shanty chic

TINKERING SHORELINE SUPPLIES: Pretty Pail

All of the beautiful images for Seaside Tinkered Treasures were done by a brilliant team assembled by my publisher: stylist Nel Haynes and photograper Claire Richardson (who I sadly just learned passed away recently; link to fundraising campaign).  :(

TINKERING SHORELINE SUPPLIES: Message in a Bottle

In an email, Nel let me know that much of the book was shot over "very happy, if busy, two days at The Battery in Seasalter - it's a very special location and when you shoot in a good space things tend to go right!"

TINKERING RUSTIC RECYCLABLES: Shopping Bag Bunting and Sandcastle Flags

I'd like to share an excerpt from my first draft of the book's introduction. (Note the different title)

For as long as I can remember I have been smitten with beach cottages -- not opulent new-construction houses with tall views of the ocean but the old, un-winterized types furnished frugally with simple odds and ends. Small, modest places that conjure images of beds made with floral sheets soft and faded from years of use, where sun-bleached towels hang by the back door on a row of weathered hooks, and woven baskets hang at the ready to serve blueberry muffins when not adding rustic charm to walls.

Like many, I have fond memories of summertime that I summon for warmth and peace on cooler, busier days: mental snapshots of striped umbrellas dotting stretches of beachfront, lunches laced with gritty sand despite best efforts, and inexpensive roadside souvenirs fashioned from sea shells.

Welcome to Summer Treasury, my second craft book which builds upon the premise of Tinkered Treasures of tinkering wonderful somethings from everyday nothings. Consider this a sort of guidebook for a never-ending summer camp. Most materials are things you either might already have or are not difficult to find (because what fun is that?) and projects are easy to make.

Whether you have fresh sand in your sneakers or snow caked beneath your boots, the projects in Summer Treasury aim to become prized souvenirs of sunny, happy times spent creating.

TINKERING SHORELINE SUPPLIES: Pretty Pinwheels

In a nutshell (or clam shell) this is what I like to call Shanty Chic.

Happy summer tinkering!

xo
elyse

Available at all good booksellers