Sailboat and Sales

 I sold six designs yesterday which was great.  I love it when you enjoy my creations.  And I want to share this sailboat design.  First I found two sea glass pieces from Hawaii that together look like a sailboat, then I epoxyed them together.  Lastly, I used sterling silver wire to create a "mast" and a little wave --- and the seaglass sailboat hangs from a silver plated bail on a beautiful serpentine silver overlay chain.  It's not on my website yet, but I will get to it soon.  Let me know what you think.

Easy Storage Tip For Earrings

a black button

I came across this great idea for organizing your earrings so they don't get lost in your jewelry box or when you are traveling. Just take some old buttons and put the earring hook through the hole and secure it with an earring back. Voila! Here are some examples.

white button

Fancy blue button

 

Ft.Lauderdale finds

A week of sun and rain in Ft. Lauderdale.  Ididn't find any  seaglass, but did find  some shells .

Florida has sandy beaches which often have little or no sea glass.  Recently I checked the  Sea Glass Artists and Collectors site and found that many people report little success with finding sea glass in Florida.  I am so grateful for my many Amelia Island finds!

I have been wearing this new design with blue sea glass from Puerto Rico.  I used gold filled wire and added Swarovski crystals.  I always wear a piece of sea glass jewelry from my collection for good luck!

Guest Post For You To Visit

I was asked to  write a post on another site.  Please check it out.
I hope you like it!
http://www.cravehandmade.com/a-passion-for-sea-glass
sea glass guest post

Is sea glass valuable?

Sea glass is valuable. That is, genuine, beachcombed, pure sea glass that has not been machine tumbled or artificially created.  Art glass is lovely, but it is not sea glass.  You can purchase real sea glass from reputable dealers.  Jewelry grade sea glass is not glassy, is opaque and smooth to the touch -  no sharp edges.  The Greek and Bermuda sea glass I have found is mostly jewelry grade.  I carefully select what I use in jewelry.  Of course, bonfire sea glass has more texture to it, but it is still  not sharp or glassy.  Sea glass is becoming rarer,
 so its value is increasing.  Hence, more sea glass imitators!

This and That

I've been asked to guest blog on two different sites, so I will let you know where when it happens.  Should be real soon! 

Today, I visited one of "my" shops, where they sell Lucky Sea Glass, and the shop owner told me she recently sold several of my designs.  It is so much easier for customers when they can actually see the jewelry!  Anyway, soon I am going to improve my facebook shop and maybe even be able to sell internationally.  What do you think? 

My next trip?  Fort Lauderdale, Florida!  I don't think I'll find sea glass there on the sandy beach, but at least it will be warm.

More About Artificial, Man-made " Sea Glass"

I've been thinking about opening a shop on Etsy, so today I did some browsing.  I found a very popular "Sea Glass" shop -- over 400 items and lots of customers.  But, I started to wonder why there were so many rare colors, low prices on some items (not all -- a mirror sells for over $1000), so I read the details.  Here is what it says

" My sea glass is actually man made recycled glass, not genuine sea glass. While I LOVE genuine sea glass, I use far too much of it to use the real thing-- my items would be incredibly expensive with it!! But, having said that, I get a lot of customers who say they prefer the brighter colors and bigger assortment I can offer with man made recycled glass."

So, here is another example of how customers can be mislead.  The items are sold as sea glass.  If you want genuine, beachcombed sea glass, please check out my website.  I am still not sure about Etsy!

A Couple of Designs With Sea Glass from Puerto Rico

I found a small blue heart sea glass piece near Ponce and added it to a larger white heart, then surrounded them with 14K gold filled wire filligree.  The other design is aqua sea glass with sterling silver twisted wire and a magenta glass pearl on a sterling silver plated chain.  Hope you enjoy them.

Did You Ever... Sea Plastic??

I was browsing in a bookstore yesterday  (yes, they still exist) and came across a book called Wild Jewelry.  The author describes how to wire wrap beach pebbles, sea glass, and sea plastic.  I never even considered the latter.  When I find so much plastic on the beach, I just ignore it.  This author enjoys the patina and worn look on plastic pieces that have been tumbled by the ocean.  What do you think?

Sea Glass Pandora Style Bracelet and Heart Pendant

I just had to share these two heart seaglass designs.  I  hope you enjoy them.