Saturday, December 27, 2014

A Look Back At 2014

As December speeds us towards a New Year, I find myself thinking back over the last few months.

2014 started with CreationsByRobin still on hiatus. I really had not considered making more sea glass jewelry. The ocean had yet to offer up anything substantial and it seemed like my favorite hobby was dying a slow, painful death. Finding thin pieces of Rolling Rock green glass or Budweiser browns, was not going to be worth the effort...these pieces don't even age nicely...even when rounded by the tumbling in the ocean, these pieces of glass are very thin and when frosted, the glass is dull. Without the sea glass, going to the beach lost a little of it's luster...I mean, if I have to endure the bennies (ok, they're not all that bad) the least I can have is the excitement of possibly finding a nice piece of old glass washing up in the surf.



One one trip, we found something a bit older. Yea, it was brown, but it was thick and well frosted...an older piece of glass that somehow found it's way onto the beach. All of a sudden, the mediocre pieces were looking good (the thin, ugly pieces remained, just that...thin & ugly...lol) and we found ourselves heading to the beach a little more often. I'd like to say, seaglassing started picking up from that point. I would. But it wasn't the case.

What used to be a bad seaglassing day at the beach, was now a pretty good seaglassing day at the beach. A bad day was getting shutout totally...and that did happen often. But there was one other occurrence....the fires were getting stoked. I started fooling around with my sea glass again. It started when we moved into a new place and I wanted to decorate differently. I went with a beach theme. Driftwood, sea glass, pictures of the ocean and beach, lighthouses, etc. When it cam time to decorate my bedroom, the first thing I did was cut-out an area where my crafting table would go.


And just like that, I was back.The shop was reopened, I made new creations and some sales. As fall turned into winter and the vacationers and snow-birds headed for home or warmer climates, we found sea glass. The Atlantic still isn't turning out jewelry quality pieces on the beaches that I frequent, though there have been several that I could consider using for decorative creations. But I and my hubby (my hubby mostly) has been finding colors and unique pieces. Just before Christmas, he came home with 3 cobalt blues and two days later found a cornflower blue and part of an old white bottle top.


Somehow, the glass is finding it way back and knowing that the ocean tosses a few pieces onto the beach before she reclaims them in the next tide, will keep me dreaming of coming across the perfect piece of sea glass. And in the meantime, I will share some of the more special findings with anyone who loves what I create with these vanishing ocean treasures.

Looking ahead to walking the beaches in 2015. I'm excited to see where it will take me.

Happy New Year!

'til next time...
R

Friday, November 28, 2014

Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Thanksgiving weekend Coupon codes

I hope everyone had a safe Thanksgiving Day. Getting my footing back in Etsy has been difficult and getting back into the swing of operating an online business has been challenging. There has been some significant changes since CreationsByRobin was last active, both on Etsy and with my sea glass supplier. I'm very thankful that the ocean is once again sharing it's treasures with me and I am thankful to once again have the opportunity to share my creation thru Etsy.

Once again, it's been quite awhile since my last blog entry. I have been blogging on my other blog,
Sea Glass CreationsByRobin ( creationsbyrobinseaglass.blogspot.com ) and there are several images of new creations listed in my Etsy shop, new creations that will be listed soon and new pieces of sea glass that I found on the beach over the last few months (ok...my hubby found them, it's too darn cold for me...lol)

My Etsy shop has 2 discount codes available...one is a 15% for total purchases under $30 and the other is a 20% off for purchases over $30...all purchases come with free shipping. These codes remain in affect thru Cyber Monday (12:01 am on 12/2)

I also have a special blog discount set up.... "Sea Glass By Robin" this is an additional 15% off your remaining total after you apply the Etsy shop discount. To receive this discount, select your purchases, apply your
Etsy shop discount and then send me a convo on Etsy, with the blog code in the subject. I will adjust your total due by an additional 15% and send you a return convo to let you know your order is adjusted.

That is what's new with me. Hopefully, my DH can get to the beach tomorrow and see if anything new has been offered up by the ocean.
There are several new creations for me to list, a few more that need images and a few pieces waiting for me to make into a handmade piece of jewelry.

If you stop by and don't see a new entry, please add my other blog to your list and check there. I try to add something new there at least once or twice a week. Stay safe and enjoy the holiday weekend!

'til next time...
R




Saturday, August 23, 2014

Dreaming of Sea Glass

Raining and overcast today on the Jersey shore. Saturday is change-over day and the traffic getting to and on LBI is going to be stop and go, so going to my favorite stretch of beach is probably a crazy idea. Instead I will add a new piece of jewelry or two to my Etsy shop, work on my blogs , pour myself a cup of coffee and dream of finding that elusive piece of orange sea glass. Or a few more like the piece below... : )

'til next time
R