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

5 Fisherman Reads- Holiday Gift Idea

Maybe because I think it's fun to get a new book as a gift I think it's fun to give a good  book as a gift.

Don't be afraid to search thrift stores and antique shops for less available titles. You can try Etsy, Ebay and Amazon as well. Pick them up throughout the year for gift giving to your fisherman.

Here are a few unique finds for the fisherman in your life.

Be sure and wrap the book or books up with a big bow  and add a decorative lure to complete the theme.

Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World  Mark Kurlansky

How To Make Your Own Fishing Lures: The Complete Illustrated Guide by Vlad Evanoff 

North Carolina's Ocean Fishing Piers: From Kitty Hawk to Sunset Beach by Al Baird

The Southern Surfcaster: Saltwater Strategies for the Carolina Beaches & Beyond  by S. CameronWright

Introduction to Bait Fishing by Ray Ovington found at The Gray Fedora on Etsy

 Vintage books  always have great old drawings you scan and use for decor around your  home too.

 Pick a few new titles and combine them with some vintage finds for a great surprise holiday gift.

Please feel free to add to the comments, some suggested titles and links for the holiday buyers.

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

Beach Cleanup / Treasure Hunt / Scavanger Hunt

Years ago, we use to volunteer to clean the Town of Babylon beaches with the American Littoral Society every September. It started out as a Scout event but we eventually grew it to include much of the community.
One year we decided to make it a little interesting and see who would get bragging rights by bringing in the most amount of garbage in pounds. We added a few bonus point finds like tires and bottles. It became very interesting  to see such a  complete variety of  treasures make their way back to weigh in.
This gave me the idea to have a beach cleanup/scavenger hunt with my children and their friends and their parents.

Below is a check list of items to help you get started putting together your own scavenger hunt /beach clean up.

Printable List

I hope you have as much fun as we did back then .
The American Littoral Society is always looking for beach clean up Captains. Follow the link above and see who the captain is in your area. Join the clean up or start your own by becoming a Captain. Very Coastal. Very Bohemian. Very Environmentally Clean.
Michele Michael

Find me partying here all week, at these link parties, with some great bloggers.

If you are in Myrtle Beach come on down and visit us at the Coastal Bohemian Studio or Follow us out on Facebook, Pinterest , Instagram,Linkedin,  Bloglovin or Etsy .


coastalbohemian@gmail.com
www.coastalbohemian.net

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.

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

Before and After Furniture 5 draw chest

Before 

                                    After 

Sorry these pictures are so bad, These are after we were hit by Hurricane Sandy.

I mixed up some of my own recipe for chalk paint using an aqua flat paint from Lowe's. Afterwards, I used Annie Sloan clear wax , then a coat of dark wax and then a coat of clear wax again.  I love to mix in other hardware when possible and so you can see here that I had salvaged two white porcelain handles from another project. So we have some repurposing and recycling here as well.

I have the recipe for DIY chalk pain that has worked really well for me. Email to me at Coastalbohemian@gmail.com and I will send you the recipe I use.


Keep up the fun projects.

Michele

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 

It is Written in the Sand

Take a walk on the beach, pick up a piece of driftwood (of course)and write in the sand. Tell the world that you are in love or that you catch big fish or life is beautiful or as I was famous for writing in the sand, "Have your cake and eat it too." I wanted to have my cake and eat it too.

Don't forget to take photos to decorate the that nautical , beachy, coastal home.

Take a friend , a spouse,  a child and make memories in the sand. Leave messages for others that may happen upon the writing. I used to draw roses in the sand and leave a mound of seashells for anyone that happened upon my notes and I always hoped it would make them smile to find my little gifts.

This is a fun thing to free your spirit and  dream out loud. For those who are more reserved and less inclined to actually do this.....the colder months are perfect for your first message to the sea gods. In the colder weather less people travel the shoreline and are less likely to catch you exploring outside of your the box. 
Maybe you have something inside that needs to be released  or something that is stressing your mind. Take it to the sand  and write out your rants and then watch them wash away on the shoreline and feel them wash away from your shoulders. Then breathe again. 

See you at the shoreline.

Michele Michael