Craft Shows and Such...

Fall is a great time for craft and antique shows, the air is cooler and Christmas is coming (oh yes it is!) so you have an excuse to shop!  My husband mentioned an ad in the newspaper calling for crafters for a local show.  He thought that it would be fun to sell some of my beach glass jewelry there.  It's always nicer talk with people face to face and answer any question about the origin of beach glass. 

Well the show was this past weekend and it was a glorious weather day.  The sky was so blue.  It was a wonderful contrast to the pumpkins and chrysanthemums.  

As you can imagine, I talked to a lot of people about beach glass!  Many remembered picking it up when they were young and told me stories about where they found it.  Some had traveled to different parts of the country or different parts of the world and had recollections about their finds.  Some said that they still had a jar full.  One couple bought bags of beach glass for their daughters.  They said they had lived in California years ago and remembered a TON of beach glass at the beach in Fort Bragg, CA.  It is even named "Glass Beach".   It used to be a huge dump, so there are all kinds of bits of glass from bottles to car windows.   Sadly, they didn't keep any and bought the glass for their girls who were fascinated with their story.  Here is a link to more information about it in case you are visiting California.  Glass Beach

If anyone has been to this fabulous beach, let me know if the pictures are true.....looks like lots of great smooth pieces!

This weekend made me remember selling my things at craft/antique shows in my "other life".  Before I moved to Maryland, I lived in New England.  In this former life I was an Antique dealer who sold at "group" shops and shows in the New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts areas.  I have great memories of the whole thing - conveniently forgetting all the hard work! There was a little show that my friends and I used to do in early October in a quaint New Hampshire town called Kingston.  This show was on the village common in the center of town where the dealers set up.   It was a grassy square with a lovely small, white bandstand.  The mature maple trees all around the edge of the green were turning beautiful colors of oranges, yellows and reds and the two story antique houses, church and town hall that ringed the square were mostly white with black shutters (very New England!).  

I'll be back in New England this weekend visiting family and I think that a side trip to Kingston will be on my list of things to do.  Also a little antiquing!

A Change is Coming!

I like to reflect the changing of the seasons in my house.  Not just by putting out holiday things, but also changing the feel of the house.....making a warm nest for the coming chill.  Maybe  I'll change the slipcovers from white to a darker color and put out some textured, deeper hued pillows.  More throws, with a heavier weight and weave placed around and also more candles tells you it's fall.  Sometimes I move the furniture for a cozy-up-to-the-fireplace orientation. 

And sometimes I go shopping in my closets and find things that were not right before, but are now.   I don't know why that is, it just is.

I also put some of my beach things away, like the clear cylinder of shells and some special "finds" that are sitting out.  There are my favorites however, that don't get put away regardless of the season.  Some things I just love to look at and have around me.

One of my favorite things is this Mussel shell wreath.  I bought this a long time ago when I lived in New England and didn't live near the beach at all. 

On the Atlantic shore, the mussel shells would get so "pearly" from being scraped on the sand so many times.

As I can remember, it was pretty expensive for me, especially since I didn't have a beach theme going at all!  But, I couldn't resist and just had to have it (even though I thought that I could probably make one!).  

I kept it in an old hatbox with tissue for years.  When we bought our property on the water and moved in it was one of the first things I put up.  My husband was amazed at this and all the other "Beach" things that I had stashed away in the hopes of one day living by the water.   It's good to be a little mysterious!



  These have more blue in them and are larger than the same type of shells I find in Maryland.

 Another great find was this (sort of) old carved hull on a stand.  For a while, I used it for all our remote controls in the Living room.  We called it the "Remote Boat"!  Now I have several small old sweetgrass baskets from New England in it that are a lot more interesting!  I will change this out with mini pumpkins or fresh pine to follow the season.  In the summer, shells alone or with sand looks great.  I think one summer I put sand and old photos of family at the beach in it - that was fun! 

There are some things that I love from Christmas also that don't get put away.  One of my current favorites (from last Christmas), is this lamp base with growing partridge berry plants in it.  I got them in my friend's back yard and just plopped them into the container.  They have been growing since last November, without the addition of water.

They are in the bottom of the lamp and are sealed in there.  We used to make "berry jars" for Christmas like that, putting the partridge berries into small jars and sealing the top with cling wrap and a ribbon.  They would last a long time.

 The original moisture just keeps circulating!

Another find is this unfinished boat hull.  I was at a Christmas Fair in Maine two years ago and I saw it above a doorway   It was filled with greens and red berries and I wasn't even sure it was for sale!  But luckily the ladies of the church decided to sell it to me.  In the summer I put starfish in it, but in winter I'll have it decked out with something green or sparkly! 

One year, I went to a local auction and got this great thick, leather heart with bells on it!  Since the auction was at a farm, I think it was for horses or a sleigh?  Anyone know?  Anyway, I LOVED it!  Needless to say, this Christmas decoration is up all year at my house.   I just couldn't bear to put it away.  It is on my door and jingles when anyone comes or goes.  Delightful!



My most favorite though, is my reproduction Victorian fish bowl filled with Beach Glass!  These are my most wonderful finds put into a container that is always on my counter to delight and inspire!

To get you in the mood for autumn, click here for music and pictures.

Give me a Break!

Hopefully everyone has been reading some of my earlier posts while I was on a break...literally!  I possibly fractured or bruised (couldn't tell from the x-rays) my ribs in a minor (very minor) car accident and I have been out of commission for a bit.  It seems that your ribs are integral to most of your body's movement (who knew!).  Anyway, it's been uncomfortable to do much for any amount of time.  The medicine that I took at night, which I am grateful for, left me groggy a lot of the day.  So, here I am back again!  Able to move almost quite normally.  (I will be using the groggy thing for awhile to mask any age-related forgetfulness!)

So, speaking of breaks ....

While taking a short walk on the beach with my husband (he did the "bend-and-pick-up" for me), we found a lovely piece of frosted treasure with some lines in it.  My husband said it would make a great piece of jewelry, but I hesitated.  You see, the lines in some of the glass that I find look like cracks and I'm not sure they would be as fascinating to someone buying a jewelry item as they are to me.  Most of these cracks are surface but I can't tell how deep they are and I'm not sure how stable they would be.   Here is an enhanced photo of the piece to show the detail.


Aqua shard with many lines of "crizzling"


This crizzling in glass is the effect of weathering.  Wet glass that is exposed to freezing can sometimes form surface cracks.  These surface cracks are straight lines that over time (wetting and freezing) can actually fracture the glass into triangular shapes. 

Beach glass group with weathering cracks

A large piece can fracture  over and over again creating smaller and smaller pieces.  These are tumbled in the sand by waves and eventually end up smooth triangle shaped shards of beach glass.  It will take 30-50 years of tumbling to round off the edges of these newly broken pieces.  This fact always amazes me!


These are small, kind of sharp-shaped triangles that have had their edges smoothed.

Small, squat triangles of cobalt beach glass

 These are longer triangles.


Long thin triangles, with smoothed edges.






















But these triangles have been worn smooth and rounded!  Probably some early medicine bottles that have been breaking and tumbling for 50 years.



Triangles that have been smoothed over time

 So, you can see why the triangle is the most common shape that I find.   Short and fat or long and thin, these triangles have a history we can only guess at!

I want to share a story that is not about beach time/decor/jewelry.  It's inspirational. 

My step daughter graduated from college with a degree in International Business.  She worked for awhile, but realized her passion was still in Medicine.  She made the hard decision to go back to school while working and living in Atlanta, GA.  But, prior to taking the MCAT for Medical School, she broke her wrist. This necessitated a trip to the orthopedic surgeon. When her wrist healed, she started thinking about where her brace would end up. Landfill?? Unacceptable.

After some investigating, she discovered that there wasn’t any organization recycling these orthopedic items. Surplus orthopedic equipment from people who recover their breaks and sprains was being mostly thrown away or stored until it was thrown away at some future date. She thought that this was a waste and bad for our planet. She also knew that there were many uninsured/under insured people in her Atlanta area who needed this gently used equipment. She saw an opportunity, so she founded Embraced Atlanta, a non-profit business that recycles orthopedic items - crutches, wheel chairs and gently used prosthetics to name a few. http://www.embracedatlanta.org/

Since it was founded over a year and a half ago, Embraced has supported local needs and national/global disasters. The momentum is growing. She was recently on a local Atlanta radio show and got a chance to talk about her passion.  If you have a few minutes, please listen:

 http://wsrvfm.media.streamtheworld.com/audio/river_current_725_100787191.mp3

Her current fundraiser in Atlanta is a “Battle of the Burgers” http://www.battleoftheburgers.com/ (October 2nd, 2010 at John Howell Park in the VA Highlands) featuring Gureline as an honorary judge. Guerline was the only survivor from her class following the Haitian Earthquake. Her left arm was crushed with no way of saving it. Guerline is currently in Atlanta being fitted for a prosthetic arm. Embraced is currently helping Guerline to obtain the funding for this prosthetic arm through various fundraising efforts.

I would like Lauren to be recognized for her contribution so that others might be inspired to help her with her goal to expand awareness and service of this remarkable effort.

Thank you  : )

Canoe and Beach Glass Adventure

OK, so it's Saturday afternoon and the "must do" chores are done....how do we spend the rest of the day???   The weather was nice, a little breeze off the water and not too warm perfect for a beach glass outing in the canoe!  So, my husband and I decided to take the new (old) canoe out - first time for me in this one.  It's a used Old Town Canoe made in Maine.  

(old) Old Town canoe

 Destination???  Well, I am always on the lookout for new beach glass locations and there was this nice beach not too far away that usually has quite a few pieces.  So, we paddled over.

Beach with lots of stuff!

When we pulled the canoe up on the beach, first thing I saw was this wonderful piece of lime green in a great earring size!  My day was made!  I just love finding different colors!

Lime green glass on the beach

This was a good omen I thought and I was right....I found more of the same color!  It's so, so, so unusual to find the same size AND shape, but a piece for a pendant also....Heaven!!  Here is the trio:

Future lime green earring and pendant

I can't wait to see how they turn out!  I haven't decided what color crystal or pearls to pair with them.  Sometimes it's nice to have a real contrast.  I just went to my favorite gem show and got a lot of new Swarovski crystals.  I got some chocolate brown opaque that might be interesting. 

I also find lots of white glass, as you would expect.  This time there were some great patterns and some with writing on them.  These are always fun and I love the way the pendants look.

Frosted white glass with patterns and words!

My husband had the find of the day though....this amazing piece of real purple.  This is not the glass that turns  lavender or purple from the sun.  This is a GENUINE purple glass shard.  It's big too....hard to tell from the photo, but it's about 2 1/ 2 inches.  This would make a great pendant.  The front has designs - it must have been a decorative piece like a vase. 

Purple glass with decoration

The back is plain but nicely frosted and would be a good "flip" side for a pendant. 

Back side of purple shard

Today my husband won the prize for the "best" beach glass.  We laughed at the competition between us and then went for a swim, clothes and all!

I "Heart" the Beach!

When my kids were little we lived in New England.  Since the ocean was only 20 minutes away we always went to the beach - summer and winter!  It was a great place for them to run around and get rid of some of that energy!  I always know they slept better....and so did I!

Beach at Newcastle, NH

Even back then we looked for interesting things on the beach.  Most of the time it was something "alive" in a small pail of water (ugh!), but sometimes it was a shell or pretty rock. 

Newcastle, NH

When they got a little older, I'd make a game out of finding certain shapes.  One of my favorite was the heart!   The rock or bit of shell that was the most 'perfect' heart won the prize.

When I got re-married, my new husband hadn't been through this game!  So, while on a trip to the Outer Banks one year I told him about the tradition.  Larry is keen on finding things of interest too, so he got right into it.  It was a challenge between the two of us that week to find bits of shell and rocks that most looked like "hearts"! 

I kept them in a box and for Valentines Day that year I fastened some of the pretty shell ones onto some "I Love You" paper and put them in a frame. 

 We now have it hanging in a spare bedroom at our beach house.   It triggers so many great memories!

When you are out at the beach, lake or river with your loved ones, make a memory out of it by preserving some of the fun in a keepsake!

Fabulous Friday!

Storm Over the Marsh

We love to watch the storms come over the island or up the river.  The clouds and shoots of lightning are so beautiful.  Lately, our storms don't produce anything but the show.  Well, we actually had rain with the storm last night and this morning the breeze off the water is dryer, fresh and cool-ish!  Yea!  It's been so muggy, which is intolerable for this New England girl.  So I will enjoy it as long as it lasts!

Today I have my watercolor class in the morning and friends coming for dinner.  I am making crab cakes for them with crabs caught off our pier, picked by my husband and I and made with my (not so) secret recipe.  My friend Nancy will be picking some home grown Arugula, tomatoes and raspberries to bring for our salad and I will go to the Amish market for a fat, sleek watermelon.  Sadly, I have no tomatoes as the deer have left us just stalks.  Hopefully they will keep growing (tomatoes not the deer!).

Sad Little Garden

For my watercolor class, I just have to go to my friend Susan's on the other side of the island.  She is an accomplished painter and we are so lucky to have her in the community.  I could actually bike to her house if I didn't have all my supplies to carry :)  We are working on a picture of the reconstructed Blackstone Lighthouse on St. Clement's Island.   It's a bit detailed and we just started so no photos of it yet.  I'll let you know how it comes out.

Original Blackstone Lighthouse

Susan wants me to make her a pair of earrings made with cobalt blue glass.  She likes these but....

Cobalt Beach Glass Earrings on Etsy

... she only wears gold so I'll have to custom make them for her.  I'm bringing her some pieces of glass so she can pick what she wants. She also collects beach glass on our island, but doesn't have the right ones for earrings.  Blue is pretty rare to find.  She did show me a wonderful piece of pottery that she found with a picture of a woman perfectly framed within the size of the shard.  That would make a great pendant!  The pottery shards are so interesting!  I've seen some that have parts of the original decoration on it with some wonderful results.  Sometimes you get a whole flower, bird or, in Susan's case, a person!

Beach House Details

My friend Kat at Low Tide High Style recently had a contest to win a pair of my beach glass earrings.  Hope you all got a chance to enter! 
If you check out her Blog today you'll see some photos that she took of my beach house!  I know that we are so fortunate to live in a great spot like this.  Larry and I wonder at our luck every day!

I thought everyone would like to see some more details, so I have taken a few photos for you.  Remember, Kat is a far better photographer than I am!  Here is a photo of the outside that she took so you can see all the porches!

In the pictures of the living room that Kat took you may have noticed funny looking things on the wall.  These are old corbels - a carved wooden bracket that was used to support a wall or porch roof.  You will see these on many old homes.  When the homes get remodeled, these are thrown away or (hopefully) sold as architectural elements on their own.  I have many (too many!) and put them around the house to set things on.  One has a starfish and one has a small bird decoy.  The grungy old paint makes them even better I think!  I like them because they fit in narrow spaces and add so much texture.

Corbel and Mussel Shell Wreath

The wreath in the photo is made from New England mussel shells that have been bleached and worn by the waves.  Some are so pearly and some worn a soft blue.  Another example of nature's gifts, found things that can be transformed to elegant accessories.

And this painted shell I found at a flea market was also transformed from the ordinary to special.  Someone else knew the beauty of a found object.

Primitive Painted Shell

When I go out searching for beach glass, I often find feathers from our native birds.  Over the years, I've collected them all in a small crock.  I keep it on top of my wall clock - so the kitty-boys don't get it.  I've learned this the hard way!

Maryland Native Bird Feathers

I love collecting interesting things, don't we all?  I especially like natures perfect elements ..... and they're usually free!

The Best Show Around....Nature!

We never get tired of just looking at the beautiful nature around us here on the island. The changing water and sky colors remind me of beach glass. Sometimes the water can be aqua, sometimes it's teal. When there is a storm, the water turns dark blue. I try to capture the soft, sunny colors and the dark stormy colors in some of my beach glass jewelry. These necklaces show the two personalities of the water I think.

 

My pallet of colors can change to suit my mood too. Sometimes I feel like making something bold, and sometimes gently delicate.  Don't you love the wonderful colors of beach glass!

Weather by the shore can be unpredictable.  When we first lived next to the water, there were several incidents of soaked carpet when windows were left open - we don't ever leave them open now!  Once my husband thought he could take a quick trip to the store without closing up the house.  The sky was clear and sunny.  In the 10 minutes it took him to get home the sky got dark, windy and rainy.  The wind blew the rain in the windows and french doors --- all the loose papers in his office flew around, got wet and stuck to the walls!  What a mess!   We do laugh at it now!  I'll bet everyone who lives near the water has some stories - want to share?

We were sitting on the deck this morning after going for a walk on the island.  It had been sunny and cool with some light clouds.  In the sky, off in the distance, there was a growing band of dark.  Then the breeze picked up and the dark clouds started to sweep across the sky.  The layers of dark right over the blue sky was so dramatic I grabbed my camera.

We have a porch on the water side of the house and it has a large overhang from the deck above it.  We sat, safe from the storm, enjoying the show and the wonderful breezes.  The dark clouds eventually took over the whole sky and then it rained.  We have a nest of Osprey out in the water in front of the house.  The "babies" are now big enough to be taking short flying trips.  When the rain started the whole family opened their wings and took a shower!

The Gulls didn't seem to think the rain was fun at all!

Too bad for them, it cooled and entertained us!

The Dog Days

Hi, my name is Mattie and I am Frosted Trash's Grandoggy!

We recently had a visit from my daughter and her family who live in New Hampshire.  They (including Mattie!) had a fun time even though the temperatures were in the 99-104's!  Mattie kept cool inside the house along with my kitty Willy.  Willy watched Grandoggy with a suspicious eye, I think because Mattie loves cat food!

While taking Mattie for a walk on the beach, my son in law found an interesting piece of frosted trash (beach glass) that no one could figure out.  It looks like a top of a bottle, but where the hole should be - it's covered.  Anyone have an idea what it could have been?  He won the prize for the most unusual piece of beach glass this trip!

It will go in my "Interesting Glass" bowl.  If you check Low Tide High Style , you'll see it filled with glass.  It's a replica of an old fish bowl - big and round on a glass stand.  Some of the pieces in it are interesting only to me and some are really weird!

Here's a sample of a weird looking piece - "campfire" glass. 

Campfire glass was melted by some type of fire and when it cooled, made a free form shape.  Sometimes it also has pieces of burnt wood, rocks or sand in it - trapped for all time.
I made a pendant for my husband to wear out of a neat piece with black lines - probably carbon got folded into it when it was melted.

Not all beach glass that's found can be made into jewelry, but even the unusual can sometimes be beautiful.