Seahorse obsessed.

One summer when I was about 8 our family went to the beach. 
My mom found a seahorse in a little tide pool and we tried to keep it alive in our cooler and bring it home!  Unfortunately that didn't work out and the poor little thing died.  (I now never take live things from the ocean, promise!!! not even sanddollars)
Anyway, this spurred my fascination with seahorses.
They are so cool... wouldn't you agree??

Here's a look back at some of my seahorse antics.

Kissing a seahorse at the Ice sculpture show Lee and I froze to death to see :)

Seahorse I drew when we lived in Grenada.... which reminds me I should find this and frame it!

Read about the others in this "collection" here. 

A couple little guys I made also while living in Grenada.

I turned the white one into a necklace and the sea glass one I just have sitting on my dress to admire.
It might be one of my most favorite things I've ever made, read about it here.

 And now thanks to Stella & Dot's Sunset Beach Charm necklace I get to wear another, somewhat upgraded version :)  Love this little guy.

Read more about my business with stella & dot here.

Honestly though, I think I just love anything that has to do with the ocean.

I'm trying my hardest to get back to the sea....

Home Tour!!

I made the announcement on my other blog this week that I am officially starting Grad school this fall!!
I'll be getting my Masters in Professional Counseling!

What does that mean for this blog??
Well at first I thought it meant that I'd have to stop blogging (and lets face it I haven't been so swift lately anyway) but the I started thinking about my college days and spending lots of time on the computer (and I'm taking online classes) and I figure I'll be procrastinating a good bit, so there will probably be LOTS of posts to come!

I'll be working full time AND going to school full time.  I'm slightly nervous, but super excited to get started and on the track to a career that I actually want/feel called to do.  You can read more about it on my personal blog.
Oh and I just got my first professional job as a wedding planner!  Wedding is in June! I'm so excited, more about that later!!

Now lets get on with the home tour!!
I finally broke down and took pictures of the entire house, regardless of it's "readiness".
It is what it is.... and I won't have time for decorating starting August 20th.

I will say that it's so totally different decorating your own house as opposed to someone else's/ finding ideas on pinterest.
I have so many personal things that I have been saving and collecting for years that I can't stand the thought of not having.... so my house gets a little - crowded if you will.
I think I'd call my style... flea market chic.

But we love it and I can't wait to share with you, quirks and all.
I'm going to start with the main room when you walk in the door, the dining and living area.

As soon as you walk in the front door, there is one large open room that I have converted into a duo living/dining area.   It's pretty tricky to do this, especially I'm finding with what to hang on the walls.  In the dining room I have a few random mirrors propped against the wall and I love the way they look.  They look much better in person, and I'm still looking for an even  BIGGER mirror to add to the collection.

I love the look of mismatched chairs, done purposefully. My friend Kristen gave me this table and I've collected chairs from thrift stores and yard sales.  The chair on the left end was FREE! :) 

Coke and Sprite bottles from my two trips to St. Vincent and the Tobago Cays.  I have a thing for glass Coke bottles and these are very special to me because of the great memories from the trips.  I think of the sea turtles every time I see them.

A view to see how the apartment is laid out. 

Vintage school desk I bought for $5!  and original art work by yours truly.... of what else - Grenada!

Moving into the living room.  This couch is so awesome.  We bought it on clearance for $300 at Value City Furniture.  It has beautiful lines and the upholstery isn't grey... it has a slight pattern to it!

What would you call this?? At first I thought herringbone, but no?

A collection of my favorite things!
I know the book shelf is a little too small and this looks a little cluttered.  But.... I haven't found another one!

 Rocker from a yard sale, came already this color.
Globes, keys, cameras, frames, mirrors, and books!
perfect!
See the slight zebra print in the background of the shelf?? Tissue paper I glued on for just a tad of drama.

TV area.  This too has a story.  The TV is on a little table, and there is another table with the front legs removed on top of the TV acting as a shelf so I could have a lamp on this wall!

And of course suitcases and plants.
Note I don't have curtains.... or don't note.  I'm still on that mission.

Coffee table with tiles I found on the beaches of Grenada....
in a bowl I found on the side of the road in Grenada!! love it.

My Grenada area.  This picture kinda sucks.... the lighting is tough to work with in here, ok?
This corner is patiently waiting for the perfect chair to go in it too...

This shelf came bolted on the wall and I hated it. hated it.  We're renting so couldn't remove it.... so I found it to be the perfect place to display alllllllllllllllllllllll my shells and sea finds from Grenada!!! Obsessed much??
And to the right is a Cricket bat I found on the beach one day too!!!
How did I get all this stuff home??? lol.  I left all my clothes and shoes behind ;) 

 

So there you have it.  My Parisian, Caribbean, thrift store mash-up.... in Michigan.

Hey latest followers!

When I'm feeling uninspired I like to look at what others are doing and I'm usually left in awe at how talented some people are.

• Standart - shares pictures of amazing art work and recently posted a group of oil paintings that I literally drooled over.  I wish I could paint like this!

• Sandra - the Frugal French Girl has also caught the Picnik bug! 
  This is a picture she did using the Halloween effects - love it!
  AND the tagline of her blog is "bringing the beach home on a budget"
  Great minds think alike Sandra :)

• Shelly at What the Shell (hahahaha yes that is the name of her blog!) shares my love of beach finds!  She finds the most incredible stuff!  I can't wait to organize and display all my finds in our future home like Shelly did her in her house! looks so good!  I just want to explore her finds!

• Two Sisters blog over at Design DNA and had way too much fun with Halloween!  They threw the scariest/best Halloween party I've ever seen.  The shower scene made my skin crawl... but I love the glass bottle & candle covered table, I'm keeping this in mind for next year for sure.

Thanks for the follow guys!!
Everyone visit these fun blogs and share some love!

Polishing Sea Glass

My stockpile of sea glass was looking a little cloudy so I went to the internet to find out how to "polish" it and found that it's pretty darn simple.
Vegetable oil and an old rag is all you need!
It turns white-ish because of the salt that is still on the glass, but the oil removes it and lets the true color show!
I think sea glass is more and more beautiful every single day.

Before

After!

These are all the colors I've found so far... still on the hunt for something red or pink!

Here are a few projects I've done lately with my sea glass, the easiest being my new ring.
I found out that my finger is exactly the size of a pop or beer bottle top.  amazing!

A necklace!

And a new wind chime!

it sounds so beautiful! 
I'm thinking about doubling the size of it... and I'm searching for an awesome piece of driftwood to attach it to!


Are you guys sick of my beachy/summery posts??
I only have 2 months left on this gorgeous island... and then I'll be posting all about winter and snow. trust.

Sea Glass Jackpot!

The other day my friends and I went snorkeling at a secluded area called Flamingo Bay. 
The reason we made the trip was the awesome snorkeling - a rainbow assortment of fish, coral, sea fans, and urchins galore... but our eyes soon became fixed on the sand and the incredible amount of sea glass!

There were 6 of us and I think we all left with at least a zip-lock baggie full of glass!
In December I get to take two 50lb suitcases home with me... one just might be full of sea glass.

My stash!!
In the bottom of this bowl there are tons of small pieces that I plan on making some sort of mosaic out of !

Here are a few sea glass projects from pinterest that I'll be trying soon!

Source: bystephanielynn.com via Susie on Pinterest

Source: ecstasea-at-etsy.blogspot.com via Nikki on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Carrie on Pinterest

Source: masterpieceonanapkin.tumblr.com via Luinielle on Pinterest

Nautical Knots

admit that title made you want to sing the Spongebob theme song please.

anywho.
I have a mason jar full of sea glass I've been collecting and while it is beautiful all on it's own.... I'm not a minimalist, more is more! So I added my favorite go-to-Grenada crafting supply - jute twine!

before

Cut a very long piece of jute, more than twice the length of the mason jar.
Tie it around the rim of the jar and allowing the strands to hang down about twice as long as the jar.
Cut 5 additional pieces of jute and tie in evenly spaced out knots to the original piece of jute around the rim allowing the strands to hang down.

Gather a strand of jute from each adjoining knot and tie together creating a triangle or diamond shape.

Continue tying knots until the entire jar is covered and secure the remaining twine on the bottom of the jar with hot glue.

If I don't get out of Grenada soon my entire house and jewelry collection is going to be covered in jute twine!!!

Jute ampersand

If you've been around my blog much you know that I have developed a love of jute twine.
It's beachy and cheap! 2 of my favorites

Most of my inspiration comes out of the blue and fast, if I have something in my head I must do it NOW.
I woke up with the crafting bug eating away at me and soon decided I wanted to make a 3-D letter.
My 1st thought was of making a letter 'C' and to glue EC coins all over it, like those I made the earrings out of.  I quickly changed my mind to doing the ampersand instead... and after playing around with the coins I decided that it wouldn't look quite as sleek as I wanted so I scratched that and turned to my reliable twine.

I sketched out an ampersand on the cardboard which was leftover from some packaging

cut it out

and started wrapping the twine around

the back is messy, but no one is going to see it.  I tied a knot when I started and used hot glue to secure it down.

the angles made it hard to continuously wrap the twine around... so I had to leave some bare spots which I later when back and filled in.

I decided to dress it up with a couple sand dollars I had laying around and add to it's beachy-ness
It is photographed hanging from our shutters outside because the lighting was much better than inside.

I made this ampersand mostly as another souvenir to take back to America with me in December.  I am running out of space in this tiny apartment to keep up with all my crafting!  I can't stop!

So it gets added to the growing pile of souvenirs I have.  Are there support groups for this type of thing??









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