Sea Glass Pictures

I love all things beach and ocean.  Especially the sound of the ocean waves.  There is nothing more soothing, meditative, and contemplative that ocean waves and if I had my druthers I would live on the beach.  Unfortunately, I don't live there, but have been fortunate enough to visit there many times in my life.  This year may not be one of those years (insert sad face).

At the little yellow cottage, all the walls were a soft creamy yellow and I used mostly red accents with a little blue.  Our new home has taupe colored walls and some decorating changes were in order.  Our hall bath was being finished after we moved in so I had about two weeks to think about how I would decorate it.  The brown stone tile and sand colored vanity top made me think of the beach, so I decided I would go with blues and use shells and something, just wasn't sure what something.

I had made a really big shell wreath a couple of years ago, but it was too big for the bathroom, so I made a smaller one and purchased some blue towels and a beautiful blue rug for the room.

The wreath hangs on the wall at the end of the bathroom.  You see it when you enter the door.   I needed something for the wall across from the vanity.  I was working putting things away and spied these frames that my daughter had given me for my birthday while we were living at the other house.  I loved the color of them and had them hanging in the dining room because they were a perfect complement to my Bluebird Cafe poster.  Just one little thing, I had never removed the original pictures that came in the frames because I just never got around to it somehow.  Don't laugh.

In a flash of inspiration, I knew what I could do with the frames so I could  use them in the new bathroom.  I took the backs off which was really easy,  you just had to twist a couple of little doodads and remove the pictures.  It wasn't like it was hard.  

I had lots of shells to use and a bag of sea glass from the Dollar Tree.  No, it's not real sea glass because I could search from now until forever and never have enough to use for this project.  It is truly beautiful, but not that easily found, so I used what I had and it looks great.  Do you know what sea glass is?  Here is what Wikipedia has to say:

There are two methods of making sea glass. The first type of sea glass production is natural. Pieces of glass from broken bottles, broken tableware or even shipwrecks are rolled and tumbled in the ocean or lakes for years until all of their edges are rounded off and the slickness of the glass has been worn to a frosted appearance.

Sea glass also can be produced artificially, when pieces of glass are tossed into a rock tumbler or dipped in acid to produce the desired finish. Artificially-produced sea glass is much less expensive than natural sea glass.

I had this piece of green glittered scrap book paper I had bought because I liked it.  It was sparkly, ya know?  So, I used the picture from the frames and traced two squares on the sparkly green paper and cut them out.  That would be the background for my new inserts.

I dumped out the bag of sea glass and searched for pieces and colors I liked and laid them out on the paper until I got a design that I liked.  Then, I hot glued each piece to the paper and placed it in the frame and put the backs on.  Easy peasy and I LOVE the way they look on the wall.  The picture isn't great because I could not get back far enough for a good shot.  You'll just have to come see them in person.

The piece of paper was $.50 and the bag of sea glass was $1.00.  Frames were a gift.  Can't complain about the cost and I am so happy with the way they look.  It is just a beautiful reminder of memorable times spent at the beach.  They are perfect for my beach inspired bathroom.

One again, look at things you already have and may be tired of.  Is there a new way to use the piece?  Maybe it requires a little change, or some paint.  You don't have to spend a ton of money to give a room a nice facelift.  Sometimes just moving things around to different rooms will be a refreshing new look.  I have used all the same pieces, but many in different places.  The only thing I have bought for our new home are the four bar stools.  Use new eyes to "see".  Some call it recycling, some call it being "green", and I just call it fun.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

I like to walk the aisles of the Dollar Tree and look at all the interesting things and think how I could use them in a new or different way from their "original" or intended purpose.  It's challenging, creative,  and fun.  Give it a try.  You may come up with a great new idea to share with all of us.  donna

One Thing Always Leads To Another

You know how changing one thing in a room always leads to another change?  That is what happened after I made the shell wreath last week and hung it on the wall.  I liked the way it looked so much, that the centerpiece on the table looked out of place and in need of a little summer "pick me up."

The Old Time Pottery had a big sale a few weeks ago and I purchased some new place mats in a beautiful sea blue color for the table for only $.88 each which was a great price.  There were some napkins that I loved there in blues and tans which reminded me of the beach and ocean for only $.78 each (another bargain), so they all came home with me.  They had been sitting in the sack since then waiting for an inspiration.  The shell wreath was that inspiration.

Because we have to put a leaf in the table when we have company, I like my centerpiece to be something that can be moved easily without dismantling it every time and then having to put it back together.  This is what I came up with for the summer.

This centerpiece is easy and inexpensive. All of these items came from Dollar Tree (where else)?   I used a metal tray from the wedding section, two bags of sea glass in blues, greens and shades of tan,  a small basket of shells, a cylinder vase, two tea light candleholders and some yellow orchids.  If you are not familiar with sea glass, it is glass found on beaches along oceans, bays, rivers or large lakes that has been tumbled and smoothed by the waves, water and sand, creating smooth, frosted shards of glass. (Wikipedia). 
Sea glass comes in lots of different colors and shades and is really beautiful.  There will be another project with sea glass that I will show you later.

I placed the cylinder vase in the center of the tray,  mixed the sea glass so all colors were represented and put some in the bottom of the vase, filling it about 1/3 full.  Then, I set a tea light holder on either side of the vase.  I put 3 of the orchids in the vase and filled it with water.  The orchids were on a bush and I simply pulled three of the flowers off the stems.  The "silk" flowers we buy are really polyester for the most part and will float in water and are MUCH cheaper than real orchids.  Also, they do not have to be replaced every few days which is a plus.  (If you were using this centerpiece for a party or wedding reception, you might choose fresh orchids.)  Now, I mixed the shells and the remaining sea glass around the vase and candle holders on the tray.  I added a tea light to each candleholder and put one to float in the water in the vase.  Could that be any easier?  Total cost for this centerpiece would be $8.00.   This would also be great for a luau party, birthday party, shower or wedding reception.  The orchids are available in several colors, but I chose yellow because it goes with our decor.

Now, I needed some napkin rings.  Here is what I did - cheap and easy.  My two most favorite words.

The wire came from, you guessed it, Dollar Tree!  It also comes in several other colors, but I chose  the blue.  You will need some wire cutters and something round to make your shape.  I used the center from a roll of toilet paper.  I wrapped a piece of wire around the tube, leaving about a 2 inch overlap.   I opened the wire out and cut 5 more pieces the same length because I needed 6 napkin rings.  Next, I wrapped each piece of wire around the tube to make it round in shape and finished the top this way.  Wrap the left side of the wire over the right side, under and over .  Like this:

Now, wrap the left side over and under.  Then, use your wire cutters like pliers and bend the end of the wires into loops like this:

Doing this gives you a place to glue a shell.  I picked 6 shells of approximately the same size, placed a dollop of hot glue on the underside of each shell and placed in on the "figure 8" at the top of the wire.  The shells came from the basket of shells used for the centerpiece.

I placed the shell napkin rings around the napkins and finished decorating the table.  Two of the place mats were turned vertically so it gave the effect of a table runner down the center of the table.  We turn them horizontally when we are having dinner.  I just liked the way it looked.   Now, we have a beach look for summer and it is one more thing to help tie the beach/cottage look of the room together.

We may not have an ocean view out the window, but this will be a reminder of all the wonderful times we have spent at the beach.  Sure wish I was there now!

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

‎"Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that."

- Norman Vincent Peale