Another Wordless Wednesday - Enjoy!

What a Great Time For Seaglass

What better time than a perigee full moon? Check out the post I wrote on another blog...

I will admit that I prefer a 4th quarter perigee. But when the moon decides to get this close to our planet, it doesn't matter what month it is (i will have to deal with the bennies and the summer wanna-be seaglassers)

It will be fun to watch hubby mess with the bennies, I'm sure he bring a red  or two with him and say he found them in an area that has nothing. Or maybe he'll just bend down right next to one of them and pretend that he just picked one up right next to where they are or where they just looked.  He's sooo bad, lol

Good luck to all that go hunting this weekend!

My Trip to the Beach

For those who have never had the chance to follow my sea glass blog, just a little background info...

This blog was originally started as a way to introduce sea glass collecting and my sea glass jewelry creations. My blog entries were a sea glass diary of sorts and a way to promote my sea glass jewelry that I sold on Etsy.com and at various craft fairs, shows and local retail stores.
Currently, my shop on Etsy is closed and my jewelry-making days are just a hobby that I struggle to find time for. Sea glass collecting is something that has fallen by the wayside also, as trips to the beach have been rare since Super Storm Sandy. Since Sandy, sea glass on LBI has been rarer than my trips to the beach.

Until yesterday. For those that have followed this blog in the past, you may recall me blogging about an area my DH refers to as "cobalt beach". Cobalt beach is actually a stretch of beach, maybe 3-4 blocks long that has turned up an unusual amount of cobalt blue sea glass, along with several other uncommon colors.

So anyway, after a few disappointing trips to LBI, trips that left me and my family sad about the aftermath of Sandy, yesterday we headed back to stretch of beach that had once been our sea glass goldmine. The one time we visited this stretch of beach since Sandy, we only found a couple browns-not jewelry quality and not the type of browns that I hope to find, but brown sea glass nonetheless.

This trip to the beach started out no different... a large piece of brown that was finished on the outside, but the shard appeared to have been broken recently, so the inside needed more time for the ocean to finish the job. My DH referred to this piece as undercooked, so we found a safe area to return it to the sea. What I did find encouraging was this piece had some thickness to it and that could mean it was an older piece of glass.

For most of the day, I almost regretted returning that undercooked brown because there was nothing else to be found anywhere. Even the stretch formerly known as "cobalt beach" came up empty (again). As the crowds began leaving and the tide started pulling out, we gave it one more walk thru before we called it a day.

Despite several decent sized shell beds, cobalt beach was a disappointing bust... there was nothing to be found other than a few recently shards from recently broken Budweiser bottles (that were picked up and thrown into the trash bin). So we turned and headed back to our chairs and my son wanted one last dip n the ocean. While I kept watch, my DH continued on (in the opposite direction of what was once cobalt beach) & after a few minutes, my son and I went off in his directions where we found several large shell beds containing a lot of small shells, broken shell pieces and lots of stones and zero pieces of glass of any kind.

Shell bed after shell bed yielded nothing. Then my DH doubled back to showed me two pieces. The first was a clear white piece and it was nearly perfect. Well-weathered and frosted, only a recent chip in the edge kept it from being perfect. The 2nd piece was better. Another white, this one perfect and it's jewelry quality (rare for NJ). As a white piece of sea glass, it wouldn't fetch much as a piece of jewelry...but this piece has a tinge of amethyst coloring in it (I'm hoping now that it's been rescued from the sea, it will continue to turn color) Both of these pieces were found within 2 feet of each other, so we went back to the area and I found 2 pieces...one a frosty white- nothing to get real excited and the second a pale blue tear-drop shaped piece...weathered, slightly frosty and without a doubt, jewelry quality. One of the nicest jewelry quality pieces I have ever found on LBI. This one will become a charm for a necklace.
The craziest thing about both of these pieces, is they were found within 10 feet of those that my DH found and before we left the area, a thick chunky amber piece washed up!

30 minutes before we leave, the ocean presents us with a couple of the nicest pieces of sea glass that we ever found on LBI...and all 5 pieces were found with 10-12 feet of each other and there was nothing to be found anywhere else on the beach...go figure!

Hopefully, I can get images uploaded to the blog and show off my finds!

'til next time

Been A Long Time....

Wow! Nearly 11 months have passed since my last entry.

I recently received a couple of emails about my sea glass jewelry and both of my sea glass themed blogs. I haven't done much creating recently, but I received an invite to be interviewed on another crafter's blog...lol.

I doubt my responses would make for an interesting interview, so I declined. But I am hoping my trip to the beach today yields a piece (or three) of sea glass treasure worthy of a jewelry creation!

I miss my blog and would like to thank the hundreds of visitors since my last entry. Here's hoping today's trip to the ocean leads to a blog entry tomorrow!

'til next time...

It's Been A Long Time

I have been away from this blog for quite a long time. Sadly, Superstorm Sandy has changed the face of seaglass hunting on the beaches I often frequent. Long Beach Island beaches were torn apart by Sandy. Even though the island has been successfully pieced back together, it appears that it may be a long time before my favorite sea glass hunting grounds begin to yield great pieces (and those great pieces were few and far between in recent years) Though we don't frequent the beach as often as we once did, we hope to get to the beach more often towards the end of the summer as the tourist season begins to grind to a close. Speaking of grinding to a close... my shop at Etsy.com has been closed for the time being. The joy of finding sea glass on the beach, spurred the idea of creating handmade jewelry with those finds. Sandy essentially closed the my favorite sea glass store and while, the store has reopened (the beach, the towns)the shelves remain barren. Maybe one day things will change...I'll keep looking and hopefully, I will have some new finds to post soon. 'til next time, R

Craft Show- Tips and Trends

At my most recent show, my hubby pointed out several things he observed during the show. Some of these observations were trends he noticed before and in the next few events they seemed to prove themselves as situations I wanted to create or avoid. Hubby is a people watcher and he'll often at shows, whisper to me that a certain person is going to buy something. The most bizarre thing is, he does it as the person is leaving my display and more often than not, he's correct because they come back and make a purchase!

The observation that he finds that often leads to a sale is- a crowd at the display and the bigger, the better! When I have several people standing in front of my display tables, it seems that more people see the crowd and get drawn in, like moths to a porch light. Others become curious and just have to see why there is a crowd at my display tables. Because two pieces of sea glass are rarely alike, my jewelry creations are essentially one-of-a-kind creations. And large crowds at my display make those right in front a little antsy, especially if they "love" one of my items. I have watched people have conversations with each other, almost justifying a reason why they are going to make a purchase... upcoming birthday, Put it away for a Christmas present, this is her color, etc. Sometimes it seems like the person feels that this could be there last chance to make the purchase and if they walk away and come back, "their" piece of jewelry will be bought by someone else. So crowds, especially a large and getting bigger crowd, will often facilitate a purchase and there is nothing better than a large group of people seeing someone make a purchase. I rarely make jewelry at a show. It's often just too hectic and I never liked the pressure of doing it in front of people. At my most recent show, I pulled out some jewelry-quality pieces of sea glass and decided I would try to wrap a couple. The foot traffic at the show was good, but sales were slow and hubby has always encouraged me to make jewelry at the show, "on-the-fly". With my hubby and two boys at the tables to talk with anyone who came to my display, I was able to start wrapping without interruption and just got lost wrapping jewelry. I had a nice flow going and after turning several pieces of sea glass into pendants, I looked up to find I had a large audience off to the side of my table, all watching me do my thing. Several inquired if I would consider making jewelry with a piece of sea glass they personally found on the beach, took business cards, and a couple of them made purchases. One person claimed that after they observed the process of how I chose to wrap a piece, it became more personable watching "the artist" create it right in front of them (wow, I'm an artist in somebody's mind!) Crafters, if you can preform your craft live at a show, seriously consider it- it goes back to my first tip- it draws a crowd to your display and that often results in something positive for you. Business cards are a must and if you feel comfortable, jot your phone number down on a few to hand out to those you feel may be a future customer. I went through a lot of cards in my last show and if only 10% of those people contact me in the coming months, that show will go from "above expectations" to "HUGE!!!" Credit Cards- I always accept credit card purchases and have only been burned twice in several years (both for small amounts, but it still gets me angry because sea glass is one-of-a-kind and I'll never find another piece like the one I just "gave away") This last show, I noticed that about 60% of the sales were credit cards, and that most of the mid-range price-point items were purchased via a cc. The lower end price points were cash purchases and the high-end items didn't sell. If you can, bring all of your inventory to the show. I sold a piece that I have had in my inventory for a couple of years. I know that there have been shows when this piece wasn't included in the inventory, but you can't sell what you didn't bring and luckily, this piece has found a new home...and the new owner was thrilled because it's her favorite color!

I'm happy that some people seemed to be in a purchasing mood at the show and I have made a couple of recent sales in my shop. But I am still pessimistic about the economy. I hope things are taking a turn for the better and that sales and future shows (for you and I) prove to be successful. Perhaps these tips will help you make a few sales and maybe attract a couple repeat customers for your products and business. Looking forward to see you on the show circuit! 'til next time, R

Review- The 2012 Beach Plum Festival

If you haven't been following my recent blog entries- a quick catch-up... The economy has really affected my small handmade jewelry crafting business and with one of my favorite shows approaching, I decided to make a personal investment. Best case scenario, it would be a good show and I'd make my money back (and hopefully a decent profit) or worse case, I would have replenished my inventory and would put everything into my Etsy shop and gear up for holiday sales.

The Festival- for those that live in the NJ area, the Beach Plum Festival is held every September on Island Beach State Park (near Seaside) The park is gorgeous, the beaches very clean and one of the few beaches in NJ staffed with lifeguards after Labor Day. The Festival attracts several handmade crafters, displays featuring local non-profits and food vendors, along with many displays featuring the topic of the day...Beach Plums (the ice cream and jellies are outstanding, BTW) The show is very well run and receives quite a bit of local media attention. For crafters considering this event, the show always attracts a great deal of foot-traffic- many who plan to hit the beach and stroll in find a great festival in progress. If you have a beach-theme craft or business, this should be a must-do show. An overview of how the festival went for me personally would be- better than expected. I really didn't know what to expect because I was not selling much out of my Etsy shop and other crafters had reported below average sales over the summer. With many fellow crafters cutting back on shows, I didn't really know what to expect. The show started out slowly sales-wise. There was a large crowd right at the start of the festival (perhaps beach-goers) and I had a lot of foot traffic, but very few people looked to be making purchases anywhere. The traffic continued to pour in and I decided to find a few pieces in my collection to make into pendants for necklaces. I began wire-wrapping several pieces and that seemed to draw a small crowd and that seemed to change the "luck" for me, as I starting selling a few pieces. By noon, it was clear I would cover my expenses and make a little money. I'd love to say this was my best year at this venue, but it wasn't. But with the expectations I had coming into the show, I have to admit that I am so happy to have made the investment in myself because it seems that people are beginning to feel good about the economy. And they appear to be looking to buy something different and unique.

I'd love to find another show to do before the holidays, but realistically, I'm probably not going to find a better match for my product than this show. Island Beach State Park's Beach Plum Festival and my handmade sea glass jewelry just seem to be a perfect match for me. But I'll keep looking for the right spot. After the show, I sat with my hubby and discussed how the show went and realized there were a few trends on my sales and a things that helped me make sales that I hope to blog about soon. A few of these are ideas that I will continue to do at future shows and these thoughts might help fellow crafters make a few extra sales at their shows in the future. 'til next time, R

The Economy and Crafting

"May you live in interesting times" is an old proverb that comes to mind when I think of the current economic unrest in the world today. I try not to dwell on it much, but there are many times that the economy has forced me to re-evaluate what is happening with my crafting business.

Rising costs in gas and silver directly impacted my business. People just didn't have money to spend on the pretty necklace they found on my Etsy website or show display. The "I want that" draw that often led to spur of the moment purchases, had turned into "I'd like to have that" and eventually to "I wish I could afford that". My business is not one of necessity. Seaglass jewelry is not an everyday, must-have item. But for someone that lives the lifestyle of using handmade items in their ever day life, they will find a way to purchase an item such as handmade soap- if only because it is better for their skin, or it's because it's eco friendly (or higher quality than many of the massed produced, chemical laden "stuff") So not every crafting business is affected the same way. Some will continue to flourish, while others face stagnating sales because of diminished purchasing power. My sales are way down. (as in WAAAAYYY down) I did a show recently and had to invest some of my own money into my business (a QE of sorts)to be able to afford the show. You'll have to checkout my next blog installment to see if it was a wise investment... but I'll leave you with a "it was encouraging". 'til next time, R

Back Again

Well, it's been a long while. Since my last post, my blog was removed for suspicious activity (guess no activity is suspicious...lol)and I really had not been doing much with my jewelry-making. Last winter's storms wreaked havoc at the beach and the coastal towns were forced to rebuild the beaches and dunes. Great for the home owners and summer beach-goers, not very good for seaglass collectors. Not good at all The economy has also wreaked havoc on the crafting industry- at least in my area of crafting. For a while it seemed like people just didn't have disposable income for sea glass jewelry. When it comes to items that people "need" for everyday life, the money is there, but when it comes to a "want" item, I still think there are many people who can't afford small luxury items. I have several ideas for new posts. Some will touch on seaglass, some on my crafting, and on crafting in a shaky economy. My next blog entry will be about the show I did recently and how it's re-energized me to continue to do what I love - looking for, talking about and making jewelry with sea glass. 'til next time, R

Wordless Wednesday

New Sea Glass, New Creations

It's taken a while for my first post of the New Year.

After a tough finish to 2011, I had decided to take it slowly going forward
in 2012. But several of my sea glass friends motivated me to jump in and
get started.

With some new sea glass- including a few gorgeous English blues from fellow Etsy member Penny Parker, my creative juices were invigorated and I found myself sitting
at my crafting table and things just started flowing.

After about 30 minutes, I had a few hundred pieces of sea glass spread out on
one table and I picked out a few jewelry quality pieces for wrapping. The next
thing I knew, I had finished 8 or 9 sea glass pendants, the sun was peaking out
from behind the clouds and there I was with my trusty camera, capturing images
my new creations.

One or two of my new creations will go into my Etsy shop. As for the rest, who
knows...but I think one is just to gorgeous to part with and it'll look great
on me this spring and summer.

There is nothing like some beautiful new sea glass to rid the winter blues and I
can't wait for my next trip to the beach- in search of some new sea glass for my
collection.

'til next time,
R

Final Craft Show of the Season

Tomorrow, I will be attending the 1st Toms River Intermediate South Handmade Craft Show. Wow, that's a mouthful.

I think this show should be a very fun show to do because they are limiting the show to handmade vendors only. And there looks to be a lot of media support for the show. There has been radio coverage promoting the show, it's been all over Facebook and there will be several members of the EtsyNJ team in attendance.

I'm really hoping that the show promoters are able to keep this show re-seller free, us crafters can always use another quality handmade show in Ocean County for the month of December.

The Intermediate School is located at 1675 Pinewald Rd in Beachwood, NJ and the show will run from 10am - 4pm. I personally may not be able to attend because of prior work commitments, but my sons and hubby will be there to sell sea glass jewelry creations (hopefully, I can sneak away and attend the last few hours...lol).

So if you are in the area, and have some free time, stop in and say Hi to the EtsyNJ team members...and check up on my table and see what is going on. I'll be checking my blog during the day, so feel free to leave a comment, reporting on how my display looks...lol

Have a great weekend! 'til nest time...

R

Creating One Product and Selling Another

It's funny. No matter how you figure what you area of your business you believe you need to focus on, your customers always know best.

I've been working on building up my necklace inventory for my upcoming craft show on December 3rd (Toms River Intermediate South, in Beachwood, NJ) because that is my best selling item at shows and also in my Etsy shop. And as I'm looking through my sea glass collection for pendant quality pieces, my shop gets wiped out of earrings- not that I'm complaining. (actually, Yay I made an online sale!)

Just when I thought I knew best, my customers strongly have me focusing on another project because they have made it a glaring weakness in my shop inventory. So it's back to the drawing board, going through smaller pieces of sea glass and marking off the area I'd like hubby to drill holes while I check the inventory of earring components.

While I search I lay out a plan to replenish my earring inventory, I hope you enjoy the images of a couple of my latest sea glass necklaces and one of my favorite pairs of earrings that are departing for the desert of Tucson, Az.

'til next time,
R

Yesterday's Trip to the Beach

Hi everyone, it's "the hubby" (as I'm often referred to) reporting on yesterday's sea glass hunting trip to LBI.

I arrived at the beach about 25 minutes prior to the height of the low tide. It was a sunny afternoon with little wind and the temps were in the high 50s- low 60s. Walking around with a light sweatshirt was quite comfortable.

I went to my favorite stretch of beach on LBI, an area that includes a block long stretch I call cobalt beach (because I have found 10x more cobalt sea glass in this area than any other beach I've set foot on)

As soon as I hit the beach, I noticed the tides were cooperating perfectly. The ocean was pulled well back from where it normally is at low tide, and I thought that I should have brought my waders with me (note to self, bring my water boots or hip waders next time)

As I walked towards the water, I looked to the north and got very excited. There were huge stretches of shell beds that were laying just above the tide line and by huge, I mean some were 30-40 feet long and over 10 feet wide. It was a sea glass hunter's dream.

So I made my way down to the water and preceded north towards the first of several shell beds. The adrenaline rush began when I was about 10 feet away because I knew that I would be spending most of my time on the beach in this small area because the beds were deep. It was about this time, I considered running back to my truck to get one of my sand pails because there was no way I was going to be able to carry the treasures that were waiting for me.

So everything was perfect- sun shining brightly, HUGE stretches of shell beds, with the ocean gently lapping at the bottom of the beds (acting more like a lake than the ocean) and I was the only one on the beach. The only problem was someone forgot to invite the sea glass!

The conditions were absolutely perfect and there was nothing. I went from bed to bed going north, turned south revisited the beds and headed further south to "cobalt beach"- surely there would be a bounty waiting for me there. As always there tide at CB was perfect, the shell beds laying exposed in the sand and every few minutes the water would get into the bed , shifting the shells and pebbles around. But there was no sparkling pieces of glass to be had.

In all, I did find about a dozen pieces of glass that were in various stages of what I call "under-cooked" (meaning they needed more time for the ocean to finish her job on the glass) I did find a nice piece of Coke-bottle glass, very thick and probably quite old. However, it had recently broke in the ocean and had a jagged edge. It will go back into the ocean (in an area where swimmers do not frequent) I also found a couple of sand dollars, and a few small shells for a project that I'm working on for Robin's shop.

This year has been a huge disappointment- between the dune build-up and local townships moving sand around to protect the beach (and burying the glass), the hurricane that arrive at high tide and pulled much of the dunes into the sea, further burying the glass and a very disappointing fall season, where there were no shells or glass to be found anywhere on the beach.

Yesterday, the conditions were perfect and everything a sea glass hunter wants to see was present- except for the glass. Officially, the full moon occurred last night, so maybe the glass was a bit late to arrive.

Maybe

til next time

Upcoming Craft Show, Full Moon, New Creations

Wow, the end of another year is creeping up slowly.

I'm attending a first time craft show on December 3rd. The show is being held at the Toms River Intermediate School in Beachwood. I'll have several new items with me for those that have beach-loving family/friends on their holiday gift lists, along with my Etsy inventory and several pairs of earrings, bracelets and necklaces that have been recently created.
I'll be adding images of new creations that may not make it into my Etsy shop before the final craft show of my 2011 season, so if you are looking for a piece of holiday jewelry created with sea glass, check back often to see what is hot off my crafting table!

Tomorrow, November 10th is the the full moon. On the east coast, we've had some very rough seas that have been hammering the coast line (the already battered coast line) and with the arrival of tomorrow's full moon, the tides will continue to wreak havoc on the beaches. For a hardcore sea glass hunter like my hubby, it should offer the potential to find some nice pieces of sea glass and who knows what else...?

Hubby is excited that the temperature is not yet frigid, and he'll be getting to the beach a few times over the next 3-4 days to see what the tides are leaving behind. Here's hoping the sea glass is plentiful on every one's favorite stretches of beach.

Posted above, are is my latest necklace creations, along with with a Patriotic sea glass bracelet. Enjoy!!

'til next time,
R

Craft Show Results- Upcoming Sea Glass Festival

Earlier this month I did my first craft show of the year, the Beach Plum Festival. This show has been on my "A" list of shows after a few good outings.

Considering the economy, this year's version was pretty good. The weather cooperated, and there was a great deal of foot traffic wandering about. My booth was packed most of the day, as the locals had plenty of sea glass stories to share with me.

Sales wise, it was by far the lowest number of sales at this show since I began vending here. It seemed like people just were out enjoying the nice day. They spent a few bucks to sample the beach plum ice cream or beach plum muffins...but clearly, the economy has forced people to cut way back on their spending habits and I saw many people leaving the show empty-handed.

In previous years, the customers at this show began buying gifts for the holidays and it seemed like that wasn't happening this year. Those that visited my booth also didn't seem to have or want to spend the money they had. In fact, if I didn't offer customers the option of paying via credit card, I probably would have lost 5 or 6 sales.

In all, it was a pretty okay show...certainly not a waste of time. Plus, I had the chance to enjoy the beautiful day, while speaking and sharing sea glass stories with with very nice people.

Not a bad way to spend a September Sunday afternoon.

'til next time...

R

First Craft Show of the Year

After doing several craft fairs/shows for the last few years, it's hard to believe that the Beach Plum Festival at Island Beach State Park on Sunday, will be my first show of 2011.

As much as that surprises me, it's even more shocking to know I do not have another show booked for the rest of the year! Hmmm, I might have to do something about that.

So since the hurricane, the hunt for beach glass has been quite disappointing. Unfortunately, the hurricane came in near high tide, and wreaked havoc with the dunes. By tearing up the dunes and dragging the sand down the beach and into the surf, the hurricane essentially buried anything that was stirred up by the rough ocean. Had it come in during low tide, the high winds and rough surf would have tore apart the lower part of the beach and probably uncovered sea treasures that have been buried for a couple of decades.

Oh well...we were lucky the damage wasn't worse...very lucky.

If you're in the area of of lower Ocean County, NJ and have nothing on your calendar for Sunday, stop by Island Beach State Park.

'til next time...
R

Where Has All the Sea Glass Gone?

Could it be possible that the supply of sea glass has dwindled down to an occasional find?

The summer has never been a great time to find sea glass, as there are so many more
people who are also hunting for ocean treasures. But it has really been a challenge to find anything worthwhile for the last 4-5 months.

I'm sure that the beach erosion work that occurred in LBI this past winter hasn't helped matters, as many pieces of sea glass have probably been buried- some possibly forever. Areas of LBI that were once my secret sea glass "goldmines" have now seemed to be totally void of sea glass. The section I call "Cobalt Beach" presented 3 small pieces of cobalt sea glass back in late February/early March, along with a handful of various colors of sea glass. Since that day, I have only found 2 pieces of "undercooked" glass that went right into the trash because the edges were far to sharp to consider putting back into the ocean.

This summer, I've yet to find any jewelry-quality pieces of sea glass and for the most part, I've only come across the common "Heineken" greens and the "Budweiser" browns and finding those common colors have been few and far between. Heading to other New Jersey beaches have proved futile also.

Perhaps the unofficial end of summer (Labor Day weekend) will bring about some good sea glass hunting opportunities. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed seeing a couple of my latest creations with some of my "old inventory".

'til next time...
R

Upcoming Shows- The Beach Plum Festival, Island Beach State Park, NJ Saturday, September 11.

Hunting For Sea Glass? Today is the Day!

If you enjoy getting out on the beach in any weather to hunt for sea glass, then today and tomorrow are prime hunting days!

The full moon this weekend is a special one...one we haven't seen in a few years. The moon is currently closer to the earth than it has been in quite some time and this full moon is considered to be " a spring tides" or Perigee moon.

Remember your science classes back in elementary school? The teachers always mentioned that the moon affects the ocean tides. Well this moon will be responsible for a little higher high tides, and a much lower low tide. And while I have always found very good pickings after the high tide when the moon is a Perigee, it's the low tide that I am truly excited about.

The last time I went out during a spring tide's moon, the ocean had eerily pulled back some 20 or 30 feet from where the waves usually reach! I was walking around on the sand where normally, I'd be about mid-thigh deep in the water...talk about sea glassing opportunities! I came home with about 150 pieces of sea glass that day and it would have been so much more had it not been soooo cold and had low tide not occurred so late in the day.

So this afternoon, I'll be on the beach with my sons about 30 minutes before low tide, enjoying a semi-warm sunny Saturday, and waiting to see what the Perigee moon does with the tides. Hopefully, we'll come home with a few ocean gems today.

'til next time...
R

Going Shopping for New Supplies

Saturday morning I woke up earlier than usual. After my cup of coffee and a quick scan of my emails, I decided it would be a very good day to do a little "shopping" for some new focal beads for my jewelry creations.

"Shopping" for sea glass is something I look forward to, especially as the weather starts to turn away from winter and head towards spring. So on this sunny Saturday morning, I was off to a place where the prices for sea glass are the best....FREE!

It was still a bit overcast as I arrived at the beach, but as the sun climbed in the sky, the clouds quickly disappeared. The entrance onto the beach was proof of how hard a winter the NJ coast experienced this year. Heavy machinery had been moving sand around, trying to create new support dunes to keep the high tide away from the expensive beach-front homes.

Heavy machinery, moving sand from one place to another and any type of general repairs to the beach are often a tell-tale sign that today's shopping isn't going to be a very good one. As I looked up and down the beach, I knew that today's "shopping" trip was about to turn into a nice stroll up and down the beach and anything I found would be a bonus.

The beaches I encountered on Long Beach Island on Saturday were basically flat. One straight shot from the surf, right to the dunes. All of the fall preps that were created to protect the dunes were eradicated by the combination of rough seas and a brutal winter. Despite the efforts of of the city workers moving sand to shore up the dunes, much of LBI's dune barrier that protects the beach front homes are quite vulnerable to one good storm as we enter spring.

Flat beaches are terrible for sea glassing on LBI because the tide has very little trouble reclaiming anything it has left behind. The area of beach that was to the north of where the sand shifting was taking place did have a few decent collections of shells that tides had left behind. I was hopeful that there would be a few sea glass gems in the mix since my foot prints were the first on the beach, but there these shell beds were basically void of sea glass.

With the exception of a couple of undercooked larger pieces, only a couple of small Budweiser brown pieces were located. The nearby jetty yielded a well-weather, much older brown piece that looked almost red from a distance. After walking north several blocks, and only finding a couple more pieces- both older and nicely weathered, I turned back and decided I would try my luck to the south.... only to realize this was not going to be my lucky day. The beaches were absolutely flat and pristine...no garbage, no shells, no nothing. At least the walk was invigorating and I can say that my 75 minute beach walk was a bit of a workout.

So I came away from my shopping spree basically empty-handed. What I did find were pieces that I can't use for my handmade jewelry creations, but they were older pieces that have spent a great deal of time in the ocean and the best part is... the price was right : )

'til next time...
R