Blog Parties

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Beach Party



Gina over at The Shabby Chic Cottage is hosting a beach party. Who doesn't love a beach party? And this is the best kind, you won't get sunburned.

For those of you who are my regular followers, you will have already seen my beachy decor. But it's definitely worth a second look.

We will start off with a little cabinet that I have tucked in at the end of my kitchen cabinets. The large conch shell on the left belongs to my hubby. He has had it since he was a kid. All the other shells I got from my son. He has been collecting shells since he was a kid as well. He was cleaning out his room last month & came across a box full of shells. He said I could have them. Boy did I do the happy dance. Don't you just love the purple starfish? I know I do. If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you will notice a sea horse in the apothecary jar.

Next is my china hutch.
I just started collecting blue canning jars. So far this summer I have found 4. I filled the larger one with shells that came from the Dollar Tree. The medium jar is filled with clear glass beads. They remind me of bubbles. They came from the Dollar Tree as well. I bought the glass beads 2 years ago to use at my parents 50th wedding anniversary. The smallest jar is filled with all white shells. I bought these at Marshall's or Ross a few years back to use for my step son's wedding reception which was a luau.
On the top shelf of the hutch I have four little plates that look like sand dollars that I got from Kohl's. I got them on a 50% off sale, plus I had a coupon for additional 30% off. So I got them for about $1.50 a plate. I used shells for tea light holders. I am using battery operated tea lights just to be safe. I have displayed 3 plates that I got at Marshall's a few months back. I thought they looked beachy. These are the smaller plates & were $2.99 each. The larger plates were too big for my shelf. Here are a couple more of my white pitchers. The one one the left is an antique and the one on the right I got from some catalog years ago. It was a little pricey but I loved it's lines. I added this dessert glass (can't remember exactly what you call this right now) filled with shells.

A close up. I got the little starfish & sand dollars from Oriental Trading Co catalog a few years back to use for my step son's wedding reception. I think these shells came from the Dollar Tree back then as well. Under my cheese dome cloche I have a small bowl that I got from Kohl's. They match the sand dollar plates on my top shelf. They were on sale, buy one, get one free. I also had a $10.00 off purchase coupon. So total paid for 4 little bowls was $2.00. That's 50 cents a bowl! Woo hoo! I filled the bowl up with shells & then sprinkled blue glass beads around the outside of the bowl. The white ironstone plate was a thrift store find a few weeks back for $1.00. I already had 3 that matched & was happy to find a 4th. And of course Harold & Maude my Target S+P shakers couldn't be left out.
I have another pedestal cake plate that I placed a white plate on top of. This white plate matches the blue plates displayed that I got from Marshall's. I bought both the white & the blue plates as I couldn't make up my mind which color I liked better. I placed a large shell, a large starfish & some shark teeth (all snagged from my son) on the plate. I sprinkled in some blue glass beads.
And what would a beachy theme be without some bottles? I put a collection of 5 old bottles under this cloche. I guess I should have put a message rolled up inside of one of them.
Next we will move onto my fireplace mantel.
On the right hand side I have 3 glass jars full of shells. The little apothecary jar on the left came from the thrift store a few weeks back for $1.00. The middle compote & the vase on the right I got on clearance at Marshall's a few years ago. I used 2 of the larger blue dinner plates from Marshall's on my mantel. The star fish I used on my mantel are resin & came from Kohl's. I got them at the same time I bought the sand dollar plates on my china hutch. They were also 50% off & then I used an additional 30% off coupon. That is they only time I buy anything at Kohl's. The item must be 50% off & I must have an additional coupon.
Here is a close up of the left hand side. The 3 apothecary jars came from Big Lots a few years ago. I think they were $10.00 for the set of three. The jar on the right is filled with shell necklaces from Oriental Trading Co from my step son's wedding reception.
The welcome sign I got at a trade show in Las Vegas. I have 3 or 4 of them & was going to sell them, but most of them are damaged at one end. So not sure what I will do with them. I used shells as tea light holders. Again, battery operated tea lights are being used. I learned my lesson using real tea lights. I burnt the frame above at Christmas time using real candles. I thought they were far enough away but I was wrong. I've also used my new bowls from Kohl's to hold a couple of tea light candles. I filled them with sand & sprinkled in a few shells. I also sprinkled the blue glass beads all around my mantel. I think they look like bubbles.
A shelf in my family room has 3 shells. The starfish is hiding behind one of the green balls. I also have 3 green balls on this shelf that are being elevated by 3 candlestick holders.
And finally on the white trunk by my window I have 3 stacking glass cake pedestals with a collection of shells & my small collection of swans. The stacking cake pedestals came from Brylane Home catalog. I got them for free with a gift certificate that I earned from using my credit card. I love reward programs. My swan collection started with the smaller glass swan on the left on the middle tier. It is Swarovski Crystal that I bought in Innsbruck Austria. I then found the larger crystal swan on the left of the bottom tier at an antique store for cheap. The crystal & silver swan on the right of middle tier came from a thrift store. The Lenox swan on the bottom tier was an ebay find.
So there you have my beachy decor. Doesn't it make you want to go to the beach? Don't forget your sunscreen.

Kim

25 comments:

  1. Hey, love your beachy decor ! And the bottles under the cloche ...what a neat ideal !

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  2. Wow, you have some really nice shell displays!

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  3. I love all your beachy displays, but the thing that caught my eye the most was the concrete finial. I have one that I painted with sand-laced paint, and you just inspired me to distress it! I'm doing it AS SOON as I get home, so stop back late this evening to see what you caused me to do!

    Love everything & love that you joined in!

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  4. Hello sweet Kim - thank you for sharing your gorgeous beachy decor! I love how you've turned some of the shells upside down and used them as tealight holders! I'm going to borrow that idea!

    Blessings,
    Marie
    http://emmacallsmemama.com

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  5. I am always so impressed when I see what gorgeous vignettes you use and the wonderful items you mix for such eye candy, color and texture. I LOVE it all. Now I really can't wait to see what all you do with those wonderful cloches and apothecary jars for the "Fall Cloche Party". Hugs, Marty

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  6. Hi Kim,
    I love all your beachy decor! Wonderful shells! I don't so much decorate with it but I do LOVE the beach! Hope you'll stop by and check out my beach today. I love your colours and I see you also like toile and roosters, so we do have something in common. Nice to 'meet' you.

    Blessings,
    Sandi

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  7. What a great home. Love all of it. Love how you displayed some of your beach items under glass or with glass bowls, or a vintage look. Love those plates and the entire color scheme. Beautiful job. What a lovely home you have.
    Blessings,
    Debbie

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  8. I also love the collection of glass bottles under the cloche!

    It is so fun to visit your beach party!

    Blessings & Aloha!

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  9. this party is right up your alley! love your beachy decor! my fave is the purple starfish :D

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  10. Hi Kim, so nice to meet you. Great shell vignettes, and I absolutely love your tiered cake plates with the shells. It's my favorite!!! Beautiful, restful blues.
    Debra

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  11. Very pretty. I love the shells with those beautiful blue plates. They look great in the blue jars too.
    Rhonda

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  12. goodness...they are all gorgeous, i love the aqua with the shells!!!!

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  13. Love the bottles under the cloche
    what a great idea . Everything is beautiful.

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  14. You sure have a knack for vignettes. The shells all look so pretty, and I love all of the clever ways you displayed them. (I think I may have a sunburn!). laurie

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  15. I love all your shell decor.
    Love the color of the ball jars too. I have some jars that color, but they are not canning jars.

    barbara jean

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  16. Oh my gosh, you have done a WONDERFUL JOB with your beachy decor !
    I love shells, as you know and I love blue glass.
    I found my first blue BALL JAR on vacation !! I keep moving it around my house because i'm not sure where I like it best.
    The colors are divine, are they not ? :)
    THanks so much for stopping by and leaving me a comment.
    Hugs,

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  17. I enjoyed being at your beach party!
    Everything is lovely and beachy.

    Carolyn

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  18. Very fun beach decor. I love the aqua of the canning jars and plates with the shells and white dishes. Very pretty and very beachy!

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  19. You have got some gorgeous beachy decor! I absolutely love that purple starfish and the shells as tealight holders are a great idea! Thanks for sharing!

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  20. You really have a knack for artful arranging. The sign of a pretty mind.

    ~Julia

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  21. I love all the blues!

    That jaw/teeth is really neat! Not something you see every day. I have a bunch of sharks' teeth I collected back when we used to go to St. Augustine alot.

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  22. Kim,
    Just can't have too many shells! I think I have salt water in my veins...

    We have a bedroom my grandchildren call the 'beach' room...it's a fun room especially when the wave noise machine is turned on...

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  23. Kim,
    Just can't have too many shells! I think I have salt water in my veins...

    We have a bedroom my grandchildren call the 'beach' room...it's a fun room especially when the wave noise machine is turned on...

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  24. Kim,
    Just can't have too many shells! I think I have salt water in my veins...

    We have a bedroom my grandchildren call the 'beach' room...it's a fun room especially when the wave noise machine is turned on...

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  25. Just stumbled upon this blog, but I love everything. Funny thing is that I have those exact same bird salt and pepper shakers. :P

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