happy holidays

Wishing you peace, joy and love this festive season, wherever you are!

Happy Holidays.

beach christmas

Can you believe it's nearly that time of year again? .. 
The years are flying by waaay too quickly.

I've been getting organised in my etsy shop and have even done some Christmas shopping, early for a change. Hopefully being prepared will take the stress out of the silly season.

 A natural, white coastal Christmas inspired by the colours of the beach.

Natural gift tags that can also be used as place cards on a Christmas table or as simple decorations on a tree. 
The starfish and anchor cards could be used year round.. 

Here's a simple wrapping idea for someone special.. Brown craft paper wrapping, a paper doily, striped and white ribbon with a single shell tied to the top.

Handmade shell decoration.. I like the contrast of driftwood and white against a chalkboard.

Have you thought about Christmas?

the shell seeker

Hi..
i know i said i wouldn't be back 'til after Christmas but here's one last quick post. I had to share this beachcombing Santa I found on Pinterest via Caron.

The Shell Seeker

chesapeakebaychristmas.com

My kind of Santa :)

Merry Christmas!

merry christmas

Hi.. how is everyone? 
I'm guessing you haven't got too much time to be reading blogs or decorating, but here are a few quick, last minute, simple ideas for a low key Christmas. 
Fill an Ikea bucket with sand and plonk in some candles.  

This is how I wrapped the Christmas giveaway prize. See the lovely post the winner Penny did about it here. I love what she did with the shell decorations and tags.

Everything looks good covered in fairy lights.

   

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays! 

  

A big thankyou to Deanne - Five Brothers One Sister. My lucky streak continues and I was the winner of her lovely giveaway. More about that in the New Year.

upcycled coastal christmas

Hello.. 
Today I have a few white coastal Christmas decorations to show you, made with some things thrifted & found at garage sales. 
We're loving all the white with silver and Christmas lights at our place. I think it suits the Christmas climate here and feels like coming home to a cool oasis on a scorching hot day. 

I was going to use spray paint, but ended up using a paint brush , primer and a few coats of white paint to upcycle a gold pineapple, a wooden bowl & a cake stand.

Filled with white shells & little silver baubles, they add a festive feel to our entry.

before..

What do you think? 

Better white?

white coastal christmas

Hi.. how are your Christmas preparations going? 

It's going to be a white Christmas here, coastal white, that is. 

Trying not to get caught up in the madness, aiming to keep it simple, natural, calm & relaxed. That's the plan anyway!

Christmas time means white hydrangeas

white shells with silver

white candles

candlelight, starlight

Some simple stockings that were quick & easy to make. I used tea towels I bought a while ago, just for the beautiful fabric. Thought I'd think of something to make with them one day. 

I drew a pattern with chalk onto brown paper. 
Folded the tea towel.
Cut the stocking with the back on the fold.

Pinned & sewed together. 
No sewing needed on the top edge and back.
I sewed a piece of string to the top of each to hang.

Only 15 days to go

Keep Calm!

rustic recycled christmas

With so much waste in the world, especially at Christmas time, we enjoyed making our Christmas tree from scraps of old wood & driftwood. 
I seem to like unconventional Christmas trees and now my kids are grown up there hasn't been too much protesting about not having a traditional green tree with red decorations.

Every year I buy a few new decorations. I couldn't resist these with the rope hangers!

I glued tiny pieces of driftwood to make a star.

Simple wrapping using mostly recycled paper.

pages from an old book

to make your own tree
you will need:

I painted some of the wood pieces white and sanded the edges. I'd like to say I made it all myself but Steve did the hard work, sawing and nailing. We nailed a few small flat head nails to hang decorations & wrapped Christmas lights around the branches.

What kind of Christmas tree are you having this year?

joining
scandi coast home
between naps on the porch
savvy southern style
romantic home

white christmas table

It still seems a bit early to be talking about Christmas. All I've done is a bit of decorating and not much else. I'd be quite happy to take care of that part and leave the rest to someone else, but that's not going to happen.
Here's an idea for a simple white table setting. The doilies came in handy again, white hydrangeas from our lovely neighbour's garden, with lots of candlelight & fairy lights to add some magic.

Have you done any Christmas decorating or shopping? 

white christmas

Dreaming of a simple natural white Christmas.

Hello..
It seems everyone is starting to think about Christmas. 
Every year i plan on being organised early but somehow end up in a busy shopping mall on Christmas Eve! 

Driftwood trees for a hot Australian Christmas

Stamped gift tags with tiny starfish

Potted driftwood - paint a terracotta pot white, fill with sand & shells. Tie on a nautical rope. 

What kind of Christmas are you dreaming of?