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!

Adopt an Artist 18th Annual Art and More Auction!

LEbg is proud to be a continueing contributor to the Adopt an Artist Art and More Charity Auction for Fairview Middle School. This year's event will be held Friday, April 1st, 2011 at The Lake Shore Country Club. Admission is Free with doors opening at 6:30pm to preview auction items and art. There is a cash bar with light appetizers, and a silent auction. The live auction will open with a live performance of speed painting to music at 7:00 p.m.

Lake Erie Beach Glass is donating a unique, handmade, genuine beach glass necklace and earrings set made by owner Jodie Pastor. This set features a beautiful and OLD piece of beach glass that has embedded seaweed and air bubbles. It has been mounted in a sterling silver prong set with matching handmade, textured, and antiqued links.
Come and support your local artists and the Fairview School District's Arts program, while enjoying an evening of artistic sights and sounds!

Black Friday and Cyber Monday Shopping Lake Erie Beach Glass Style!

Wow! I am constantly surprised by how many custom orders I receive. I have so much inventory stock to list, I find myself a bit overwhelmed and not enough help to get them all visible to you! Regardless of how much I am able to list, I have decided to run a sale from Black Friday through Cyber Monday in my Etsy store at http://www.etsy.com/shop/lakeeriebeachglass . I would be HAPPY to offer 10% off ANY item/items in my Etsy store at this time. Upon check out, just simply type in the coupon offer code CyberMonday2010 and Etsy will calculate the discount for you!

Here is what I've been up to in the area of custom orders...

Have a safe weekend and remember to enjoy the time you have with family! :0)

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!

Custom Order Jewelry using YOUR OWN Beach Glass!

I have been doing custom orders for a very long time now and my most recent project involved using some of my customer's own finds. Making a piece of jewelry or art using the pieces you find can be very special and rewarding. It can however, be a challenge. Not all pieces of beach glass are well suited to specific styles of jewelry, like bezel setting.

The pieces that were used were a challenge due to the size of the pendant and the curved shapes and surfaces of the earrings. Most pieces that I choose to bezel are flat on the bottom, more uniform in shape, and with as little curves as possible. These aren't cabachon's that you would buy at a bead store or make with dichro or fused glass. Those forms seat very easily into a bezel cup or custom made bezel cup. The differing heights and slopes of beach glass make the custom bezel a challenge and a purchased bezel cup near impossible. So, here is the finished product and I hope my customer is happy with her pieces!

The third piece is wire wrapped in sterling silver and is much more accomodating to the random curves that natural beach glass developes. :0)

On a side note, I want to thank Justin Lazarz for doing an awesome job on redisigning my business cards! Justin is a Senior student at Edinboro University and is majoring in graphic design. He's also an excellant black belt in Tae Kwon Do at Park's Tae Kwon Do in Erie, Pa. Thanks again Justin!

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...

2010 Let's get back to Glassing!

Wow! It has been a REALLY long time since I've posted anything to the blog. I appologize! First, Let me say that the 2009 Sea Glass Festival was awesome but very exhausting. I found that I really needed to take a break for glassing for a little while, regroup, and then come back to it fresh minded. What better way for me to get back into creating then to be contacted by our Fairview Middle Schoolto contribute a piece to the yearly Adopt An Artist program.

The auction was held Friday March 5th at The Lake Shore Country club and featured the live performance of artist Molly Glover. Molly's performance captivated the audience as she painted the portrait of Albert Einstein on a 4 x 6 foot canvas in just under 3 minutes. Her piece sold for over $2,000.00 that night! Way to go Molly! For those of you who may be new to Molly's art, she is a beautiful young teenager who paints these beuatiful portraits usine her hands while listening to music!

My donated piece is the first in my spring line of Sea Flora. Although my piece did not auction for $2,000.00 I was pleased with its performance any way!

Here is to a new year of happiness and plenty of glassing!

LAKE ERIE LIVING MAGAZINE, The Sea Glass Festival, and little ole me.

This year has been flying by and I've been feeling pulled in so many directions that my brain is just about to go on the fritz and over load. Whew! It is almost over! All though I am looking forward to the sea glass festival, I will be relieved when it is over and I'll be able to relax some more. I'm sure all the other glassers out there are feeling the same way. It's nerve racking but at the same time so very exciting to be pariticpating in this huge festival.

I was interviewed several months ago by Lake Erie Living Magazine and then photographed for the magazine at the beach in Geneva, Ohio. My hands seemed to be what made the article but the article turned out very well done. When I saw that the article had hit the stands, my anxiety level went up slightly as I am realizing that the festival will be here in TWO weekds! Yes! Two weeks! Ahhhh!

I have so much work to do! I still need to create more pieces for the festival and booth design? I have NO idea what I'm going to do for that yet. I suppose I need to set a mock up and tweak. My husband will be thrilled when he comes home to see the mock up all set in the family room. Oh well, it must be done!

I also don't want to neglect my gallery owners and need to give them both a little love and attention. Kada gallery in Erie has an upcoming gallery night on October the 9th so I will focus on them first. Hopefully I can get some new desings in there of which I also plan on presenting at the festival. Kada is an awesome gallery for Erie. Joe and Kathy D'Angelo are some of the kindest people I've ever met and they really do care about their artists.

So, in retrospect I guess I need to get off the computer and start working on more jewelry! :0)

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)

HERITAGE Studio and Gallery is now OPEN!

I have recently been approached by Amy of Heritage Studio and Gallery in Canal Fulton to be a part of their family of artists. The opening reception was held Friday , July 31st and was an absolute success! All of the hard work that both Amy and David (the owners) put into this facility really paid off. The gallery is just beautiful and the event was a lot of fun.

I was so pleased to find that their were 3 other artists from my own Etsy Street Team, CLEVELAND HANDMADE, that were participating. Joining me at Heritage is Chris Zielski of Copper Leaf Studios, Gina DeSantis, and Melissa Muir!What an awesome representation of Cleveland area artists.

Heritage Studios and Gallery is located at:
2381 Locust Street #3
Canal Fulton, Oh. 44614
#330-819-4268

LIVE STRONG ~ Tour De West County July 25th 2009

Tour De West County is an annual family geared fundraiser for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The goal of the event is to raise awareness and to help others liveSTRONG with cancer. This year's event was held July 25th at Pleasant Ridge Park in Fairview, Pennsylvania.

The event kicks off at 8:30am with a 25 and 50 mile bike tour and several other shorter rides geared towards families with young ones. The rides are followed by a fun family expo including a dunking booth, bike polo, frisbee dogs, and many more demonstrations and attractions. Plenty of food and drink will be available and a silent auction featuring an autographed guitar by Grammy award winning Pat Monahan of Train!

This year's LEbg contribution to the event is an entirely handmade toggle front necklace featuring rare yellow beach glass. The toggle is inscribed with LIVE STRONG.

Other artist's works will be available for bid as well as day spa packages and other items of interest. For more information regarding the annual Tour De West County event please visit the site here.

ERIE YACHT CLUB Charity Regatta Event To Support THE BRIG NIAGARA!

The Erie Yacht Club will be hosting an evening reception and charity regatta to help support the Brig Niagara. This "PULL TOGETHER ERIE" benefit is set for Tuesday, May 5th, and is open to the public. This "Pull Together" event will be the first of two events to be held by the Yacht Club for the Brig.

PULL TOGETHER ERIE will be an evening cocktail reception that will commence at 6:00 p.m. in the Grill Room of the Erie Yacht Club. The evening will include a cash bar with Hor d'ouerves, a silent auction of Flagship Niagara artwork, and a keynote address from the noted maritime historian and Senior Captain of the Flagship Niagara, Walter Rybka. Local politicians and area business leaders are expected to be on hand. The evening will conclude around 8:30. A suggested donation of $10 per person is strongly encouraged by the organizers.

The first annual FLAGSHIP NIAGARA REGATTA will be held on August 9th. The regatta will actually use the Niagara as the committee boat with the entire EYC racing fleet sailing around the ship that will be docked in the middle of Presque Isle Bay. The Erie Yacht Club has extensive experience conducting charity regattas, some of which have raised funds in excess of $50,000 for the non-profit benefactor for a single day event.

The Erie Yacht Club is proud to be an eager supporter of the Flagship Niagara. Many of us who appreciate the Brig's important part of the community are very grateful to the Erie Yacht Club for its efforts in supporting the ship. I you, as a reader, also want to help support this ship but are unable to attend either of these events, please consider signing a petition that will be sent to Governor Rendell, the members of the Pennsylvania Legislature, and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission to help keep the Flagship Niagara sailing and preserve her sailing programs.

BRIG NIAGARA PETITION

For further information on the Erie Yacht Club events please contact the following:

Erie Yacht Club
Mr. Douglas Boldt, Event Chair and EYC Board of Directors
T: 814-602-1554
E: douglas@boldt.us

Flagship Niagara League
Mr. Brian Scott, Board Chair
T: 814-440-4084
E: bscott8@adelphia.net

Presque Isle State Park Spring Clean Up!

Its that time of year again! The sun stays out longer, the leaves start unfolding, and the flower begin to bud. Every year after the harsh storms of winter have passed it leaves quite a large amount of debris and trash on the shores. This year's clean up at Presque Isle State Park will be held April 25th from 9am - 1pm. (Stay longer if you want to!) The Presque Isle staff, The United Way, and Take Pride in America will be hosting the event. Registration will begin at 9:00 am at the Rotary Pavilion. There will be food provided and door prizes at 12:00 pm. Make sure you are prepared for our Erie weather and bring a long the kids! This is a wonderful event to involve kids of all ages and organizations!

Lake Erie Beach Glass and family will be out and about on the beaches of the park a long side other volunteers who care about keeping the beaches clean. If you are local or maybe even live a bit further away, we would love to see you help out. If you spot one of us, make sure you stop and say hi!

ETSY~CLEVELAND STREET TEAM SPRING CHALLENGE!

Well, I'm a day too late for this one but at least I can post about it! The Cleveland Street Team is a group of local artisans that sell their handmade goods on Etsy. We have grouped together to help support, promote, and interact with each other. I am a proud member of this fabulous group.

This SPRING CHALLENGE was sent out to the members of the team to create something springy and have it voted on by the public. Here is a sampling of what was created. If you would like to take a peek and vote just follow the link here!

Here is a treasury sample full of Cleveland Handmade goodies titled, WEARIN THE GREEN!

Thank you Photohale for creating this beautifully green treasury!

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.

THUNDER CAKE & WIRE FORGED HEART PINS!

As many of you who follow my blog already know, I am a home schooling mom. My 5-year old, Jordan chose the book THUNDER CAKE by Patricia Polacco to read for our reading circle. The book was really cute and involved a little girl's fear of thunder storms and a wise grandmother's idea of curing her grand daughter of this fear. The Thunder Cake must reach the oven before the storm arrives. The list of ingredients is long...and the storm is coming closer all the time! The fearful child has to over come other fears while gathering the ingredients. Collecting eggs from Nellie peck hen and milk from old kick cow are just steps in over coming her fears. The book was a lot of fun and really captivated my children's attention. The enjoyed the book so much that we decided to use the provided recipe in the back and give it a try for ourselves. You might be surprised by some of the ingredients but the outcome was more than a pleasing and delicious cake! The children and me enjoyed a beautiful story, ate delicious cake, and created a new memory I hope they will cherish for all time! Here is the recipe for Thunder Cake if you should so desire to make one for your self!

THUNDER CAKE

Cream together, one at a time:
1 cup shortening
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs, separated (Blend yolks in. Beat whites until they are stiff, then fold in.)
1 cup cold water
1/3 cup pureed tomatoes

Sift together
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 cup dry cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Mix dry mixture into creamy mixture.
Bake in two greased and floured 8 1/2-inch round pans at 350Degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.
Frost with chocolate butter frosting when cool. Top with strawberries.

While enjoying a second piece of Thunder Cake and while the girls were napping, I decided to flip through my latest Art Jewelry Magazine March 2009 issue. There is a beautiful wire forged heart brooch pin on the cover and the instructions on how to make it on the inside.




My dear Aunt Carol from Omaha, Nebraska has recently found out that she has breast cancer and has been going through a gauntlet of chemo therapy and medications. I've been wanting to send her something special that was different than flowers and something unique. This was perfect! I had all the supplies anyway, so I gathered them up, set it all out, and got to work. The end product is superb! I can't wait to send this little piece of love her way!

HAPPY ANNIVERSAY 50's Pin Up LEbg Style!

Finding the perfect anniversary gift for my husband always seems to be such a challenge! Most items he ever mentions liking, he ends up purchasing for himself. When you ask him what he would like, or course he will say "Hon, you don't have to get me anything at all!" . So, I've been watching him closely and we both like art deco, the era of the 40's and 50's, and particularly those pin up ads right around WWII. So, I decided that I would get some pictures done of me with a 50's pin up look. That was a lot easier to think of than it was to orchestrate the whole ordeal. Geesh!

So, I called on my good friend Kathy Paton, better known as SMASHING on Etsy. Kathy is a fellow metalsmith artist and photographer. We set up a day and time and I got busy looking for vintage clothing appropriate to the era. I found some AWESOME finds at a local second hand store called The Sassy Peacock. I spent under $80.00 and came home with several beautiful outfits that I know I will wear again. Then, I came across some "kickin" high heeled saddle shoes at a thrift store for only $3.00. I can't believe they fit! All I needed where a few accessories including some beautiful fascinator combs from BORING SYDNEY off of Etsy, and schedule my hair and makeup appointment.

I found a fun and friendly hair stylist at the JC Penny hair salon in Erie by the name of Amanda. We did a mock up hair style and scheduled the "real deal" look for Saturday morning the 10th of January. My friend Nicki, HANDMADE, helped me secure a MAC makeup artist at the Crocker Park Mall in Cleveland.



In the mean time, I was also invited to attend the local Pittsburgh Belly Dancing performance the very same evening as a vendor. Now the day was REALLY jammed pack!

Saturday came and there were snow warnings all over Pa. and Ohio! I had to go, so I set out for my hair appt. first. Amanda did a wonderful job and I traded some jewelry work as part of my tip. Take a look at her beautiful bracelet! :0)




Off to Cleveland for makeup and a photo shoot! The roads were terrible and it took me nearly 3 hours to get to the appt. Now I was late! We finished makeup and I headed over to the photo shoot. By the time we were finished and reviewed some of the pictures it was already 5:30pm. The Belly Dancing Performance was to start at 6:00! Thank you Andrew and Jennifer (husband and sister-in-law) for taking my wares to the show, for setting up, and for manning the table until I got there! I took me 2 1/2 hours to get back home and to the show. What a day! But, it was all worth it because in the end, my pictures turned out really fun and cool and my husband was ecstatic! :0)
I owe a BIG THANK YOU to all of the people who where involved in helping put this together! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Jodie

Lake Erie Beach Glass presnte~LOVE AT TWILIGHT

Pink sea glass is so very delicate and pretty looking! Much of this color of sea glass comes from old depression glass. Some are pale while others are brighter and may even take on a peachier color. When I found this piece I really started thinking about the depression era, our economy now, and that movie, TWILIGHT! This piece is a mixture of those thoughts.

I cut a piece of sterling silver, shaped it, sanded it, and stamped it with the words love several different times. I added a swirl bail on the back and antiqued it. I strung it on 18" of sterling chain that I antiqued to match and gave it a handmade clasp. Thus, old meets new! I love how it turned out and I think I'll be making some more of these in the near future!

You can find this piece for sale in my etsy store here. :0)