Sailing- An upcycled reimagined piece

I had so much fun with this piece. It just developed into a story piece. It was this vinatge old brown drab and boring thing to the right and bottom of this pic. I started out with a cream colored chalk paint ,sanded down my edges and then used a brown wax to give it a fresh vintage look. Next I had this fish that I painted to match and then the book pages from an old sailing book. The pages are perfectedly torn and feathered and aged. I love this little character. You can see him down at the Coastal Bohemian boutique down in A Bit of Everything in Little River , SC. He is ready to go home with someone for $149.00. If interested I can manage to arrange for shipping for an additional price.  

You may want to call this a laptop desk.

Thanks for stopping by.

Michele 

Old Dresser Drawer Storage- A Beach Shabby Chic Recycle

I stopped in at a funky & artsy consignment shop down in Murrells Inlet just south of Myrtle Beach called +Inlet Queens and fell in love with a pair of side tables that I planned to use for bedside tables.

As I was loading them into my truck to bring them home, I realized , suddenly, that I was about to lose the storage that I currently had in the night stands that were back at the condo. Living in the condo has been about maximizing small space and I had just made a big mistake. I had acted spontaneously rather than effectively. Now what?

I had rescued two old wooden dresser draws from the side of the road not long ago and when I got home I took them out , removed the handles and filled the holes with wood putty and then sanded them smooth. Afterwards , I painted them with a quick coat of off white chalk paint and then...there they were...just staring at me.... saying"Ok what next? That's all you've got?" 

How could I make them a bit nautical ? Or beachy? Digging around I found an old book about seamanship and used the tarnished pages to help bring some more texture and  life to the inside of the pieces.

  Now we were almost there. Something was still missing. The beachy was missing ....the beach bling was missing. Just a few seashells later and I was happy with the finished product. Tell me what you think.

Very Coastal Very Bohemian.

Thanks again, as always, for checking in on what I have been creating. Please post any ideas or suggestions for other ways we can upcycle old wooden dresser draws.

Michele Michael 

CoastalBohemian@gmail.com

Beach Shabby Chic Clock

One of my New Year's resolutions was to create a video of one of my projects in hopes of continuing to do more videos. Be kind, this is my first video and I know I need work ,but I did it!




Very Coastal Very Bohemian

Seashell Floral Picks/ Drink Stirrers

With all the seashells around the beach house and desperately needing a drink stirrer for my Mojito I decided to hot glue a few shells onto wooden shish kebab skewers. My Mojito was tasting much better after that and the stirrers made for a pretty display.

Just a few days later I was arranging a little floral piece and decided to grab the stirrers and tuck them inside my design.  I love the simplicity of the Spanish Moss and with the addition of the little picks, it pops.

How cute would it be to serve fruit kebabs on these little beauties?

Tie a little red ribbon and a jingle bell for a coastal christmas stirrer/skewer/ floral pick. 

Dollar Tree sells packages of these wooden skewers all the time.

Enjoy the day.


Michele Michael 

coastalbohemian@gmail.com

Driftwood Anchor

Pinterest provided the inspiration for this driftwood anchor.






I found the background wood thrown in the trash around the street from my house.It was an old top to a table that had broken. I knew it would provide the perfect backdrop for something I was up to.

Of course ,I happened to have the right pieces of driftwood hanging around my house to pull off this project.


I used a nail gun to attach the the wood and the rope. It was real quick and easy and done in 5-10 min.


Very Coastal Very BohemianWith love and gratitude,

Michele

Remember the anchor's in your life. They help keep you safe in rough waters, they keep you grounded. Or maybe you need to remember you are the anchor in someone's life and that's an all important role.The boat is nothing without it's anchor.


Michele Michael 

Thanksgiving coastal decor

Keeping it coastal , I was able to make a  beautiful display for the Thanksgiving weekend using my in laws oyster shell and coral vase.

A little walk in the woods provided all  the filler I needed for a fall scape.

The berries are actually a pure pumpkin orange and really lit up the room with lacy leaves and little tucks of color. In South Carolina, Rosemary is still in bloom and it helped create a beautiful perfume along with the pine.

Driftwood Embellished Night Stand Beach Shabby

Driftwood again. And why not? 

Found this lonely, old girl cast to the side of the road while doing errands one day.

Painted her white with some chalk paint to freshen her up and get my brain chugging away at some inspiration.

Next, I dry brushed her with some grey and then some copper. 

Dry brush is simply a paint brush dipped into paint and then almost all that paint is removed from the brush. Remove almost all of the paint using newspaper or cloth or paper towels. Just run the brush back and forth until there is very little to no paint left on the brush.  Then gently brush the furniture and it will pick up the grain of the piece.

She sat around for a while until I took some driftwood and started to nail it around her. I used my pneumatic nailer. Suddenly, she was  like a little princess, or Cinderella coming into her own. Hahaha...I crack myself up. I'm ridiculously attached to my projects and my driftwood.

Digging around in my hardware draw I found her a little bling and attached this vintage crystal knob.

She was really becoming beach shabby. 

I finished her off with a vintage pink lamp and lace. 

Creating beach shabby  is a challenge but I think this is Very Coastal, Very Bohemian,Very Beachy, and  Very Shabby.

Hope you bring some more driftwood into your home. Please feel free to share your driftwood creations. I'd love to see them and share them.

Michele Michael 

Coastal Bohemian 

coastalbohemian@gmail.com

Upcycled beachy plant stand /cake stand/ side table

I stole this idea from Pinterest. There, I said it. Of couse, I added  a  little coastal flair so really it's my idea.



1 tall vase (this is 20" tall)
 +
1 large plate preferrably a platter size (you could probably even pull off a plastic plate from a dollar      store)
+
 clear silicone(caulking)
+
seashells pearls, and driftwood
=

Add some weight to the top plate after caulking to ensure a tight adhesion. Make sure to let the caulk dry real well.  I had to let this dry for two full days but it may have been the humidity.

I hope you take time to make this easy project. You can tailor it to your style with rocks , pennies, sand or legos filling the glass vase.


Very Coastal Very Bohemian.

Holiday Coastal Garden

During the holidays I like to cut fresh evergreen boughs and holly and tuck them into my now flowerless planters. Tuck a few picks inside and add a bow and it always lifts the little tired areas in the garden or at the entry way.

This year, I walked the nearby woods for my evergreens and tied the whole beach theme together with other elements from the garden. I pulled in a architectural block from an old Manhattan church along with some shells and an outdoor candle lit lantern. Very Coastal. Very Bohemian.

                                                           Happy Coastal Holiday Decorating to you.

                                                                     Michele Michael

Seas the Day /Dream Vintage Shabby Silver DIY Upcyle decor

Carpe Diem-Seize the Day ...one of my favorite sayings, because I always look forward to what the new day brings to me and she brings to me, that girl bbbbrrrringgggs it. Glass half full and all, I expect that the new day has something creative  in store for me , or a new find is waiting to be discovered, or I may make a new connection to someone exciting.
 As a Coastal Bohemian , I prefer this spelling of the term Seas the Day , a clever play on words that means nothing more than Seize the Day.Yuck yuck :)

I picked up this silver plate at Goodwill Store for $1.00 and this silver bowl at Good will for $1.00.

Both got two coats of chalkboard paint and then I just draw in a few words.

I recommend getting a chalk pen from AC Moore  or Michael's or one of your favorite  craft stores.

You can download various style fonts specifically recommended for chalkboard art. Create your own sayings and print them out so they fit into your project. Next just take a solid piece of chalk and rub the chalk all over the back of your printed saying. Place it on the chalkboard, dusty chalk side down and trace the saying onto the project. Remove the paper and then it's very easy to take your chalk pen to fill in the design.

I added a few dots around the edge to
give it a little pizzazz, hot glued a ribbon and hung it up with a thumb tack that has a seashell hot glued to it. Easy ,easy little adorable charm.

                           Of  course , you need to continue to Dream while you Seas the Day.


                                                                   Michele Michael

Coastalbohemian@gmail.com

Follow Coastal Bohemian on Pinterest, Facebook , Twitter,Blogger , and Etsy

Skipping Stones Collection Inspire a Record Breaking 65 skips

There are two different shorelines on Long Island,the North Shore which is a rocky shore with many cliffs and the South Shore which is flat and sandy. Both are beautiful but the North shore with it's abundant supply of stones is the perfect shore for skipping stones. I love skipping stones. I'm not very athletic so this works with  my skills and abilities.

My home before Hurricane Sandy , had on display a big jar with a fancy topper and inside was my collection of skipping stones.

Think along these lines filled with skipping stones.

              It's time to replace my skipping stones collection.

 I'll make all the visitors to the beach house in charge of bringing back skipping stones too. Hahaha Wink.

What's left of the Skipping Stone Collection

I imagine taking the collection down to the ocean one night and having a skip off contest at the beach. How much fun with friends as we skip along and maybe cast some wishes to the sea.

Wonder if Maxwell Steiner who holds the world record of 65 skips had a skipping jar?
Read more about Maxwell below.

Grosse Pointe Woods man sets Guinness record for stone-skipping 

 Skipping stone lessons may be in order.

13 tips to become a better stone skipper ....in case they make it an Olympic event.

13-tips-to-becoming-a-better-stone-skipper

OK ,off to start my new collection and find a cool new jar. I think it needs a pretty chalk board label like these from Etsy shop Mega Boards.

Tell me how many skips you've got in your arsenal.

My max is three.

Michele 

Beware of the Giant Octopus

With a new round blank canvas table sitting around dying for attention, I was working out the  next nautical themed project. I spend a lot of time scouring the pages of printables at www.graphicsfairy.com and decided I was intrigued by this vintage Octopus.

He would be cool with his tentacles hanging over the sides in a death grip eating the table. YES

I printed him out in 4 pages on waterslide/decal paper in reverse. When I installed him I destroyed the first half of him and was left with half an Octopus. Wah.

 Now, half an Octopus lie around waiting to become something.

I went and translated the warning "Beware of the Giant Octopus" in Italian and then it was game on.

Guardatevi Il Polpo Gigante

.....and I downloaded a lacey tattoo style font on Dafont.com  named "  Ginga.

This was all decoupaged onto the surface and then  top coated with the same matte finish  mod podge .

Here is the new focal piece at the beach house.

Have fun and Guardatevi Il Polpo Gigante.

Michele 

Very Coastal. Very Bohemian.