Driftwood Mirror

My kids came up for a visit the weekend before chemo made all my hair fell out (lo, these many
months ago!) and we went to a nearby lake and collected a whole LOT of driftwood. You see, I had big plans to make some driftwood mirrors right away. I will use the excuse that I let the wood dry by the wood stove all this time, but really, it's the old Procrastination Bug. You know how it is, ladies.

 But this last week the Energy Bug kicked the Procrastination Bug in the patooty and I finally got this done.

With a hot cuppa tea at my side and some jazz on Pandora, I went to town. I LOVE how this baby came out! I added some rocks and even a little bit of white dry brush highlights, and it came out EXACTLY as I had pictured it!

Here's the beginning of this whole project; a pile of driftwood in all its weather worn and rugged glory and an 80s era print framed mirror. When my master bath had ivy stenciling it looked good in there, but now, not so much.

I covered the whole frame with strips of burlap using hot glue. That way any gaps would just show the burlap texture and not the green and yellow background. This project went so fast that I don't think it took me an hour from start to finish. Super easy, super fast, super good looking and CHEAP! That's my kind of project. It took longer than that to take pictures good enough to post!

Ooh aah! So hard to see the detail with all the clutter in the reflection, but it will go perfectly in my master bath. I'm changing the room over to a turquoise/brown/tan/coastal theme and this mirror is the perfect starting accessory. I think the round mirror in the pic will get a driftwood makeover next.

Here's another pic without all that distracting reflection clutter. So pretty.

Oops! Say hello to the lady blogger with the camera, lol!

The main tip for this super easy and effective project is driftwood, bone dry and lots of it. The burlap definitely helped the hot glue adhere. Rocks and even sea shells would be perfect accents, even sand dollars and little starfish. I think I'm going to add some frosty sea glass to my next couple of driftwood mirrors, too. Oooh, I wonder how a strand of tarnished pearls would look wound in and out of the wood? Gotta try it!

So what fast and easy project have you got on your list that you just haven't got around to doing? Check your stash, put on a little music and MAKE THAT THING! You've been thinking about it for months, now go do it. You may surprise yourself with something super cool or at the very least know what won't work next time you try it. Good luck, friends!

Free Beach Fun!

When we go to the beach at the Oregon coast we are like any other family, we take lots of sand toys and frisbees and snacks and books and chairs and blankets and sunblock and kites and.....you know the drill. We're like a military convoy with all the supplies and equipment; we're a parade of people carrying stuff.


But here's something fun that doesn't require any buckets, shovels, toys or anything else except your own two hands and found items on the beach.....rocks and plenty of 'em. And they're FREE!

When I go for a walk on the beach, I always leave stacked rock towers behind. If you were on the north beach at Lincoln City in July you may have seen them all along the sand. They look very cool and are easy, once you've got the hang of feeling each rocks' balance point.


They are very sculptural and Stonehenge-like and lots of times people will stop and watch.


Sometimes they aren't very tall if the rocks are not cooperating. Soon you can recognize the best rocks for the towers. The grandkids learned too and would bring me the "good ones."


They are good for photos, too, looking very artsy and natural and sculptural and textural. I have some prints of stacked rock towers from 20 years ago and they look as cool now as they did then.

Love the cool gray and tan of the stone with the red tones of the driftwood. Very nice!



The wind kept blowing this one over, if you've been to the Oregon coast you know of which I speak.


You can even layer in driftwood, but sometimes the towers get persnickety when you mix materials. They sag and pout and fall over. Also, I've seen towers that are built with rocks on edge but we haven't got the hang of that yet.



So if you see these rock towers on the Oregon coast, it just might be that we've passed that way and left the fun signs of our travels......stacked stone towers and these.....


The traditional family Oregon Coast rock smiley face. We leave it on every beach we visit! ;0)