Everybody's Gone Surfin'....Surfin' USA

There is something about warm temperatures, sunny skies, and the beach that just makes me want to bust out with some Beach Boys songs.  Don't pretend you don't....here, let's take a brief blog break and everybody join in with me...

 If everybody had an ocean 

Across the USA

Then everybody'd be surfin'

Like Californ-I-A

You'd seem 'em wearing their baggies
Huarachi sandals too
A bushy bushy blonde hairdo
Surfin' U.S.A.

Beautiful!  I just love the summer, in case you haven't noticed. In order to take advantage of the amazing weather North Carolina has been showing us this spring, we decided to take a day trip to Topsail Island and explore the coastal area.  While John's main goal was to relax and have fun, mine was to find some great seashells to incorporate into our gallery wall.  I think it's suffice to say we both accomplished our goals...and I even got John in on beach-scouring.

Seashell side note: I've learned many times after many vacations that it's important to rinse out your shells as soon as possible. Believe me - if you leave them in a bag or tupperware you will be sorry when you open them up. Stinky!  When I get home or back to a hotel, I just plug the sink and fill it with hot, soapy water and let the shells soak overnight. The next day I air dry them on a towel and voila!

We found some great pieces of sea glass, sharks teeth, and beautiful shells. I wanted to add some bigger frames to our gallery wall as well as introduce more texture so I decided to display some finds in an old frame I spray painted.

When I've collected shells in the past, they typically stay in a baggie under the bed and I reminisce when I find them while looking for lost shoes.  I love that I am displaying a variety of my beach finds for all to see this way. 

In fact, I liked it so much, I made a smaller frame for my seashell-themed guest bathroom.

The new framed artwork looks a lot more elegant than this shell frame I made while in college to display my various road trips to various beaches.

In college I was definitely a fan of the multiple-frames-in-one as well as the color brown. My tastes have changed and I've had to donate more of these types of frames than I'd care to admit.  This one has stayed, though, because of the shells.  Despite looking fragile, this frame has proved pretty hardy in my many moves to new dorm rooms, apartments, and cities.

I told you I've been busy this week! Not only did I make two pieces of seashell art, I also made a sea glass mobile. I am in love with this - it just sparkles and glows in the sun.

I'm planning on writing a quick tutorial later this week on how I made this mobile. The project ended up taking me about 10 hours to make due to some trial and error.  Luckily it turned out well enough to make up for the ordeal it put me through.

While searching for sea glass, I kept coming upon perfectly smooth, polished stones on the beach. While wet they glittered like glass in the sand and after picking up several only to toss them back down, I decided to collect them as well.

I chose to use them to make a small romantic frame for our bedroom. I found some shimmery gray card stock in our closet and spray painted a goodwill frame.  It matches our bedroom perfectly.  Oh, and yes, that is the paper mache bird from this post. I decided not to paint him and instead leave him natural.  After painting several blue, green, and white, I thought this little guy was perfect just the way he was.






I'm linking up:
Today's Creative Blog
Someday Crafts
Blue Cricket Design
A Crafty Soiree  
A Glimpse Inside
Paisley Passions
Remodelholic
Chic on a Shoestring

Thousand Paper Crane Mobile

Traditionally, a thousand paper cranes are given as a wedding gift to wish a thousand years of happiness and prosperity for the couple (Wikipedia).  For my bridal shower, my wonderful bridesmaid, Julianna, made paper cranes and used them to decorate...it was beautiful.  Afterward, I couldn't fathom throwing away the beautiful cranes that she had spent so much time working on so I came up with a way to keep them and display them.

I wanted to bring some interest into the bedroom but didn't want to invest in a chandelier or anything since we're just renting. The mobile worked perfectly and became the focal point of this little nook we have.

Our bedroom's color scheme is gray, white, and green so I picked through the paper cranes and found those that would compliment our colors.

 Stealing Taking John's fishing line, I cut five differing lengths of string. I poked small holes in the top of the crane's body and thread the line through the hole on the top and out the natural hole on the bottom. I knotted the line several times and then dabbed some hot glue on it in order to keep the crane where I wanted it. Making sure to stagger each crane, I thread them on each string. 

Next, I strung two pieces of sting across an embroidery hoop to create an X and secured. This allowed me to hang a strand of cranes from the center of the mobile to fill it out a bit.  Then, I tied the other four strands of cranes around the embroidery hoop, staggering their lengths and voila!

I love that I was able to make a mobile using meaningful trinkets that remind me of my wonderful friend each time I look at it. It's also beautiful when we open the windows and a breeze comes in.

I'm linking to

Catch a Glimpse Thursday

A Crafty Soiree

Thrilling Thursday

Flaunt It Friday

Feature Yourself Friday

Remodelaholic Party Friday