Beachy Shell Wall Art

I love the beach.  Absolutely love everything about it.  The smell of the beach, the sound of the crashing waves, the soft sand and all the seashells we find there.  Every visit to the beach, we collect seashells.  Most of them are very small and I just put them into a nice clear vase.  Just recently I came upon these gigantic clam shells from Pismo Beach found in my friend's garage!  They were gorgeous and I had to make something out of it.  I scoured Pinterest for ideas and here's the result.

It's now hanging on the wall in my semi-beachy themed guest bathroom.  Yay!

Here are some other beach decor ideas....all very simple yet adds so much to your home.

Owls, owls, owls!

One trend I've noticed lately is all the obsession with owls.  There's all kinds of owl jewelry (earrings, rings,  pendants), pillows, bags, purses, lamps, you name it, someone will make something with owls!  Here are pictures of the owl obsession I found on Pinterest.

SO.....I've been on the search for a small and simple "owl" thing, not sure what.  Then today, I found it!  And at $5, I couldn't be more excited!  It was an owl stretchy ring, seen here.

It was exactly what I had wanted, except it was too big for my hand.  I took off the stretchy band from the back then with a couple of jumprings, attached it to a long necklace I had already made, from my jewelry-making days, and here's how it turned out.  I love it!



I love biscotti!

For years, I've been wanting to make biscotti.  But something about it seemed so out-of-reach...too difficult, too time-consuming?  A couple of years back, I decided to search for the most simplest, easiest, fool-proof recipe and I found it here on Allrecipes.com.  (They have the best recipes!)  It's very simple, just a few ingredients, and it comes out perfect everytime!  Give it a try!  It's not as hard as you think!

They make wonderful homemade gifts for the holidays and there are so many ways to package them beautifully.  The best way that I have found to package them is in a tight sealed container.  I found this jar at Walmart.  The screw on lid keeps a tight seal and keeps the biscotti fresh for weeks!

O Glorious Day!

Have you heard this song by Casting Crown?  It's beautiful!  Listen to it here.  As resurrection day approaches, this song captures that one glorious day when He will come again.

Living, He loved me, dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He's coming, oh, glorious day, oh, glorious day!

Step by Step

Oh God You are my God
And I will ever praise You

I will seek you in the morning
And I will learn to walk in your ways
And step by step you’ll lead me
And I will follow you all of my days
And step by step You’ll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days

This song has been stuck in my head lately.  No matter what you're going through, this song reminded me that He will lead me and guide me step by step.  I just have to trust my God because I know that He loves me and cares for me.

Another sunburst mirror!

I am totally hooked on sunburst mirrors!  There are SO many different variations!  One of my favorite tutorials was found here. 

Here is my supply list:
chopsticks (Dollar Tree)
bamboo skewers (Dollar Tree)
12" round mirror (Michael's - $6; bought 2)
12" wood clock base (Michael's - $10)

Here's what it looked like.  I spray painted it a metallic gray.  BUT it didn't pop against the light wall by my front door.  Plus I got some gorilla glue on the mirror and couldn't get it off, as you can see if you look closely.

SO, I decided to spray paint it again in hammered black AND purchased another mirror and glued it on top of the smudged mirror.  And here's what it looks like now.  MUCH BETTER!  I love it!

Pottery Barn multipanel mirror knock-off!

I think everyone has seen this beautiful mirror, pictured below.  But at $249, it's a hefty price to pay.  I'm definitely not willing to pay that kind of price.  Not surprisingly, there were numerous tutorials on making a knock-off version.

My favorite (easiest) tutorial was found at this link.
http://dollarstorecrafts.com/2012/02/tutorial-pb-inspired-tiled-mirror-for-10/

My supply list:
6 mirrors (from the Dollar Tree)
duct tape (1 roll from Dollar Tree)
foam board (from Walmart)
lots of glue sticks and hot glue gun

Here's what I came up with.  I absolutely LOVE the result!  It's now sitting pretty leaning on top of my console table.  AND the total cost of the project?  $8!  Not too shabby!

Calm my anxious heart!

I first read this book when our bible study at work did a study on it.  This was over a decade ago.  Yet, this book has been my go-to book when going through trials and difficulties and when I'm in need of encouragement.  Author Linda Dillow's writing is comforting, soothing, gentle and loving like that of an older sister and she draws encouragement from the Bible.  She shares very candidly her experiences and what she has learned through them.  Yesterday, I read a chapter on Trusting God with the Whys.  Here's a portion of that chapter:

"Life has times of prosperity and times of adversity, the straight and the crooked.  When your heart is breaking with a burden, do you wait on God?  Have you seen Him in all His majesty, and can you say with Habakkuk that the righteous shall live by faith?  We all need a faith that perseveres through the times when we can't see what God is doing but we can see Him, and so we say, "Yet will I trust You."  I dont' know your thoughts:  Though my parents never understand or support me....Though I never have a husband .... Though my husband disappoints me ... Though I'm exhausted.... Though I'm in pain....Though my child runs away from Christ....Though, though, though.... YET WILL I TRUST THE LORD GOD.  HE IS MY STRENGTH."

She talked in this chapter about crooked paths, some that we create ourselves and that God allows and others that God causes.  And she talked about the book of Habakkuk and how he doubted what God was doing in his life and asking how God could allow this to happen and why didn't he do anything about it?  And what did our loving Father say to him?  He wasn't going to explain the Why.  Instead he wanted Habakkuk to trust Him with all his Whys.  He was to trust God for what he didn't understand and for what he couldn't see.  In the final chapter of the book, Habakkuk writes this:  "Though the fig tree should not blossom, and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail, and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold, and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation."

No matter what we're going through and whether or not we understand WHY, we must put our trust in the Lord.  We must exalt Him.  We must rejoice in the God of our salvation!

Sunburst Mirror!

I have been seeing these sunburst mirrors pop up all over blogland and have been wanting to make one.  There are definitely many different variations out there but I liked this tutorial the best.  It seemed simple enough for me to do.

http://www.designsponge.com/2011/05/diy-project-clothespin-mirror.html

Here's my supply list:
7" mirror (from Michael's) (2.99)
7" round plywood (also from Michael's) (2 at .59 each)
sawtooth picture hanger (1.99) (package came with 3)
clothespins (.99) (got 3 from dollar store)

And ta da!  I decided to spray paint the clothespins black.  One mistake I made was not spray painting the underside of the clothespin where it would glue to the mirror...you can see that when you look closely.  This mirror is now hanging over my computer desk.  Love it!