Seaglassing & Wire Wrapping

sea glass in P.E.I.                                   

News and what‘s new about seaglassing. Posts of events, happenings, workshops or I might even post about using a favourite tool.
Along the Prince Edward Island shores we find shards of seaglass and wire wrap them into treasured gifts.
Walking beside the ocean, hearing the waves, looking downward, picking what man has left behind and what nature has tumbled. Once sand now glass, once raw now wrapped, was mine, now yours.

Sea glass - beach glass - mermaid's tears - gems of the sea

SeaGlass Vacation Time

We are on the road in search of seaglass.

This time our travels are taking us to New Brunswick, where we hope to be able to share some locations as well as our favourite finds.

Before I go I want to give you something to remember me by,

See you soon,

Cindy

 

 

 

 

 

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Golf Scrapbooking

The summer was a good one, now it is time to unwind and wind up the golf clubs.

First I’ll have to scrapbook a little golf tag

scrapbook golf tag

I thrifted a large package of stickers when I was at a shop in Durham, North Carolina called the Scrap Exchange, I love this place and can’t wait to return.

Shop called the scrap exchange

A retailer of scrapbooking supplies must have dropped off their extras, and I happened to thift them while I was there.  I was starting to think I’d have to UPS a box home because I was filling up the RV and someone was starting to complain.

My next tag is with a golf bag and a golf flag.

golf tags

 I’ll make a few doodads to go along with it and bag them for the gift shop this week.

During many mornings sitting at the bed and breakfast table I discovered something that golfers had in common.  They seemed to all have the same comments about golfing in Prince Edward Island and that was, “the greens are so pristine.”  When asked why that was I came up with a quick easy answer.  “Our golf courses on Prince Edward Island get a rest in the Winter months.”  One of the complaints about the courses in the US was that the greens were always dried out and hard to golf on.  Our last guests had been at the Fox Meadow Golf course.  He commented that, “for the end of the season the greens were still a dark green and lush.”

There you go, PEI has been rated with the top beach in Canada and the golf courses rated the most green, another reason to season PEI.  And ladies if you are looking for something to do while he is out golfing, stop by the workshop and try your hand at scrapbooking PEI.

Bye for now and be sure to keep scrap’N

Cindy

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Wrapped & Ready

Most days I find a little spare time in the day to wire wrap seaglass treasures

One more,

brown wirewrapped seaglass

However these days I’m paper wrapping.

Paper Book Corsages 

Rustic Boutonnieres

I made these for a wedding this past summer here on the Island and my daughter told me I should make them and sell them.  So I put them in my Etsy shop called ScrapNWrap and they get a lot of attention.  This weekend I’ll be making a few more if it keeps raining. 

Have a wonderful weekend,

Cindy

 

 

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SeaGlassLovers

I know ah! more on Sea Glass.  

We are planning our next road trip and this time it is to New Brunswick to do a little beachcombing for seaglass.  

First I’d like to share. Yesterday a sea glass lover stopped by the Scrap’n Wrap gift shop and just walked up to this piece and said, “it’s mine!” So this one is sold and was the first of many I made.

Remember back a few weeks ago I started making this steampunk looking jewellery?  I started to make it because I found so many are wire wrapping seaglass these days and I needed to put a twist on my wire wrapping, sort of give it a new look, kind of like the same old dress but with new shoes and purse idea, right.  I truly like the new look and hope it takes off and others enjoy it also.

I also started to double wrap, meaning I’ll use two pieces in the same wrap and one is free hanging off the other.

I love to bartar also, so yesterday I got an email from a fella who would like me to teach him to wire wrap.  He is in New Brunswick and has done some beachcombing there.  We don’t have a lot of time on this next road trip we are about to go on and so we need a lead on a couple of places to go have a look.  So I offered to meet him at a coffee shop and teach him how to wire wrap seaglass if he gave me a NB map to a couple of beaches. Then I sent him the link to my blog, sort of get him thinking about it a little.  Anyway I hope he takes me up on my offer and we make the trip over to New Brunswick soon.

 

UPDATE: 3 days later and I got an email back from Mr. New Brunswick Beachcomber, it reads as follows, “I think my wife would kill me if I told you were we go to the beach in search of seaglass.”  However he would be interested in me showing him how to wire wrap seaglass. 

Me: “Mike next time you are on the Island stop in and I’ll teach you how to wire wrap seaglass.”

Happy wire wrapping,

Cindy

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TUTORIAL – wire wrapped sea glass pendant

Hi Beach and seaglass fans! It is time to wire wrap your own pendant if you haven’t already.
 If you have and you are stopping by for a visit for the first time to Scrap’N Wrap, then welcome – pull up a chair.  

 

Today on my tutorial I’m going to pick a piece of seaglass out of the treasure chest that we keep in the ISLAND MADE gift shop.  I recently picked some lovely rounded pieces off the shores of Prince Edward Island and I offer a few wire wrapped pieces on my Etsy Shop at ScrapNWrap and we sell bags of sea glass in the gift shop and on Etsy. I’m working on a pendant today so lets get started.

Supplies Needed to Make The Pendant:


 
Pick your piece of seaglass you want to wire wrap
 
Flat nose pliers, round nose pliers, and cutter pliers

About 12″ of wire, I use a copper coated non tarnishing wire  and 20 gauge wire to wrap.

At this point you want to make a loop to hang your pendant.
To do this:
Use your flat nose pliers and bend the wire at about 45 degrees.

Next make your loop by using the round nose pliers and wrap the wire around the pliers then around the wire a couple of times.

My photo didn’t turn out as the battery was low so I included a link here to how to wrap around the pliers.

After you wrap underneath the loop and around  making sure to have one end about 3″ long and the other end with all the length.


Now you are ready to position your seaglass on top of the wire with the loop at the top and the long wire at the bottom of the seaglass. 

Taking the wire from the bottom of your pendant you want to start wire wrapping it around the seaglass so make a cage to hold it in.  Be creative and wrap anywhere around the bottom.
 
 

Continue making spirals holding the wire down with your thumb and using your free hand bend the wire slowly until it loops around. I call this free hand wrapping.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
After making a spiral return your wire back to the top of the pendant and wrap the wire around the bail once more.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Still working with the longest piece of wire start a spiral on the opposite side holding in the right side of the seaglass pendant.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Again being creative and wrapping the wire and looping it as you go, then pass the wire around the back and back up to the top and wrap around the bail once more.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Taking the end of the short piece of wire and the round nose pliers make a coil in the end.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Then using your flat nose pliers grab the end of the loop and coil the loop up towards the bail.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
At this point I cut myself another short length of wire approximately 8″ in length and attach it by wrapping it around the bail a couple of times over the already wrapped wire.

 
I cut off one end as it is too long and I’d like the coils to be different sizes.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I then start with the short wire and use the round nose pliers and bend a loop, then coil it up with the flat nose pliers.
I continue doing this until all the wire ends are coiled up to the bail.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sometimes I’ll need to turn the piece of seaglass over and over to get it into the position I can work with it.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I press the rounded coils against the seaglass making it appear as though there is a flower at the top, while it hides the wire I wrapped around the bail.
 
 
Well that’s it, another piece wire wrapped! Let me tell you it can be addictive. You get one piece finished and look for the next piece of seaglass to start wrapping.  I’ve been wire wrapping for years now and I love it! I started wire wrapping with beads then a few years ago started with the seaglass.  I’ve made a number of pieces and some of them are for sale in my Etsy Shop, ScrapNWrap.
 
I hope this tutorial was a little helpful and has inspired you to visit my  ScrapNWrap Etsy shop to purchase some beautiful seaglass!
 Thank you Prince Edward Island, shipwrecks and for the seaglass.
 
Happy wire wrapping,
Cindy
 
 
2 Comments


  • Jéanne says:

    Thank you so much for this, it’s certainly very helpful! You and my friend, Kathy, do amazing things with wire! I will keep an eye out for some seaglass next time I go to the beach and ask her to help me wrap it, using your tutorial! 🙂

  • Leave a Reply to Sharene

    How To Find SeaGlass

    Even today I walk the beaches and find people coming up to me and asking if this is a good beach to find seaglass? Or they question how to look for it, or where. It seems to be a high security question for most and I have  never felt it deserved a high security answer.  Now, if you have happened onto this by accident and you’re not the novice beachcomber then you might find this just a wee bit overwhelming.  However, if on the other hand you are retired, a beginner or have time to spare, you might just want to stick around  and enjoy the hunt.

    When searching for seaglass you want to be sure of a couple of things before you start to explore.

    The first thing being a beach, but that was a given, I just liked this picture and needed to share. Be patient, all good seaglunkers I’ve  met have been extremely patient and retired of course.

    image

    Some of the necessities you might think to take along would be, a bottle of water, a bag to collect your seaglass, toilet paper just  in case, and a good pair of walking shoes.  Oh and a camera comes in handy because you will always find that amazing piece and someone will ask when you found it, then they will answer with “no way, you didn’t  at least you will have the picture to prove it.

    Preferably dry shoes not wet like these

    image

    It  is  best you find out from me that you can find many things on the beach and sometimes they could be upsetting for some people so be warned.  Once I found a baby seal, and another time a large seal had been hit by a boat and ended up on the beach, I’ve seen sea  trout that kept being rolled ashore with the surf, a pelican that looked like  it hit into the edge of the cliff and  then there are the plastic items that should be considered waste.  Just remember the ocean is a playground to many and things happen.

    image

     
    Not everyone is in search of seaglass and I should mention that before I go any  further, because I have found people picking up shells, rocks and petrified wood, along with teeth, and bones.

    image

    When to search is a key factor but that is entirely up to the individual and up to the amount of balance they have in their life as well. If I had ideal conditions, I would definitely be out after a storm, on a full moon, and during a very low tide.

    But others seem to prefer to walk the high tide line.

    image

    You can always identify the high tide line as it has the most amount of seaweed on it and will be at the same distance along  the shore line.

    I more often then not prefer to be in a rocky area and the size of the stone is relative to the size of seaglass you will find as well.

    image

    I did mention I liked a low tide line, where the waves and I argue about how long I can keep my  shoes dry.

    image

    With each wave takes the top layer of beach sand away back into the ocean and uncovers some of the most beautiful finds.  Like this one, I’m going to try and be patient without stooping down and snatching it up before  the waves come back and either  totally uncover the seaglass or yet  cover it up or take it away to sea entirely, lets see what happens.

    Here is just the top of the piece  uncovered.

    image

    Then  here it is again with the next  wave

    image

    I’m lucky it is  still sitting waiting for me, what about the next wave?  Will it uncover more?

    image

    I don’t want to take the chance and I stoop, and reach out and snatch it up before the wave comes in.

    Ok, I have told you enough about seaglassing that you should be able to go off on a hunt and find some.  Lets take this next picture for example, try your luck at searching for the seaglass.  How  many pieces can you find?

                              Click on the picture for full screen and search for the seaglass

    image

    Now that you have found your first number of pieces of seaglass what will you do with them?  I know a number of people who just put  them in a jar and watch the each day to remind  them of the beach.  While  others bag the seaglass and sell it.  Then others are just out for the hunt and  they hand you seaglass when passing you on the beach. Then there are the repurpose  people like myself who like to take the seaglass and make jewellery from it.  Sure we have little hope and  great intentions of making a sale someday but we spend far too much time on the beach and far too little time advertising our product to make a sale.  I enjoy just setting it up in a gallery and listening to hear all the comments from others.  If you are  ever in Prince  Edward Island be sure to stop by the Gallery/ Studio  at 545 Malpeque Rd, Route 2, and take a peek.  If I’m not busy I’ll even show you how to wire  wrap a piece or two.

     

    Happy hunting,
    Cindy

    2 Comments


  • There are just some people who are so lucky to find these treasures at sea. You really have a talent of making a simple beach glass into a rare piece of jewelry just like that one above. Nice job. http://www.seaglass.us/

  • Leave a Reply to Sharene

    Crazy Over Blue SeaGlass

    It never fails, I think I have wirewrapped enough seaglass for the Giftshop and all of a sudden it is the second week in July and people are asking for something I don’t got have.  This time it is Cobalt Blue Seaglass, what is it with everyone going crazy over blue seaglass this year?  I guess I just didn’t have enough pieces because early in the season they were all gone. I went digging in my reserves and started wirewrapping a few pieces, just to make a little headway.  Good job I found a very nice piece before boarding the Ferry for Nova Scotia Saturday as I found a good wrap for it.

    This is a piece of fire glass, still cobalt blue seaglass but you can see it was melted to one side.

    image

    These other pieces I have been storing away in my collection.  They have a bit of a sharp edge to one side or the other and I took care when wirewrapping each piece to hid what the ocean forgot to smooth. 

    image

    That’s it I’m out of cobalt blue.  I’m either going to have to get back to beachcombing or start buying seaglass.  I’m thinking I’d rather be at the beach, bye for now.

    happy hunting,
    Cindy

    2 Comments


  • Jéanne says:

    Oh, that’s just GORGEOUS!!! Happy beachcombing, Cindy! Hope you find lots of great treasures! 🙂

    • Scrapbook Cindy says:

      Thank you, really I’m searching the beach for Grace and peace. It is helping but I’m thinking I need more of it, lol

  • Leave a Reply to Sharene

    Antiqued Seaglass Necklace

    We took another road trip and this time over to Nova Scotia in search of  Jewel of the Ocean, you guessed….seaglaass.

    I have packed my tools and a small bag of seaglass, my table and a number of beads.  Is this going to be a workcation or a mini vacation?  I searched the shore while waiting for the Ferry at Wood Island, Prince Edward Island to board and cross over to Caribou, Nova Scotia.  I had good luck in a number of finds and now had to get myself back to the camper before the line started to move. 

    image

    The internet was slow on the ferry so I shut the lid on the computer and started to daydream.  Here we are on another road trip in search of seaglass.  Do I not have enough of the sparkly stuff?  Why continue to collect when so many others are doing the same thing and so many are wirewrapping these days.  Oh to do something different, I need to find a new look, a new design….but what?

    We get up early the next morning and get out onto the beach, its windy, the waves are high and crashing the shore line and there isn’t any sun in sight.

    image

    As the sun comes up higher it is starting to look like it might turn out to be an ok day after all.  

    image

    I still can’t help thinking about a new design for my seaglass jewellery.  I search my mind attic for ideas and can only come up with a combination of all thing that I like jumbled together like, antique, copper, brass, charms, seaglass and steampunk.  I had fun creating that night and finding a new use for yet another way to reuse seaglass into jewellery. 

      the next day I could hardly wait for the sun to come up so I could take a few pictures and share my new necklaces.  What do you think, original? catchy? Do you think they will be a hit?

    This one with the butterfly has to be my favourite.

    image

    The next one I did was with this little fairy, she is so cute.

    image

    I love the way I used the chain in this one.  I’m thinking of another design using seaglass and if it is another sunny day tomorrow I’ll have to share.
    Time to hit the beach again before the sun goes down.

    Blessings,
    Cindy

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    Just a Little Twist

    Hello my friends Hello! I’m still here in the background, lately behind a pile of laundry and a sink full of dishes. We love our little Bed and Breakfast the B&B keeps us busy and sometimes we miss a few little things in life that we enjoy, like blogging and our anniversary — ooopps.

    I have been working on a few new products in the gift shop that I’d like to share. They are just a little twist from my normal seaglass wirewrapping and I hope you like them. Most of our seaglass I’m imagining comes from shipwrecks that have happened over the last hundred or so years. I love finding old pottery plates that have washed ashore and image they have come to me off pirate ships or perhaps the Titanic.  My brother gave me moms set of old dishes when she passed away and I broke one of the side plates and just can’t throw it away. After a few test runs at a thrift store plate, I’m almost ready to cut a medallion from moms old plate. 

    Here are medallions cut from a thrift store plate. 

    After smoothing down the edges and attaching wire on the medallions 

    I wire wrapped the medallion and set it

    The plates are nice so I tried using Seaglass

    I attached fairies that I ordered on Ebay

    I used different coloured metals and they just blended together

    I love this one, it reminds me of Point Pelee

     

    I love fairies, don’t you?  

    As soon as there is another wee break in our bed and breakfast I plan to make a few more with dragonflies as they are another favourite of mine.

    Be sure to have a look on my Scrapandwrap Etsy for our Prince Edward Island Seaglass and Wire Wrapped wee little things.

     

    xo, Cindy

    3 Comments


  • Cyndi says:

    Hi Cindy, Sorry we didn’t get to see you and Guy again before leaving the island (we left a bit early). Just getting back to normal after our granddaughter’s wedding and grandson’s vacation with us. I love what you are doing with the jewelry! They are gorgeous, but then you know I love all your work. Hope you have a great winter and find tons of new pieces in your travels. See you next summer, God willing and the creek don’t rise 🙂 Ask your daughter, it is a southern phrase 🙂 Stay safe and enjoy still being near the beach, I won’t see it again until Spring in South Carolina.

  • Jéanne says:

    Oh, Cindy, those pieces are just gorgeous! You are incredibly clever! I love vintage things, especially Art Nouveau designs! I also really love fairies! 🙂

  • Leave a Reply to Sharene

    Sea Glass Festival PEI

    It was amazing to see everyone again this year, no I didn’t have a table or a booth and others try to encourage me every year to attend and plan to be in the PEI Seaglass festival. I don’t know what holds me back, “next year” yes I say that every year and I now have help with the table and I can go on line and book the Bed and Breakfast off line so we can make plans to be there the full weekend.

    First I need to thank Matthew for getting up early and coming over to the B&B and making breakfast for everyone so early. He did a terrific job, did way more than I expected of him. He phoned me and said he had to get to work and I thanked him, he said he didn’t have time to clean up and so he was leaving all the dishes on the table and such. I told him we would do it when we got home. We were tired from the night before, wine, cards, line dancing you know the usual weekend getaway. Anyway, I wasn’t looking forward to 8 hour dirty dishes and all and when I walked into the kitchen and had a look everything was put away, dishes done, table cleaned off…it was amazing a big sigh of relief came over me. Now I’m wondering if it was Matthew who cleaned up (my son is a chef and doesn’t have to clean up his mess) or did our B&B guests do the clean up when he left for work. I’m almost afraid to ask. It has happened before, I’ve had to run to work and came home to find our guests cutting the grass.

    The Sea Glass Festival, sorry I wander,

    There was a guest speaker on Friday night named Richard LaMotte, he wrote the book called Pure Seaglass and he was there for a book signing. He was also there to be presented with unique finds so he could identify time and place. I had a small tupperware of finds and he went through each one with amazement. I showed off my pipe and he you could see his eyes getting bigger as he was describing this hand forged clay pipe.

    “It is definitely from the 1700’s” he said. So I handed him my bottle I’d just found hours before on the beach at Souris.

    He rolled it over and over, and said….”nice find, where did you find this again.” I told him it was just an early morning beachcombing on the Souris Beach and he started to explain the age by describing the seam welds.

    “Do you see this seam? it runs along side but not all the way up to the top of the bottle it stops?” Yes, I replied. He continued with in the year 1890 this bottle was hand made, rolling it over he showed me how irregular the bottom was and how off centre the spout was placed on. Funny over breakfast this morning Blair had said some of the same words to me, I could almost hear his voice. Later I found out from Blair I’d fallen asleep at the seminar. Funny everyone thinks I had too much wine, if they only knew…. Oh well I’m sure glad to have friends that pay attention.

    So hear is my bottle seam

    I was also told that the bottle was made with manganese dioxide the year it was made and that is to clarify the glass and make it white because all glass is a light blue/green colour. Now when my bottle is left in the sun for so long the sun reacts with the manganese dioxide turning it purple.

    Another early morning find is this amazing grey piece of seaglass

    Well I’d better get breakfast started for my guests, it is back to the chopping block for me… the fun is over for another year.

    Have a wonderful day, Cindy

    4 Comments


  • BetteJo says:

    Some very cool stuff – I’ll bet it was exciting when the guy who wrote the book admired your finds!

  • Wow. That clay pipe and bottle are amazing finds. I can’t believe you found a whole intact bottle! What are the odds? Pam

    • Scrapbook Cindy says:

      I really don’t know, but I saw part of it, then looked again and said this looks like a piece that isn’t worn and it was full of sand on the inside. I figured ti was stained and didn’t pay much attention to it when I shoved it into my bag but I’ll tell you I was paying attention when Richard said it was a handmade bottle from 1890’s

  • Leave a Reply to Sharene