Archive for iLS.com In the News
Leg Breaking Extreme Shelling Caught On National TV
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Shelling on Sanibel was featured on CBS Sunday Morning today! And I made the cut along with Leroy!!! Waaahoooo! After you see the segment, I’m sure you will have questions about that crazy woman pictured above. I promise I will explain but first you have to watch CBS correspondent Bill Geist “shell out” this fantastic piece on our beloved island of Sanibel and her seashell treasures. (Click on the video to get it to show up -sorry I’ll try to fix it- but come back here to read the rest of the story.) Still can’t see it? CLICK HERE
Wasn’t that fabulous? Okay, yes, that crazy lady who talked about breaking her husband’s leg was…. ahem….. me. Bill Geist had asked me if I was an extreme sheller. Hmmm. Me? Where do I start? Then the leg-breaking incident popped into my head. Before we lived on Sanibel, Clark and I came for vacation to shell the beaches just like most of y’all. The first morning out on the beach, we had a little fun competition finding shells. At one point when I was doing the Sanibel Stoop, Clark gave me a little push so I lost my balance and fell in the sand. We laughed and laughed at being silly shellers but then I planned my attack. He was wading in the shallow water, when I decided to take my “shell revenge” 
. I guess I was too obvious since he dug his feet into the sand to keep his balance when he saw me make my move for his shell. Unfortunately, he dug his feet in too deep (See? It wasn’t completely my fault! LOL) and I caught him at the wrong angle to push him out of the way. His body spun side ways but his leg didn’t. His shin bone snapped in a spiral break that sounded like a gun shot. I know… awful, right? I felt so badly! That was probably 17 years ago and as most of you know, he healed just fine and it didn’t slow Super Sheller Clark down when it comes to finding shells. So now you know the rest of the story.
Thank you Sujin, CBS and Bill Geist for coming to Sanibel to show the world why we, they, y’all and …… i Love Shelling!!
Shelling Day Trip From Sanibel To Bonita Beach
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This past weekend we drove 35 minutes from Sanibel to Little Hickory Beach in Bonita Springs, Florida in search of seashells.
Walking north to the pass from the public parking lot (a bargain price of $2 for 2 hours) only took about 15 minutes to find loads of FIGHTING CONCHS.
After a few minutes more, Clark found a SAND DOLLAR…
I couldn’t get over how many MOSSY ARKS were washed up on the beach mixed in with a few pieces of CORAL and my fave of all faves… WORM SHELLS! They were only tips of WORMIES but any piece is a good piece in my book.
I don’t think I have ever seen so many MOSSY ARKS in one place on any beach before so I gathered a few together to show you exactly what they look like.
I know, I know…. not the prettiest of shells but I don’t see them all that often on Sanibel so I was intrigued with them.
Did I read your mind and know that it reminds you of another shell? It looks like the TURKEY WING! The TURKEY WING and the MOSSY are both ARK shells so they are very similar but unfortunately, I think the MOSSY ARK got the short end of the stick when it comes to looks. ;( Here’s a comparison so you can see them side by side. The TURKEY WING is on the left…
Oops! I switched them in this next exterior photo, the MOSSY ARK is now on the left in this photo. You can now see how similar they are!
We had a wonderful day walking the beach and seeing different shells and the beautiful SANDWICH TERNS and BLACK SKIMMERS…
Along with the SAND DOLLAR, sweet Clark gave me a yellow DAISY that he found on the beach…
We weren’t the only ones who enjoyed the beautiful day in Little Hickory…
Okay, while we are on the subject of Bonita Beach, I have to show you an article about iLoveShelling.com that was published in Coastal Life magazine of the News Press. Weehoo! Click on the logo to read it!
Melinda Graham’s Seashell Wedding Dress
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This wedding gown embellished with seashells would be any bride’s dream come true.
Artist and interior designer Melinda Graham made this stunning dress for the 2012 Shellabration fashion show celebrating the 75th Sanibel Shell Fair and Show earlier this month.
She painstakingly sewed and glued shells, beads and pearls for an extraordinarily elegant silhouette.
Her artistry in every detail is phenomenal.
I’m in awe of how beautiful she and the dress are in this back drop of Sanibel and Captiva.
Breathtaking!
Melinda made flower girl dresses embellished with seashells to complete her bridal collection.
Heavenly.
Laura and Valya were seashell princesses of the beach.
I was tickled to tag along on a photo shoot at Captiva’s Blind Pass beach with friend and producer Ilene Safron of Main Sail Video Productions as she and her team filmed Melinda for a national television segment. I have no idea what this shoot will be for or when it will air but I’m sure Nancy will let us know when she has details (fingers crossed!).
It was a day to remember with Nancy from Lee County VCB, Melinda, photographer Doug, Tracy (from Main Sail Video as well) and Ilene.
These talented folks have a lot of fun!
It was a beautiful day for Melinda to share with her mom as well.
melinda graham with her mom
To see her dress on display on Sanibel, stop by Melinda’s beautiful retail shop inspired by the sea called Surroundings.
First Day Of Turtle Season
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Turtle nesting season begins today! I normally enjoy seeing beautiful beach art but it can be disastrous for a female turtle in nesting season. On our island summer nights from May through October, female loggerhead turtles (and occasionally green turtles, leatherbacks and Kemps Ridley turtles) lay their eggs on the same beach where they were hatched decades earlier. Obstructions like sand castles, beach chairs, coolers or even deep sand pits can distract or injure the mother turtle or her babies after they hatch. Did you know that lights on the beach after dark can disorient adult and baby turtles? Yes, they go towards the light instead of heading to the water so they might end up in the street or parking lot. So we wont be doing any night shelling until fall. Not a bad price to pay for keeping baby turtles safe, huh?
A few years ago, I was a turtle tracker with my friend Lisa. This is a photo of our first turtle track we found that lead to a nest. A few months later that same season, we rescued a baby turtle after he dropped into a deep sand pit on his way to the water.
I love SEA TURTLES so much, I even painted one for my Write From The Beach sea life notecard fun fact pack.
Speaking of hatching eggs….. Remember the day I got the video of the Octopus Eggs Hatching? We’re in the news! This story by Anne Mitchell made it into the Island Sun newspaper this week!
Click on the pictures to enlarge.
and continued…..
Thank you Island Sun and Anne for such a nice article. It really was an amazing day.
Shelling For Captiva Holiday Village
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It is getting VERY exciting on Captiva Island! Every day I hear about something even more spectacular happening for the CAPTIVA HOLIDAY VILLAGE festivities in December 2010. Haven’t heard about it yet? That’s because this is the very first year and the buzz is Big! I’m talking… every inch of the streets from ‘Tween Waters Inn to The Mucky Duck to South Seas Island Resort will be decorated to the nines with lights and attractions. But Wait! AND there will be a golf cart parade, boat parade, fire dancers on the beach, a holiday Marketplace, seafood festival, pub crawl and lots of live music and parties.
"Olive want for Christmas is my feet on the beach" art by pam
Hang on…. if you like that, this is the best news! iLoveShelling.com will be participating in all of the fun!! Want to know why I was collecting all of those COCKLE shells on my post The Cockle Collection yesterday?Clark and I will have a decked out Christmas golf cart for the parade decorated with shells (of course) and handing out seashells to the crowd as we ride through on Saturday December 4th. We’ll have a table for Luminary Night giving out more shells and my homemade SAND DOLLAR cookies close to the The Mucky Duck on Saturday night December 4th. We’ll also have a tent at the Holiday Marketplace selling our brand new iLoveShelling tee shirts, caps, tote bags, shelling gear and more on December 10th, 11th and 12th! I’ve had many people ask me if I wear something to identify myself on the beach…. so now I will … and you will too! It’s so exciting!
Christmas shells for Captiva Holiday Village
These are just some of the shells that I am going to be giving away throughout this “extravaganza”. Now you know why I need LOTS of shells and can’t have the ones that break easily (like the SEA URCHINS that I passed up yesterday). Yes, I have my WORMIES in the mix too. I won’t be throwing them out of our cart in the parade but I will have some at my booth at the Holiday Marketplace for you special people out there that are as crazy about them as I am.
"Oh Cone all Ye Faithful" art by pam rambo
Okay, ya’ll- If you are thinking about joining us in any or all of the Holiday festivities, I have the inside scoop on places to stay.
If you want me to help you find a room for a week or weekend, just CONTACT ME HERE and I’ll help you find a great place to stay to help us Shellebrate the Season! Here is an events calendar…… click it to enlarge.
Sarah’s Seashell Chandelier
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Sarah's chandelier
Sarah is one of my best friends but she isn’t a sheller. She does her shelling in my garage when she comes to visit. Sarah is an artist and this shell chandelier is a spectacular piece that she just hung in her home in Virginia Beach this year. Unbelievable! She has such a detailed eye and it shows in every inch of it. She picked the perfect spot to show it off! Gorgeous!
Sarah's chandelier closeup
Stunning, huh?
Two years ago she came to visit for a week so she decided she wanted to make a shell mirror while she was visiting. We went thrift store shopping to find an old frame then I dragged her to the beach to figure out what kinds of shells she wanted to use. We found a few to start but that’s when she decided that picking through our shells in the garage was much easier. Clark teased her that she could only go in there for “supervised visits” so she wouldn’t take the best shells. LOL
Sarah's mirror
She wanted to use a few starfish and sea glass for accents so we went to a few shell shops to find her the perfect finishing touches.
Sarah's mirror closeup
Now you see why I’m so crazy about her…. it was so much fun to spend our time planning her project and to see her create this gorgeous piece before my eyes. Of course, this would be my favorite piece because of the great memory.
Speaking of memories, I will have another good memory from yesterday. I was a nominee for the 2010 Elaine McLaughlin Outstanding Hospitality Service Awards. I didn’t even know that there was such a thing until I got the notification that I was nominated for the category of “Other Services” for iLoveShelling.com. The winners are chosen by a committee with criteria such as satisfaction, work ethic, compassion, and familiarity with our community. Who knew? I didn’t! I didn’t win but it was such an honor to be included with such thoughtful people in our community.
One more day to enter the Write From The Beach GiveAway! Click Here
