Adding Coastal Decor

As it hits mid-May I realize summer is just around the corner!  Sometimes in the early morning I can catch a smell of the the ocean in a small breeze and it brings the memories of summer. So it was time to change the foyer table decor to reflect the coming season.

Adding a little coastal flair....

All of the items above have been added to over time.  All were bought either at discount stores (Target, Home Goods, Christmas Tree shop, etc.) or were gifts.

Here is how I put the "look" together....

First stop, The Christmas Tree Shop for a few new "beachy" items (notice the price tags).

 Happy Happy!

Next I shopped the house and moved things around. The apothecary jars  (bought at Home Goods over the past 3 years) were in the living room, the shells were stored in the basement in a box (the large ones were gifts from my Mom), the black candle sticks were on the mantel in the family room ( bought at Target 3 years ago on clearance), and the candles (faux, from Christmas tree Shop 2 years ago) from the family room too.  Oh and the cake stand was a Christmas gift this year from my bother-in-law & sister-in-law (yipee!) It's from Macy's Martha Stewart Collection.

Add the old and the new together and ....

A little touch of the coast to greet you as you enter my home.....

Little dollars but Big change!

Makes me happy!

Where the dead ferns hang...

These framed ferns have hung on my living room wall for 5 years.  My family refers to them as "the dead ferns".  Nice, huh!  After finding some art work on clearance at Target I decided it was time to make a change.  Good-bye dead ferns, hello pretty clearance pictures....

They have a mirror frame so it is a little hard to photograph.  Anyway, next step deciding placement.  First I traced each frame onto packaging paper from the Dollar Tree.

Cut out each one (The paper likes to curl)

Then I taped each one to the wall using blue painters tape so it wouldn't pull the paint off the wall.  Once I decided on the placement of the "pictures" I measured and made sure each was level.  This is a first for me! Usually I just wing-it and make swiss cheese out of my walls with all the holes!  Not this time!

Then I measured each frame's hanger, found the center, and transferred that measurement to the paper on the wall.

And tah-dah!!!!!

Pretty clearance pictures hung straight and even on my wall! No swiss cheese walls!

I guess it pays to take your time some times ;-) !