Happiness is........

      Looking in a mirror and liking what you see.

  Mirrors are meant to  reflect beautiful  things.Not only ourselves, but nature and light. When used in design, they can be the main focal point in a room. There are an endless styles, and frames of  beautiful mirrors for the seaside and coastal look. Some mirror can be used as pieces of art . Mirrors can make small rooms appear larger and ground a room . When choosing a mirror you will need to determine what is the main purpose of the mirror, is is to balance a look you are going for? Are you trying  to create more light, or is it to make a space look larger than it is? These are things you will need to consider as well as the scale of the mirror in relation to the space. Here are some excellent examples of mirrors being used in great design.



This beautiful starfish mirror creates a modern coastal look

This beautiful oyster stick mirror embraces this sea life vignette.

This grand mirror over the mantle blends chic and vintage and balances the large bookcases

 Seashell mirrors are a wonderful addition to a room at a seaside retreat.

 Do Group mirrors together.

 Make an  elegant statement.. with an all white seashell mirror.

 Grand Opulence.

Seaside casual

This mirror is letting more light in the room and is reflecting the outdoors.

These Shabby Chic mirrors are used as a headboard to make the space appear larger.

If you are lucky enough to have a hallway or entryway this large, this seashell mirror is a spectacular piece of art.

Porthole mirrors flank this entertainment center.

The painted cottage style mirror complete the cottage style room against the plank walls.



Image sources: Decor Pad, Apartment Therapy,Country Living, Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, Coastal Living

How To Make A Nautical Light

  If you love nautical charts like I do, this is a perfect little accent light that can be usesd in a hallway or in a bathroom.and would be a great addition to a coastal themed home. It's  pretty easy and relativley fast, and came out really cute.

You will need a Krafty Blok,. They are sold at most craft stores. I got this one at Hobby Lobby.It is pre drilled and has a cap.They  come in small, medium and large. For this project, I used a small one.

20 Lights adds the perfect amount of light to shine through the glass.

I played with the light a bit to get them streched out a little and placed them in the block..





This chart is waterproof, but any chart will do.

I hot glued the sisal around the seam of the glass. The 1/4  covers the glass seam perfectly.

 I cut  the chart with  a craft knife to cover the front of the glass.  I used a mixture of glue and water and placed the chart on the glass. I covered both sides of the block. I rubbed the bubbles out with a paper towel. I attached a small starfish. I sealed it  Modge Podge Matte sealer.

This is how it turned out!

It  adds the perfect amount of light in my nautical Bathroom.

If you want to give it a vintage feel, burn the edges of the chart slightlty.These blocks are usually seen at Christmas with bows around them, but There are so many other things you can do as with them year round!

A Couple Beachy Finds

I really didn't plan on going  antiquing today, but soooo glad I did.I scored two great finds!We were on our way to Charleston to move our  #2 son and my soon to be future daughter-in law into their new home .We were going through Ravenel SC, when we passed this old antique store, that I have passed so many other times that never  caught my eye, but today it did. Out front were about ten to fifteen of those 60's retro lawn chairs.that I absolutely love, but have no use for, didn't matter,I had to see how much they were. They weren't a great find but these were ....

Circa 1960's table

Shabby chic or cottage look. The owner had just finished putting a french paste and wax  on it! He wanted 55.00 dollars. I wasn't having any of that. I got him down to 45.00.Love this table! I just need to find a spot for it.

These Iron Starfish are a huge score! $.4.00 a piece, I should have bought them all.These are the only 3 that have the most aqua color to them, the others were more of a cream color. Cute, Cute, cute!

This one has the prettiest blue color to it.

The next time you are in Ravenel, SC stop by the Once In A Blue Moon antique store. I am off to find my new table  spot in the house.These are going to be a great addition to our costal home.

Jute Starfish

I have had so many compliments on this, I decided to share it with you.I have never seen this done, but if you have I would like to know. We were camping on Edisto Beach SC last spring. I went on my usual mission of collecting shells and other treasures.I must have been on this little inlet for hours searching, when what to my wondering eyes should appear? I hit the mother load!( in my eyes anyway) I found at least 2 dozen starfish up towards the drier part of the inlet, as well as sea urchins. Whoo hoo!!!Understand, I have never seen a sea urchin in it's natural state so I was so excited, and hadn't seen a starfish in years!

The Sea Urchins were either, pink, green, or purple. Some had the quills on them and some didn't.





These particular star fish are very gray in color and some what smooth.

I rinsed the urchins and the starfish in fresh water, then added just a little bleach to some more fresh water. I wasn't sure what bleach would do to to Them so I was being very careful.I let them dry in the sun for several days. The colors were still beautiful on the urchins, and the starfish was just a bit lighter. I hardened them both the same way I do a sand dollar. Equal parts water and Elmer's glue. The starfish became very flimsy when wet.. and still didn't seem hard enough, so I got out some enamel paint and painted it a very light color.I had no idea what I was going to do with the starfish, but had plenty of uses for the urchins



I figured it was good and hard with the paint on it, so I decided to wrap it in sisal.I used my glue gun and glued the sisal to the starfish as i wrapped it.I got all the legs done and  hmmmm....what now? The sea urchins were just the right size to fit in the center of the starfish. I had painted the starfish light enough that you couldn't tell there is a little bare spot where the sisal ends.







I added an urchin to  the other side of the starfish, and adorned it with some old pearls from some old earrings,  at the end of each leg and in the center of the urchin. On the top I used part of the earring ,opened up a hook and now it can be hung . I am going to make several in different sizes and place them in a bowl or make a garland.