Lake Erie Beach Glass LEbg Cobalt Blue Heart

Sea Glass, Beach Glass hearts are such special pieces to find. Often, collectors and artists will hold on to these treasures to add to their personal collection. Every once in a while you can find sea glass hearts offered for sale by the individual piece or by purchasing a beautiful piece of jewelry that was created from it. I happen to be commissioned to create a beautiful pendant out of a Cobalt Blue beach glass heart that was found by one of LEbg's own from Lake Erie. The following pictures will show you the progression, or steps it took to create the pendant from beginning to end.

This is what sterling silver looks like with fire scale on it. It is ready to be "pickled" in a solution that will remove the fire scale.

"The Finished Piece!"

This particulat pendant was created with a certificate of authenticity that I collaborated on with Justin Lazarz, an invaluable asset to LEbg. He is a dedicated graphic design artist who has excellant ideas but is open to indivuality as well. Check out his site by clicking on the certificate below. Thank you Justin!

NEW "CHARMING" Beach Glass Necklaces for Waterford Heritage Days!

Waterford Heritage Days Festival is coming up fast and I am SOOOOO NOT ready for it! I am way understocked so am hitting the block as fast as I can hammering out findings and creating new pieces. Today I was able to create 6 brand new "CHARMING" necklaces. I love these necklaces and they are an great seller. The idea of the necklace is to be able to slide the charms on and off as you please, creating several different necklaces in one! I provide three charms per necklace and they can be worn as singles, doubles, or all three at once. Hope you like what you see!

2009 Lake Erie Beach Glass Year In Review

Thank you, Jason for setting up this You Tube Video for me!

My son has been a tremendous help to me! My life seems to keep getting busier and busier and I haven't had time to complete some things, like my yearly you tube video. He has graciously taken on some of my roles. Here is the result...

I MADE ETSY'S ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY GUIDE!

I can not even begin to tell you how excited I am to find that I made the front page of today's (September 24th, 2009) Environmetally Friendly Guide on ETSY! I had just listed that ring only an hour prior to the guide's posting. Etsy is such a wonderful on-line venue for both artists AND for those who are just looking for handmade or vintage items. I have fallen in love with Etsy.

Maker's marks are the company stampings or logos that you would find underneath your china and pottery plates, cups, and saucers. They are amoung a favorite of mine to find when beach combing the shores of Lake Erie.

This particular piece was set in a sterling silver bezel with an adjustable band. It turned out awesome! I plan on taking it to KADA Gallery in Erie, Pa. where I have several pieces of my work on hand. I'm just wondering if Kathy, the gallery owner will become the new owner of this piece because if you know Kathy you know she has a soft spot for rings! :0)

Several other great items that are eco friendly also share the lime light! Go ahead and click on them if you find one of interest to you. :0)

LEbg SERENITY~ Art & More Auction to Benefit Fairview Middle School!

Fairview Middle School's art department is gearing up for it's annual Art & More Auction. This art auction is a fundraiser to help aid and support the arts through hands-on classroom presentations, an annual artist in residence program, student artwork framing, the purchase of fine art prints, and to sponsor the Adopt An Artist program as well as many art-related field trips.

I am very excited and proud to have been asked to participate by submitting one of my own creations. SERENITY is the piece I have created specifically for this auction. It is comprised of a hand cut sterling silver diamond with circular cut out. The feature of the pendant holds a beautiful teal green piece of genuine sea glass found on Great Lake Erie that has been bezeled in the mixed metals of fine silver and copper. Decorative wire swirls accent the piece with a hammered texture. I can't wait to see how the piece is received at the auction which is to be held Friday, March 6, at the Lake Shore Country Club in Fairview, Pennsylvania.

"PING" The Orange Hobnail Duck!

Look! Its the Holy Grail Find in the Sea Glass World! There I was just walking along the coast line of Great Lake Erie when I saw a little sunny sparkle of orange. It was a ways into the water and at first, I thought it was the corner of a brightly colored fall leaf that had gotten trapped under some pebbles. Then, I second guessed myself and thought I should bend over to take a closer look. Of course a gentle wave was about to take that fiery little object away. I quickly grabbed the sparkly with a handful of pebbles and a wet cuff and shoe. Too my amazement it WAS the elusive and beautiful ORANGE sea glass that all sea glass enthusiasts covet! I ran down the beach toward the rest of my family with the biggest grin plastered to my face. They of course shared in my excitement but also pointed out that I must have pee'd my pants a little bit. Thank goodness for little children as my youngest daughter so cleverly changed the subject back to the glass by pointing out that it looked like a duck's head. Such incredible imaginations come from the littlest of ones! Thus, "PING" was born!

I have only collected 3 worthy pieces of orange in my life time up to this point and this is definately the best of the finds for me. It is well rounded and smoothed. The characteristic bump (of head of the duck) leads me to believe that it came from a decorative orange hobnail piece. In researching the piece I came across OODLE, a site that sells antiques including a beautiful Fenton Orange Hobnail Fairy Lamp! Being the impulsive buyer that I am, of course I have to have it to add to my collection! :0)

2009 SEA GLASS FESTIVAL is in ERIE PA!

The votes have been taken and tallied and it is now official! The 2009 North American Sea Glass Festival will be held October 17th & 18th, 2009 in my home town of Erie, Pennsylvania! The Bayfront Convention Center, overlooking Erie's Bay will be the venue to house the festival. The natural light will shine beautifully through those windows making it the perfect spot to display hundreds of unique sea glass collections from around the world, beautiful classic and unique creations of jewelry and art, informative lectures, and more! For room deals at the Sheraton Erie Bayfront, next-door to the Bayfront convention center, please call the Sheraton Erie Bayfront - (814) 454-2005. Limited rooms available. Don't forget to mention you'd like the “Sea Glass Festival deal”.

The 2008 festival that was held in Lewes, Delaware was a huge success with thousands in attendance! When the tickets were sold, we distributed name tags for entry and when those ran out, we just simply marked the hand with an X! It was an incredible show! Here is a snap shot, above, of the 2008 festival and I'm looking forward to being a part of the 2009 festival as well!


For more information on the 2009 sea glass festival visit the North American Sea Glass Festival site here.

We are back from Lewes Delaware!

The North American Sea Glass Festival was HUGE this year! The weather was perfect for the venue and the line to get in was long! There were many wonderful vendors with unique exibits and beautiful jewelry to sell. I was a part of this venue last year when it was held in Santa Cruz, Ca. and was amazed then! This year's festival added new and exciting things a long with some similarities to the Santa Cruz festival.
Lectures were offered from expert sea glass hunters and collectors. Collectors of old bottles and beautiful Japanese floats that wash up on the Alaskan coast were set up for viewing.

Several authors including Richard LaMotteof Pure Sea Glass were on hand to sign books and answer questions.

And the Shard of the Year contest brought in some of the most beautiful and unique pieces of sea glass, pottery, and stoppers that I've ever seen.

I know this was a very successful festival for sea glass enthusiasts alike! To view a slide show of the festival visit NASGA'S on-line magazine The Sea Glass Journal. So, where will next year's festival be? I've been listening to the crowd of customers, the sellers, the collectors, and the many members of NASGA and there is talk of having it back in Lewes or in my neck of the woods here in Erie, Pa. The official votes will be counted around October 30th so we will know for sure after that date.
On a second note, one might think that we would be tired of sea beach glass after such a huge event but not us! We went right back out to the beach the first chance we got and what does my daughter Hanna find? A marble, of course!

Faceted Sea Glass Beads, Handles, Stoppers, and Figurines!

There are some pieces of Sea Glass that the avid collector will cherish! These are a few that I hold dear to my heart. It is so exciting to walk the local beaches and collect sea glass then come across a faceted glass bead, a handle to a mug, a stopper to an apothacary jar, perfume bottle, or decanter, or to find a face to a figurine. All of these items at one time were intact and had a useful purpose. When their purpose was fulfilled, they were tossed out where the water could find it, reshape them and give them texture then throw them right back at us as little gems. Here are a few of my little special gems!


Faceted Glass Beads

More Faceted Glass Beads

Faces of Figurines. Is that Washington or Bach?

My Favorite Little Perfume Bottle Stopper!

Other Stoppers and Handles!

LOOK! I've been Blogged by Bonghi Natura!

What a wonderful blog set up Bonghi Natura has! This blog features a different Etsy seller each week. I was lucky enough to have been chosen to be featured this 3rd week of April. I'm feeling the love and hope I can pay it forward! To read the entire interview and view the blog just follow the link! Thank you Bonghi! :0)
Bonghi Natura


Visit her shop here:
Bohghi Natura Etsy Shop!
Speaking of paying it forward...I'm not one to believe that by doing good to others that there is a mystical or universal force that generates the good you've done back to you BUT...I do believe that by giving, doing something good for another, and by maintaining a positive outlook that it is contagious and people will naturally be drawn to you and you will be happy and successful. :0)