Dressing up the Giga for Christmas....

So if you read my post called "Dressing up my favorite Giga...you know how much I love this giant clam shell.

It really is one of my favorite things in my home and everything I have in here is a collection of my favorite things.  So it is only fitting, my Giga gets a holiday makeover....

So I completely undressed her to start over....

Then I added in a bit of glittered sand.......

Along with some vintage ornaments I purchased from White Flower Farmhouse...

Some glittered and metallic painted seashells and starfish that I painted...

After I put in the sand...I started with coral pieces to give it some texture.... 

Then I began randomly placing the balls in....

Then I mixed in the seashells and starfish....

Finished it off with one of my favorite ornaments from My Shabby Chateau....and some vintage garland from White Flower Farmhouse....

And now my Giga is all dressed up 

for the Holidays!!!

Here's some updated photos - I added in a gorgeous glittered seashell from Beautiful Details by the Seashore...

Linking up to:

My Romantic Home's Show and Tell Friday

Funky Junk Interior Saturday Nite Special

Dressing up my favorite Giga.....

Linking up with Completely Coastal

I love decorating with clam shells.  And with that - I've always wanted an authentic, giant giga clam shell to be the centerpiece of my clam shell displays.  I recently stopped at this wonderful coastal decor and seashell shop in Key Largo - that was filled to the brim with gorgeous giga clam shells of all shapes and sizes.  I was mesmerized by the variety but really was quite shocked at the prices.

At first, I thought it was a mistake when I saw that the one I liked best was $1500 dollars.  So I moved on to the next one and after looking at about 15 different ones varying in price on the low end starting at $500 and the high end - $2000 - I realized these clams are crazy expensive.  So I asked the sales person - why are the clams so expensive - the first thing she said was "they never go on sale, either"...with an annoyed tone - because she obviously gets asked this question frequently.  So I asked again.  She said they are rare and very hard to come by - (based on the quantity at the store...it appears they must have the world's largest inventory because there were giant clams all over the place) and that the better the form and shape, the more expensive it will be.

Armed with that information, I clearly had to go in a different direction - but did not want to abandon my vision for a coastal clam centerpiece.  Determined to create my masterpiece - I ordered this resin one from ZGallerie for $59.99:

I was very pleased with the size - 12" by 20" and also the quality. As soon as it arrived, I began the process of collecting my favorite things to fill it.

Sea biscuits, sea cookies and sand dollars.....

Pink and Green Sea Urchins.....

Pink and Green Shells......

Starfish and seashells.....

Lovely white and blue coral....

Anchor pieces of coral & sponges

Moss from Michael's & "The Shell"

I set the anchor pieces first....

Mixed in the smaller coral pieces

Added the assorted shells....

And here is the finished piece.....what do you think?
 I call this my "coastal" flower arrangement.

I didn't dress this up for Fall - but I definitely plan on re-mixing the pieces for the holidays - so stay tuned  for future posts on "Dressing up my favorite Giga".  

I'm linking this up to:

Show and Tell Friday with My Romantic Home

Feathered Nest Fridays with French Country Cottage

Saturday Nite Special with Funky Junk Interiors
Motivate Me Monday with Keeping it Simple
Show Off your Cottage Monday with The House in the Roses

Make it for Monday with Cottage Instincts