October at the Beach and a Sea Glass Wire Tutorial

by Staci L. Smith

Every fall the hubs and I get away for weekend, to make our way to LBI NJ for a weekend away from the kids.  We go to Chowderfest, and I used to a sea glass festival there too.  However, I have since let the show go to spend the time with the hubs.  Well this year, a Nor -Easter with flooding canceled Chowderfest and plagued the island with HIGH winds and flooding.  We had rented a house, and decided to go anyhow.  It was fun and he and I enjoyed watching the ocean rage and being rained in.  It was sort of peaceful (except for the ever present wind howling).

(here is a video of the winds and sea, turn down the volume, its howling)

Because of the weather, we decided to go the next weekend as well and take the kids (this is the life of two self employed individuals- we can't plan anything and do last minute stuff all the time).  The weather was calling to be wonderful and we didn't do a week vacation this year, only a couple day trips to the beach.  Now, I love the beach.  To say my kids also love the beach is an understatement. 

(same beach a week later, huge difference, right?)

 I am so thrilled that they share of our love of beach combing, and just relaxing in the beauty of the shore.  We have come to love that little island, and October is my favorite month to go.  The beach is cooler, but the water is still warm.  NO crowds on the beach, and people are there fishing with cars on the beach, walking dogs or sitting with coolers of beer and watching the waves.  The entire vibe is different and everything slows down.

We had two days with the kids and it was wonderful.  Saturday we hit one end of the island, Holgate (both ends of the island are the BEST for beach combing you know!)  While beach combing with the family, I loved seeing the different things they each though of as treasure.  My youngest son, he finds the odd things- knife handles, pieces of old tools, plastic army men..........and each one holds some sort of story to him.  For instance, he found some sort of crank handle and swore it was part of a harpoon.  How could we tell him it wasn't !  (they made swords to play with from old fence and grasses)

My sweet daughter has a bleeding heart for all the broken shells.  Ever since she was a toddler, her beach pile contained all the broken ones.  I think she is sad no one loves them and so she takes them home with her.  

(art on the beach with her broken shells- it spells "sea")

My eldest, he looks for fossils, sea glass and stones.  He is constant competition with me for the most or best sea glass!!!!
  

(he got the "find of the day" award for this old bottle neck)

(this beach was pure beachcombing joy and we found lots of amazing treasures here)
Below is just some of the loot we scored from the beach at the other end of the island- Barnagat Light-  this weekend.

(horse jaw?)

As we all walked the beach, shrieking for joy at the odd things we found, I looked around, and thought- man these guys are my heart, and this place holds it.  

:sigh: ok, enough sappy stuff (they grow so fast, I am really feeling it these days).  All this beach combing, and visiting the sea glass festival got me to thinking about sea glass again.  So, I want to share with you a short wire wrapping tutorial on sea glass.  I have seen A LOT of them out there, and so many have you wrap it real fancy or pretty, but if you pull on it, your sea glass will fall right out.  And take it from a fellow beachcomber, losing a dear found treasure is NOT what you want.
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Here is how I wrap.  Each piece is totally different, so, it will vary, but the concept is the same for all of them.

1.  I used 18g copper wire for this.  I like to use the thickest gauge I can manage without blocking out the sea glass.  18g is definitely my go to size.  I also chose a square piece of sea glass, because for me, they were the most challenging.  Since you have to capture each side so it can't move, it is a bit harder then with triangular pieces, with have points you can wrap the wire around to hold it tight.

2.  I always start with the bail, and there is  GOOD reason for that.  Make a wire wrapped loop and close it 

3.  Hold the bail where it will go, and bring the long wire down the center of the back

4.  Bring the wire back up the center to the bail, and wrap it tightly around once.  Make sure the wire is tight to the glass the entire time. 

5.  Now you need to capture the sides so the glass can't fall out.  First I go around a corner and then halfway down, pull the wire to the back of the sea glass.  Then holding it tight, I wrap it up and around the bail again.  Wrapping the wire around the bail each time secures that it can't move or shift, and you won't be able to pull it apart when you are done. 

6.  Now come from the back again, to the other side, so down to the bottom and then back up the back side, and wrap around the bail again.  If your wire feels tight, and the sea glass can't be moved within your cage, you are done.

7. Wrap around the bail again and tuck your end in.  File any sharp edges of the wire if needed.  this shows the back side 

8.  This shows the front

Here are some other samples of my wire wrapped sea glass.  You can see how each one is going to be very unique.

If you really want to have some fun, you can drill the sea glass and then use wire to attach them (as seen below)

I have a free sea glass drilling tutorial here

along with a video.  I will be adding some sea glass kits (drill bits and genuine sea glass pieces) to the shop next week if anyone is interested, check back then (here).

I leave you with one of my newest pieces, inspired by our trips this weekend with a piece of wrapped sea glass, an ammonite, fossil bones and other goodies!  It will be at the Crafts in the Meadow with me, for sale this weekend.

Have fun with your beach finds!  I know I do!!!!

Hanging my head and hoping for the best......

by MaryAnn Carroll

For those of you that know me, you know that I am a resource teacher and do my jewelry and bead making part time. Four and a half years ago I stopped selling beads online after a tragic event sent my life into a tail spin. I won't launch into that story here because I couldn't possibly cover it in a paragraph or two. Once things started to slow down from that a year later, I just didn't have it in me to list anything anymore.

There was a time that I did very well selling beads and so so selling jewelry. I opened an Indiemade shop, but get virtually no business from it. It wasn't the site, it was me. I just didn't want to promote, take pictures, list, write descriptions, etc. to sell. The time has come for me to stop avoiding what I remember being a lot of work and get back into the bead business. I've probably written about this exact same topic before, but this time I am feeling the push to do so.

My goal is to retire at the end of the 2018 school year. I will be 58.  I am in my 31st year right now. I have been lucky to have a job that I like for the most part. It's a little scary to think about not having the same income. I have all of these thoughts running through my head.....

What is something happens to my children or grandchildren and I cannot help? Are they going to be okay? What if this? What if that?

I need to STOP!!! and remember the advice that I always offer others. Most things in life are out of our control and it is rarely the things that we try to control that end up being something that we are faced with.

So, with my retirement goal in mind, I need to get ahead financially. I thought Handmade at Amazon was going to be the boost that I needed to start selling again. I do want to do this full time when I retire from teaching.

So, I signed up and was accepted. Well, it turns out since I sold a half dozen things on Amazon in 10 years, I have a seller account. It would not let me set up shop. I spent way too many hours on the phone and on the internet trying to take care of this glitch.....

.....only to find out from my friend Staci Lousie Smith, who, if you know her, you know that she knows the ins and outs of online anything, that they aren't taking beads and components at this time. Why the heck did they accept me?

They launched yesterday and sure enough I didn't see beads and components. I did see the number 43,000 or something close to that next to jewelry and I was like..... NO WAY!  I cannot compete with that. Hopefully, I will be over all of my frustrations by the time Amazon decides to include components.

So today, I am hanging my head when I say that I am going to give in and start my Etsy store back up. I left Etsy as soon as they included manufactured items, and in all honesty, when I searched for ceramic beads just the other day I was a little appalled at what I was up against, but I am going to give it a shot again.

So, Etsy, here I come..... for a while anyhow. I will wait to see what happens on Amazon and maybe I will make the switch. But for now, I am motivated to start selling again.

assorted porcelain beads

wood-fired stoneware beads

porcelain beads with shino glaze

porcelan beads pistachio shino glaze

I also checked out examples of what you will see when I get started back up!

I hope that ceramic beads are still in style......

Winner of the Wild Wire Pyrite Necklace

by Staci L. Smith

Thank you to everyone for the positive feedback on my wire necklaces!  I am really happy to be able to share one with you all.  There were a lot of entries, and since some comments got entered twice, or other people commented more then once, I went through and wrote each name one time in order, and used random number generator to pick.  

The lucky winner is

Deb Fortin!!!!!!

Congrats to you Deb!  Please contact me with your shipping information as soon as possible at staci.louise@hotmail.com

I also just want to mention that I have lots of sugar skulls and winged skulls still available in my shop!  It's probably the last batch of the year......so if you want to have some rocking Sugar Skull necklaces for Halloween or Dia de los Muertos, then snag them up while they last.  I had sort of a bum show at my last one, but the only necklace I sold was one of them!  So, tis the season!

http://www.stacilouiseoriginals.com/catalog/sugar-skulls

Peruvian adventures and a small giveaway

Carol Dekle-Foss

Recently, my son and I spent a week in Peru visiting friends and exploring ancient cities and ruins.  We had an amazing time and wanted to share with you some of our favorite photos. Included, are random shots all over Peru, amazing Pre-Columbian jewelry photos from Museo Larco in Lima, a metalsmith workshop in Pisac, and the salt mines of Maras. This post may be a bit long, but I hope it inspires you!

 First up, these amazing walls in Cusco called Sacsayhuaman.  We thought we would have a better understanding of how they were constructed if we saw them in person. Unfortunately, they baffle us even more! How in the heck did they construct them? Our guide showed us this drawing. 

I was like...

Bftt..please. They got THESE detailed corners using a wooden form and chisels? Right.

 I love that they are such a mystery! I think one day we will discover how they did it, and I don't think it will be aliens! Here is a video that brings up some interesting points on how they were constructed if you're interested.

Okay, on to some very cool jewelry. We visited Museo Larco and were amazed by the beauty of the surrounding gardens and also the artifacts.

 

 Pre-Columbian societies in Peru used gold, silver, copper and bronze metals not only for adornment but also for tools, and decorative objects. Below are beautiful examples of carved pendants and beads, repousse metalwork, and the lost-wax casting technique.

 Amazing owl necklace!

 Beautiful inlay!

The museum also has very fine examples of Pre-Columbian weaving and pottery that you can check out on their website. There is also an erotic pottery section that left even me blushing. Very graphic! If you're curious, just google Moche erotic pottery. Don't say I didn't warn you! 

I loved the people of Peru and tried to capture them as best I could.

They pose for tourists for soles in return.

 This adorable young boy posed for me so patiently.

We also visited the Pisac Market in the Sacred Valley.

 We had a fun time meandering all around the cobblestone alleyways and checking out the handmade goods.

The highlight for me in Pisac was a silversmith studio, where they showed us how their jewelry was made and what materials they use.

 A Peruvian metalsmith hard at work.

They inlay with lapis lazuli, chrysocolla, abalone, spondylus shell and more.

The Tumi is a ceremonial knife that was used to sacrifice animals to the god Inti. Now the symbol is used for decoration or worn for good luck. 

Absolutely beautiful craftsmanship. Yep, this place took quite a lot of my soles.

I would have to say my most favorite place of all wasn't Machu Picchu, but the salt mines of Maras. 

The salt mines are remnant of the Inca period, and have been producing since 1450 AD. A tiny spring, the only one in all of the Andes, feeds the salt ponds.

A Peruvian woman hard a work on her salt pond. Each one is owned by a different person.

To thank you for reading through all my boring vacation photos, 
I have a tiny giveaway for you!

I purchased these beads from Centro Artesanal Santo Domingo in Lima. They include hand painted ceramic beads, red jasper, angelite, serpentine, and huayruro macho seeds, that are supposed to bring luck to the wearer.

To win, all you have to do is leave a comment as to what you found most interesting about this post or what you find most interesting about Peru in general.

Thank you for reading!