Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Beach Inspiration

Getting pictures of sand crabs is no easy task.
The slightest movement and they immediately
scurry under the sand.
 Unlike their cousin, the hermit crab, sand crabs do not live in "borrowed shells";
so I'm not quite sure what this guy was doing with that clear bubble looking thing.
There were many sand crabs to entertain us while at the beach in Bentota.
But unfortunately, not so many shells to be found.
So while at Ikea the other day, I came home with this set of scented beach-inspired clay accents.
 And when I saw this post for simple stars, I grabbed some scrap
yarn and started making little starfish.
 Turns out, Becca has been doing the same thing as seen on her post Inspired by the Sea.
She has photographed her work beautifully.
And even crocheted pretty little sand dollars, too.

I used my starfish to embellish crocheted gift bags.
You can find another starfish tutorial here.
I also came across this post with some very creative beach-inspired crafting.

It's very hot and humid here today.
 I came in sopping wet after doing some outside work.
Think I'll get back to making more starfish (maybe some sand dollars, too.)

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

45 comments:

  1. Lovely starfish to remind you of your adventures by the sea.
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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  2. Makes me want to go to the ocean, beautiful

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  3. Dearest Tammy,
    Oh, beautiful pictures of crab and shells♡♡♡ I reminisce enjoyed the beach taken by my father and uncle and finding crabs or collecting shell-fish for miso-soup or just fly with butter.
    You seem to be good at finding fellow bloggers and I was fascinated with your crochet work♪♪♪

    Thank you very much for the sweet comments for my blog. I was really happy for your thoughts.
    I wish you are having wonderful week; our rainy season seems finally over and scorching hot (^^;)
    Take Cre of Yourself and Sending you lots of love and hugs from Japan, xoxo Miyako*

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  4. Beautiful beach inspired photos Tammy! Yesterday I made a ton of pics and we collected a bag with sea shells, sea weed and we even found a sea cucumber {it was grose!}
    Today we are readying for some more beach combing!

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  5. What a cute crab - ace photography!
    And I just LOVE those little starfish - am off to check out that pattern right now...!
    Enjoy the rest of your week.
    Xx

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  6. Cute little starfish - thanks for sharing the links. :)

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  7. I love your star fish and thank for the links....I can't wait to see the sand dollar...so much fun.

    Your sand crab photo is adorable! :) You always take such lovely photos.

    Blessings always

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  8. Good luck with your sea creations, Tammy. Hope you have a terrific day today. Susan

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  9. I love the stitched sea stars .... The beach colors too!

    I wonder if the sand crab was taking care of a clutch of eggs or something like that?

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  10. Dearest Tammy,

    Guess those stars are great to use in red and green for Christmas tree decorations. You are so talented for dreaming up the funniest crocheting projects.
    Crabs are sand spiders in a way... they run as fast away as they can.
    Love to you,
    Mariette

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  11. Your crab photos are wonderful!! I love that you have brought the beach home in your creations!! blessings ~ tanna

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  12. Those are lovely!! I love beach-inspired items because I am a huge fan of any beach, lakefront or ocean.

    It's another hot, humid one here, every day of the summer has been the same deal, but I think I'll attempt taking a walk in a bit again like I did yesterday. Been having trouble with a heel spur issue but I can't just sit here all day long without movement so I'm slowly trying to get back into things.

    Linda

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  13. Wow, nice job on the sand crab photos! If they're the same kind as I've seen in Southern California, they're very tiny indeed. The shells look just like what I used to see in Ca too. Aaaah, the beach....

    Adorable starfish.

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  14. Hi Tammy,
    I love your star fish, they look like they just scuttled out from a rock pool.
    Still wet and rainy here but we're told that summer will be here soon so hopefully we'll have sun for the Olympics.
    Hugs, Angela.x

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  15. love your beachy post... great minds think alike! yes you win in the heat department, but for the midwest, when it is 90 degrees at 9pm ... well that is just like Phoenix hot... and I think you are so brave to live in such a hostile weather environment... blessings.. x

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  16. Excellent photos of such an interesting little creature. Your crocheting of starfish is fabulous. Hydrate my dear...

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  17. Love those shells..great memories to collect them wherever you are! You did a wonderful job on the starfish as well..will check out the tutorial.❤

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  18. Not only did you get good pictures of the crab but you managed to capture his personality, too. Your post about the sea, starfish, and even your soothing colors is so special. I'm not able to visit the ocean much (Wyoming, you know!) so this post is especially lovely. I love it.

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  19. Perfect crochet to commemorate your beach time fun! Great pic of the sand crabs. Cannot imagine the patience it must have taken to get that pic!

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  20. Tammy I love how your star fishes turned out and the little crocheted gift bags are so adorable.

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  21. Great post. I love shells and stars, etc. you can crochet anything girl!
    Gwen

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  22. Great photos of the sand crabs! And I love the crocheted gift bags with the starfish! Very nice!

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  23. Hey Tammy,

    I love sea shells and those little crabs are so cute.

    You just keep whipping out pretty little crocheted items. I might just have to try to make a little star myself.

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  24. I love collecting shells and yours are just darling...and those seastars!!!...you clever girl you!
    While the beach is one way to cool down over there....sooooo hot. oxxo

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  25. Tammy, I love your sweet starfish!! Too cute! The crocheted bag is such a great idea!! Thanks for always sharing great projects! xo Heather

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  26. your crochet starfish are just amazing!! i love them and your choice of colours is the best!!! i lve the gift bag too!
    arent crabs funny? i just love how they walk sideways but im also pretty scared of them...mainly because of their claws...hehehe...
    how did you manage to take these photos??? they move so fast!!

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  27. Hi Tammy, the crabs are cute and you must have been quite patient to get those pictures.
    Your crocheted starfish and giftbags are lovely. It's wonderful to be inspired by nature. I got some ideas from the turtles that we see here quite often but haven't gotten around to play them out yet.
    Have a wonderful day :-)!
    Hugs,
    Julia

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  28. I love your beach-inspired post, Tammy. Crab pics are cute! I never seem to have much luck with finding interesting shells on the beach here. I LOVE your beach themed gift bags! Gorgeous!

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  29. They are wonderful, Tammy. I too brought back home some shells, dried seaweeds and starfish. I should think of something to do with them. Love your ocean inspired crochet!

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  30. Hello Tammy I love anything to do with the seashore and I loved this post! How sweet your little starfish look, and so perfect for adding to displays of shells and little gift bags. I will check out those links too, thank you.
    Btw in answer to your sweet commment and query on my latest post, I used double sided tape and white card to back the cross stitch before making it up as a hanger :)
    Have a lovely weekend!
    Helen x

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  31. Love the pictures of the crab!!!

    You are so clever to have crocheted those little starfish!

    LuLu~*xoxo

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  32. Those crabs are so cute Tammy you did a great job capturing them so well. I hope that the weather cools down for you, it does sound very hot.

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  33. The crocheted starfish are adorable! I'm going to mark your page to save! Thanks for including the links. I have so many projects I would like to do...anything related to the sea!

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  34. Dearest Tammy,

    Just scroll down on this blog to get some different inspiration for your crochet work... http://www.fantasiedifata.blogspot.com/
    Love to you,
    Mariette

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  35. Oo I LOVE your shots of the crabs on the beach! Those things look so weird! Love your starfish too Tammy! Don't you just love anything to do with the ocean? Thank you for sharing the links and the mention. Oh, and that gift bag is such a fun idea!

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  36. Love these Tammy. I am tucking this away for future use. My crochet plarn bags are getting popular by word of mouth and I am doing three for sale. I did not choose Etsy and I am glad I didn't this works well. I sure don't over commit. We finally had some measurable rain here but too late to save the heartland corn.

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  37. What a delight to see you have visited. Glad that you are able to come through. My blogger was acting up and hoping this comment goes through. Your stars are amazing and thanks for the link. Your trip looked like it was wonderful. Love seeing all the pictures. Looking forward to seeing the rest of your time off and what projects you will be doing.

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  38. Those little crabs gave me the shivers T. I am not anywhere near a beach of any kind, so you can imagine I have never seen anything like them before in person. But I adore your little crocheted stars!!!!
    sending hugs...

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  39. What lovely pictures of the crab. Years ago, we used to live near the beach. Seeing this brings back so many wonderful memories of that time. Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

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  40. What fun it must be to live so close to the ocean! I admire your ability to make beautiful yarn art - and from a scratch, too, your own design! Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving the nice comment, Tammy.

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  41. How wonderful it would be to live near an ocean or the sea. So many pretty things to discover.

    Such pretty starfish you are making!

    Wishing you a beautiful weekend Tammy!
    xo Catherine

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  42. sweet starfish! I love your photos of the shells and little sand crabs.

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  43. Tammy, you always amaze and inspire me with your creativity. Those starfish on your crocheted bags are adorable!! I have been reading several books lately about the different beaches in South Carolina and now I am wanting to visit the coast of SC to see these wonderful beaches and homes!! I hope you have a perfectly wonderful weekend, dear friend! Vicki

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  44. Sand crabs are so funny! I can remember when I didn't know about them and was sitting on the beach and they scared the living daylights out of me! But now that I understand their habits I can appreciate them and they're fun to watch.
    Your starfish and bag are too cute! That has to be my favorite of all your bags now. Who knew you could crochet just about anything?!?! They are just the cutest.
    Like you, I go out early in the morning. I went out the other night to water at about 8 or 8:30 and it was still 91 C! Mornings are best....it's 73 this morning. TTYL! Great job on pics, crochet, bag and decorating with the scented shells!

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  45. Tammy-- I've tried for years to take photos of sand crabs-- your photos are wonderful! The crochet starfish are lovely---- I sure wish I could crochet!!!
    Vicki

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Thanks so much for stopping by my little corner of the world. Your comments are much appreciated. "Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart." ~Henry Clay