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Six Coastal Decor Tips

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Beachy mantle | coastal decor | ocean watercolor painting print | Blue Wave #11 by Eileen McKenna
It’s not surprising – considering my love for the beach – that my house has a beachy vibe. If you’d like to add a coastal feeling to your home here are some ideas:

  1. Use light neutral paint colors. My walls are off white and light gray. Moldings are white.
  2. Sand beneath your feet – but not literally. My area rugs are sand colored and textured.
  3. A view of the ocean. We all can’t have a priceless view, but we can make up for it by displaying a seascape. Order a print of Blue Wave #11 (displayed above) now by clicking here.
  4. Introduce pops of blues and greens. I have a turquoise coffee table, pillows, a lamp, and other accessories.
  5. Display your collections of shells, beach pebbles, and driftwood. Glass jars work great.
  6. Buy beachy accessories – a lighthouse, a crane, whale, whatever!

Prints of my watercolor beach paintings are now for sale at shop.eileenmckenna.com. Take a peek!
The Blue Collection by Eileen McKenna | watercolor beach ocean landscapes available as limited edition giclee art prints
For links to Beachy DIY projects visit:
Six Ways to bring the Beach into your Home https://mycreativeresolution.com/2017/05/19/six-ways-to-brin…h-into-your-home/ 

Six Ways to Bring the Beach into your Home

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

The beach is my favorite place and I’ve decorated my house to reflect that. Here are six ways you can bring the beach into your home with links to six DIY projects.
Six Ways to bring the Beach into your Home https://mycreativeresolution.com/2017/05/19/six-ways-to-brin…h-into-your-home/

Beach Signs

Beach Lover DIY wooden sign project. Distress weathered painted wood.
A sign says it all! Learn how to make the “beach lover” sign here.
Similar items available on Amazon:

Click image for details.

Pops of Color


Grab some spray paint in blue, turquoise, aqua, or sea foam green. Paint a wooden coffee table, lamp, or a few picture frames.
Similar items available on Amazon:

Click image for details.

Fabric

sandcastleEM screen-shot-2017-02-08-at-10-49-15-am overlappingcrabnew Crabs in the sand fabric print pillow
Add beachy prints and colors wherever possible – pillows, window panels, etc. Lightweight, breezy window panels and sand colored textured rugs also help create a summer vibe. Click image for details.
Similar items available on Amazon:

Click image for details.

Beach Wall Art

Aerial Beach Canvas DIY acrylic painting project
Create a canvas to hang on your wall, like the simple beach painting above. Learn to paint one here.
Aerial Beach Canvas DIY acrylic painting project 
Learn how to create the “by the sea” cabana striped canvas here.
Similar items available on Amazon:

Click image for details.

Framed Beach Art and Photos

Six Ways to Bring the Beach into your Home Six Ways to Bring the Beach into your Home

Smaller framed art pieces, prints, and photos look good on a wall or placed on a shelf. Want to paint your own beach watercolor? Learn my step by step process here. Frame your beach photos. Mix family shots with landscapes.

Prints available at shop.eileenmckenna.com.
The Blue Collection by Eileen McKenna | watercolor beach ocean landscapes available as limited edition giclee art prints
Similar items available on Amazon:

Click image for details.

Beach Vignettes

   
Group your treasures together to create beachy vignettes with shells, starfish, driftwood, beach glass, rocks, etc. Learn how to create a beach diorama like the one above here.
Similar items available on Amazon:

Click image for details.

Beach Pin – 1″ soft enamel pin with rubber clutch
Beach Pin - 1" soft enamel pin with rubber clutch
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Beach Lover Wooden Sign

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

beachlover
I bought a piece of wood and had it cut into pieces at the hardware store. Using acrylic paints – teal and white – I added streaks of both and blended them, to get achieve a beachy, sun bleached look.

Wooden signs
I set up the lettering on the computer and outlined it. Last time around I cut custom stencils which was a lot of work. This time I found advice on hand lettering. I laid the printout on the wood and using a hard stylus pen (from my kid’s old DS), traced the outline of the letter. When I was finished I could see the outline impression on the wood.

Following the outline impression on the wood, I painted the letters black. When they were dry, I painted white steaks over the letters with a very dry brush to capture the distressed look. I’m happy with the results!

Click here to learn more about how I painted the background.

St. Patrick’s Day Mantle

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

St. Patrick's Day mantle

Ah it’s March. Spring will be here soon, and warm weather I hope! St. Patrick’s Day is also around the corner. I love decorating the mantle in my family room for the season/holiday. This year, I added to my mantle a couple of homemade projects. You may remember my Irish Blessing sign, created using a Citrasolv transfer technique. Recently, I created my first paper quilt, in a green “Irish” theme, which was a fun and easy project. I’m looking forward to creating a “beachy” themed one soon.

I also hung a couple of our family crests. I was inspired by “Game of Thrones.” In the books, each family has a banner representing their “house.” Symbols on the banners include a lion, wolf, fiery heart and even an onion. I found our crests online and wrote the family names on the back. I thought it would be fun for the kids to flip them over, to find out the names. Surprisingly the kids have never heard of the family names a few generations back.

In addition to these homemade elements, I grabbed every green candle I had! I also hung two leprechauns that I had with my Christmas ornaments. I hung a string of shamrocks with the family crests. I added my son’s school project – a rainbow over a pot of gold. I love including the kid’s projects with my decorations. I thought the Celtic cross and the Belleek vase were nice “authentic” additions. I used fake greenery, since I wasn’t able to find any shamrocks!

Cead míle fáilte!
(hundred thousand welcomes)
link to Irish phrases