Sea inspired rag wreaths

A different take on a sea inspired wreath.  

Love the backdrop of these photos.

Crafted by hand out of pale blue fabric

with a touch of shells.

Shades of blue and aqua.

to cream and white.

Available at Sandy Paws

Silverware vases silverware ornaments. How to make your own.

Silverware vases are actually pretty versatile.. They can double as holiday ornaments, dress up a chandelier,  vase or be tied to the sides of old mason jars that have the metal clips on them.

I won't kid you there is some work involved, but once you do a few you will be thinking up all sorts of ways to use them. A supply list can be found at the end of this post.

The two most important tools are good dust masks and safety glasses.

My safety glasses are by "WileyX". They have foam padding making them pretty comfortable and interchangeable lenses to turn them into safety sunglasses  In addition to meeting ANSI specs they have a military ballistic impact rating.  True, way more then you need for this project, but I liked that extra rating and since we used to sell this style at work figured why not.

A dust mask is essential  Metal dust is extremely dangerous. 

A vice for holding the knife steady while cutting.

Hint: Trying tapping a fingernail on the handle to figure out where the blade ends and where the hollow part of the handle begins.  It's not fool proof method but after you do a few you can gauge this better.

Hacksaw

Using the hacksaw saw off the blade

OR

If you have one; a band saw outfitted with metal cutting blade.

My sweetie found this little one for me at a flea market.

(Such a romantic)

Once the handle is cut put on some work gloves and use coarse sand paper to smooth away the sharp edges.

You can also use a dremel with a grinding attachment and then finish with a sandpaper bit.

Now drill a hole in just one side with a drill outfitted with a small bit. Be careful to drill only

through one side of the vase.  A dremel will work for this too.

(an order in the works from a client for her neighbors)

Attach a little suction cup, fill with a small amount of water and add a small bloom.

Attach an ornament hook and viola!

Imagine fresh flowers on your holiday tree.

I'm thinking baby's breath would look lovely with our shell ornaments

You can dress them up too.

Find some wood coffee stirrers or Popsicle sticks and cut them down.

These are old clip back earrings. Just snap it on to the stick

For a beach look glue on a small sand dollar or shell.

You can also attach little signs to the sticks

Great as a small hostess or teachers gift.
Add a few sprigs of dried lavender, slip vase into a cello bag and tie with a pretty ribbon.

If you would like to make your own a supply list is below.
Or you can purchase one from my Etsy shop

Supplies List

• Silver plated hollow handled knife. "Grille" style knives work best. Grille style knives have shorter blades and longer handles

• Safety Glasses. Please don't think about skipping this important measure
• A good dust mask.-Don't skip this one either.
• A table mounted vice.
• Hacksaw or a band saw outfitted with a "metal blade"
• Drill or Dremel for drilling holes
• Gloves
• Coarse Sand Paper or Dremel for smoothing rough edges.
• Suction cup if you would like to hang on a mirror, window or vase.
• Wire, ornament hooks, ribbon or twine to hang on a chandelier or tree.

Mr. and Mrs. forks by Beach House Living featured Press B Magazine

My Mr. Mrs. wedding forks have been featured in the 

Winter 2010 edition of B Magazine.

Back in August, 2010 I was contacted by B Magazine

requesting hi-resolution images.  The possibility of appearing in the Etsy finds

was very exciting, but to actually see it happen is even more so.

Item 7. Click on photo to enlarge

 

View the full layout  Mr. Mrs. forks by Beach House Living

Special thanks and gratitude to

Karen Birney, Features Editor of B Magazine.

A few of my favorite nautical treasures

Around here attempting to keeping "boats" to a minimum is a must.  These however are a few of the items I just wouldn't part with.

Wood pulley with lots of use.

An old masthead light turned lavender from the sun.

I lightened the photo so you could see the color better.

Fabulous isn't it?

This lobster float was found in an antique store over 20 years ago.

My father passed it on to me and proudly announced he had cleaned

it up for me by putting on new line and repainting it! 

Thanks Dad, you shouldn't have.

So now it sits outside and is finally beginning to show a bit of weathering.

What are some of your favorite treasure's?

Till next time.

Smitten with knitten. The Ruby Needle

Winter knits from The Ruby Needle on Etsy.

This photo with boats in the background confirmed I needed one of these.

So I wrote to Beth asking if she wouldn't mind making a special cowl for me

in gray 100% merino wool.  Beth was absolutely wonderful about sending
information on different shades and types of yarn.

My cowl arrived last Saturday.
I tore into the package while sitting in the car with the abandon of a toddler
and squealed and grinned like one too as I slipped it on.
It was so cozy I wore it all day, and I mean all day. 
Even after I put on my pj's.

I had no clue what I missing.
Thank you Beth I love it.

Bathroom tea set

When you have teeny tiny alleged master bathroom
that is smaller then most yachts
and
it's 1940's pink from the floor to the tiled walls

 You find yourself looking for eye catching accessories while you 
dream it's actually blinding white on white with a navy blue floor.

I was told this is called a "melon" style.

Usually, I would have walked away based on the condition,

 but its shape was so different from anything in my collection.

The sugar and creamer are quite large compared to all the others.

Cotton cosmetic pads, makeup brushes and hair brushes
have a found a new home.
 It's now the first thing I see. Thank goodness!