It’s officially summer! Looking for a new way to decorate your table? Why not try a coastal themed summer dough bowl!
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Do you need a quick & easy centerpiece? Let me show you how I quickly designed a coastal themed summer dough bowl for my lanai table!
Let’s get started!
Since moving to Florida, I have often incorporated sand dollars, as well as other shells, in dough bowl centerpieces. If you have been following me for awhile, I am sure this comes as no surprise. I do have a bit of a dough bowl addiction!
What Exactly is a Dough Bowl?
How to Decorate a Dough Bowl with A Coastal Theme
Gather the Elements
To design the centerpiece, I am going to combine sand dollars, two shell encrusted spheres, glass balls and a battery candle with a sand dollar motif.
The glass balls covered with a crocheted cover resemble Japanese fishing floats. They are actually meant to be weights to attach to a tablecloth outdoors in order to help hold it in place. I found these adorable glass spheres at my Mom’s house when I was clearing it out. They were tucked in with her supply of picnic items. I almost put them in the donate pile until I actually looked at them and saw how they would fit in the coastal decor at the Florida house!
The shells were part of my Grandmother’s shell collection. My grandparents used to spend the month of January in the Fort Myers Florida area in the late 50s and early 60s and my grandmother would bring back shells. After my grandmother passed away, my Mom ended up with the shell collection.
What Are Sand Dollars?
Sand dollars are actually the skeletons of keyhole urchins. These urchins are found in various places around the world including both the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States. They are somewhat fragile and resemble old American coins or old large Spanish coins.
The Legend of the Sand Dollar
I think this is the perfect thyme to share the story of the Legend of the Sand Dollar. The legend is a story of hope and peace, something we all need right now.
I found a postcard with the Legends of The Sand Dollar in with my Grandmother’s Florida maps and other mementos when I was sorting thru everything during the downsizing process.
The legend tells the story of Christ with symbolism found in the patterns and internal structures of the sand dollar.
The top of the shell has a symbol that looks like a star which signifies the Star of Bethlehem. This is the star that led the Wise Men to the baby Jesus. An outline of an Easter lily surrounds the star. Easter Lilies are a symbol of Christ’s resurrection.
There are five holes in a sand dollar – four around the ends of the star and one in the center. According to the religious legend, the four holes represent the four wounds of Christ when his hands and feet were nailed to the cross. The center hole represents the wound made from a soldier’s spear.
One Last Look At the Coastal Themed Summer Dough Bowl
More Summer Dough Bowl Ideas!
This summer dough bowl centerpiece was fun to make! If you have a baseball lover in your family, you might enjoy making it too! All the details can be found here: How to Style A Round Dough Bowl for the Summer Holidays
A Florida Themed Dough Bowl
We have a screened in entryway that I decorate seasonally. My husband found this adorable metal camper at Aldi’s last summer. It looks a lot like the one my grandparents had when they used to vacation in Florida. Somewhere I have a picture of my grandpa sitting in a lawn chair in front of their camper. Of course, I couldn’t find it to include it in the vignette!
SHOPPING LINKS:
When looking for dough bowls, be sure to pay attention to the dimensions. I recommend something no smaller than 17 inch long if it is rectangle or oval. For a round one, it should be at least 10 inches .
This link is for a 3 pc set: 19 in wooden dough bowl, bead garland and a bag of bowl fillers.
While I haven’t seen this particular dough bowl, I have purchased things from this company when I had my flower shop. Their quality is very good.
This link is for a set of three coastal themed battery operated candles. These will need AA batteries. The set includes a remote!
Large ( 3 to 3 1/2 inch ) sand dollars
If you like, pot pourri in your dough bowl displays, this company makes pot pourri blends right here in the USA!
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Michele Morin says
Those Southern shells!
Kimberly Snyder says
aren’t they lovely? Thanks for stopping by! Have a great Summer!