3/31/11

My Coastal Crafts & Projects Round-Up


I'm joining a few (new to me) link parties with a round-up of some of my coastal crafts and projects, beginning with a little porch decor! Buoys homemade from scratch with wood blocks that once belonged to a bed. You can see them in process here: My Wood Buoy Craft when I was still debating whether to paint them or not. And check out the Pottery Barn Knock Off Buoys too! The bench? A thrifty find for $8 plus paint, see My Thrifty Threesome.


For the scoop (and before and after) about this repurposed door read: An Old Wood Door Transformed into Wall Art. I'm still madly in love with this one!


Painted Shells Make Perfect Candle Trays!


My lucky find craft! Check it out here: My Shell Garland.


My latest thing, wine bottle decor. Here I strung a few mini shells together that already had holes in them.


Learn How to Drill Holes in Stones and you can add them to your blind pulls. This, of course, is a beach stone. Can you see the two scratch marks? Oh well, I slipped with the drill.


Entirely "husbandmade"! A ship bow pieced together using scrap wood...


... and speaking of my husband..., this mini lamp used to sit on his desk at work but got buried under stacks of paper, so he brought it back home. You find the tutorial here: How to Make Lampshades from Photographs. The base is a block of wood that I drilled and painted.

See all My Crafts and browse all Craft Projects -each week I post a new one!

Below are the Link Parties I'm joining!

Friday:
Finding Fabulous @ Frugalicious Friday
Flaunt It Friday @ Chic on a Shoestring Decorating
Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home
It's a Hodge Podge Friday

Saturday + Sunday:
Funky Junk Saturday Nights Special
Sunday Showcase @ Under the Table and Dreaming

Monday:
Craft O Maniac Monday
Made by You @ Skip to my Lou

Wednesday + Thursday:
Good Life Wednesday @ A Beach Cottage
Strut your Stuff @ Somewhat Simple
Open House Party @ No Minimalist Here

Thanks for celebrating the sea with me!

3/30/11

Painting Glass Jars

tablescape with glass jars
Maria of Dreamy Whites tried to give her house a feeling of living by the sea. So she sprinkled shells down the center of her table, brought some pretty flowering branches inside, set out a few Sea Shell Candles, vintage Fishing Glass Floats...

glass jar as vase
... and lots of those popular and beautiful sea colored bottles and glass jars. Now, regarding glass jars..., most of us have them! Mine come with pasta sauce and jalapeno peppers..., only they're white. But there's a solution to that.

painting glass jar
Try painting glass jars! And with a little bit of Mod Podge and food coloring you're in business. To be exact 5 drops of blue & two drops of green for the lovely shade of aqua.

painted glass jars
When painting glass jars, the challenge is to get the color on as smooth as possible and to avoid too many lines. For all the details visit Erin over at The Little Apartment!

Browse all Craft Projects.

Related Posts
8 Ways to Decorate Bottles and Jars Beach Style
Hanging Mason Jars and other Pottery Barn Knock Off's

3/29/11

Wire Decorations

wire anchor
Do you like wire decorations? Pottery Barn just added this neat Wire Anchor...

wire sail boat
... and Wire Boat to their collection. I wasn't aware, so thanks Glass Float Junkie for Facebookin' me about it! With Spring here and summer near, it's no surprise more coastal decor is added everywhere!

Then, when I looked for more wire decorations, I didn't find anything of interest...

wire sea horse
... but did remember this awesome Wire Seahorse over at Carol's Etsy store Beautiful Details. Carol not only creates the most amazing sea life vintage bottles but also hunts for unique vintage decor items, which she sells for a steal!

Related Posts:
Beach Decor -Fun Wood and Metal Sculptures and Signs
Metal Fish Art by Chase Allen

3/28/11

Homemade Decorations & Crafts -A House Tour

homemade wreath decoration
Welcome to Carlyn's Northern California Home, chuck full with stunning and budget friendly homemade decorations and crafts! At the entry you are greeted by a shell wreath...

homemade outdoor pillows
... and Pottery Barn inspired pillows that have nautical stripes painted on -stay tuned for tutorials to come!

fillable lamps
In the living room, inexpensive lamps from Target were made coastal with shells and striped shades. I think the lamps are no longer available, but you can find great Fillable Lamps at Lamps Plus.

striped kitchen shelves
Carlyn also added striped wall paper to the open shelves in the kitchen. I love the pitchers too..., and will post this dinnerware set along with others in the near future.

homemade shell chandelier
And after seeing shell chandeliers for big bucks in expensive stores, she made one out of cheap shell necklaces and lots of glue! Check out Lindsey's Shell Chandelier too, it's a combination of rope wrap and shells.

homemade crafts
And a display of homemade decorations and crafts that includes a driftwood sailboat (see my line up here: Wood Craft Ideas -All the Driftwood Sailboats).

This brings me to Carlyn's Picture Gallery of driftwood creations and her Driftwood Store where she showcases the pieces you can order from her via email.

homemade driftwood trees
Among the pieces, driftwood trees that look gorgeous as is or can be decorated seasonally. Imagine an Easter theme -egg ornaments or chocolate eggs hanging from the branches! She sells her works at boutiques and craft fairs.

Want to make a tree yourself, I posted a tutorial here: Make a (Christmas) Tree with Driftwood.

homemade sunburst mirror
And an awesome homemade sunburst mirror hangs in the living room! My dream project -see Sunburst Mirrors Made with Driftwood. Carlyn would take special orders and ship a heavy driftwood mirror too!

homemade shell mirror
This shell mirror is another jaw dropping homemade decoration. It took her awhile to collect all these shells, then she covered an IKEA mirror frame with them.

homemade coastal style wood flag
A flag crafted from left-over tongue and groove boards, inspired by the Coastal Style Flag at The Lettered Cottage.

boat shelf
This shelf was a freebie from friends who are alcohol distributors and the wood boat was a rum display.

homemade nautical play house
And I'm ending this house tour of amazing homemade decorations and crafts with a glimpse of the playhouse Carlyn's husband built from scratch for their five kids. It's got lots of cool nautical details! To see all projects (there are more!!) and the inside of the playhouse, go to Carlyn's Coastal Decor page.

Browse all House Tours and Craft Projects.

Related Posts:
Decor Bord de Mer -Seaside Decorating in France
A Beach Inspired Home in Michigan
An Artisans Driftwood Home
A Seashell Lovers New York City Apartment

3/25/11

Coastal Mix - Ideas for Gardens and more

coastal garden chair planter
Suzy of Georgia Peachez transformed an ordinary chair into a stunning Coastal Garden Planter.
And have you seen Suzy's Seashell Shelf?


best plants for coastal gardens
Gardens By the Sea need plants that withstand wind and salt.
Find out which plants work best at BHG and Sunset.


different coastal gardens
And 5 Colorful Coastal Gardens at Coastal Living.

Spring is the time to spruce up your curb appeal and the outdoors!
Exterior House Decor Ideas
Bring a Boat to your Yard
Houses Dressed in Roses
Find Fabrics for your Outdoor Seating

Browse everything in the category Curb Appeal and Outdoor Spaces.



Flea Market Style Magazine's sister Flea Market Gardens is featured at Beach House Living.
And the current issue includes this enchanting wall mosaic.
The mosaic reminds me of the garden grotto at Shell Chic Cottage.



Coastal Living's 2011 Idea House is located in East Beach, Virginia.
Decorator? Non other than coastal pro Phoebe Howard!

Do you remember Last Year's Idea House?



Tour this modern CA Seaside Home by Tim Clarke at Homebunch.



A stylish Driftwood Arrangement at Sunset.



I updated How to Drill Beach Stones with this adorable Rock Vase from A Little Tipsy.



And did you know that clam shells were used by 18th century British watercolorists to hold their paint splodges when they painted outdoors? Visit Paris Breakfasts to learn more.



Inspired by the post Decorative Couch Pillows Diane of Lavender Dreams decided that it was time
for a little Sofa Makeover -go check it out!

If you have blogged about something that was inspired by a post on Completely Coastal -let me know!



And for all sewing enthusiasts...
... I just added Calico Corners as another great source for Nautical and Beach Fabrics.


Check out current Sponsor Specials.


completely coastal on facebook
Like my Page to get post updates via Facebook and see what I've been stumbling upon!


Happy Weekend!

3/24/11

Decorating with Flowers -Beautiful Vases & Cache Pots

decorating with flowers in nautical vase
Continuing in the Spirit of Spring, let's see how decorating with flowers can be done coastal style. The secret is in the vase or cache pot! And I hope you don't mind me including some favorites from the past, such as this Wall Mounted Nautical Vase -decorating with flowers yacht style!

Nantucket basket cache pots
And the oh so charming Nantucket baskets. They make the most perfect flower cache pots..., and you can find several shopping sources for them here.

beach pails cache pots
Or have fun with bright and colorful Beach Sand Pails and Buckets as seen on Martha Stewart. Find sand pails on Ebay and Melodie Lane has some cute handpainted ones.

gurgle pot as vase
And any cool coastal pitcher will do, such as the gurgle pot. Available at Ocean Offerings.
Comes in 20 different colors!

handmade sea glass vase
And a darling Sea Glass Vase handmade by Shari of Beach Grass Cottage -currently on sale! Also check out her Bottle Vases -they're gorgeous.

glass tubes in glass vase
Then, decorating with flowers using different kinds of glass vases. The idea is to place a smaller vase with the flowers in it (or as seen here, several glass tubes) into a larger vase and fill the space in between with your sea treasures. You can shop for glass vases online at Save on Crafts, Pottery Barn and Seaside Inspired.

glass vase with shells
Or as simple as this! Seen at Living with Lindsay.

Which one is your favorite?

3/23/11

Personalized Fish Dishes by Sweet William Designs

personalized fish dishes
I had my share of fish and chips and enjoyed every minute of it! And to dig in can even be more fun with Personalized Fish Dishes by Sweet William Designs (see sponsor ad). These ceramic fish dishes come straight out of a small pottery studio outside London and are shipped around the globe.

It seems only right that you enjoy your fish and chips on a dish made in the country where the beloved meal was invented more than 150 years ago. Whether you choose Personalized Fish Dishes with a name of your choice...,

my fish and chips plate
... prefer the dishes that simply say My Fish & Chips Plate...

fish shaped dishes
... or go with Billingsgate, the only place for a Londoner to buy his eels, cockles and whelks, they all come adorned with celebratory UK flags and are approx. 13 inches in length.

Personalized fish dishes make Cool Gift Ideas too.

Bon appetit!

Browse everything in the category Entertaining.

3/22/11

A Homemade Wreath with Pinecone Flowers

homemade wreath
Did you know that pinecones make awesome flowers? I found this gorgeous homemade wreath with pinecone flowers on Barbara's blog DIY Home Staging Tips -and a homemade wreath is one of the Cheap Staging Props that cost almost nothing!

pinecone flowers
These are the instructions Barbara was so kind to email me:

The pine cones require a good cutting tool, like wire snips or lopping shears (a landscaping tool).

You just cut the bottoms off. I sprayed each one with two shades of purple and one shade of blue, just to make each one look more interesting.

Then I dabbed the centers with a small brush dipped in white house paint. Craft paint would work on the centers, too. I didn't fuss, but if someone wants a more refined look, the cones lend themselves to that style, too.

The wreath gets sprayed, and then it's just a matter of getting to work with the glue gun and whatever else you've collected.

homemade vine wreath with shells and pinecone flowers
I'll have my very own homemade wreath soon! I already got shells, pinecones, paint and a glue gun. All I need is a vine wreath from the craft store..., so thank you very much Barbara for sharing This with us!

Related Post:
Shell Wreaths Handmade from Beach Finds

Looking to buy a wreath? Check out the posts below:
Creations by Beach Grass Cottage
Caron's Beach House
Roost Home Accessories
Lamps Plus Home Decor

And for all crafts enthusiasts..., remember, I feature at least one new craft project each week! To make sure you see them all, Subscribe (via reader or email), follow Completely Coastal in the sidebar, follow on Twitter or Become a Fan and/or Be-Friend on Facebook, and of course Browse!