Saturday, April 11, 2009

Sea Glass Everywhere...New Items, & Finalizing my Summer Show Schedule



Sea Glass everywhere...well not on the beach, there hasn't been too much in my favorite hunting spots, so far this year...but I'm hoping that an early morning trip to the beach turns out to be an adult Easter egg hunt.

I've been matching up pieces for future projects, so my sea glass is spread out on a few tables. I've been pulling pieces for future earring and bracelet creations and I've pulled some not great pieces to practice a few new wire wrapping techniques on. To this point, I've kept my wrapping to what I would term "very basic".

Very Basic is my preferred style because I really don't like to take away from the beauty of the glass and I definitely don't want to drill a hole in some of the nicer pieces that can be used for pendants on a necklace.

These larger, well-rounded shards are becoming very hard to find and to drill a hole into it would be a shame...it's just my opinion and personal preference... I guess when I create, I create what I would be excited to wear myself and that preference is what shows up in my finished pieces. I guess I would drill a hole into a larger piece if that's what the customer preferred (or do a more involved wire wrapping on a piece, if the customer so desired)

So anyway, I'm looking to create a couple of 4th of July items and as usual, I'm a bit stuck on the red pieces... reds are the most sought-after of colors, so it's not at all unusual. I think I have enough for a pair of Red, White and Blue earrings and if I can get away with using only one red piece for a bracelet...lol

It is a lot of fun playing mix and match with the sea glass and I can spend hours sitting at my craft tables looking at/for possible matches.

The above pictures are my newest items...the forest green necklace sits in my Etsy shop, while the beautiful soft seafoam green necklace is a new entry in my ArtFire shop.

I have a couple of pending dates for my summer show schedule, along with a definite show and one that I'd like to do.

First off...the definite...

July 11th, OM Baby in Point Pleasant, NJ- This is a EtsyNJ team event and there will probably be anywhere from 20-25 team members present for this beach resort show!

Pending dates...

June 7th- Barnegat Bay Festival- This is the 12th annual show and they often have thousands of visitors at this show. I haven't received the word that I'm accepted, but since they cashed my check... : )

July 18th- The 2nd annual Handmade Faire- Still waiting to hear if they were able to get permits.This is another EtsyNJ team dominated event and one of the best shows in NJ...last fall's show saw over 90 vendors and lots of traffic before the tornado/hurricane- like weather moved in. The show is juried and they do a great job offering variety...vendors from several states come to do the Handmade Faire!!

I'd like to add a show in Cape May for the month of May. There's also talk of a show at the NJ Museum of Maritime History, where I have some of my sea glass jewelry on display. This show is a work-in-progress and we'd like to try the month of August for this show...we'll see how everything shakes out.

So that's my summer...hopefully, I'll find some time to do a little sea glass hunting and boogey-boarding with the boys. Now off to the museum to bring in some jewelry!!

til next time...
R