As an avid sea glass & shipwreck pottery collector - my passion for these fragments leads me on numerous coastal journeys. I have traveled all up and down the East Coast - hunting as I go along. Collecting has also taken me beyond the US as well. I love to explore places that can't be accessed by foot. To do so, we often kayak to islands offshore to collect.
The best times to collect usually are in the fall and spring at low tide because of all the storms that churn up the oceans floor. Full moons also bring forth many unexpected jewels... and always high & low tide lines are full of goodies. Just as a cop never reveals an informant - a sea glass collector never shares their "secret" collecting spots. Rocky inlets or beaches around a harbor usually yield the best results. Depending upon the tide, how rough the surf and/or rocky the beach is will produce different glass. I find glass that is thicker, more porous and frosted on a beach that has a rough surf with a lot of rocks. With calmer surf and a sandier beach you can find more translucent glass - yet still frosted it is not as thick.
Since I started collecting sea glass - I always wondered where they have been, what they were and who might have once possessed the item from which the piece was a part of. I love recycling, or "upcycling", these found objects into wearable art and true heirloom pieces that can be passed on through generations.
Said to be the next "semi-precious" stone of this time, sea glass is becoming increasingly more difficult to find due to environmental awareness and rising popularity. Such awareness promotes beach clean-ups, proper trash disposal, decreased "ocean dumping" and lastly, people aren't burning their trash on the beaches like they did years ago. Technology is also a reason for the decrease in sea glass. As the years passed we became smarter, thus improving on technology. Such improvements in the shipping industry lead to safer travel on the seas. That meant a sizable decrease in shipwrecks that were carrying personal items as well as trade cargo. Over the years, those pieces of history have washed upon the shores, carrying with them memories of distant lands, and have been transformed into tiny jewels that are sought from beachcombers around the world.
These pictures were from out latest travels on the North Shore - June 14th. My older daughter, Taylor and my brother Eric set out to a nearby island to collect. The last picture on the right is what we collected on shore and on the island that day. Not even half of what is pictured will be "usable" for jewelry.
I am in the Artisan Magazine, published by Artisan Impact of Etsy, which is scheduled for an 80,000 distribution in the US and Canada in late May and early June. 
You can also find me in the sponsorship section of the Underdog ResQ brochure, regarding the upcoming BBQ fundraiser in June, in which I donated a set of my work.
The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day to live by the coast... a nice meandering ride up through picturesque New England towns, dinner at a well liked spot downtown and sweet goodness for the ride home - what could have been better!
My mother, two daughters and myself went out for Mother's Day this year. We left on our adventure up the New England North Shore Coast to Cape Ann... Gloucester. Known as a fishing port, Gloucester is a diamond in the ruff... and there is a lot to see and do without spending money!
Summer is on it's way and notoriously the busiest wedding season of all. Couples flock to the surf and sand in hopes of creating that magical setting the shore seems to offer.
When I was in the process of planning my own wedding, we were on a very strict budget as most are. It was then my fiance and myself chose to do the invitations, favors and many other "wedding" items ourselves. This was a huge money saver... but not a time savor. Hand creations take time - but there is more love put into something you make than something you buy. People notice and appreciate this. I was searching and searching for ides for favors... coming up with the same "done-to-death" idea after another. That is when I went rummaging around my storage room... and since we were having an "Ocean" themed wedding... this was perfect. I had collected so much sea glass over the years (because of my jewelry biz) that I decided it would be great to use the glass in favors. I purchased glass bottles of different shapes and sizes and filled them with the shards I had collected. I had to return to the shores many times to collect smaller pieces as well... I had many bottles to fill - about 80 - so that meant many hours of beach combing. I enlisted my family in the hunt... and before I knew it, I had more than enough glass. My guests loved them and they were something they could keep - put on a window, counter, piece of furniture - whatever they chose it was the perfect seaside decoration! Listed below are the materials and simple instructions on creating "Sea Glass in a Bottle" favors for your special day!
Materials:
1. Glass bottles with cork stoppers: Can be purchased at a craft store for less than $1.00 per bottle.
2. Sea Glass: Beach comb for the glass if you are near the shore or you can purchase "faux" glass from craft stores, the Internet or Ebay, however, they should be small enough to fit in the opening of the bottles.
3. Glue: Any craft glue will do.
Raffia: You can choose the plain tan or there are different color variations as well to choose from.
4. Avery business cards or thick card stock and cutter: Purchase these at your local office supply store in ivory or white. If you choose not to hand write them you will need a computer with a printer and visit the Avery web site to get the specifications of your business cards to design them or you can use Microsoft word and create a template. Also - as seen in the picture - I used a heavy card stock, and a scrapbook paper cutter to make the tags.
5. Single Hole Punch: There are many designs to choose from
To begin, print your tags out using which ever format you have decided upon. If you choose to make your tags from (as shown in my picture example) you will need to cut your card stock down to the desired lengths - stamp them each with a decorative stamp of your choice and write them out as you wish. Take your hole punch and punch one hole in each of the tags in the upper left or right hand corner. You should also pre-cut your raffia into desired lengths - long enough to tie a bow around the bottle neck. Next, you want to start filling the glass bottles with the sea glass. You might need to use a small funnel to make it easier if possible. Once all the bottles have been filled, place a ring of glue around the cork stoppers and place them back into the bottles. Now take your raffia and affix a tag to each bottle, finishing with a bow. You can even use recycled baskets or galvanized buckets to hold your favors in - also adding the the rustic seaside charm.
You have just created your very own beautiful "Sea Glass in a Bottle" favors that will be timeless keepsakes for all of your wedding guests!
