"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.

Sea Glass Photo Stands!

I thought I had heard of everything! But sea glass photo stands are new to me. Tracey, a friend and fellow sea glass enthusiast has her own shop on Etsy like myself. We often find ourselves in friendly competition with each other but I have to tell you, she is always coming up with something new, fresh, and funky!

I loved this idea so much that, of course, I had to blog it! What a terrific idea for a gift, for your desk, or for any of you sea beach glass crafters out there (and I know there are a lot in Erie!)who want to display it a long with your favorite sea glass find photo right in your studios! You can check Tracey out in her shop, SteppingStones or her bio here.

A Crown Fit for a Queen!

WOW! When I saw what my fellow MSIA (MetalSmithsInAction) team member created, I knew I had to blog it! Tess is a talented MetalSmith and Jewelry Artist. This Bridal Crown was created for a close friend who is about to be married. I think the bride of this piece is lucky to have such a talented friend!

Please visit Tess's shop on Etsy at NovaDesigns. Here is her Bio:
"I was born and raised in beautiful Sweden, with the sea and forests just around the corner. Where children still played outside instead of playing video games... A childhood that encouraged you to use your imagination and creativity. With an artist mother I was consistently exposed to design, art, the joy of making things but I also learned that being talented doesn't always bring food to the table...

So I decided to take my artistic heritage and turn to graphic design in the hopes of actually having a job... I always wanted to explore USA so when I was offered to move as a graphic designer for a large swedish furniture company (you know... the big blue box...) to Atlanta in 2005 I accepted packed my bags.... I later moved to Philadelphia where I now live.

After staring at a computer for almost 10 years (yikes I am getting old!) I needed another outlet. Something more real. So I started my jewelry designs. And needless to say it's really hard to find the same joy in front of the computer as I do with my beads, silver wire and leather...

So I am hoping that this will be the beginning of a creative and inspirational life ahead of me."

Acution for A Cause Update!

The Auction isn't over yet! There is still time! Get your bids in before October 30th,2008 to win a beautiful basket full of handmade eco-friendly items! There is a ton of loot in this basket that is great for gift giving or to just pamper yourself and the proceeds all go to The Nature Coservancy, a worthy charitable cause! Take a peek at just a few of the artist's items in the basket!
Lake Erie Beach Glass (us) Genuine Sea Glass Earrings!

Lil Fish Studios donated this beautifully fun bouquet made entirely of buttons that have been recycled from old vintage clothing and leather recycled from an old purse!

FashionGreenTeaBags donated these adorable recycled T-shirt wristlets which are awesome for grocery shopping, storing things in, and beach combing with!

SteppingStones (my dear friend)donated a beautiful earthy genuine beach stone unisex necklace.

These are only a FEW of the artists that have donated to Eco Etsy's AUCTION FOR A CAUSE. For more information on how to bid and to few other items that are offered in this basket please click here.

MetalSmiths In Action!

I'm very happy to have been accepted to a great group of MetalSmith Artists and MetalSmith Artists in Training on Etsy! Check us out at http://metalsmithsinaction.webs.com/index.htm This will be an excellant source of encouragement, support, and knowledge. I work best when I have others to bounce ideas off of so I'm excited to be a part. Maybe! Just Maybe I might be able to offer some advice, too! So, I'm excited to start encorporating more metal work into my jewelry designs beyond bezeling!

I look forward to posting items soon! Here is a simple, fun, and versitile piece that uses a little bit of MetalSmithing technique.

This CHARMING necklace is offered for sale in my Etsy Shop with a few others that are similar. The purpose of the necklace is to use beach found objects including sea glass, drift wood, melted aluminum, beach stones, or any other cool objects found on our beaces in a "CHARM' style so you can intermix the pieces at will. You can wear one, two, or a whole bunch together as they easily slide off the leather cording and are replaced in different ways. I have handmade several of the sterling silver findings and the copper rings. The copper rings were forged and slowly fired to achieve a rose type finish. These were fun to make and are just as fun to wear. :0)

Team Eco Etsy AUCTION FOR A CAUSE!

Auction for a Cause is a collaboration of TEAM ECO ETSY sellers who have come together to auction their wares in order to promote handmade, eco-friendly goods and to support a worthy organization. This auction is entirely a non-for-profit auction and all proceeds will be donated to THE NATURE CONSERVANCY.

The benefit auction started preparations in the spring of 2008, and each participant that
donated to the auction basket were required to follow a set of rules for their items:
● Every item is Eco-related in some way. These include repurposed, recycled, up-cycled,
and eco-friendly products.
● Every item is handmade.
● Every item includes a small card that describes the item and how it relates to ecopractices.
More than 60 individual items are contained in this beautiful, eco-friendly auction
handcrafted by people who care about nature and our environment. The total of all donations
is valued at more than $300 retail.

AUCTION DETAILS:
Donation photographs will be available beginning October 20, the first day of the auction.
These photographs can be accessed by viewing the album at
http://ecoetsyauction.myphotoalbum.com/
Auction Start Date: October 20th, 2008
Auction End Date: October 30th, 2008
This auction is open to US residents only. This is to prevent any legal issues as well as prevent
shipping issues that may arise due to regulations that other countries have.
Bidding: Bids may be placed on the auction basket by emailing promo@ecoetsy.com. Updates
will be announced regularly on the EcoEtsy blog (http://ecoetsy.blogspot.com/) with the
highest bidding amount.
Please n ote t ha t t he mo n ies rai sed wil l a lso be u sed to s h ip t he do na t io n b asket to t he wi n ner.
The highest bid placed by 9 PM MST (-7 GMT) will be awarded. The auction basket will be
shipped within one week of bid payment receipt – payment details will be sent to the winner
after the auction via email.