New Beach Inspired Stockings

Every summer I am fortunate to spend time at the beach with my family where one of my favorite activities is looking for shells.  I love to stroll on the sand searching for treasures and inevitably end up coming home with bags of shells – mostly white of course.

The shells find their way into various jars and bowls around my house and have provided great inspiration for a few craft projects as well.  Remember last year when I used a group of oyster shells to make a decorative ball? (Complete instructions can be found HERE.)

This year my bags of shells inspired me to create a line of nautical inspired Christmas stockings!

Each design is made from burlap and features a different shell.

They look great as a grouping of all the same design as well as a mix of all three styles. To learn more about these new designs and to see additional stockings please visit my Etsy Shop.

New for the Holidays at Red Door Home

These past few weeks I have been busy stocking my Etsy shop for the upcoming holiday season.  I have added some new designs as well as several new products.   Here is a peak at what I have been up too!

I had tremendous interest last year in my ruffle top linen stockings.

In response to many requests for “something for the boys” I created the coordinating cuff top stocking shown below.

Burlap remains very popular as a decorating fabric for Christmas.  So I have added a new line of coordinating linen and burlap stockings.

There have also been several inquiries into matching tree skirts.  I am happy to announce the addition of a new tree skirt line.  The first one is made of burlap and linen to coordinate with the burlap and linen stockings. The second is the coordinating skirt to my winter white stocking line.

Also available is a ruffle edge tree skirt made entirely of linen

Another new favorite is star ornament sets made from vintage feedsack material.

Many people prefer white when decorating for the holidays, so I will continue to stock my white linen ruffle top stockings as well as my line of winter white burlap stockings.

Another new addition is linen ruffle top chenille stockings.

Made from vintage white coverlets, these stockings are a wonderful addition to your holiday décor.

For those of you who prefer a touch of “modern” in your holiday décor, I have created a line of Chevron Zig Zag stockings as well as an interlocking circle design.

These really are fun and unique!  And, like all of my other designs, these stockings can be customized with your choice of fabric combinations.

Finally, personalized gifts are always much appreciated and Red Door Home has several monogram pillow options from which to choose.

Thanks for taking a look!  For information on anything of the items shown above or to see additional products please visit my Red Door Home Etsy Shop.

Goodies in the Mail and a New Family Addition

The past few weeks have been filled with lots of fun and excitement!  The mailman has been a regular visitor at my house – delivering a few expected packages as well as a nice surprise – and we have added a new member to the family.

Last week started off with the delivery of this wonderful enamel sign I won a while back from a giveaway hosted by Darlene at Fieldstone Hill.

It is made by Ramsign and is a work of art which is made to be used.  It took several weeks to arrive once my order was placed but it was well worth the wait.  Thanks Darlene!

The second delivery came about courtesy of Joan from For the Love of a House.  She recently shared her source for real wax candle sleeve covers - Lumiere Candles.  I honestly did not even know such a thing existed!

Since I am all about the details, I couldn’t wait to replace the plastic sleeves on my vintage light fixtures in the dining room and living room with the real thing.

The funny thing was, I was in such a rush to order the candle sleeves I ordered six twelve inch sleeves instead of the twelve six inch sleeve I needed.  Lucky for me, Lumiere Candles’ customer service is incredible.  I left a message about my mistake and received a phone call back almost immediately telling me what I need to do to make an exchange.

My new beeswax candle sleeve covers really do make a difference in the way the chandeliers look and I highly recommend them for anyone who loves authenticity.

The third package I received this past week was a lovely surprise.  I recently featured Jenni from Dear Lillie as the September RDH blog of the month.  During the post I mentioned how much I liked the silhouette shopping bag which was a new addition to the Dear Lillie Store.  Well, a few days later I received one in the mail!  It was such a lovely and unexpected gesture and I can’t thank Jenni enough.

Finally, I wanted to share a picture of the newest addition to our house with the red door – Abby!

She is a miniature Schnauzer puppy and came to live with us just this past Saturday.  She may show up from time to time in some upcoming pictures so I thought I should introduce her to you.

Decorating with Shells – An Oyster Shell Ball Tutorial

One of my favorite activities when I visit the beach is shell hunting. For years I have been slowly adding to my collection and using my treasures in my home.

They are scattered about in almost every room and serve as a reminder of the many fun vacations my family has enjoyed over the years.

This summer I decided to collect shells which I had previously ignored – oyster shells.

I have seen lots of different decorative uses for these shells and decided to try my hand at creating a simple shell ball.

It was an easy process requiring only shells, hot glue and a Styrofoam ball.

I began my project by grouping the shells by size.  By using shells of nearly the same size, I figured I would increase my odds of ending up with something round.

Beginning in the middle of the Styrofoam ball, I simply applied hot glue and stuck/pressed the shell into to Styrofoam through the glue before it hardened.  I worked in a single row around the circumference of the ball before beginning the next row.

The entire project took about twenty minutes and when I was finished I had a decorative reminder of another great summer of fun!

Do you use shells as decorative accessories in your home?  If so I would love to know how you display your beach finds.

September Blog of the Month – Dear Lillie

Today I am thrilled to be featuring Dear Lillie as the Red Door Home September Blog of the Month.

I discovered Jennifer’s blog last spring when we both participated in the 2011 Poppies at Play Parade of Homes.

Jennifer’s End of Summer Mantel

From my very first visit I was captivated by Jennifer’s beautiful and welcoming style as well as her gorgeous photographs.

Jennifer’s inviting home is filled with many of her own unique decorating designs (many of which she has tutorials for) including the pretty ruffled lamp shade and slipcovered ottoman shown below and the moss covered letter shown above.

In addition to home decorating, Dear Lillie also features some of Jennifer’s original and creative party ideas – my favorite of which is the Jane Austin themed party shown below.

Jennifer is also mom to two beautiful little girls who often model items found in Dear Lillie’s online store.

Lillie wearing a Briar Hat

As luck would have it, Dear Lillie just reopened their online shop today!  I am totally in love with two newly added items - the Organic Annistyn Scarf in Winter White and the silhouette shopping bag shown below.

I hope you will visit Dear Lillie and leave a comment to let Jennifer know you stopped by. I know you will be glad you did!