Reduce. Reuse. Re-shell.

It seems that my beach combing talents extend past the sea & sand. The only thing I enjoy more than looking for shells & shark's teeth would be my pursuit of fine junque. Today I took my sister Kimmie who is visiting from Tennessee on my Sarasota thrift store route. The creme de la creme is The Woman's Exchange on Orange St. Oh my goodness! Every aisle is crammed full of glassware, knick-knacks, jewelry, artwork, furniture. What did I spy out of the corner of my eye but this shell flower arrangement.

                                      www.womansexchange.com                    
My great-aunt Anabelle lived on the harbor in Clearwater & was an artist. She sold her oils but shell craft was her real passion. As a little kid I remember her table set up with lots of stuff I wasn't allowed to touch. My mom would help her dye the little minis the right color for all the flowers & animals she would create. Can you imagine how the shelling must have been on Clearwater Beach in the 50's before beach re nourishment. I have a Junonia that Aunt Ann had glued to a vase. We rescued it & pried it off. So when I saw this arrangement I grabbed it immediately.
My mom is already planning to clean it up some. There is talk of making more. After a big day of shelling yesterday on Sanibel I find it kinda of funny that my big find today was shells.




Added 8.13.10 ~~below is Rhonda (Shellbelle) @ the Shell Factory in Ft. Myers, FL 1998. We shopped for 2 hours and you cannot see her basket but it was full to brim. We also hit Sanibel from ding to dong including the Shell Museum.




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Comments

  1. ShellbelleAugust 13, 2010 at 9:39 AM

    Lovely! Yes, I've been known to hit a few seashell shops looking for those beauties we can't find on our beaches. I seem to remember a photo you took of me in Sanibel with a basketful, lol. Now I can't lie and say I found them.

    Yes, make more!

    ReplyDelete
  2. rjerdeeAugust 14, 2010 at 8:05 AM

    Kaybe,
    I saw your comment on Rhonda's blog--the one about sitting at Sharky's on the Pier...oh, that made me homesick! I can't wait to get back to Venice, the beach, and my beachsnaps blog.
    I see you're from Englewood...just the next town over...and I know all about the Woman's Exchange!
    Later,
    Becky

    ReplyDelete

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