Trip to the Beach

So, I finally broke down and decided to head over to LBI. Usually, I stay away until after Labor Day weekend. But the day was so nice, the ocean was calling and so was the urge to see if I could hunt down a piece of beach glass.

I went to a familiar area, found that most of the public parking that had been used for beach goers in previous years, now had a two hour time limit. Instead of having 75% of the spaces full of cars, there were a grand total of 5 cars using the 30-50 parking spaces... brilliant! Of course the side streets were loaded with cars and luckily, I squeezed into a small spot.
Now because of this brilliant decision to limit the parking places to 2 hours, the beach was quite empty. And the badge checkers were probably struggling to reach their quotas, so they were all over us as we hit the beach. "Do you need badges today?", "Do you have badges?" The bizarreness of it all fell somewhere between, I was the ice cream person ringing the bell and all the kids (badgecheckers) came running and I was going to a show and these teenagers in the yellow shorts were escorting me to my reserved seats.

So an enforced $15 donation to use a beach in the county I live in and spending several minutes driving up and down streets looking for a parking space because of some brilliantly stupid decision to put a 2 hour limit on parking places, the day didn't start well.

And it didn't get any better... I thought I/we might have a shot at maybe finding something in the surf. The beach was loaded with shells, mostly broken and quite a joy to step on in bare feet. With the tide moving out and a promising shell bed slightly visible, I had hopes. Heck, for the first time ever, I was encouraged when I saw the net-lady nearby...and she had her net with her!

But it wasn't to be. I gave up after 45 minutes. I spotted nothing at all. My DH spent at least another 30 minutes in mid-shin deep water, walking through what I believed was a shell bed and he saw one piece of "heineken green" green glass that needed about a decade more of cooking before it was ready.. Most of the shell bed appeared to be broken shells (no large, whole shells were found) and what looked like washed gravel rocks.

I have plans to go to LBI next weekend for a family get-together and thankfully, it's in another town on the island, because it is highly doubtful that I will ever frequent the town that we went to today. I'm not sure what official had the brainstorm (or was it a brain-fart?) to implement a time limit on parking places, but I guess this person forgot that the reason why people go to LBI is to enjoy the beach and not to go shopping or dining out during the day- besides a large percentage of the stores look like they still have not opened their doors this season.

Sandy really impacted everything I came across on this trip to LBI. The crowds were sparse as they have seemed to be for a lot of the summer. So many stores never opened their doors and many places still look like they need renovations. The things that appeared to have changed, have changed for the worst and one of the most important draws for me, the sea glass, looks like it may be years away from coming back on the beaches that I have visited.

My next trip will be to the northern end of the island and hopefully, very soon, I can head over to the area my DH called "cobalt beach". At least it was a beautiful day....

'til next time...
R

Outdoor Caft Shows, New Creations and Maybe a Trip To The Beach Today...

Yesterday's show was basically a washout. About 2 hours after the show began, very menacing clouds moved in and a drizzle turned to a heavier, steady rain and later into a downpour with claps of thunder. This is what can happen during an outdoor show and while my tent has often held up well, the seams leaked a bit and I ended up with the water dripping on the table (time to have my hubby reseal the the tent's seams) The rain was unfortunate because the event was quite fun... beautiful grounds and so many gorgeous dogs! Being in the market for a puppy later this summer, made it so hard to see all these fantastic looking hunting dogs.

The rains came too soon after the start of the show and it did not stop, so it was hard to say if the show would have been good for those selling handmade, but either way, I'll probably go back again next year...beautiful grounds, a fun show with many activities, friendly people and well behaved, gorgeous puppies will always equal a fun show for me! Maybe the weather will cooperate next year.

The sun is supposed to make an appearance later today and hopefully I'll be able to capture a few images of some of my newer pieces. My Etsy shop is a bit decimated from the back to back shows and I need to bring up my inventory levels for my consignment shop on LBI and for my July craft shows. Hopefully, I'll have a few images to share tomorrow....

I'm trying to convince my hubby to join me for a short stroll along the beach... I feel like today may be a lucky morning to go sea glass hunting. I'm hoping to find a few more green pieces to finish a project (non-jewelry), but DH is recovering from a torn calf muscle and yesterday's weather and trying to breakdown my show space before the heavy rains came back have him hobbling around this morning. My suggestion that walking in the soft, yielding sand will be good for him does not seem to be working. (and he's the one that is always ready to go hunting sea glass...I guess he really is to sore to go) Oh well, looks like I'm hunting solo.

til next time...

R

Craft Shows and Beachcombing for Sea Glass

I fully intended to do a blog about the wear and tear of the Autumn/Holiday craft show circuit and promote the show I'm doing tomorrow with my fellow members of the EtsyNJ street team.

Tomorrow's show is-

OM Baby Studio
726 Arnold Ave
Pt Pleasant Beach, NJ
12pm-5pm
Free EtsyNJ Swag Bags will be handed out to the first 70 to attend!

The wear and tear commentary will have to wait for another day because I got to the beach today and for the first time since late July... I found beach glass!!

I have found a piece or two on previous trips to the beach, but nothing worth talking about...just the same old Kelly Greens or Budweiser Browns (lol) and certainly no jewelry quality pieces.

Today's trip didn't offer any pieces that fit the quality I'm looking to make jewelry with, but besides the usual greens, browns and whites, I found a cobalt blue and a cornflower blue. And I haven't found a cornflower blue in several years!

Plus the shell beds that can usually be found on the beach where the high tide crested and along the edge of the surf line were finally back...especially in the surf, where I saw several pieces of glass just waiting for someone brave (or crazy) enough to pluck them from the chilly waters.

If you've been following my blog, you know this coming week is a big week for beachcombers. During this new moon, the moon will be very close to our planet and as a result the tides will be a bit more severe. Factor in a hurricane that is heading towards Puerto Rico this weekend, before shooting off into the Atlantic (not a problem for the US mainland, thankfully)

But rougher waters and perhaps an easterly wind, coupled with the strong tides caused by the New Moon, could wash up all of the gems that taunted me today. And maybe a few more of those cobalt and cornflowers will be of jewelry quality and find their way into my shop (and hopefully around my neck or wrist !!!!) I definitely psyched-up for my trip to the beach this weekend!

To my local readers... if your anywhere near Pt Pleasant, stop in at OM Baby. It's free and there will be 20 EtsyNJ members there to greet you...oh yea, please stop by and say Hi!

'til next time...
R

Handamde@OM Baby, beachcombing for sea glass

So another month has passed, and the holiday season is just around the corner. Today is a very important day for the US, as we elect a new commander-in-chief. Please everyone, get out and exercise your democratic right to vote!! (this has been a public service announcement from CreationsByRobin...lol)

This weekend, the EtsyNJ team will be holding their first team show at OM Baby in Point Pleasant Beach, NJ. We're going up against a large juried show, but we've selected afternoon hours for the show (12pm-5pm) and should see some spill-over from the other show. In all, it looks like we have 20 members present, with a great variety of handmade items.

Stop by if you're in the area, I'm sure you'll be able to pick up a few items for the loved ones on your holiday gift list....and maybe a thing or two for yourself . (Don't worry, I won't tell...lol)

Besides the excitement about the OM Baby show, I'm very excited about one of the key days of the year for beach combing. Next Thursday will provide us with a New Moon and this one is of great importance for beachcombers.

The Perigean spring tides occur only a few times a year and during these tides, the sea often gives up several wonderful treasures. The perigean tides occur when the moon is at it's closest point to the earth in a position called the "perigee". The tides are often much stronger and it is a key day of the year to find sea glass.

Last year, the spring tides offered up many beautiful pieces of sea glass and my hubby came home from an early morning outing with more that 80 pieces of sea glass, including a few cobalt and some of the nicest lime green pieces we've come across on the Jersey shore. He spend over 3 hours searching a small section of beach and later in the day, the whole family went back and located another 25 or so pieces. (Along with a couple really nice pieces of driftwood and some shells that we don't come across very often.

If you get the chance, next week is the week to be out on the beach... the pickings should be good through the weekend!

Don't worry if you can't make it, my hubby will out there every day in the search mode, looking for his first piece of yellow and/or orange.

The picture above is one of my finds this past summer. A beautiful piece of UV green sea glass that I made into a necklace... sadly, it has been sold. But I'm also very happy because it's going to a home that definitely appreciates the beauty of sea glass!

Rock the VOTE!!!!!!!!!

'til next time...

R