Some of my new Sea Glass creations...

I was able to capture an image or two of a couple of my newest sea glass creations. These have not yet been listed in any of my online stores, though I did display them at a handmade show this past Sunday. I'm not sure how many people saw them tho, it poured and weather kept almost everyone away....tho some hearty-souls did come out after the deluge of rain.

I should have a few new sea glass jewelry pieces during the week to share...hopefully before they go into my online shops.

'til next time...
R

Old Ideas Equal New Creations....

In my last update on this blog, I mentioned that I was planning on taking some old ideas and turning them into new creations. Since this past weekend's weather made it hard to plan outings in advance, I found time to get to my crafting table to plot & scheme and I came up with plans for a few sea glass mobiles.

I also finally got around to making a few pictures using sea glass and as soon as I clear out all of the vacation photos from my memory card, I'll add take pictures of the sailboat picture and the dragonfly picture (the dragonfly was pieced together oh, about 14 or 15 months ago..lol... and now she's finally in a frame)

I have a few more plans to execute by the middle of September and a lot more creating to do by then. DH doesn't know it yet, but he has a whole bunch of sea glass waiting for holes and if I get a chance today, I'm going to add more to his "to drill list" : )

Oh yea, I also created a few more piece of sea glass jewelry... the images above are a couple of the creations I was able to capture images of before the skies became overcast. The purple sea glass necklace is just gorgeous and the image does the shard little justice...it's currently on Etsy and the olive sea glass w/seahorse charm will go into my Etsy shop later today.

Hopefully I'll have some images of the sea glass mosaics for the next update.

'til next time...

R

Lots of creating to do... new sea glass creations, old ideas...

For the longest time, I've wanted to use my sea glass in other creations. I used to decorate picture frames with sea glass and I think it's time to incorporate some of my sea glass with my collection of other ocean/beach findings into something a bit different than my handmade sea glass jewelry.

It's not that I'm bored with making jewelry...but it is about all the great beach finds that may not be jewelry quality. I think that I may have been viewing these pieces as less than desirable when they are sitting on the table, drying after their warm water, mild dish soap bath.

They were not viewed that way when I found them on the beach... they were treasured finds. But when I get them home and evaluate if they are jewelry quality, it's almost like I view them as not good enough. But they are and always have been, just maybe not for jewelry.

So I'm now excited that it's time for something completely different (yes, I borrowed that from Monty Pythons...lol) So once again, I'm experimenting with sea glass and hope to have a few new items to add to my shop. For right now, I'm not going back to creating jewelry with glass beads or semi-precious stones... I'm sticking with my passion- sea glass.

But this time, those pieces that were not quite good enough are just perfect for what I have in mind. And that excites me, just as much as it did when I spotted these ocean gems lying in the surf, begging for me to pick them up.

The images above are just a few of my latest sea glass necklaces and I have several more pieces of jewelry to share (hopefully the next images are shared BEFORE they are listed)

'til next time...

R

Electric Blue, Opinions, New Items & Works In Progress

In my other blog ( http://dabblewithcrafts.blogspot.com) I mentioned that my Electric Blue Sea Glass Necklace has received several opinions as to the origin of the shard of glass used in the necklace.

I have already blogged about Richard LaMotte's (author of "Pure Sea Glass") thoughts about the piece coming from a possible 19the century antique art glass piece. In his book, there is an example of the art glass decoration that he is referring to and it certainly does look like the markings on the picture of the decoration and sea glass to be very similar.

I also received a few opinions on a sea glass site I belong to on the internet and one opinion comes from someone that I would consider an expert in the area that this piece came from. This long-time collector said she has seen a few pieces in this color and said it comes from decorative windows found in Victorian houses.

Understanding that neither of the two experts in the sea glass field have actually held the piece in their hands and are only stating their opinions by viewing 5 images I used to list my necklace on Etsy, makes this even more interesting. A large part of me wants to cancel the listing and hold onto the piece until next October's Sea Glass Festival, in hopes that I can bring it to both for further observation (and bring it to a few of the other far knowledgeable collectors for more opinions) The Electric Blue Sea Glass Necklace can be viewed in my Etsy mini in the right hand column of this blog...to see the rest of the images (and maybe add your thoughts of origin to the mix) click on the piece to see the 4 other images.

On the other hand, maybe not really knowing what this beautiful blue piece of sea glass was in it's former life, gives the necklace an air of mystery... and perhaps the future owner of this creation would enjoy the search of unlocking the answer to the mystery.

Pieces like this come few and far between and these are the pieces that make going out on the beach in sub-freezing temperatures worth the effort. I never know what I'll find on the beach and the allure of finding another beautiful piece, one filled with questions that may never be answered... but have much speculation, makes each hunt so exhilarating.

Sea glass hunters know there is an incredible gem sitting just off the surf, tumbling around, waiting for the tide to drop it on the beach. It may not be that day and may not be that stretch of beach, but one day it will present itself when the time is right and hopefully, I'll be there first to claim it.

I'm still waiting on my shipment of sterling silver and I'm planning to do a little drilling to make some bracelets and possibly some earrings (all sea glass of course). I have a few teal pieces that don't match up well enough to make earrings with, but I'm holding hope to find enough to make a bracelet and the same goes with the smaller red pieces I have. There is a bunch of cobalt blues and cornflower blues that will be used in some creations, along with some very frosty clear/white pieces and a handful of greens.

And as always, I'll try to post images before the items are listed in my shops! Pictured above is a very pretty lavender sea glass necklace...

'til next time...
R