea glass bracelets bangle style

As well as a collection of Bangle Style Bracelet such as this glamorous beauty in pink.

Then, not sea glass jewelry, but equally stunning, a variety of necklaces and bracelets made with Beach Stones.

And if you don't find what you're looking for, Custom Orders are Tears of the Sea's speciality! They even offer to create jewelry from your own sea glass collection!

Then if you ever wondered where to look for sea glass, the couple generously shares some tips here.

Make Coasters

A while back I posed the question Do you Mod Podge and according to the poll results more than 70% of you have done decoupage, and 22% would love to try -me included. To make coasters looks like a fun little project that's perfect for beginners.

make decoupage coasters using napkins and mod podge

Sydney based designer and TV presenter Tara Dennis has been making these fabulous Decoupage Coasters for some of her workshops and she says that people get really excited when they see that the designs are actually glued on paper napkins. How neat is that -I am definitely excited!

To make the coasters, Tara explains, "grab a few unglazed stone tiles and brush them well with Mod Podge. Take a paper napkin and cut it into four. Peel off the two backing layers of the napkin and apply the design to the surface of the tile. Leave them overnight to dry then sand the edges with a foam sanding pad before varnishing. Oh and I also stick on some clear bumps underneath to protect my tables."

Tip:
Amy of Mod Podge Rocks (see here) highly recommends using an outdoor sealer on finished coasters to make them truly waterproof.

To make coasters could be my very first Mod Podge project -I'll keep my eyes open for cool napkins!

Nights in Rodanthe House Update

Nights in Rodanthe House Vacation Rental

Okay, a long overdue update on the "Nights in Rodanthe House" via Island Free Press. Remember, the movie house had to be moved (see here), which was done successfully back in January/February. Then the new owners renovated the home.

"I spotted its blue shutters from the road! Ben and Debra have done a tremendous job renovating and restoring Serendipity to its movie-exterior glory. They have added the famed blue shutters, decks and gazebos, and have decided to call it The Inn at Rodanthe", says Laura (in her post The Inn at Rodanthe) who checked out the house while vacationing in the Outer Banks in June.

Richard Gere and Diane Lane in Nights in Rodanthe

And the inside was decorated with the movie (staring Diane Lane and Richard Gere) in mind too -although the interior scenes weren't actually filmed in the house.

A close up of the replicated door.

And a view of the blue bedroom -all for you to enjoy...

... because the new role of The Nights in Rodanthe House is that of a Vacation Rental.

Browse everything in the category Movie Homes and Movies by the Sea.

Related Post:
Diane Lane's Driftwood Boxes in Nights in Rodanthe

Wood Craft Ideas for Beachcombers -All the Driftwood Sailboats

One of the best Wood Craft Ideas for sea lovers, without a doubt, are things made from driftwood (see Driftwood Crafts) such as the very popular sailboats. So after posting about Drilling Holes in Driftwood and constructing the boats, here comes the promised line up of all the wonderful sailboats (I could find)! You'll see that for this wood craft idea your driftwood piece doesn't necessarily have to be straight, nor big -it can be itsy-bitsy and fit on a clothespin! And your boat can look complete without sails too. So without further comments..., enjoy the viewing!