Decor – Beach Memorabilia Display

Posted on July 29, 2013 by barbara

There is a bookcase that was moved recently from our basement into our library and it is the place in our home that most of our beach memorabilia is displayed. We love going to the beach, whether it is on the west coast, east coast and even Hawaii and Mexico. We’ve collected seashells, sea glass and pieces of driftwood when we were living in California and most recently on our annual trip to North Carolina. When I am shopping I always look for beach themed picture frames or small decorative pieces. Decorators advise that when you have a collection of items it is best to display them together for the most visual impact. That is exactly what I did with the beach memorabilia that we have collected over the years.

To start the process of moving the bookcase from the basement to the library, I took a photo of the existing beach bookcase so I could reference the placement of the items. Next, I cleared the bookcase and carefully boxed all the fragile seashells and picture frames. Once it was emptied, the bookcase was finally ready to move upstairs.

Now, that the bookcase was in its new place in our library it was time to return the beach memorabilia back to the shelves. Before doing that, I made sure the shelves were cleaned and ready to go. To add some visual interest, on the top shelf of the bookcase I hung some fishing netting and attached some starfish.

I had purchased a large resin seashell “bowl” several years ago from a local retail store and I wanted to position this large piece in the center of the third shelf of the bookcase. To add more interest I put some pieces of artificial red coral behind the bowl and then I filled the container with small seashells.

Next, I positioned all the picture frames because I considered them the main focus of each shelf and, generally speaking, these are the items that draw the eyes’ attention. On the top shelf are three picture frames, two of them are special craft projects. The first one is a wooden photo frame that resembles driftwood and I glued several seashells that we collected on the beach in North Carolina. Inside the frame is a photo of our daughter at the lifeguard station at the same beach. The second one is another wooden frame and I glued seashells at the four corners. Inside the frame I created a heart shape using several fragments of seashells collected from the same trip. This is one of my favorite pieces of our beach memorabilia collection.

More beach photos are displayed on the other two shelves. On the next shelf are two great photos taken almost 20 years apart. One photo is of my son and I on the beach at Carmel, CA and the other one is of my husband and daughter at the same beach. I thought it was a great way to remember this very special beach that we loved to visit. On the next shelf is a fun photo frame that revolves to show two different photos of our daughter at the beach in Santa Barbara, CA and you can see the joy that she had playing on the sand and surf.

Once I was pleased with the placement of the picture frames, I added the largest seashells from the collection to the shelves. To create some interest to a couple of the seashells, I bought unfinished wooden pieces and used the single height for two of them and doubled the height for the other two simply by hot gluing two pieces together. All four seashells are hot glued into place at the top so they are secure on the wooden pieces. The other large seashells were placed directly on the shelves. To finish the beach memorabilia bookcase display I placed other beach accessories on the shelves, I included a piece of driftwood, a small sand sculpture of a mermaid, a resin seahorse and even a Boyds Bear figurine called “Wilson at the Beach”. (Post Note: the photo of the finished Beach Memorabilia Bookshelf is shown at the top of the page)

Decor – Displaying a Boyds Bear Collection (Part 2)

Posted on July 23, 2013 by barbara

As you might know from reading yesterday’s Décor post, “Decorating with Boyds Bears (Part One)”, I started collecting Boyds Bears back in the 1980s. Since then my collection has grown to a couple of hundred figurines, plush bears, photo frames, trinket boxes and even Christmas ornaments. Then, after our daughter was born I started a collection for her which included Boyds resin dollstone figurines, porcelain dolls and stuffed bears.

Before we moved to the Midwest, we had a beautiful home in California. For every Christmas I would love to decorate our fireplace mantel with a pine garland which I decorated with amber pinecone lights, red berry sprays and more real pinecones. By this time I had collected over 20 Boyds Bears ornaments with the intent that I would use them on our Christmas tree. One of the rules of decorating is that when you have a collection of items it is best to display them together for the most visual impact. So, that is exactly what I did with the Boyds Bears ornaments, instead of using them for the Christmas tree I added them to the pine garland on the fireplace mantel and it think it turned out wonderful!

Christmas fireplace mantel decorations for 2004

Over the years I had collected several more Christmas decorations from the Boyds Bear Company. I had figurines, photo frames, plush bears and even a moose. Every Christmas I pull these items for storage and find a place for them in our home. To keep things looking interesting from year to year, I would display a plush Santa bear on a chair one Christmas and the next year I would place it on a bookshelf. I would also do this with Christmas figurines and photo frames, one year the item would be in one room and the next year it would be in another part of the house.

Christmas 2011, “Edmund … the night before Christmas” photo frame

Christmas 2012, “Nickleby S. Claus”

Christmas 2012, “Alexis Bearinsky … the night before Christmas” figurine

One of my favorite Christmas decorations is an antique sled that I picked up on one of our road trips across the country. I attached a festive red bow to the sled with wires. Next, I hung an old pair of black ice skates and as a finishing touch I added a Boyds Bear plush moose named “Mortimer Von Hindenmoose”. This display greets our holiday guests in our entrance hall during the Christmas season every year.

Sometimes the smallest item can hold the most impact in a display. For the first Christmas after we moved to the Midwest, I set out a small tabletop Christmas tree on the beautiful roll-top desk in our master bedroom. I decorated it simply with several rusted jingle bells, put a rusted star on top and placed a very small Boyds Bear Santa, called “Nicholas Bearington”, in front of the tree. Now, that idea inspired me the next year to decorate that same small Christmas tree with some non-Boyds bears that I found in my local craft store; Santa and Mrs. Claus, a couple of bears in snowflake sweaters, a ballerina dressed in a pink tutu, a royal guard and a little white angel bear.

As I mentioned in my previous post yesterday, I have an oak lawyer cabinet with glass doors that holds part of my collection of Boyds Bears figurines, picture frames and Boyds Town houses. Over the years I have also collected several holiday-themed figurines that I display in this cabinet. (Please see yesterday’s post for photos of my collection of shoebox bears for Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas)

For Valentine’s Day, I display a cute cupid bear called “Valentino Slipshot”

For Fourth of July, I display a patriotic bear called “Uncle Elliott”

In Spring on top of the Boyds Bears cabinet I display a 6” plush Easter bear called “Agatha Snoopstein”, a brown bear dressed in a white bunny suit.

As I mentioned previously, after our daughter was born I started a collection of the resin dollstone figurines to mark the special moments in her life. These figurines are displayed in the bookshelf in her room. TIP: When displaying figurines on a shelf, choose accessories that are compatible in the theme, style or color tone of the figurine for the most pleasing displays. For example, with the ballerina figurine I choose a floral pale pink rose frame and a light brown teddy bear to create a lovely display.

On the top shelves, left to right: “Laura & Jane – the first day of school” and “Emma as Cinderella – magical moments”. On the second shelves, left to right: “Melissa & Katie – the ballet”, “Teresa & John – the prayer”, “Lisa & Plato – graduation day”.

Finally, here is a great idea for using Boyds figurines in a very unexpected way. We have all been to weddings where the cake is beautifully decorated and sitting on top is usually some sort of figurine. I thought this idea was perfect for our daughter’s baptism cake and I used a Boyds figurine as a cake topper. The cake looks very sweet with the figurine named “Zoe … the Angel of Life” resting on top of a bed of white and pink roses. For the next important religious event in her young life, her first communion, I decided to decorate the cake with another Boyds figurine, I used a figurine named “Teresa & John … the prayer”. Then, for our daughter’s 6th ladybug themed birthday party, I used the figurine named “D. Lovebug” which added just the right festive touch to the birthday cake that was decorated with leaves and resin ladybugs that I found in my local craft store.

So, you can have a lot of fun decorating with a Boyds Bears collection in some traditional and even some unusual ways. I would love to hear your comments about these displays and decorations. Also, please share how you display a Boyds Bears collection.

Decor – Displaying a Boyds Bears Collection (Part 1)

Posted on July 22, 2013 by barbara

I started collecting Boyds Bears back in the 1980s. The first one was a plush brown bear in red overalls called Christopher, which I received as a gift which happens to be the name of my son. By this time I was now working in a small retail store that sold the Boyds Bears line, and I started collecting the resin bears figurines for special occasions and holidays. I now have a collection of figurines, plush bears in both small and large sizes, photo frames, and even Christmas ornaments. When the Boyds Bear Village was released in 2000, I purchased several of these delightful houses and accessories to add to my collection. But I wasn’t done yet! After our daughter was born I started a collection of the resin dollstone figurines to mark the special moments in her life, such as the first day of school and her first communion. Her collection also includes a couple of Boyds porcelain dolls and stuffed bears.

The main portion of my Boyds Bears collection is displayed in the library of our home in a lovely oak lawyer cabinet with glass front doors. The shelves display several figurines, picture frames and several houses from my Boyds Town collection. These items are displayed year-round in the cabinet and I will add some additional holiday themed figurines and decorative accents seasonally. TIP: To add height, I used two large bricks for each shelf and these fit perfectly across the entire length of the cabinet.

These photos show the cabinet decorated for the various holidays –

On the first shelf of the cabinet, I stacked two smaller bricks in the center to add some additional height. To define that this is a Boyds Bears themed cabinet, I placed a figurine called, “Tessa, Ben & Cissie … A Sign of the Times” which reads “Boyds Bears and Friends … bears and hares you can trust”. To the left is a picture frame, “Wings to Soar” with an enchanting picture of our daughter dressed in fairy wings. To the right is another picture frame, “Pam and Dave …All Aboard” which features a school bus and holds our daughter’s kindergarten photo. This shelf is where I display my Boyds Bears seasonal figurines.

These photos show the shelf with my various Boyds Shoebox Bears figurines –

Easter – “Winnie Hopkins” and “Webster Grizberg”

Halloween – “Hazel Spooksbeary” and “Bradley Boo Bear”

Thanksgiving – “Virginia Grizberg”, “Miles Grizberg”, “Chief Sitting Bear” and “Princess Standing Bear”

Christmas – “Nicholas Grizberg” and “Elias Grizberg”

The second shelf of my Boyds Bears cabinet features several resin bear figurines. I have arranged the pieces to tell a story of life from birth to old age. The figurines left to right are: “Momma McBear … anticipation”, “The Family” a special 1999 limited edition piece, “Bailey … the graduate”, “Grenville & Beatrice … true love, “Momma & Poppa McNewbear with Baby Bundles”, “Beatrice … we are always the same age inside” a 1998 limited edition piece, and finally “Grenville & Beatrice … best friends”. These items are displayed year-round in the cabinet and I will try to change the display by adding seasonal decorations. TIP: Keep an eye out during the various holidays at your local craft stores for seasonal decorative accents to add to a display. I have found that in the floral section there are usually small spray decorations specific to each of the different seasons and holidays.

This photo shows my Boyds Bears figurines on the second shelf of the cabinet –

The bottom shelf of my Boyds Bears cabinet features the charming little houses from the Boyds Town collection. From left to right the houses are: “Edmund’s Hideaway”, “Grenville and Beatrice’s Homestead”, “Emily’s Carrot Cottage”, and “Bailey’s Cozy Cottage”. The Boyds Town is decorated seasonally with additional small figurines and decorative accents. Some of these additional items are from the Boyds Bears product line, other items are purchased at a variety of local craft stores and I also have used some Department 56 items. TIP: Keep an eye out during the various holidays for miniature decorative accents; also check the dollhouse section in the craft stores for more miniature items to add to a display.

These photos are of the Boyds Town collection decorated for the various holidays –

Halloween 2012 – I used bare-branch trees for a more seasonal autumn look and added a “harvest moon” in the right corner of the display. I displayed a couple of “trick or treaters” figurines and a small pumpkin patch.

Fall 2011 – For Thanksgiving, I kept the pumpkin patch but removed the Halloween kids and added small resin turkeys.

Christmas 2012 – I added small pine trees, a small bear Santa and several snowmen figurines, tiny lamp posts with Christmas wreaths and also a sprinkling of mini snowflakes.

Valentine’s Day 2013 – I removed all the Christmas decorations and added a sprinkling of tiny hearts to the display.

Spring 2013 – I remove all the previous seasonal trees and add more spring-like green trees. I found a small section of “grass” and miniature tulips in a variety of colors in the model railroad section of my local craft store and I added these items to the front of the display. Then, I added more seasonal figurines to the display.

Look for tomorrow’s Décor Post, “Decorating with Boyds Bears (Part Two) for more ideas and tips for decorating with a collection for the different holiday seasons and even some special events.

A Brief history of the Boyds Bears Company

The Boyds Bears Company was founded by Gary Lowenthal and his wife Justina Unger. It all started back in 1979 when they moved to Boyd, Maryland and opened a small antique store. Gary soon began making reproduction duck decoys which led to him making small resin houses called “The Gnomes Homes” in 1984. Eventually they added to their product line and started making plush bears and rabbits and by 1993 they began making resin bears. The company was now called the Boyds Bears Figurines and Collectibles with the company administration offices and product processing building located just outside Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

By this time, the Boyds Bear Company has added several more additional product lines but the resin bears remained the most popular. In 1996, the Boyds Bears Company started their own official fan club called the “Loyal Order of Friends of Boyds” or better known as the FOBs. The cost of the annual membership included a special FOB kit each year that could be purchased that included exclusive member’s only items, such as figurines, plush bears and a special resin member pin. Members also had access to an online newsletter and a member’s only website.

Over the years, many of the Boyds Bear products have won numerous prestigious awards, including the Teddy Bear of the Year Awards and Doll of the Year Awards. Then, in 2001 they opened their first store located in Gettysburg, PA near their company headquarters and later an additional store in Pigeon Forge, TN. Unfortunately, due to changes in the retail market and difficult economic conditions the Tennessee store closed in 2007 and the Pennsylvania store closed in 2011. (When we visited Gettysburg in 2008 and again in 2009 I was able to visit the Boyds Bear Country store. It was a delightful barn–themed building filled with the complete line of Boyds Bears products. Needless to say, I was there for a couple of hours just looking at all the items and the wonderful displays throughout the multi-level building.)

Boyds Bear Country in 2008

Enecso, a large American company which specializes in the sales and distribution of a variety of giftware and collectible, acquired the Boyds Bear Company in 2008. Currently the Boyds collection is sold in independent gift and collectible stores as well online.

Decor – Displaying Travel Souvenirs

Posted on July 9, 2013 by barbara

As I have mentioned before, when decorating our home, my design plan is to surround our family with things that have special meaning to us. Traveling across the country on road trips and visiting distant places in Europe and Asia is one of our family’s favorite ways of spending time together. During our trips we have collected a large number of special travel souvenirs and most of these items are displayed in the bookshelves in the library while other travel items are framed and hanging on the walls in the various rooms of our home. We enjoy looking at these travel souvenirs and remembering the wonderful places we have visited.

One of the keys to displaying travel souvenirs is thinking about how the items will be framed. For items that have some depth, I have found that shadowboxes are an excellent way to display those souvenirs. As an example is the shark tooth weapon that we got at the Polynesian Culture Center in Hawaii. This wonderful piece of craftsmanship is beautifully displayed in a shadowbox but the real purpose of the frame is to that the sharp edges of the shark teeth are enclosed to prevent anyone from handling this dangerous weapon. In front of the shadowbox is a piece of driftwood draped with a Hawaiian shell and nut lei. On the same shelf is a photo of our daughter dressed in her Hawaiian outfit that was taken at the Polynesian Culture Center display in a frame embellished with bamboo and palm trees, also displayed on the shelf is the artificial Hawaiian floral that she is wearing in the photo. On the other side of the photo is a small glass jar filled with black sand from Hawaii and shells we had gathered from the beach during our trip. Also displayed nearby is a small frame with a small trinket of seashells and straw that I bought in Honolulu. All these items are a wonderful way to remember our fantastic trip to Hawaii and are an example of grouping travel souvenirs that tell the story of a vacation trip. (For some travel suggestions on what to see and do in Hawaii, please click on the link)

Several years ago on our trips to Europe and Asia, we brought back some really interesting souvenirs. We visited Berlin for my husband’s high school reunion and on a shelf we have displayed a piece of the Berlin Wall and a photo of us in front of the Brandenburg Gate. When my husband lived in Berlin back in the 1970s, the Berlin Wall stood behind the Brandenburg Gate dividing East and West Berlin. So, when we visited in 1998 the wall had been taken down and the one of the first things after getting off the plane was that my husband wanted to walk through the Gate, something he couldn’t do all those years ago. Also, displayed on the shelf is a photo of my son standing at the train station in Eichstatt Stadt in southern Germany, an area where his father’s ancestors immigrated from a century ago. On another nearby library shelf, is a shadowbox framed piece of Edelweiss that I bought at a small little shop near Neuschwanstein Castle, for more information about the fairytale castle of Ludwig II of Bavaria please click on the link. Edelweiss is known as the flower of love in this alpine region of Europe and was made famous from the song in the “Sound of Music” movie.

Other European souvenirs are also displayed in the library; the first one is from a trip to Poland that we took in 1998. In a small shop located in the town square, we bought a certificate printed on parchment paper that commemorates our visit to Krakow. The other travel souvenir sitting in front of the framed certificate are Polish dolls dressed in traditional folk costumes of Krakow, my mother gave me these dolls a few years ago. (For more interesting information about Krakow, please click on the link)

Nearby, on another shelf in the library are travel souvenirs that my husband brought back from a trip he took to Asia in 1999. Displayed is a framed photo of my husband with the college master’s program group he went with to China and Japan, they are in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. Sitting in the front of the photo is a set of jade door lions that my husband bought in China.

Over the years our family has been very fortunate to have travel to various states across the country. We have scrapbook albums filled with photos. Displayed on our library shelf is a framed photo of our family when we went to the Kennedy Space Center in 2010. To make a fun display, I added a book on earth and space and a small plastic space shuttle that my daughter got in the souvenir store. (For more information about the Kennedy Space Center, please click on the link)

Sometimes, we like to select unusual items on our road trips. When we went to Springfield, IL a couple of years ago and visited the home of Abraham Lincoln, in the bookstore at NPS Visitor Center we purchased a souvenir piece of the Lincoln’s home and I framed this little piece of history in a shadow box. Another unusual item we purchased was when we were living in California, we had taken a great trip to San Francisco and had arranged a special trip on an antique fire truck that takes visitors through the city of San Francisco and across the Golden Gate Bridge; we also rode the famous cable cars. Displayed on the shelf downstairs in our “California Room” basement, I framed a small water coloring of the Golden Gate Bridge in a shadowbox and I added a souvenir piece of the cable from the San Francisco cable car line.

Décor Note: Please check out some of our other travel souvenirs that have been highlighted in two previous Décor posts, “Decorating with Plates” and “Not Your Normal Wall Art!” Also check out the April Décor post, “Disney Memorabilia Collection” for ideas on decorating with Disney souvenirs.

I hope this post will inspire some ideas for displaying your travel souvenirs!

Decor – Patriotic Home Decorations

Posted on July 1, 2013 by barbara

For the Fourth of July, I don’t have very many patriotic decorations. Normally, we are in the middle of summer vacation trips or vising family and I don’t really put up any decorations for the holiday. This year, since we would be home celebrating the holiday with out of state relatives, I decided to pull out the box with patriotic decorations from the basement storage area that I had saved from our old house in California.

So, just like every other holiday, I start by decorating the exterior of the house first. Currently, the front door has a white rose wreath that was put there at the start of Spring and it will probably stay there until the end of Summer. Usually I will add two small United States flags to the front door wreath and that is the only patriotic decorations I have used since we moved to the Midwest. This year, we hung three pleated red, white and blue traditional decorations known as “bunting” above our front door to create a festive and patriotic theme to the front porch.

In the interior of our house, I have kept the decorations simple and very minimal. In our library there is the lawyer bookcase which holds my Boyd’s Bear collection and I have added the patriotic figurines and then I sprinkled tiny red, white and blue resin stars. On top of the bookcase I set out a small Boyd’s Bear that is wearing a patriotic sweater and it is sitting inside a small red, white and blue painted basket.

In the family room, I have placed six paper mache stars that are painted red, white and blue on the fireplace mantel. In the bookcase to the right side on the shelf above the television is an American flag display in a shadowbox that is a remembrance of our vacation in Washington D.C. several years ago. Prior to our trip, I wrote our local congressman and arranged for a flag to be flown above the U.S. Capitol on the day that we visited and toured the building. (I’m not sure if this service is still available; if you are interested please call your congressman or state representative to find out) On the shelf next to the shadowbox, I have placed the farmed certificate that came with the flag which notes the date that we visited Washington D.C. As a nod to being a native Californian, which has been transplanted to the Midwest, I’ve added a bronze bear that resembles the one on the California state flag. These items are on display year round in our library and they are the perfect patriotic items for this American holiday.

In the kitchen, the patriotic decorations are still very simple and minimal. Hanging on the oven door are two red, white and blue towels. (of course, these towels are used for display purposes only and my family has been given strict instructions never, ever to use them! LOL) Two of the matching napkins are tucked into the vegetable basket that is displayed on the kitchen counter year round. Then across the kitchen, in the shape above the cabinets over the desk area, are a red, a white and a blue ceramic bowls which are the perfect patriotic touch.

In our dining room, there is a lovely oak china cabinet that holds our Noritake Rothschild china and silver serving pieces. As a very simple touch, in the tea cups I’ve placed four silver and mirror stars. On the dining room table, I’ve used a red, white and blue fabric as a table runner. In the center of the table is a floral centerpiece of golden roses and I’ve added two American flags. I have used more American flags in our other floral arrangements, one in our entry hall and one in our family room.

The Enchanted Manor

a lifestyle blog by Barbara Jones

Category Archives: Decor

Decor – Beach Memorabilia Display

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Decor – Displaying a Boyds Bear Collection (Part 2)

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Decor – Displaying a Boyds Bears Collection (Part 1)

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Decor – Displaying Travel Souvenirs

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