She Sells.... Etsy Finds Week of 7/28/08

I'm gearing up to create my entry for the Chainmaillers' Guild Almost-Fall Contest, themed "The Sea." And I was talking to a friend about the ocean the other day. It made me miss the roar of the surf, searching for treasures in the sand, and the smell of salt sea. Landlocked Tennessee is lovely in so many ways, but it's been a while since I felt sand between my toes.

And, my other team, Fantasy Artists of Etsy, is having a "Visions of Atlantis" exhibition.

There's a definite theme. In honor of it, I present...

Faux Coral Candelabrum by Juls of Paradise

If I had a beach house, one of these would live there. Of course, I never will, cause my husband hates the beach. I'll be happy to go visit someone else's beach house every few years. Maybe I need to decorate one room as if it was in a beach house anyway.

I love shells. I love picking them out of the sand, then lacquering them to see the detail it brings out that went away when they dried off. I love decorating with them, making things with them. I never aspired to anything this pretty. It does a great job evoking a coral reef, doesn't it?

Vintage Shell Embellished Cabinet by Tropical Cottage

The five pictures Etsy allows can't possibly be enough to show this beauty off. I imagine it in a beach house bathroom holding the towels, or in a room with a sea view holding knicknacks and finds from the beach. I suspect I could spend hours looking at it and touching it. Wow, the hours that must have gone into this...

Mini Beach Tropical Treasure Sandscape by Faithlady

You might find this sort of thing in one of those kitschy souvenir shops at the beach but it'd be in cheap commercial glass, not handcrafted (unless by someone in a sweat shop somewhere), and not nearly this pretty. Since I can't get to the beach or put my toes in the sand, maybe I need one of these to put at my desk for daydreaming about my own seashell hunts. Maybe you do too. Seems like some stress would melt away.

Beach Art Photograph Print by A Moment A Memory 28

I never made a sandcupcake but this print certainly evokes memories of sand sculptures I did do. I had an artist friend who used to go to the beach with us who made sandgators and a muscleman body for my son buried in the sand with his head sticking out... great times. The sand sculpture is art in its own right.

Sunrise Beach 48 x 24 Digital Painting by Elseart

Wow. This would look so striking in the right room. Check out the picture of it over the couch. There are a variety of paneled beach scenes in his shop, but this one made me want to step into it. And stay there.

Definitely check out these shops' other items, as well. You won't be disappointed.