This Abbot Kinney Welding Shop is a Piece of Authentic Venice

We've been spending a lot of time in Los Angeles, lately. For a couple of years, we need to travel between Venice and Seattle for my husband's job. We have fallen in love with Venice.

Venice is amazing. Venice is crazy. Venice has heart. Venice has crime. Venice has very high end homes, and Venice has homeless encampments. Lots of movies and TV shows are filmed in Venice. In fact, I can see The Today Show filming down by the graffiti wall as I type. When we first came here, I made my husband spend an afternoon with Linda Blair and me, watching Roller Boogie. The two star film was shot in Venice, and it's fun to locate the old Venice landmarks and to see how things have changed. You can see the exterior of our apartment in some of the scenes. You can still find roller skaters on the Venice Boardwalk, though roller skating has been eclipsed by skate boarding, with the addition of a new skate park.

How to Make a Paper Mache Starfish

I adore paper mache. When it comes to crafting, I would go so far as to say it's my first love. Since we've moved to more humid climes, however, I've found that my projects don't dry quickly (or at all) on their own.

I've learned to compensate by using the oven and putting drying racks over heat vents. Another way I compensate is by finding ways to keep my armature from getting too wet.

Our New Beach House Cats

We adopted two cats this summer. I was scrolling through our local Nextdoor forum, and noticed that someone was looking for a home for their cats, as they were soon to be moving. I was a little shocked, at first, after all, who leaves their cats when they move? When I clicked on the posting, I understood.

Syd and Leo each weigh over five hundred pounds. They are not easy to move. The owners had moved them several times, but they were getting older, and it was time to find the cats a new family. I called them and made an appointment to meet the cats in their Seattle courtyard.

Working on the Beach House Path

It's been quite a while since I posted any beach house updates. We continue to plug along with projects, but we try to balance work weekends with resting weekends and entertaining weekends.

Each year we improve the beach path a little bit more. When we first bought the house, the path was only inches wide, and full of holes and random hidden driftwood logs to trip us up. I think I spent as much time face down in the dune grass, as I did walking down the path!

Creating Art With Beach Treasures

If you drag home lots of shells and sand dollars from your beach vacations, here is a project that is fun for both kids or grownups.

We spend a lot of time at the beach on the Pacific Northwest coast, and have collected baskets and baskets of shells and sand dollars. I adore them in their natural state, but also love the idea of using them to create art.

DIY Rope Lampshades

New lampshades can cost a fortune, so whenever we can update the ones we already own, I'm all for it. Here is a DIY rope lampshade project I actually did last year, but in the craziness of life, it never quite made it onto the blog.

Our old house was a Queen Anne bungalow, and not all of the furnishings and accessories work in our contemporary rustic beach house.

How to Flatten Silverware for Up-Cycling Projects!

Over the years, I seem to have accumulated quite a bit of silverplate!  I'm not sure how it happens... a piece here, then a piece there. We used to be able to find silverplate in thrift stores for about a quarter a piece -- fifty cents, at the most. Now days, you can usually find it for about a dollar a piece.

{This post contains affiliate links.}

It's so hard to resist all the pretty vintage patterns! Some vintage silverware is quite worn and not great for eating from and not nice enough for up-cycled jewelry, but it is charming nonetheless,  and can be fashioned into plant stakes and cheese markers, and key chains, and so on.

Why I Bought an Artificial Christmas Tree

Last weekend I took advantage of the 50% off sale at Hobby Lobby and bought an artificial Christmas tree.  I think I'm going to love it!

This tree is for the beach house, and I chose one that is pre-lit, with pine cones and berries and a tiny dusting of snow. Before you think, "that's not very beachy", I should mention that this is the Pacific Northwest, where pine cones and beach and sea and salt spray and snow live together in the most unsettlingly lovely way.

Growing up, we always used an artificial tree -- until we lost most of our possessions in a house fire. The next year, we had a real tree, covered in homemade decorations that our mom made with us kids (all our family ornaments had been lost in the fire). It was lovely to my child's eye. The next year, my father was in a terrible accident and was unable to work for many months. We lived in the Phoenix area, so you couldn't just go out and cut down a tree. We had little extra money for a tree that year, so my creative mother gathered up some tumbleweeds and we formed those into a Christmas tree! True story. I adored that tree! We put the homemade ornaments on our tumbleweed tree and and strung lots of popcorn garland and had a happy Christmas.

image source

The next year my mom found an artificial tree at the Salvation Army store, and that is what we used for the rest of my years at home. When I got married and started my own little family, I vowed to always buy a real tree -- until we realized that our oldest son had severe allergies and could not be in the same house with a real tree. Sad, but true. Apparently all sorts of allergens can hitchhike into your home via a real tree. That year, I went to Ace Hardware for their 50% off Christmas trees sale, and that was the Christmas tree our kiddos grew up with.... until our dog got old.

For some reason, when our dog started getting old (he lived to be seventeen), he decided it was okay to pee on our tree. Seriously. The artificial tree had to be thrown away. By this time, allergy boy had grown up and moved out, so we went back to using a real tree for a while.

The problem with that has been that we live in two places these days. During the week, we are in a city crash pad, for work. On weekends, we go home to our beach house. We can't put up a real tree at our house until the last possible moment, since we aren't around to keep it watered. This has been super stressful for me, as it meant I would be madly trimming the tree a day or two before Christmas, all while prepping the house for guests, wrapping gifts, and cooking. Something had to give. I wanted to get an artificial tree, but my husband resisted. My husband loves tradition, and we have a new after Christmas tradition of having a Christmas tree bonfire on the beach. Okay, it's not that he loves tradition -- he just loves having a really big beach fire. Christmas tree fires burn high and hot and it is frighteningly beautiful.

image source

He finally capitulated when we made plans for our daughter and little granddaughter to come out for a visit in early December.

(Summer Rose's parents won't let anyone share photos of her on social media, so I drew her for you!)

We've told little Summer we would have a Christmas party for her, and for a Christmas party you must have a Christmas tree, right?  If we put up a real tree in our beach house in early December, we would need to replace it before Christmas because it would dry out too much to be safe, since we're not there to water it during the week.

I was really impressed with the artificial trees available this year! I think Summer Rose will like our tree, with it's red berries and pine cones. I have some bird's nest ornaments that I will be sure to place at her eye level!  It's funny how having a grandchild changes your entire perspective. You start to see things "close up" again, and remember that the world is full of wonder and sweetness.

tree images via Hobby Lobby website

My husband has said he still reserves the right to buy a real tree, in addition to the "fake" one, and that's okay. Beach bonfires are lots of fun, after all.

How to Weave a Pottery Barn Inspired Bottle

These found vintage bottles from Pottery Barn, are lovely! The woven texture and the natural material lend such a warm feeling.

You can create a similar look with jute twine and some recycled bottles!

10 Pretty Seashell Projects!

I adore seashells. As a little girl, my mother taught me the joy of wandering quietly on the beach in search of the perfect shell or sand dollar. That love of beachcombing followed me into adulthood. I now have bowls and baskets of shells -- keepsakes from the many beaches my family has visited. For years, I was able to keep the collection in check, but then we bought the beach house, and things got out. of. control.

My husband has suggested we don't actually need three ginormous baskets of shells in our living room (please, nobody tell him about the ones stashed in various closets).

10 Awesome Driftwood Decorations!

Last week a good friend from Colorado came to visit at our beach house.  I love when she come to visit, because she is content to wonder on the beach for hours, looking for a certain kind of shell, or size of driftwood.

Needless to say, we always end up hiking back to the house with bags of heavy wet driftwood!

Beach House Deck Renovations!

It seems like forever since we've blogged about our beach house renovations!  After collecting many bids, and interviewing many contractors, we are ready to renovate our main ocean facing deck.

After the initial craziness of buying the partially gutted and dilapidated house, and having it raised nine feet, and having the gutted portion remodeled, we "chilled" for a while -- at first, so we could enjoy time with our daughter and new grandbaby, who were staying with us while our son-in-law was in Afghanistan.

Then there were job and life changes that made it impossible to spend as much time at the beach house as we had initially planned.... We keep plugging along, however. We made masonry repairs to our fireplace, and patched the flagstone floors. Read about our flagstone floors here.

Last year, we did an energy audit, and made lots of changes based on the report we received.  Most of the changes involved copious amount of caulk and foam, but we also added outlet gaskets and lots more insulation, and we replaced the rest of our windows.

The house is now really comfortable, and not drafty anymore -- we can even walk barefoot on the flagstone floors, and they aren't cold!  Read about our energy audit here.

Plans for this year include finally renovating the last of six decks!  The other decks were either removed, replaced, enclosed, or repaired during the first phase of the project, but this last deck was quite a bit more complicated, and got shoved to a back burner when the grandbaby came along... then winter came, then a renovation of another home, then another.... and the poor, sad neglected deck just sat there!

We've made some changes to the design, since I drew up this early concept, but it will still be a lovely place to sit and enjoy a cup of tea... or a nap... or chat... or a good book.  Here's a secret about beaches in the Pacific Northwest: they may be cold and dark and wet and windy all the long winter, but they are amazing in the summer!  Shhhhhh, don't tell, okay?

I cannot begin to tell you how I look forward to being able to spend summer weekends enjoying this deck!

Next project: Exterior priming, painting, and staining (I'm sure the neighbors will be glad)!

Have you lived through a renovation?  What tips and advice do you have for others who are contemplating going through the remodel process?

The World's Easiest Word Banner

Sometimes you only have five minutes to spare, but that's all you need to create a little JOY banner like this one!

This project couldn't be easier, and you don't need any fancy machines or expensive materials.

Weave a Celtic Inspired Star from Vintage Book Pages

I think you all know how much I love working with vintage book pages.... and I'm pretty sure most of you know I love to weave traditional Scandinavian stars from folded strips of vintage book pages, right?  Well, last Christmas, my husband and I were at an Irish pub on the coast, listening to a favorite Irish band, when I started to notice the lovely Celtic crosses all around.

I thought it would be fun to weave a Celtic cross design into one of the woven stars I was making.  I LOVE how it turned out! I think it looks great made completely from vintage book pages, but maybe next time I will use a contrasting material for the cross portion. What are your thoughts on that?

Make a Driftwood Sailboat Ornament

My friend and I made some darling little sailboats on one of her visits out to the Pacific Northwest. We had so much fun beach combing and talking, and thrifting and talking, and crafting and talking.

Here is how you can make your own sailboat ornaments!

Reclaimed Wood Projects

We are trying to decide on a new dining table for the beach house. While we've been making do with a big oval Queen Anne table, from our old Queen Anne bungalow, it doesn't really "fit" in a contemporary rustic beach house. Don't worry,  we won't throw it into a landfill -- we will donate it to a local charity shop when we replace it. We are considering having something custom made from reclaimed wood.

 Do you just love all the gorgeous things folks are making from reclaimed wood?

How to Make Faux Coral

Are you still loving all the faux coral decor we've been seeing at places like Pottery Barn and Horchow?  I know I love it!

 Pottery Barn

By using faux coral, you can enjoy the casual beachy feeling of decorating with coral, without worrying about how the coral was harvested.  Sometimes that faux coral comes with a pretty steep price tag, so I've come up with a way to create beautiful faux coral using very inexpensive materials.

My faux coral was created using paper mache pulp.  Although you can purchase paper mache pulp in craft supply stores, I make my own pulp using toilet paper!

Start by unwinding about a half a roll of toilet paper into a bowl and soaking it in hot water from the tap.

After a few minutes, it should look really disgusting.  Next, drain off your excess water if it's really soupy, and agitate the toilet paper with your fingers -- toilet paper is made from really short fibers so that it will break down easily, which is why it works great for paper mache pulp.

Now, add a giant handful of joint compound and about three-quarters of a cup of flour to the bowl.  Mix it all up together with your hands (or use an electric beater).  Some people like to add a giant dollop of glue to the mix at this point.  I add it if I have it, as it really does strengthen the final product, but you don't need to use it, as the flour is your "glue".  I also sometimes add talc to my mix (the kind we used to put on babies' bottoms) if I think the mixture needs more "body".

(The talc and the joint compound act as "filler", while the paper fiber adds strength.  The flour and glue cement it all together.)

Congratulations, you have just made paper mache pulp!

Now you need to create an armature to apply your paper mache pulp to.  Here, I created an armature from florist wire I had on hand.  Baling wire would probably have been a better choice, but I didn't have any when the "inspiration to create" struck.  For smaller projects the florist wire is fine, but for heavier projects, you will want to use a heavier gauge wire.

Because the paper mache is wet, it can cause the wire to rust and stain your pulp, so I wrapped it all in masking tape.  This also gives the armature some "tooth" for the pulp to hang on to as you apply it.

You may need to do two or three coats, depending on your project.  Allow your project to dry completely before adding another layer of pulp, or you might end up with a wet moldy mess.  In Arizona, a layer might dry completely in a couple of hours, while here in the Pacific Northwest, I wait at least a day for a layer to dry. Sometimes I can hurry it along by placing a project on a rack over a heating vent. After your final coat is partly dry, you may want to experiment with adding texture to the surface of your project.  I poked at mine with a wooden skewer to make it look craggy.

If you would prefer a smoother surface, be sure to smooth the wet pulp as you apply it (you can use a little spatula for this).  You can also sand your project when it is completely dry.

When your sculpture is completed, add a coat or two of gesso and any sealer you like.  I actually used an antiquing glaze on my faux coral.  I wanted it to feel like an antique specimen you might find in a dusty old library.  If you like the sun-bleached look, you might want to skip the antiquing step.

If you've enjoyed this tutorial, you may want to subscribe to House Revivals, so you won't miss parts two and three of this series. Happy creating!

This project is being linked to the following lovely places:
The Shabby Creek Cottage 
Hookin' Up with HoH 
Funky Junk Interiors

Seashell Chandeliers by the Seashore

Do you just love a beautiful seashell chandelier?  I've been thinking a lot about shell chandeliers lately.  I do love them, if they're well executed.   This dining room, from the pages of House Beautiful, sports a darling chandelier.  The over all effect of the room is light-hearted, relaxed, and just a bit whimsical.

image

 Designer Ashley Whittaker

If the shell-encrusted chandelier is not your thing, maybe you'd like this empire style chandy made with urchin spines ( okay, we're not being totally scientifically accurate in our definition of a seashell, but that's okay).

Empire Swagged Shell Iron Chandelier, Designer Insider

This swagged antiqued and silvered chandelier has a clean, modern aesthetic.

Jenny Chandelier by Oly

And speaking of modern, this capiz shell drum chandelier is pretty amazing!

Serena Drum chandelier

If your tastes run more to the romantic, you might find something you like from Elegant Shells.com.  I like how the shells are placed in the cage of the chandelier on the Belleair Beach.

Belleair Beach by Elegant Shells.com

Here, it's the shades that are embellished with shells.

Gail by Elegant Shells.com

Or perhaps something purely elegant is more to your tastes?  These two chandeliers would be at home in the most elegant spaces!

Curry and Company Grotto Shell Chandelier

 Seashell Draping Chain Chandelier, Designer Inside

We've definitely been seeing a lot more of the more roughly textured oyster shells in design in recent years, as seen in the dining room below.

Oyster Chandelier, image courtesy House Beautiful

I'm actually loving these sweet oyster chandies -- so beachy casual.  Perfect for a weekend beach cottage!

Photographer Richard Leo Johnson , Writer Perry Del Favero, Coastal Living

So, my question is this.  What is your opinion on shell chandeliers?  Do you love them? Hate them?   Have a favorite?  Let me know in a comment -- I really wanna know!