Using Multi-Colored Sea Glass In My Jewelry Creations

Recently I've had a little love affair with multi-colored sea glass. I find the colors so fascinating and the possibilities of what I can create using a multi intrigues me. But after watching the reactions of some of my customers at shows and the results of my sales online and in consignment shops, I'm not sure how accepted these creations are.

The UK is quite famous for it's multi-colored sea glass or "end of day" glass. When glass making was popular, several decades ago, many glass companies in the UK were located very close to the sea. The companies often tossed whatever glass was unusable or left over at the end of the day into the sea. And the ocean would do what the ocean does... break large shards into smaller pieces, tumble the sharp edges smooth and leech out the chemicals used to make glass.

What is left are gorgeous sea glass gems and they are truly quite different from much of the sea glass we find here in North America (not that we don't have multi-colored sea glass here... we just don't have nearly as much as the UK)

I'm not sure if some of my regular customers realize that the pieces really are authentic sea glass or if they just don't appeal to them, but watching some of their reactions becomes amusing sometimes because the glass often looks so fantastic in the light, but will appear a bit darker in front of a solid, dark background.

Maybe multi-colored sea glass is going to take a bit of time for some folks to get used to. To me, some of them are quite gorgeous... and I know I'll be adding a few multies to my personal sea glass jewelry collection in the very near future!


Craft Shows for July

July 11th- OM Baby, Pt. Pleasant, NJ 12pm-6pm 20+ EtsyNJ members will pack the front, inside and the back of the studio for the Summer OM Baby show!!
July 18th- The Handmade Faire, Summer of Love. Freedom Park, Medford, NJ over 100 crafters offering a wide array of handmade creations... it's THE show in NJ!!
August 1st- Lacey CrabFest and Craft Show, Lacey Rd, Forked River, NJ. Yea, it's a weird little combo, but it works! The show is in it's 9th year and the CrabFest in it's 13th. Come check out the handmade creations while sampling some great summer-time eats.

'til next time....

R

My sea glass hunt is rained out .....

I hoped to sneak away this morning to hit the beach and do a solo sea glass hunt. However, Mother Nature changed my mind. A drizzle that turned into a steady rain and morphed into a down pour keeps me in the house.

And I swear that there was going to be some beauties lying along the high tide line today : (

So, I'm taking a short coffee break to blog, share images of a couple of pieces that are going to their new home on the west coast (to a fellow sea glass collector) before I sit down to my craft table and create a few new sea glass creations for my shops and my upcoming summer craft shows.

Maybe I can sneak off to the beach tomorrow...here's hoping the ocean understands my plight and leaves something pretty behind for me to find!!

It's Been a Long Time....

... since I updated this blog...Wow, a very long time!
I joined a few sea glass forum sites and I guess it's has sucked up all my blogging time. These sites are full of great information and I've learned a great deal about sea glass in other areas of the country, along with collecting habits of those that live overseas. The time I have spent on one site in particular is time well spent...it unfortunately comes at the expense of my blogs and I hope to get back to blogging a bit more.

Despite spending a lot of time sharing info on these sites (and I learn probably 10x the amount compared to what I share with them) I have been quite busy creating several new sea glass creations, most of which are consigned to brick and mortar shops. I do have a lot of sea glass that needs to be drilled for new creations, along with several choice beauties that I will be wire wrapping for necklaces.

In addition, I plan on adding a few anklets, wine charm sets and decorating picture frames with sea glass, shells, ocean stones and driftwood. Some of these new additions will find their way into my online shops and others will end up in the shops where I currently have my handmade sea glass jewelry.

Tomorrow, I'm hoping to get to the beach to go hunting for sea glass... I need to find some new pieces for some of these new creations. It's truly a beautiful thing....I go to the beach to pick up supplies for my creations : ) The beaches of the world are like my Michael's or Fire Mountain Gems. Walking along the beach looking for sea glass has always been one of my passions... it's relaxing, the views are quite nice and when I'm the only person on the beach, it's extremely calming. So the top item on my to-do list tomorrow is to go beach gem shopping... it's great to know that my money is no good there too : )

My summer craft show schedule still shows quite a few pending shows, but it is beginning to come together and I'm also booking fall/holiday shows (which I'll share when the shows get closer)

My handmade sea glass creations will be at-

-The Barnegat Bay Festival on June 7th, in Island Heights, NJ
-The Field Dog Expo on June 13th in Medford, NJ (lots of handmade crafters at this show!)
-The NJ Maritime History Handmade Show on June 27th at the Museum of New Jersey Maritime History in Beach Haven (Long Beach Island) NJ this show is still pending -permits
- OM Baby Handmade Show-on July 11th in Point Pleasant, NJ
- The Handmade Faire on July 18th in Medford, NJ this show is also still pending and I'm crossing my fingers that it goes off- it's probably the best show in central/southern NJ!!!

Hopefully I'll have a few nice pieces of sea glass to share with you for my next post.


'til next time...
R

Articles on Crafting

Every once in awhile , I sit down and feel like writing an article. quite often, I pair my love for crafting with my love of writing. Here are a few of the crafting articles I've submitted to be published on the Internet...perhaps a few would make good reading over the holidays.

My very first crafting article was about Etsy.com...
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/424772/move_over_ebay_make_room_for_etsy.html?cat=24

Of course, my love for Sea Glass would lead to an article (or 2)
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/418088/beach_glass_trash_or_an_antique_gem.html?cat=24

One of my favorite articles... A craft I knew very little about, but was surprised by how baby bags have been improved upon by the handmade community...
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/819899/buy_handmade_diaper_bags_created_by.html?cat=25

This article was created in hopes that the info would help a new crafter to have a successful, stress-free craft show-
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1134080/selling_your_handmade_items_at_a_craft.html?cat=7

This article is just a look at some of the behind the scenes of locating sea glass...
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1290738/beachcombing_for_sea_glass.html?cat=24


Just a few fun and hopefully informative articles. Maybe your craft will be the next I'll write about (and maybe it will feature your work...you never know )


Happy Holidays and a Healthy & Happy New Year to all!

til next time...
R