Sea Glass Jewelry: Create Beautiful and Unique Designs from Beach-Found Treasures

By Lindsay Furber and Mary Beth Beuke

GIFTS FROM THE SEA

Gather beautiful beach glass with its mysterious ocean-tumbled shapes and rainbow of bright hues. Add your personal creativity and some basic jewelry making techniques. Enjoy your stunning, wearable, one-of-a-kind keepsakes!

With gorgeous color photographs and step-by-step instructions, this book teaches the essential skills, like drilling glass, wire wrapping, and texturing metal, to turn your beach-found bounty into attractive accessories, including:• Adorable bracelets• Stylish pendants• Sparkly earrings• Eye-catching rings

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Jul 15, 2014
• ISBN: 9781612433424

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

The Sea Glass

People have always been drawn to the ocean’s allure and the artifacts residing at water’s edge. The world’s oceans harbor an array of wonders: tide pools with alien-like creatures, relics left by historic settlers, shipwreck finds, and more. No surprise, then, that the joy of beachcombing appeals to all ages.

As a child, I lived across the street from a 32-acre, densely forested park with play areas, baseball fields, tennis courts, pools, and a thousand different trails. Best of all, many trails led down to the beach. I spent countless hours spotting orca whales off the coast, building forts from driftwood, and exploring wonders found upon the Puget Sound waterways.

Over the years, my fascination with the seashore has become focused on the hunt for an increasingly rare discovery: sea glass. Whenever I plan a vacation, the beach is at the front of my mind. My poor husband was even forced to hunt for sea glass on our honeymoon in Italy! My business partner, Mary Beth, and I have traveled down the Pacific Ocean coast on sea–glass hunting trips. We also traveled to Greece in search of rare sea glass. And, I’m already dreaming of a trip to the Caribbean for the bright sea glass colors found there.

Coauthor Lindsay at the beach.

Coauthor Lindsay at the beach.

The Jewelry

Mary Beth Beuke also dabbled in jewelry design. On the rare occasions that we were not scouring the beach, she would let me rifle through her collection of beads and other jewelry-making materials so I could make a simple beaded bracelet. It was simply an amusing hobby.

Then, for Christmas one year, Mary Beth gave me a lovely sea glass anklet she had made. It was a simple design — a drilled piece of cobalt blue sea glass hung from leather cord — and I loved it! Not long afterward, I commenced my first attempt at a pair of wire-wrapped earrings. Soon friends began making special requests for my sea glass jewelry creations. I even found myself taking college courses to learn silversmith techniques.

Before long, our love of sea glass and the desire to create with our hands flourished, and Mary Beth and I launched West Coast Sea Glass. Once the company got on its feet, I was able to rent studio space from experts in jewelry design. I spent many full Saturdays at the workbench learning metalsmithing, soldering, cutting, and hammering techniques. This further experience and specialized training in metalwork gave me a knowledge base I could rely on for the next 10 years.

Ring made with sea glass plucked off England’s North shoreline.

Ring made with sea glass plucked off England’s North shoreline.

Do-It-Yourself Era

Recently, walking through the Washington State Fair, I came across a blacksmith booth. They were selling some neat items — such as house numbers, garden art, and swords. My husband really liked the weapons, of course. But what caught my fancy was watching the blacksmith work. Like a toddler near a paint set, I was itching to shove a piece of metal into the fire and start hammering away. (A lawsuit in the making, I’m sure!)

Anytime I walk through a street fair, I find myself noticing the crafters’ booths and wondering if I could finesse my own skills for a similar project. How neat would it be to make a dinner table for my family to gather around? I have no desire to go into the carpentry business, but it would be fun to try. Once or twice…in all that free time I have between chasing my toddler and black lab, managing a home, and making jewelry!

As someone who completely resonates with the desire to create with my own hands, this current do-it-yourself era is quite exciting to me. Therefore, for all those out there looking to enjoy a little creativity in between the chaos — this book is for you.

CHAPTER 2

Trash or Treasure?

As a stay-at-home mom, I have an online store (westcoastseaglass.com) and rarely sell my jewelry in person. However, when I do, I have occasionally heard people say, "This is just garbage they