Coastal Decorating

I love beach combing.  Summers on the rocky beaches of mid-coast Maine are spent looking for sea glass. And this month, thanks to a camping trip to Florida and South Carolina, I got to comb unfamiliar beaches for shells we don't find in Maine.

As we explored local flea markets and antique barns throughout the South, I kept my eyes open for items in which to display some of the shells we'd collected. I came up with an olive basket, two rusty handled baskets, and a dough bowl I had on hand. 

Even after giving some of the shells away to friends, there was still quite a pile left to arrange.

I started with the tin olive basket.

My first arrangement looked as if I had just dumped the shells in.

Clearly I needed a better plan.

On my second try, I decided to take up some space in the bottom so that the arrangement would take on a rounded shape and favorite shells would't get "lost" in the bottom. Cardboard bowls worked!

 The finished arrangement is big enough to make a statement . . .

And works well on the coffee table in our conversation area.

 The dough bowl was a little easier to arrange.

As was this rusty basket for the kitchen island.

I think I'm on a roll!

I had one metal basket left over.

And decided to fill it with my accidental collection of wooden shoe forms.

Don't laugh . . . I collect old door knobs too!

As always, one project led to another.

So I decided to rearrange this display in my kitchen to hold the two pieces of  M.A. Hadley pottery DH spotted at an antique shop in North Carolina. I love how they look on my shelf.

They're hand painted and whimsical . . . outside and in!

The two Shawnee miniatures I purchased on our trip are still sitting on the top of my display cabinet.

I'll rearrange that tomorrow.

After I walk the beach?

This post is linked to:

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps On the Porch
Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Thursday TFT Party at Katharine's Corner
Flaunt It Friday 396 at Chic On a Shoestring

Shawnee Hunting in South Carolina

We're back on the road in the Casita, spending a few days in one of our favorite places, Charleston, South Carolina. I love the low country and could blog about it for hours. But I'll start with a story about Friday's "antique road trip" to the little town of Walterboro, about an hour from Charleston. It was recommended for its antiques and cafes.

Walterboro is a cute little Southern town but, sadly, many of its antique shops have gone out of business and the tree-lined main street is marred by empty store fronts. Antique shops seem to be struggling everywhere. At home in New England the same is true. "The girls" and I used to be able to spend whole days driving from one antique shop to the next looking for bargains; not so anymore. Is that true where you live too?

We did find a few shops open. One was located in what was the town's only movie theater back in the day. After the theater closed, the grandson of its original owner turned it into a group antique shop. After hearing stories about the "old days" in Walterboro (and even seeing black & white photos of Grandpa!), we began hunting through the piles of  "stuff" in search of ever-elusive Shawnee Pottery miniatures to add to my collection.

 And, sitting on an old tray of dishes in the back of the store, I spotted one!

This little two-handled vase is the first one I've found in many years. Score!

And, at $5.00, I didn't even dicker; they're now selling for $20.00 to $30.00 each online.

These tiny (<3")vases and pitchers were produced from 1937 through the 1940's and given away as premiums at stores and movie theaters. (Back in 2011, I wrote a post about my collection, with lots of photos, which you're welcome to revisit here.)

Finding this little vase seemed like quite a coincidence because just last week, Claudia at Mockingbird Hill Cottage, who also collects Shawnee miniatures, posted about two she had just purchased and how hard they are to find. I replied to her post that I hadn't found one since 2011. A few days later, this one appeared, in Walterboro, SC of all places.  Karma?

On the way back to Charleston (Mt. Pleasant, actually) we passed this funky barn, "Linda Page's Thieves Market".

After yelling "Stop! Stop!" to DH and encouraging him to take a hair-raising u-turn, we pulled in. 

What a fun place!

I loved these big tobacco baskets; great size, color and texture for $30.00. I wanted to buy one of the larger ones for the wall over my couch but finally had to let it go . . . we simply have no more room for "stuff" in the camper. (Tied to the roof, maybe?)

I did buy two rusty old egg baskets to use as Easter decor, a metal tray in which to display all the whelk shells we collected in St. Augustine, and 10 colored glass bottle stoppers. (There's no rationale for the bottle stoppers except that I already have a door knob collections so, for 10 for $1.00, why not?)

Outside the "Thieves Market" was this bicycle. Can you see it? I wonder if the rider is still in the barn somewhere? If so, she must like to hunt for "junk" even more than I do!

Tomorrow we'll load up the Casita and head for Rome, Georgia. Before we do, I'm determined to finish at least one more post about one of my all time favorite places . . . Charleston. 

It' s raining in the low country today so I just might get that done!

This post is linked to:

Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings

Nifty Thrifty Sunday at Nifty Thrifty Thungs

10 Beautiful Things to Have In Your Craft Room

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."              ~William Morris

Welcome back to my craft room!

In my last post I had some fun thinking about the perfect craft space. I looked around my own craft room and came up with a "Top 10 List" of items in it that I find to be the most useful. Today I'm thinking about how to make a craft space so beautiful that it inspires you to sit right down and start making something.  So, here's my . . .

Top 10 List of Inspirational Items to Have in Your Craft Space:

1. Natural light

You can't top this one. Not only does natural light help us to see what we're doing (and at my age, that's becoming more important!), it allows us to really appreciate color and texture.  In addition to a big window, my craft room has a skylight located right above my work table.

 Ott light over my sewing machine

If you don't have the luxury of natural light in your craft space, or if you do a lot of work at night, an Ott light may be able to provide you with task lighting that approximates natural daylight.

2. Color



I believe in surrounding yourself with your favorite colors. I love orange and turquoise, my friend Mary Elizabeth loves pink . . . our personal spaces reflect the colors we love. Who cares if no one else likes it? Who cares if the rest of the house is "builders' beige"? This is your room; it should make you feel happy and inspired.




3. Words that inspire

I love words and find them both soothing and encouraging as I work in my space.

These words were stenciled on the wall in my sister Nancy's yellow and red Mary Englebreit inspired craft room.

4. Objects found in nature

The shapes and colors found in natural objects inspires a sense of balance and design.

 

This strange looking piece of bark is on my craft shelf because it is shaped like a goat's head (?). Call me crazy but I'm saving it because someday I hope to make something out of it for a friend of mine who owns goats and makes beautiful things from their wool. (Yup . . . you know who you are!)

the view of Casco Bay from the bottom of Applegate Lane always inspires me

5. Things with interesting shapes or textures

Who knows what these things will become . . .  or not?  Right now it is simply their textures and shapes that make me covet them.

 6. Old Things

What can I say besides . . . bring on the rust . . .

and chipped paint, and beautiful wood, and faded lettering, and steampunk goodness!

7. Collections

 Sometimes I think I have too many strange collections lurking in my craft room, but . . . I love them so, there it is.

 

 

 I collect sea glass, buttons, door knobs, sand dollars, rusty tools, old keys, scrabble tiles, beads, vintage postcards, clothespins, tie clips, girl scout patches, miniatures, wooden spools, belt buckles, vintage linens, magnets, children's blocks, vintage Shiny Bright ornaments, old dolls . . .

oh, my!

 

 

I also have quite a collection of Cat's Meow buildings depicting some of my favorite places.

DH attached molding high up on the walls of my craft room so that I can display these without having them in the way when I work.

 

8. Books that teach

 

I love my craft books even more than I love Pinterest. Call me old-fashioned but I like to hold them, come back to them again and again, and have directions and photos right next to me as I work. Thank goodness for my local bookstore and, when that fails, for Amazon Prime.

 

 

9. Things that evoke memories

 

My craft room shelves are chock full of things that bring back happy memories, like this old Patsy doll, with her steamer trunk full of organdy party dresses.

 

 

And my Mom's buttons. Many of them came from clothes she made for my sisters and I when we were children; she would remove the buttons to use again.

 

 

 I love being surrounded by my favorite family photos . . . even the silly ones!

 

 

10. Handmade things

 

Having a few completed projects on display in my craft space reminds me that I really can finish what I start, frustrated as I may get with a project at times.

 

 

And displaying  things that others have made for me just makes me happy when I look at them. This amazing 3-dimensional book was made by fellow blogger, Paula Clare, from Paula's Palace of Altered Art.

 

 

 

So, to recap, here are my Top 10:

 

1. Natural Light

2. Colorful things 

3. Words that inspire

4. Objects found in nature

5. Things with interesting shapes or textures

6. Old Things

7. Collections

8. Books that teach

9. Things that evoke memories

10. Handmade things

 

 

 What are the things that inspire you the most in your creative space?

 

 

 

This post is linked to:

Party Junk at Funky Junk Interiors

Nifty Thrifty Sunday at Nifty Thrifty Things

Weekend Wrap-Up at Tattertots & Jello

Flaunt It Friday at Chic On a Shoestring

Show & Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Amaze Me Monday at DWELLINGS