Questions, comments?

Do you have questions about sea glass, travels, jewelry?  What is your favorite sea glass color? Where do you collect sea glass?? 

Sea Glass Collectors and Russian Earrings

Russian seaglass earrings wrapped with 14K gold filled wire (not altered -- this is how I found the glass)

This week I had a nice surprise, a seaglass collector sent me some of her finds and a pendant she had made.  It was so sweet, I sent her some Hawaiian seaglass and a pendant, too.  I hope she likes it.  There are so many sea glass artists and collectors out there!   A wonderful organization for you to check out is at the bottom of my Lucky Sea Glass page on my website.  It is Sea Glass Artists and Collectors.  They have a facebook page too.  There is no cost to join, and you can get so much information and maybe even make some online friends.

Seaglass Pins

I've been busy creating pins with the sea glass --- butterflies, spiders, flowers, and even a dachsund yesterday! It is a lot of fun to wear them on a sweater or jacket.  People really do notice them.  I'll post a couple of pictures here but check out the website, too.  http://www.luckyseaglass.com/    

 

Fake or Real Seaglass -- Part II

 I told you yesterday that there is fake, manmade, "artistic", simulated seaglass out there often being sold as authentic, ocean tossed, tumbled seaglass.  Well, today is part II.  Sometimes, people actually take their broken bits of glass which have been machine tumbled, and then put them in mesh bags and leave them near a secret shoreline so that, really, the ocean does tumble them a bit.  Authentic seaglass, however, is a gift of Mother Nature, tossed over years (sometimes a hundred!) so that it gains a frosty, smooth patina unlike the machine tumbled glass you see. 

It is hard, sometimes, to see the difference, I admit, but once you know the shapes of authentic sea glass  (often triangular, heart shaped pieces, but not always), the patina,  frostiness, rareness of some colors, you are well on your way to discriminating between fake and real when you buy sea glass jewelry.
Tomorrow I will give you some books and articles about seaglass to increase your knowledge, if you like!

Fake or real? Seaglass ethics

One of the most controversial issues in the seaglass collectors and artists community is that of all the fake,
"created",  "artistic", "manmade" , counterfeit seaglass that is out there being sold as genuine, tumbled by the sea, natural.  The buyer of seaglass jewelry can find a wide range a prices and colors -- but often the rarest colors like orange and red are not authentic seaglass.  In four years of scouring the world's beached, I have found only a very few pieces of red and no orange!  Cobalt blue is also considered to be a rare find. 

If you just want a seaglass "look", but don't care if it is real, beachcombed seaglass, then that is up to you.  But, know what you are buying!  All of Lucky Sea Glass jewelry is made with personally beachcombed sea glass from around the world!  http://www.luckyseaglass.com/     Good luck to you!

Romania sea glass

On a trip to the Black Sea  ---it was a cruise on the Danube from Bucharest to Budapest -- and we had a side trip to the Black Sea.  I had a chance to walk the shore a little, and found some pieces of seaglass there.   I am just now getting around to creating some designs with the few pieces I found.  Actually, someone had emailed me inquiring about Romanian sea glass and that's what got me going!  I designed this piece, with a heart theme, around the green seaglass.  I think the copper contrasts well.  What do you think?

Where to find seaglass

Greek Seaglass Finds

Okay, I've already wrote about how to find seaglass, so now here's where to look!  In my travels, I have often searched beaches to no avail -- particularly some in Florida along both the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and some places in Hawaii, believe it or not!  However, here I will list some great places.

First of all, the beaches that are known among seaglass collectors -- such as Glass Beach in Fort Bragg, California  (Check out Glass Beach: a seaglass lover's Paradise  by Lisa D. Walker, and look for the Lucky Sea Glass pendant pictured in the book!)  and also Glass Beach in Kauai (the locals are pretty secretive about this).

In Europe, I found a lot of great quality seaglass among the Greek Islands, like Patmos, Mykonos, Amorgos, and Santorini.  You have to be persistent and willing to walk along the beaches near the ports.

Also, near Gibraltar in Spain, I found seaglass at a nearby beach.  I loved finding seaglass near Salvador Dali's casa in Port Llegat, Spain but don't let the fishermen intimidate.

In Russia, I found some seaglass as we disembarked from the hydrofoil from St. Petersburg to visit Catherine's Palace.  And, in Romania, a walk along the Black Sea resulted in a few precious finds.

Whew!  Is that enough for today.,  I will continue soon.  Meanwhile check out my website page which lists a page of where to find seaglass.   http://www.luckyseaglass.com

Trip Planning

Our last trip was Mexico -- in February -- so it's time to start thinking about a trip!  We have lots of frequent flyer miles to use, so we are thinking either Australia or China, or some place far away.  Been to both places before, and loved them.  Do any of you have suggestions?  Of course, I will want to look for sea glass, river glass, whatever.  Hope to hear from some of you -- it is weird writing in a vacuum.

Busy Organizing

This guy is sold, "living" in Chicago!

Yes, I have been busy organizing my inventory of Lucky Sea Glass Jewelry for a couple of upcoming events.  I don't do craft shows, etc. but I do like to have my designs displayed in galleries or shops.  So, that is what I am up to.  If you are interested, check my website.  I can hardly wait to get back to jewelry making, though!  I am having fun with copper and crystals, making butterfly and spider pins! They are attractive and are great conversation pieces, of course, with sea glass, too.  My next project is to take some pictures of them....

Lucky Sea Glass and Golf

This warm weather in the East is fantastic for February.  I actually played golf today for the first time in months -- didn't even need a jacket.  I wore my Lucky Sea Glass golf pendant  (emerald sea glass from Hawaii and sterling silver golf charm), and guess what -- I made a birdie on the last hole.  Can I claim that the necklace brought me good luck?  Check out my website for golf and tennis designs with seaglass.   http://www.luckyseaglass.com/golfandtennisnecklaces.html