Scarborough Seashells: beach craft project

This is an abridged version of a longer post that I wrote back in November on my other blog, Success Bound. To view the original post in its entirety; which includes a second quick and easy beach craft (seashell votive holders), click here.

This was my Thanksgiving table last November. I set my table with discount dishes purchased for a song ($36), wine glasses from the dollar store ($12), my wedding flatware, candles galore and handmade decorative accessories with a beachy theme. My splurge was new mongrammed napkins ($14.99/6). Total cost for this table setting for 12 was $77.98!

Supplies for Starfish Napkin Rings:

Cheap Plain Napkin Rings(you could even use an old piece of PVC pipe cut into 1 1/2 inch lengths. My rings were wood and found for $.25 a piece at a discount store.)
Starfish (2-3 inch- Seashells will also work)
Twine
Hot Glue Gun/Glue Sticks
Scissors

First, add a dab of hot glue to the inside of the ring and attach the start of your twine. Next bring the twine up over the the edge and begin wrapping it around the ring opening. Add small 1-2 inch beads of hot glue around the ring, following directly underneath the previous layer of twine. Wrap around and around, pressing each section of twine flush up to the previous one until you come to the other end of the ring. Finish the same way you started- cut the twine and add another dot of hot glue on the inside of the ring to secure.

Once the glue is dried, if you have bristly twine like I did, give it a haircut to trim away all the fly away pieces and then add a dab of hot glue to the back of your starfish and adhere it to the ring. That's it!

My finished table:

If you've made a similar craft, show me the link, I'd love to see it!

I just spoke to Beth, over at The Stories of A to Z. Her post this afternoon inspired me to write this entry. Check out the gorgeous napkin rings Beth has made!
Hers are even more crafty than mine- since she formed hers on paper towel tubes and didn't have to attach them to rings like I did.

And she even made some variations on the theme to show us:

So clever, Beth, thanks for letting me brag about you!

I've been wanting one of those vintage printer's trays you see at consignment shops and on eBay for ages now but could never come to terms with the hefty price tag. Then at Christmas time I was in the Dollar Tree (crafter heaven!) and I found these small pine display boxes. They measure just about 7 inches square, so I got to thinking that if I bought a few of them and put them together, I'd have a pretty good replica for a fraction of the price. So I tacked them together with a few nails
scraped them, dinged them and otherwise marked them up to "age" the wood. Then gave them two coats of a dark cherry stain to match the shadow boxes I made last week. Finally, I filled the cubbies up with all sorts of little treasures from the sea. Beachy chic for $4.28, not bad!
(yes, the boys are playing Call of Duty on the TV, sorry about that!)