Grand Opening Reception @ Bancroft & Friends Tonight!

Grand Opening Reception Tonight!

Bancroft & Friends

11 Pleasant Street

Marblehead, MA

6-9PM

My friend Brooke Pickering has opened her own store ~ Bancroft & Friends ~ in Marblehead, MA and tonight she is having a Grand Opening reception tonight! Come see her beautiful ceramic housewares and her famous "Marblehead Collection" among others. 

She also has pillows, encaustics, bags, children's dresses, cards, sea glass jewelry and hand cast silver jewelry from some of the following artists: Bumble Belly Designs, All The Numbers and Sea Glass Things who, along with Bancroft Studios, are also members of a local artists group Boston Handmade.  There are other wonderful local artists work for sale as well!  Stop on by!

Summers End...

I never look forward to this time of year... the end of August. There is a chill in the morning air... the nights are a bit cooler and days are getting shorter.

The malls soon become bustling with back-to-school shoppers and you find yourself purchasing closed toed shoes instead of another pair of trusty flip flops. There is mad dash to capture last beach days and nightly walks to the local ice cream stand slowly come to an end.

The end of Summer... it seems to sneak up on me. I guess I am just never prepared for its departure.

CSN Stores $70 Gift Certificate Winner....

Thank you to everyone who entered the contest.... drum roll please... the lucky winner is Ella!  Ella you will be sent your gift certificate via email soon... thanks so much and check back for more contests!

Shed Some Light On Your Beach Decor and Enter A Free Giveaway For A $70 Gift Certificate!

If you follow my blog - you 1) know I love the ocean and 2) know that I love the shabby clean beach chic look. I love exploring indoor and outdoor space and I am constantly looking for coastal lighting to "brighten" up rooms - while continuing the flow of design. Here are some fabulous lamps I have stumbled upon in my search. Notice that you can incorporate more modern table and floor lamps with cleaner lines while still maintaining the integrity of your coastal decor.  Also remember that modern can include more abstract elements as well... and don't be afraid to incorporate color!

If you don't prefer the modern lines of the lamps above there are still the classic designs that are timeless... yet still fresh... 

Let's not forget the quintessential light house lamp that will fit right in upon any seaside side table...

Floor lamps are always a great option if you have created a cozy reading nook or if you have chair but no side table.  This particular paper lantern floor lamp reminds me of hanging those Japanese paper lantern lights around your deck or in trees for ambiance on summer nights.  I love the look of a tripod lamp behind a couch that is kiddie-cornered - this opens up space while maximizing it at the same time.

When putting a room together it is also important to indulge on the accents. I like the look of a sisal rug to define a space (not to mention they are affordable) - and what the best part is that the sand falls right though to the bottom - just roll it back and sweep it up! A glass blown vase or two is functional and beautiful when set on a coffee table - and look best when filled with plump hydrangeas or your favorite flower.  You might want to even fill vintage bottles with shells and sea glass that you have collected on your beach combing journeys! Don't forget to give those bare walls some love with nautical art or photography!

No matter what your coastal decor flavor there is sure to be something out there to tickle your taste buds!  You can find many items to decorate your home with our Giveaway!  You have a chance to win a $70 Gift Certificate from CSN in our free Giveaway!  How fun is that?!?!  Of course there are many other items you can choose from as well - just visit their site for over 200 places to shop!

The giveaway starts today, June 21, 2010 and ends on Monday, June 28, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. You can enter mulitple times depending on how many places you promote the giveaway, our blog or our website.

Here's how you can enter to win:

Visit our store and let us know which sea glass is your favorite! Your name will be entered into the drawing for our giveaway.  Simply comment on this post with your favorite creation and your email address!


You can also get one additional entry for each of the following:


1. Promote the $70 Gift Certificate giveaway on your website or blog with a link to "Sea Glass Things Blog"
(a href="http://www.seaglassthings.blogspot.com/"). Then add a comment on this post with a link to your promotion.


2. Follow Sea Glass Things's Blog by clicking on the follow button, top left next to blogger search box, or by Google Friend Connect in the left sidebar.


3. Become a Fan of Sea Glass Things on Facebook by clicking on the "Like" button at the top.

4. Follow Sea Glass Things on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway (you can tweet daily) - Copy and paste:
Enter to win a $70 Gift Certificate http://bit.ly/96A6ln @seaglassthings #giveaway


5. Promote the giveaway on Stumble Upon or Digg with a link to this post. Then add a comment on this post with your Stumble or Digg name and / or URL.



You will be entered for each promotion of our contest. So... if you visit our site and post a comment here for your favorite sea glass creation, plus promote it on Twitter and Facebook you will be entered three times.

This contest is open to United States and Canadian residents only. We will be announcing the winner on June 29, 2010 on our blog, Facebook and Twitter. Good luck all!

Round Two

Here are a few more pics taken and edited by my good friend Nikki - these are a little different as we were trying to protect the integrity of the freshwater pearls.

This has been a huge challenge when editing these photographs - reducing glare on the pearls and keeping their true form and texture.