The Ocean

by Kelly

The ocean stirs the heart, inspires the imagination and brings eternal joy to the soul. ~Wyland

Photo & Seashell Mobile

by Kelly

I do it every time I go to the beach....

I always end up bringing back a baggie full of seashells.

Maybe to some it's not a big deal, but here in Oklahoma, it's not something that we so a lot of.  To me they are so interesting, so delightful.  But the question once I get home is always the same...

What am I going to do with all these seashells?

We recently got back a from a heavenly, week-long vacation in Marco Island, FL.  And of course, I brought back shells.  But on our last day, I popped into a little gift/craft shop for our customary Christmas ornament. It was there that I saw a mobile made out of an embroidery hoop, seashells, and raffia.  And I thought to myself {say it with me now!} "I can make that!"

This past weekend, I came up with my own take on this mobile and it turned out really cute.  So I thought I would share with you how I made it in case you've got a bunch of shells hanging around too.

So the the first thing obviously is the shells.  I when I got home I soaked them in a 50/50 bleach/water solution for a couple of hours. Then I set them out on a towel to dry.  You could also set them outside in the sun if you wanted.

Next I got out the drill and drilled a hole into the shell.

I found that standing the shell on its small end like this was the easiet, most stable way to drill the hole.

Once I got all the holes drilled I gathered up my supplies:

• embroidery hoop (this little number I found at a garage sale for 25 cents)
• raffia
• twine
• shells
• small photos

For the photos, I just printed out a few of my favorites from our vacation.  I did this by creating a letter-sized, grid/layout in Lightroom.  The individual cells are 2.5" x  2.5" and I then just cut them out with my paper trimmer.

Next, I tied a piece of raffia to my embroidery hoop.

Then continued on around the hoop adding a few pieces of twine here and there.

I purposely did not obsess about the number of raffia vs. twine pieces.  Because #1) who cares and #2) I honestly think part of the charm of this craft is the random mix of textures.  

The next step was to add a mix of photos and shells to the lengths of raffia and twine.  Other than trying not to tie them at the same height, I didn't worry too much about the placement.  And as a final step, I added four additional pieces of twine and brought them together at the top and created a loop for hanging the mobile.

This project only took about an hour and half, and then I hung it up in a corner in my office.  And can I tell you....I absolutely love it.

I love seeing the faces of my family and friends alongside my little treasures...it's like a hanging scrapbook.  

Whether or not you get all crafty like this or not, please...print your pictures.  Print your snapshots. Print your Instagram shots.  Print pictures of your coffee mugs.  Your pictures of the sunset and your selfies.  Don't worry about the focus or the 20 pounds you'd like to lose.  Don't worry if they aren't high art.  Because THIS is your Art....your life is your Art.  

If you decided to do something like this, be sure to take a photo and share it in the Flickr pool for all of us to see.  And if you have any ideas for displaying seashells, share them in the comments....I'd love to hear those too!  

Until next time,

Kelly

It's a Family Tradition

by Terri

When my boys were growing up, we spent a week or two every summer on the beach in San Diego. I can’t tell you how many wonderful memories were made during those family vacations.  In 2010, I created the above scrapbook layout to gather together in one place some of the memories made over the years.

And I am happy to say that this tradition is continuing and all of us plus three wives/girlfriends and three grandkids will be spending next week on the beach, making even more memories. I’m sure I’ll be reporting on and sharing photos from the week after I get back. But the number one thing that keeps ringing in my mind is gratitude – for the fact that we were able to give our boys these memories, that they still want to vacation with us, and that they now want to continue the tradition and make even more memories with their families.  That is something pretty special, don’t you think?

Family is what life is all about and I am proud that we instilled that in our kids. I hope you are all able to make some wonderful family memories this summer whatever it is you choose to do and that you are recording them. I know with age my memory is not what it used to be but all I have to do is pull out my photos and it all comes flooding back. When you look back at your photos, as I did these, you'll remember those special times and will be so glad you took the time to click that camera shutter.

Dreaming of the Sea

by Terri

"The sea,  once it casts its spell, holds  one in its net of wonder forever." ~ Jacques Yves Cousteau

About this time of year, the heat starts to wear me down and I start dreaming of getting away to the beach. But it’s not only for the great weather. It’s a place that always makes me feel at peace. At the end of this month we will be spending a week in Del Mar, CA where we went every summer when my kids were growing up.  This will be the first year that we have all been there together in quite a number of years and I am SO looking forward to it!

But I thought, as long as I’m dreaming, I would REALLY dream and do some research on the most beautiful beaches in the world, or at least in the opinion of the guy who wrote the article.  One thing these beaches have in common, however, is their inaccessibility, at least for me.  Read the red print and you’ll see what I mean:

Hidden Beach, Marieta Islands, Mexico

Located in the Marieta Islands, near Puerto Vallarta, the Hidden Beach is a serene, one-of-a-kind natural wonder hidden underneath a hole in the ground. The difficulty of getting to it adds to its wonder – besides being hoisted down from a helicopter, the only known way to access it is by swimming or scuba diving through a very small tunnel (50 feet long with only 6 feet of air space) on the tidal side of its cavernous walls.

Honopu Beach, Kauai, Hawall 

If you want to get to this beach, you’ve got to work for it. You can’t hike, boat or drive – swimming from an offshore boat is the only means of access. 

Papakolea Beach, Ka’u, Hawaii

The Papakolea Beach is located about three miles east of Ka Lae on the island of Hawaii – surrounded by pasturelands and only accessible after a three-hour hike across rugged paths. Climb down a huge cinder cone and you’ll get to this secluded beach with green sand. The color comes from olivine – a silicate mineral containing iron and magnesium – a common mineral in Hawaiian lavas.

 

Kaihalulu Red Sand Beach,  Hana, Hawaii

Kaihalulu Beach in Hana, Hawaii is one of the few red sand beaches in the world. Contrasted against the blue water, black sea wall and green ironwood trees, the iron-rich sand is a brilliantly beautiful red color.  The beach is extremely isolated most likely due to the short but steep, narrow and slippery hike necessary to reach it. This may also be the reason why clothing is often considered optional.

This last one I’ve actually seen from above but didn’t take the hike down to the shore.  I’m afraid these beaches will remain places I will only visit in my imagination.  Do you  have a favorite beach you'd like to add to this list, either one you've been to or one you're dreaming about?