Once upon a time I was a landlocked mermaid; living in Montreal and then Chicago. 

The Spring of 2011 was an arthritis throbbing, frozen fingers decision maker to move to Florida after a lil thing called the Snowpocalypse. As the snow melted and the streets plowed, my realtor was able to make it to my front door and start the process. In countless trips to the West Coast of Florida, I finally found our new home, just 2 blocks off the water!  I traded in my snow shovel for a sand shovel. 

Walking the beach at sunrise became my new routine while collecting buckets of washed up treasures and oddities, later with my new Granddaughter in tow. After a while during snowbird season I became a makeshift seashell, marinelife and "Don't touch that!" guide to the snowbirds I met on my daily walk. I signed up as a volunteer on turtle watch and several marine cleanup events to help promote ecoawareness while helping marinelife. 

The beach became my therapy and daily dose of vitamin sea. Collecting seashells while placing live shells, sharks, etc back in the water was a daily treat. 

As my garage began to fill with mollusks and bivalves, A lightbulb went off and I started crafting my coastal decor. Soon my teen and I quickly turned our new home from bland to BEACH! An old shed in the backyard and 1/2 of my living room became my studio. 

Some of my first projects were for charitable causes and gifts for friends that urged me to start making more and introduced me to Etsy. 

Since I joined Etsy, I've created roughly 25+ one of a kind hats and misc custom coastal decor for homeowners, restaurants, charitable donations and my favorite customers: Cancer patients. There's a soft spot in my heart for those undergoing cancer treatment, as I lost my Mom to cancer in 2015 and several friends more recently. It's amazing how a simple pretty hat can help a person feel better about themselves, while giving a lil POP to their outfit!

Unfortunately over the 6 yrs I lived in my Coastal Cottage; my new neighborhood started turning progressively worse with drugs/crime/break-ins/worse. It was time for a big decision! Given my daily FT job stress level, working from home while boom boom cars and loud criminals walked the street: I stepped away from my FT job of 22 years in the corporate shark tank so I can focus on Suncreen & Seashells full time.  Also within that time, my Daughter and Granddaughter moved back up to the Midwest and all my best neighbors moved out of the area for safety, which prompted me to sell my Coastal Cottage and move further North in Florida.  Tearily, I loaded up my 3 German Shepherds, rooms of vintage treasures, all of my seashells and supplies, which are now filling my new 2 car garage and driving my BF nuts. 

  Luckily, as I type, the call just came in that a big lofty shed is scheduled to be delivered to my new home next week. I'll blog and post pics as I move along in setting it up and transforming a blank canvas into my new "She-Shed"/Studio. In the interim, I'll be packing up orders, creating special beachy wedding wineglass custom orders, vintage treasure hunting and hitting the beach at sunset when I can. 

Please take a moment and visit me on Facebook @ SunscreenSeashells for a sneak peek at the progress and some fun n beachy isms to start your day.

Stay tuned! New items will be posted soon as I unpack again from the 3rd move and transition into my new home and studio. This is just the beginning of what I hope to be a long, prosperous and rewarding new adventure! Until then, much love and thank you for all of your support!