~ What's New? ~

I'll tell you what's new!!

Ornaments ... that's what's new.

Coastal Ornaments.

You can purchase the pattern and make your own, or ...

You can buy these, ready-to-hang babies and be good to go.

Check 'em out on my Etsy Shop and decorate your tree (or a gift, or a napkin) with 

Coastal Cheer!!

~ Coastal Christmas Colors ~

So I freely admit that I have jumped on the bandwagon this year and gotten a head start on the decorating.  I actually finished it all before leaving town for Thanksgiving.

Upon arriving home ... I was so thankful that I had.

I love my new Shell Tree, full of my new ornaments ...

... a sparkly starfish on the top ...

... a few snowflakes to remind me that even in southern California, we can always dream ...

... and some sparkly birds.

And just in case you would like such a beachy tree for your own home, here are my resources:

Snowflakes: Crate and Barrel
Starfish Ornaments: TJ Maxx
Birds: Michaels
The pattern to make your own shell ornaments: My Etsy Shop.

Oh how I love Christmas!

PS ... Thanks so much to Maya at Completely Coastal
for featuring me on her delightfully coastal blog!!

~ A Lighter Shade of Pale ~

Just when I vowed to blog more frequently, I took a week long trip and thought about pretty much nothing but those 3 precious granddaughters who seemed to want my undivided attention.

However before I left, I made a new Sea Quilt and started on the binding.

Can you guess what it is?

Here's a hint:  It's NOT an ice cream cone ... although that would be good too.

I wanted to do a quilt in a ... gentler ... palette than some of my previously brighter ones.
And I do love sea shells.

I'm giving some thought to actually hanging this on my own wall.

Or, maybe I'll just Sell her at the Sea Shore.

~ Mer-ternal Twins: Finished at Last! ~

 

I have to explain why it took me SO long to finish these latest additions to my Etsy Shop.

Number One:  There were two of them.
Number Two: About two weeks were taken out due to travelling and illness.

I might add a Number Three which was the fact that the hair on each of my little mermaids, took as long to design, cut, arrange and quilt as the rest of the quilt combined.

But when all was said and done, I was thrilled.

Each wall hanging is made exclusively with batiks, with the exception of the backs of the scales which are a variety of dupioni silks.  Each sister faces in a different direction, has her scales arranged in her own way, and has a somewhat unique hair style.

I am selling them separately.  Here.  And Here.
However, I would love it if they weren't separated. 
Twins hate that.

What do you think I should name them?

~ Wall Art in Valentine Pinks ~

In honor of this week of pink and ... love ... I am putting this lovely beauty onto my Etsy Shop this week.

And, as promised, I am also putting the pattern for her on sale this week for only $4!
(That's 50% off people ... no coupon required.)

I love the combination of the stripes and dots along with the lovely Moda florals.

Go here for the quilt.
Go here for the pattern.

The back is as lovely as the front and showcases the quilting quite nicely. 

And so I wish you a romantic and inspiring week.

The heart (above) always touches my heart (inside) because my daughter made it for me in elementary school.
She will turn 36 next month.

~ She Sees Sea Shells this Season ~

I put a little bit of the coast on my Christmas table this year.

I love how their natural hues are offset by the white.
And some green.

And a sprig of red.

I also love my friend Marie, who showcased my Sea-sonal ways on her blog today.

Check her out at Nautical Cottage.

Thank you Marie ...
aka Sally Lee by the Sea

~ Sea-sonal Topiary ~

Whew.  I finished it.  I sewed down most of the binding last night ...

 ... while handing out candy to my four (count 'em 4!) groups of trick-or-treaters. I was actually pretty excited since that was four (count 'em 4!) times the number of groups I had last year.
My house is not really easy to get to.

 I just love my new tablerunner ... and the pattern that is available for you, so that you too can have a lovely Coastal Christmas.
No matter where you live.

It took me some time because I fused and then quilted 55 scallop shells onto my topiary.

It was a wonderful exercise in machine quilting.  That is not usually my favorite part of the process but in this case it was just one of my favorite parts.
Actually, I have to say that I enjoyed every part of making this one.
  

In fact, the back brings me a lot of JOY also.

So ... what do you think?  Did I do my original inspiration justice?
Thank you again to Romantic Homes ... November 2011.

Please stop by my Etsy Shop and pick up a pattern.
Now that Halloween is over you can officially jump feet first into the Holidays.

I have.

~ Sneak Peak ~

Here is a sneak peak at my current project.
The inspiration came from this page in a  Romantic Homes Magazine, see above.
The fabrics I'm working with (or some of them) are seen below.

Think ... Tablerunner.
Think ... Sea - sonal.

I'm very excited.  I'm almost done.

And yes, I am well aware that Halloween is this week.

~ Color Combo: Sea Shore ~

Prior to moving to my home here ... I was a white wall only kind of gal.  But when I encountered some strange colors from the previous homeowners that I wanted to change, I became a blue wall kind of gal.

The one big exception was the Master Bedroom.  It's walls were already painted in a stunning neutral ... that pretty much matched the carpet.  I soon saw how much I loved how white and blue stood out against it.

I love this room ... and how this sandy, ocean, shell color scheme comes together.

Oddly enough, I made my "Speaking with the Stars" quilt not even thinking of this room and then later found that the colors and the size were a perfect fit.

I already had a blue slipcovered chair with a precious and sentimental throw (thank you Mom!) that perfectly matched the carpet.

It's taken me a year and a half to get the combinations just right ...

And to find the perfect sheets.

(Thank you Target!)

I've carried over my scheme to the bathroom with it's blue walls and sandy colored tile.

How about you?

What's your favorite color combo?