Beach finds Jan 14

 Whelk eggs in huge clusters

These huge storms we've been enduring in the UK are a beach combers delight. There are so many things to find on the shore right now. Some I've never even seen before. A friend on mine who works at the local Blue Reef Aquarium tells me all sorts of creatures are being washed up and handed in to them by the public.

 Underside of Sea Mouse

My first ever sea mouse  (Aphrodita aculeata)!  

 Sea Mouse topside

 I hadn't even heard of a sea mouse before, until earlier this week when my friend mentioned them being brought into the aquarium. They are only a few miles down the coast from where I was combing today so I made sure I kept an eye open for one. They really are odd looking creatures indeed.

 Common Starfish

The beach was also littered with starfish and limbs of starfish. I haven't seen starfish before on the beach although I know they are found there frequently. These starfish ranged from a inch or so across to huge specimens about the size of my hand. I should have researched how to preserve them before I went. I would have loved to added one to my beach combing displays.

 Crab shell

I also found several large crab shells. Several of the usual brown colour and lots of a purplish hue I hadn't seen before. As you can see from the picture they were bigger than I usually find here thanks to the storms.

 At this point I had to return to the car as I was freezing cold, my hat was trying to launch itself down the beach and the tide was begin to come in rapidly!
I am hoping to visit again soon, time and weather permitting. So watch this space for more adventures!

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Beach Combing at Victoria Country Park.

 The little beach at Victoria Country Park is a treasure trove! Although on a thin stretch of water lies between the two sides of land almost everything you can think of passes through here from the tiny dingy to the humongous ocean liners. And as this has been the case for hundreds of years you can imagine just how much can wash up here. 

 
 Sea glass finds - Left; Bottle bottoms including a pink piece.
Right; Bottle necks. The bottom right piece is almost complete and makes a fetching thumb ring lol.

I also found a huge amount of green and clear glass, plus a few pieces of brown and 4 pieces of blue glass!

 There is of course the usual other finds along the tide line. I have such a fascination with crab shells, I have no idea what it is I just find them fascinating.

 Tiny crab body among the shells.

 

 You can also find lots of these. I think they are oysters but I haven't confirmed that yet. 

 My parents have offered to babysit the girls this week so hopefully we will be returning here on Wednesday for another treasure hunt. I promise to take pictures to share with you all.

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Beach Combing June 2013

    Bladder Wrack - Fucus vesiculousis

 It has been far to long since I posted here about my sea theme adventures. I managed a quick hunt along the tide line at Hayling Island today and now I have finally kitted myself out with a phone I can share my discovery's much better.

 Crab Body Shell

 Common Whelk (Buccunim Undatum) Egg Mass

The stretch of beach I was combing along. As well as those photographed above I found masses of Slipper shells, a few razor clam shells, masses of Cuttlebone (watch this space for cuttlebone crafts) and some very large,but broken Oyster shells.

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Nautical coasters

 Aren't these coasters hideous? If you pop into your local 99p store with a spare 99p you to can own this amazing set of coaster tat lol. However they are perfect for a frugal crafter! With a little bit of PVA and some nifty scissor work you can create.....

...your very own set of trendy nautical coasters! I used a page from my trusty craft atlas (my favourite thing to use at the moment) and cut out a few fish from an old book I picked up for crafty purposes. I think they look really swish! Perfect for my dinner table.

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Nautical Storage

 Sorry for the long gap in posts lately. For an explanation have a look here.
Yesterday being a horrible rainy afternoon I busted out the craft supplies and made some new storage for DD's art supplies. So far I have 2 empty formula boxes and I was determined to use them.
 So once they had been cleaned and dried, I cover each one in a page from my atlas, added a fish label from a cutting up book and voila! One box for pens and one box for pencils and crayons.

I think they look rather smart and nautical. Certainly an improvement and more on theme than the old biscuit box they were in before. I also threw out any that were snapped or had run out of ink.

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Simple cheeky decoration

 There is something about saucy seaside postcards that just brings out the giggly teenager in me. Whenever I spot a particularly rude or hilarious one in a seaside shop or newsagent I just have to snap it up to add to my collection.
 It occurred to me yesterday as I added another card to my stash that it was a waste to keep them out of sight. Their bright colours and cheekiness would be perfect added to my seaside theme hallway.
 So using the magic that is bluetack I arrange my collection on the doors of the hallway along with a few postcards from beach's we have visited on holidays and days out. It took about 5 minutes to organise and stick up, yet the difference is amazing! Already my hallway feels a little bit brighter and more seaside-y and a little bit ruder to.

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Frugal Seaside decorating

  Using an old Ladybird book I picked up in a charity shop recently I have made 2 pieces of bunting. The first hangs at the start of the hallway, opposite my "rude" postcard wall. The detailed pictures are just beautiful to look at each time you go past and are really far to nice to be stuck in a dusty old book.

 And the second banner hangs the opposite end of the hallway, which gives a lovely symmetry to the room. I'm hoping that with a few more touches I can make my hallway feel quite beachy/nautical.

 I have also been using an old Atlas for some crafty makings this week. Such as making washi tape and covering some notebooks. The photo really doesn't do these guys justice, they have come out beautifully!!! I'm having serious thoughts about covering some of the books on my hallway bookshelf to add to my theme.

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