I Bough To You

 I usually wait until December 1, which is the day after Henri's birthday, before I start my Christmas decorating.   But that was before I read this article written by the talented Sharon Lovejoy, for Lowe's Creative Ideas for Home and Garden.  Sharon, who I have gotten to know through her blog, divides up her time between living on an island off the coast of Maine in the warmer months and then as cooler weather approaches heads back to California to enjoy the winter!  The article she wrote inspired me to simply shop my own backyard to decorate for the holiday season. 

I don't know how, but Henri recently moved this heavy wrought iron birdcage from where it was sitting in our backyard, up onto our small deck all by himself.   He also attached 3 birdhouses to the top of the rail for me.  (My steadily growing collection of birdhouses that I still hadn't figured out what to do with yet.)   He did this as a surpise for me and waited for me to discover it by myself.  I was thrilled and Sharon's tips of how to decorate for the season using nature's bounty were all I could think of! 

My favorite of the 3 birdhouses is this red one. 

A diagonal sweep of pine boughs is all this cage really needed with a few rose hips tucked here and there. 

The yellow are fruit that were scattered around all over the ground right below my Japanese Quince bush. 

This birdhouse cried out for a few pine cones, the only ones I found right near the quince bush. 

The most rustic and weathered of the birdhouses. 

The metal trim on the roof and entry add to its rustic charm.   

From inside looking out, a geranium in the foreground that Henri brought inside for the winter. 

As evening approaches, a decision to add a strand of icicle lights had me getting a little carried away.  When it got too dark to do any more gathering I decided it was good enough.

See what happens when you get a little blog inspiration.  Next thing you know, I'll be inside baking Christmas cookies!

A Nest of Driftwood and Mussel Shells

Tonight the wind is howling outside, which means tomorrow may be a good day for beach combing. Taken on a summer day, this picture shows the type of driftwood we often find washed up on shore here.

Here's something Henri and I made a couple years ago. Using a crudely constructed bird house that I picked up at a thrift store for a couple bucks, virtually everything else used on this bird's nest came from the shore. Henri cut and assembled the driftwood to a platform he made out of wooden planks also found on the shore.

It is still is one of my favorites, so that's why you get to see lots of pictures.

Still with me? Or are you bored yet?

Okay, on to the details. These are mussel shells that I layered up for the roof, using my glue gun.

I really love the triangle shape entrance.

This is a sliver from a lobster buoy that once belonged to a lobster man. I found it just like this on the shore. The number on there identifies who it once belonged to. I decided the bird's nest needed an address.

A tiny bit of driftwood for a perch and some unraveled rope strands in an aqua color serve as nesting material.

More shore finds for display on the platform.

And finally, you've reached the last picture.

The wind is still blowing hard outside, and so now I'm off to dream about what I may find on the shore tomorrow!

Birdhouse Covered In Seashells

Underneath all these seashells, is a plain wooden birdhouse I picked up for a mere 4 dollars. But of course, that's just between you and me and the lamppost, as my mother would say.

And you know, sometimes I forget to take a 'before' picture, but in this case, I did this long before I started my blog. But here is all I did. First, I applied a wash of pale green tinted paint over the entire surface.

Even then, I had a little pot of liquid gold leaf, that I seemed to have far better restraint with than I do today. How is it I forgot the 'less is more' adage?

I still remember thinking it was almost magical the way the shells seemed to nestle together as I began to apply them with my hot glue gun one after the other.

It's the type of little accessory that will go with most any decor.

Even still, every time I look at it, I swear I notice something new.

Pretty shells from the shore are sometimes so under appreciated, but this helped me realize they are truly remarkable treasures.

SEASIDE SHOPPING

A couple treasures from today.
More gifts from the sea.

The ocean's mark is lovely on these found objects.

The distressed finish of this board needed only a few wooden letters.

The colors are often brilliant and the supply is plentiful.

Nature's little luxuries that were meant to be freely enjoyed by all.