Monday, June 23, 2014

A Salute to Summertime

It's officially summer now, so I decided to celebrate the season by updating my little tea cart with some beachy decor!

I covered this old white teapot with seashells a few years back, and I still like to bring it out in the summertime to remind me of our many visits to the beach. Hopefully I'll be going back before too long!

It's surprising to me that these seashells have all stayed in place. Hot glue is a lovely thing!

For fun, I poured a teacup full of sea glass. (Please note: Not for actual consumption!) A sea-loving friend and I once discussed the fact we have never actually seen sea glass at the sea, but then we have pretty much visited only southern beaches all our lives. So I cheated and bought a big container of sea glass at Target because I love the color! (Have any of you visited a beach where you've actually found sea glass?)

This old shell-theme silverplated wreath underneath came from a friend a few years ago, a friend who knew my longing for a beach house and wanted to help begin decorating for it. It's nice to have a head start!

Those watery blue colors in sea glass and some glassware are so soothing. This is an old glass cream pitcher my mom found for me at a yard sale some years ago. It holds seashells now, which I think is a good "repurposed" use for it!

And of course you can't have a beach-themed decor without lots of seashells. I love the perfectly-formed olive seashells I've found at the beach in recent years, but I also love the imperfect, chippy and pockmarked pieces of shells that have withstood the test of time. They have character, and I've long thought it's a good thing to find beauty in the imperfections of life. So have you been to the beach yet this year? Are you planning a trip?

12 comments:

  1. I have never seen sea glass on the beach, either! Yes, I'm going to the beach in August. I hope you can make a beach visit, soon, too.

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  2. I lived in Miami for 14 years - every couple of months I would get up super early to watch the sunrise on Miami Beach and pick up sea shells. I had to only bring home certain kinds of shells since there were so many - Spiny jewel Boxes are still my favorite. Sea glass was not as common as the shells but I do have a medium sized Ball jar full of sea glass in blues/greens/browns. I hope you find some soon!

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  3. I've found sea glass on the Oregon coast, but not in great quantity. Your teapot is so pretty! I love the shells. Nate Burkus says that every home & decor should have an element of nature in it and he recommends that one of the elements be sea shells. I love his idea and have adopted it ever since!

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  4. It's summertime! Let the good times roll! Love your beach themed tea tray. I don't think I get up earlier enough to comb the sand for sea glass!

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  5. We have an inland lake near us and will spend some time there this summer.
    I like how you decorated the teapot.

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  6. Cute teapot, Angela! I spend the Summer at the beach and I never see sea glass. There is a very good reason for that though. We have so many tourists flock to the Island this time of year and they get to the sea glass bfore I do. Oh, well, I get to stay here! Sea glass or not. Hope you're having a delightful day.

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  7. Relaxing tea time is perfect at the beach too. Love your pretty blue sea glass! A beach house would be lovely!

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  8. If by sea glass you mean glass that has been in the ocean and gotten smooth/frosty, then yes I have found a few on NC beaches before.

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  9. Yes, I was at the beach a lot in Hawaii. I have found tiny pieces of sea glass at the beach. There is a beach I scour near my mother-in-laws home and when we go to visit I plan an hour to walk that beach. So far mostly white glass and very, very small. But I absolutely love sea glass and your pale blue is lovely.

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  10. Glass Beach near Fort Bragg in California used to amazing for sea glass finds. Today there is very little sea glass left. I keep my sea glass collection in a bowl on our coffee table. Nice memories!

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  11. Your beach themed tea cart is lovely and so is your shell covered teapot.

    I went to Panama City Beach recently, but it's not a good shelling beach.

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  12. Such a pretty tea cart and so creative, Angela! Growing up in Miami, I did find a lot of sea glass and sea shells.

    Sometimes we went to the West Coast of Florida for vacation and there were a lot of shells to be found on Sanibel Island. I never get tired of looking at sea shells. Joanie

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