Today, my friend Kate, is having a favorite souvenir link party, so I thought I’d join in for some summer fun.
Vacations and souvenirs go together!
Souvenirs are typically things that are picked up while on vacation and can be anything that brings back memories of special times spent away from home.
Some of my favorite souvenirs cost me absolutely nothing. Nothing but a little time walking on the beach. I find so much relaxation in walking on the beach looking for seashells and I’ve done that countless times in my life.
Those natural and textured treasures from the sea are so much fun to decorate with too. They add a lot of interest to a space and I have fallen in love with them over and over during my lifetime of beach walking.
I think that love is here to stay, how about you?
Here are a few of the seashells that have been added to my collection in the last few years.
Olive shells picked up on the beach in Gulf Shores, AL.
More shells from Florida beach combing.
Driftwood and shells from Gulf Shores, a bountiful day of sea treasures.
Coral propped on books and tiny shells added to a bookshelf.
I even made my own personalized shell shadow box from all the tiny shells I picked up. It was fun finding out the names of all of them.
I simply piled the driftwood pieces along with shells in a rustic basket.
My shabby cabinet got gussied up with some bottled olive shells and starfish. I’ve got to find just the right spot for my shabby cabinet in the new house and it will be fun to unpack these things again.
Are you a seashell collector too? What’s your favorite souvenir? Do tell and hop over to Kate’s to check out everyone else’s!
John@RemodelingBIBLE says
Hi, Rhoda. I also love collecting drift wood and seashells when I take a walk on the beach. I gather nice pebbles as well when I take a run on the nature trails here in Arizona. Keep the great stuff coming! 🙂
Becki says
I used to alway find a cute t-shirt as a souvenir from wherever I was vacationing. But we go to FL so much and love collecting shells too! BTW – I just found 2 large Ball jars like yours at Goodwill. Adore the color!
Krystle @ Color Transformed Family says
I love buying post cards. The pictures are tons beer we than any I could take.
Laura says
I collect magnets from the places that I go. I have them displayed on my my refrigerator and they remind us of the fun we have had at each place we have visited.
Linda@Coastal Charm says
Rhoda,
Just look at all those wonderful seashells from Gulf Shores:) Two weeks ago, I found a ton of driftwood while walking the beach at our Gulf Shores condo. I like to pick up nature items while I am on vacation too…the best kind of memory.
Blessings,
Linda
Sandy says
Love your seashell collection! Although I love walking on beaches, I like to collect rocks from places that I’ve visited. Some of my rocks from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan look like Native American Hieroglyphs. Many of my rocks have fossils embedded in them. I have quite a little collection of rocks!
Margaret says
I have little jars of sand from different beaches we have visited. My children also bring me sand and soil from different places. I will admit that the white sand from Gulf Shores is the prettiest.
patti g says
Shells are a favoritie collection of mine as well.
This year for my Mother’s Day treat – we went
to a special area of semi-private beach – while on
the way to a settin spot, the most wonderful piece of
driftwoood was tucked away in the beach shrubbery!
Hugs to you, patti
nancy says
Best place to find seashells is Sanibel Island in Florida. People start searching before dawn with flashlights just to find the most unique shells. Such a treasure of shells you’ve never seen.
Puttin' On The GRITS says
Living in Florida, it’s a given that I collect shells as well. It’s not my “go-to souvenir” but I do have a ton. I try to keep them all separated by place. All of the sand dollars that I found on Jekyll Island are in a shadow box, and shells from different beaches are kept in their own blue ball jars.
My go-to souvenir is a Christmas ornament. I like having multiple Christmas trees in my home- one of the trees has ornaments from all of the places we have traveled. I love to unwrap them each year and reminisce about our trip. It brings back great memories.
Rina says
I love collecting shells. It has been a hobby since I was a kid. Great idea to put them in a shadow box!
Rina
http://WWW.glamathome.com
Arlene Grimm@Nanaland says
I love to find pottery from each place I visit. As it can be pricey I have to be choosy!! Last year I got a beautiful pie plate from Ayers Pottery in Hannibal, Missouri. I think of our nice trip last summer every time I look at my pie plate displayed in my kitchen.
Centsational Girl says
Fantastic Rhoda, what a gorgeous collection! Seashells make the best decor – I especially love that shadow box, it’s a beautiful keepsake! Thanks for linking up to the party today!
Kate
Ally says
My Grandmother gave me her bag of shells she had collected over the years. She is now passed away. I had no idea what to do with them until I went on vacation one year and saw all the frames with shells on them. I went to GW bought some frames and covered the frames with the shells my grandmother gave me. I took pictures of my two daughters at the beach then put those beach pictures in those frames. I now have a great way to show off my grandmother’s collection and my girls have a little piece of a great grandmother they never got to meet.
Rhoda says
Ally, I love your seashell story too. What a great way to preserve your grandmother’s memory with your girls.
Wendy says
That is a sweet story!
Donna says
I really like the shell shadow box. Great idea.
Maya @ Completely Coastal says
My number one (big surprise) beach finds…, but occasionally also something kitschy like a souvenir cup.
Jan says
I have alot of sea shells from years of walking the beach. I keep them in glass jars with cork tops along the side of my bathtub. I also have a small jar of beach glass. But, what to do with all the other shells? I make seashell mirrors and wreaths. It’s fun.
Jane @ Cottage at the Crossroads says
Rhoda, I love how you put your shells in a shadowbox. I have a collection of shells that I found while living on the Isle of Palms, except the shells are in the attic. I have been meaning to bring them down to do a summer vignette with them. Today may be the day! As far as souvenirs, I usually come back with a T-shirt.
Becki says
I have rocks from Maine, shells from Gulf Shores AL and Appilachacola, FL. My mother started a tradition when we visited our niece of getting a nice piece of jewelry to commemorate the visit and now that it is just my niece and I we have continued the tradition.
Wendy says
Hi Rhoda, I’m a beach lover too. I met my husband in Mobile and we lived there or almost 14 years before transferring with his job. My in-laws have been generos with their condo in Gulf Shores and timeshare in Panama City (not PCB;). Over the years it has been a joy to get to visit the beach and come to know it. We saw it destroyed by a hurricane and then got to watch as it was rebuilt. During that process, sand was pumped in through pipes at least a few hundred yards off shore, maybe…probably further out than that. The workers would bulldoze the sand to build the beach, much like how you would bring in soil to build a flower bed, just on a much larger scale! Chug, chug, chug, ten the pitch would change as they reverse, brum, brum, brum…all through the night with magnificently bright lights set up on the beach to light their work. Closer and closer they came each night until they finally got to our condo. As they moved west down the beach, they had to move the pipe that pumped in the sand from offshore. When this pipe was in front of our place, we could see treasure troves of shells spilling out onto the born again beach. Conchs were just everywhere! One evening we took a walk up to the top of the new beach, which was now about 8 feet higher, and an older gentleman was on break resting in his dozer near us. He spoke and upon seeing our 5 yr old and 18 mo old little boys, he offered us a grocery bag full of shells he’d collected in excess of what he was keeping for his grandchildren! He even gave us a beautiful conch shell!
On a family trip to Paama City/St. Andrew state park, my 3boys and I filed 2 of our empty water bottles with the beautiful sugar white sand and tiny seashells we’d collected…one for us to keep and one for a dear friend back in Mobile. That was 3 years ago and just this April, at Goodwill, I found a beautiful glass bottle to transfer my treasures to.
Perhaps my favorite beach souvenir is a shadow box display of found sand dollars I made after another summer’s family trip to Shell Island. Our little family loves to take a pontoon out to Shell Island and anchor in the back water where we swim, watch dolphin and other sea life, and collect sand dollars. One summer I used a shadow box frame from Michaels (looks just like the frame you have for your shells), coved the back with a rough natural linen, laid out our sand dollars in a pleasing design, and glued them down.
These treasures Remind me of home and special times we have shared as a family. There is something magical about the sea and it’s treasures! How good of our Creator God to gift us with such beauty.
Thank you for sharing your treasures, and reminding me of home today.