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

PEI Sea Glass & cards

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tearoom

It’s no secret I love sea glass and there are trails of it everywhere I go these days.  Someone stopped by the  Tea Room this week and I thought nothing of taking them on a little tour, I remember hearing from behind, “holy cow look at the sea glass.”
Sea Glass Card

The weather here in PEI has been iffy, off and on rain has entered the days long enough to keep the ground wet enough you can’t play in the garden and longer to keep you from beachcombing.

 

Memories of PEI Sea Glass Cards Today I’d like to share with you a new card I made with elements of PEI.  If you look close enough, you will find pieces of sea glass, Island stone and shells.  I had a number of small pieces of driftwood to place on the cards but it was just too bulky.

 These cards were fun to make and so I made 25 of them and put them into the Island Made gift shop for
sale. 

 

 

On a recent visit to Ottawa I stopped by Multi Crafts in the East End and picked up plastic window boxes.  These are squares about 2″ by 2″ and I also found plastic ovals.  I plan to put our red PEI sand, small beach shells, hand picked sea glass and maybe a little kelp in behind the windows and make shaker box cards; that would be something.  Once I get the first one done, I’ll be posting a picture of it for everyone to see.

 

Take care scrapbookers  

~Scrapbook Cindy

 

scrapbook studio

Remember to shop and buy local and keep small business alive. Visit my scrapbooking neighbour Angela, in Charlottetown at “The Scrapbook Studio” 47B Beach Grove Road, Ellen’s Creek Plaza, Charlottetown, PE. C1E 1K5   Phone: 902.370.4990

1 Comment


  • BetteJo says:

    You are so creative with coming up with things for people to pick up to remember their vacations!

  • Leave a Reply to Cyndi

    Sea Glassing a Bottle Stopper

    The days are getting warmer and closer to summer. This has to be my favourite time of year when the ice leaves the shoreline and new discoveries wash up on the beach.  Yesterday we dropped what we were doing and headed to Souris Beach to do a little beachcombing.  My new buzz word is seaglassing, it all means the same thing “I’m gone to the beach.”  

    It was a beautiful day

    Seaglassing

    Perfect for bending and stooping 

    Then! to my surprise I found one of the four things I have been looking for while beachcombing for sea glass, a bottle stopper. Laying in its beauty, old, history, glass and dating back to maybe 1860?

    Then the happy dance

    bottle stopper sea glass

    Amazing is the feeling when you find one of these  bottle stoppers while sea glassing beachcombing.  Early drug bottles were produced for formulas.  Sent empty to local druggists or doctors and they had the task of filling it with dry or liquid prescription.  These bottles called apothecary-style bottles were to protect dry medicines and chemicals from moisture intrusion or oxygen exposure. When your druggist filled the bottle they most likely sent you home with a cork fit stopper as the glass stopper didn’t travel well on horseback or buggy.  

    An apothecary stopper was on my list of “must find” while beachcombing.  It’s a great prize to a sea-glass hunter,  just ask me, here we are days later and I’m still ecstatic about it. I don’t know what I’ll do with my find but you want to bet I’ll have it on display somewhere about the house.  Truly, a great number of these bottles were made between 1850 and 1900 and mostly in clear glass.  The glass stoppers in tea drop shape were also made at that time for perfume bottles.

     apothecary druggist bottles with glass bottle stoppers

     Imagine getting Phantom Powder instead of Hair Tonic…

    My Favourite Find

    glass bottle stopper

    Do you beachcomb where you live? Have you ever found a bottle stopper? Next I want to find a ceramic doll face. Soon we will be busy with the Tea Room and Bed and Breakfast and won’t be able to comb the beaches of Prince Edward Island as often as we’d like. 

    Barn I added to PEI Through a Lens  a facebook page I made that has just photos of all my favourites from seaglass, to wirewrapping, barns, bales, lighthouses and then some, follow the link and check it out. 

    barn in Prince Edward Island

     Well that concludes another day at the beach. Hope to see you beachcombing some day.

    ~cindy

    3 Comments


  • jennifer dunkley says:

    I have fohnd a bottle stooper, but wat do you make with it

  • Stacey Varsa says:

    Hi, I live in Amherstburg Ontario and found a bottle stopper just like yours this spring…I was as thrilled.as you too!!!! My husband has a blob-top glass bottle he found scuba diving, and we placed the stopper in it on a shelf in our living room. So many treasures to be found! 🙂
    Stacey Varsa

  • nini says:

    Hi Cindy. It’s nice to see you on your blog. This beach combing aurvntdee sounds like a lot of fun. I would love to get over to the island again but I don’t know if it will happen this summer. I’ll sure keep it in mind though. Take care. Blessings, Pamela

  • Leave a Reply to Cyndi

    Buy the Sea Glass of PEI

    beach glassIn PEI we offer miles and miles of walking shoreline for beach combing. Beachcombing  can be a special hobby for some and a business for other. I have a number of beautiful genuine pieces of Sea Glass or beach glass from PEI that I have wrapped with wire and made into pendants.
    What can I “wire wrap” for you? Bring it in the shop and I’ll teach you to wire wrap that special piece for you.

    Everyone has a collection of one thing or another, and perhaps;
    You are a top of the dresser, back  pocket, sandy beach or sparkly things collector? Do you know?seaglass washed onto the beaches
    Do you walk the beach in search of sharks teeth, sea glass or beach glass and unshapely shells?
    Perhaps you have a China plate on your dresser filled with pretty stones from your last vacation?
    Rare orange seaglassMaybe you carry lucky junk in your pocket like a coin, marble, stone or safety pin.
    Do you appreciate ity bity things with large sentimental value?
    Do you save tokens, clips, bright buttons, and tiny items?

    If you said yes to any or all then I can help you turn your treasures into wearable’s or gifts to give to family, friends or as souvenirs from PEI. During the summer months our little gift shop turns into a great spot for a workshop, stop by and try your hand at a wire wrap. Visit soon and take part in one of My Island Experiences, be it a full day (beachcombing), a half day (tea/tour/craft) or a half an hour (wire wrapping seaglass) there is fun for everyone.
    Wire is a versatile material and twists easily. It is strong enough to hold all your cherished items that you can wear and be admired by many.
    Here at the Island Made gift shop I use a variety of coloured wire or gold filled, copper and sterling silver to wrap your cherished pieces secure.
    Come have a look at a few I have done that sit in our shop ready to wear.

    Finished sea glass pendant

    wire wrapped teal sea glass with crystals

    Jadeite seaglass wrapped

     wire wrapped piece of jadeite found in Souris, PEI

    white seaglass from PEI

    Silver wrapped piece of clear sea glass found on our beaches of PEI

    A white round piece of sea glass

    A white nugget piece of sea glass

    This is a sea glass focal pendent just waiting for a chain

    green sea glass wire wrapped

    This piece is a favourite of mine found in Tea Hill, PEI

    I hope to see you this summer for a little Island Fun

    ~cindy

     

    4 Comments


  • Lana says:

    LOVE this! Wire wrapped sea glass. Have visited PEI many, many summers and have found some of our own sea glass and pottery shards. Would love to know where you are located on the island and if we might be able to visit while we are there this summer, if both of our schedules jive?

  • BetteJo says:

    Have you ever written about how you learned to do this?

  • wendy says:

    I LOVE your sea glass pendants! I wish I were closer so I could take your class in how to wrap objects! Do you sell your pendants on-line anywhere? :O) Have a great day!

    • Scrapbook Cindy says:

      Thank you for the wonderful compliments on my sea glass. I’m sorry to say I don’t have an on-line store. Others have found something they like and emailed me and I wrapped it up and dropped it into the mail to them. Thanks again 🙂

  • Leave a Reply to Cyndi

    Paint Sample Crafts

    If you’re anything like me! you hang onto what might be used another day. You also have a junk drawer with a few extra paint samples. You can’t part with them because the colours are pretty and the names on the pint chips remind you of places, “believe me I understand.”  Turn them into little pocket purse note pads shaped like matchbooks.

    Matchbook mini notes

    Paint samples turned into little note pads

    Fun and easy to do crafts with re-used paint samples

    Turn your unused paint samples into mini note books

    Materials:

    Paint samples 

    White sheets of card stock

    Stapler

    Punches  to decorate

    How to make a mini note pad:

    1. cut your paper to 2″ by 2.5″

    2. cut the paint samples to the same width

    3. fold the bottom of the sample to 1/2 ” on the bottom (where stapled)

    4. put 6 sheets of your cut paper inside fold

    5. staple through all layers

    6. fold the paint sample around the top of the note pad

    7. trim the length then tuck in behind the stapled bottom

    8. decorate the outside with rubber stamps, punches, or stuff from your junk drawer

    If you can’t find me Funny that is because I’m busy being Frugal, either way I’m have Fun doing it.

    Take care,

    Scrapbook Cindy

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    Scrapbook Anne of Green Gables

    Who is this Anne of Green Gables anyway? She’s an orphan who comes to live in a farming community on an Island. Not just any Island, but Prince Edward Island. Each summer Anne comes to life in the hearts and minds of  those who visit the historical Green Gables site. In Cavendish on a hill overlooking just a bit of Canada’s lovely land, you will find Green Gables, a homestead where Anne is remembered by thousands who come each year.

    Scrapbooking Anne of Green Gables

    paper doll Anne of Green Gables

    The scrapbooking fun is ongoing in the studio, the scrapbooked memories are forever, and the licensed memorabilia of Anne of Green Gables are available in the Island Made Gift Shop. ~Scrapbook Cindy

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    Sea Glass Lamp

    Sea Glass Lamp

    thrift store lampthrift lampA number of days ago I visited our local ReStore and purchased this lamp. 

    I wanted to make a Sea Glass Lamp and so we start with taking all the material off the lamp.

    Then removing all the glue, what a job that was, FYI if you plan to make one of these buy a new lamp shade without any material on it from a craft and hobby shop.

    thifted a lamp to make it into sea glasssea glassThe next step was collecting sea glass. My bh got excited thinking we were going beachcombing in January on a day -5 no not this one. Its not like I had to go to the beach to make this seaglass lamp as I have a personal collection.  

    But if you plan to make a lamp with seaglass you will need a number of sizes and shapes. Sea Glass can be found on the shores of Prince Edward Island but if you are not vacationing here just yet and you are in a hurry to make your lamp, you can purchase seaglass on the internet but it is becoming expensive as it is getting harder to find.

    wirewrapped seaglass lampI then wirewrapped a number of pieces with a toggle at both ends so I had something to secure the wire to.  Cindy wire wrapping a sea glass lampI started wirewrapping then realized the glass needed to have a wire netting behind to hold it into place so I weaved wire one way then another to make a box pattern with the wire.

     

     

    sea glass lampI’m making this lamp to go into a bedroom we just redecorated in our Bed and Breakfast.  It is going to be a nice touch as the room is decorated with a nautical theme and a closer look you will see antique glass dishes filled with sea glass, an old barn wood mirror accented with seaglass and drift wood and now a sea glass lamp will sit on the end table. I just have to decorate the base with sea glass and driftwood. 

     

     

    The Finished Sea Glass Lamp

    beachglass and seaglass on a lamp shade

    The Lamp Lit Up

    seaglass lamp light at night

     

    I’m shutting out the light now, it is late and after three days the lamp is almost complete. I will add driftwood and sea shells to the base and then it is on display.

    Thanks for stopping by my craft project with sea glass, visit again to see what the next seaglass craft will be.

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    Take care my friend ~ seaglass cindy

     

    8 Comments


  • Leticia says:

    Pretty nice post. I simply stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that
    I have really enjoyed browsing your weblog posts.
    After all I will be subscribing on your rss feed aand I am hoping you
    write again very soon!

  • Vicki says:

    mom, not to sure if i like it, im going to have to see it in person to get a good look at it, nice job thought and it must have taken a lot of glass

    • Scrapbook Cindy says:

      Now that you have seen it in person, you have changed your mind and want it.

    • Scrapbook Cindy says:

      I thought,! whats there n6ot to like? so I wen6t b5ack an6d had an6other look. Hu,doesn6’t look all tat great to me either in6 the photos, it is somethng else to see it in6 3d. Excuse the keyb5oard it has a min6d of its own6, dran6k too much coffee.

  • Cindy says:

    Wow! What a lovely project! I love sea glass. Thanks for sharing!
    Cindy

  • charlene says:

    lovely!

  • […] Today the SeaGlass lamp is finished and you can visit the full blog over at my craft blog called scrapandwrap. […]

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    Mermaid’s (Tear) Wrapped Seaglass Pendant

     

    Just for a Tear

    North Shore beachcombingThe shores of Prince Edward Island were a little frozen when we beachcombed yesterday. However, I had to have that first piece of seaglass to wire wrap for a New Year’s Pendant.

    December 31, 2011, our way to bring in the New Year.

    This is our beachcombing beach on the north shore of PEI, notice the ice on the tops of the rocks? Ya! no kidding the North Shore was fabulous and the winds were about 10 knots, gorgeous day if you were dressed for it.

     

     

     

    One tear cried onto the shore.

    Winter sea glass findsAs I’m walking the beach this rolled up in front of me. I felt like I was serving as a valet parking attendant at the Ritz and a Rolls-Royce had just pulled up for me to pick up. One Mermaid’s Tear, a beautiful piece of seaglass – was there a subliminal message here? I think so, “quick pick it up” I heard yelling from the back of my head.

     

     

     

     

    Lots of colour found today.

    Rare orange seaglass

     These seaglass shards complete my collection of finds for the day.  Notice the orange piece of seaglass?  I looked up West Coast Sea Glass, they have a poster marking the rarest of all pieces.  What a journey a piece of sea glass makes until it arrives in hand.  

     

     

     

    Sea Glass 2012

    seaglass for New Year's Day

     For a closer look 

    Sea glass wire wrapped

     I incorporated a twisted square wire

    wire wrapped seaglass with beads

     A few Swarovski crystals are added to the top of the bail 

    the bail to hang from a chain

     Excited about Sea Glass

    The seaglass bail to hang from a chain

     A picture from the top

    Finished sea glass pendant

     The End!

    Thank you for stopping by my post on Mermaid’s (Tear) Wrapped Seaglass Pendant.  I hope you enjoyed the walk / glass / wrap. Wishing you all the best as we start the New Year, happy wrapping.

    ~ seaglass cindy

    5 Comments


  • Ginette Roy says:

    Congratulations for this fabulous pendant. I am just starting having fun with wire wrapping and don’t know if I will ever get as good as you doing it. Keep up your wonderful work. Ginette – Québec – Canada

    • Scrapbook Cindy says:

      Thank you Genette,
      I remember my first piece of wire wrapped sea glass, I still have it kicking around somewhere, I thought it was a piece of sea glass turns out it was a clear rock. The wrapping, wow, when I look at it now but hey that was back then, practice makes wonderful pieces.

  • BetteJo says:

    I don’t think I’ve ever seen any kind of pendants wrapped the way you do them. Very pretty!

  • Janus Wilson says:

    A nice piece of sea glass and a lovely wrapping job. Way to start the new year.

  • Very impressive! Love it! I want to know a/ which beach, b/ when the classes start!

  • Leave a Reply to Cyndi

    Gone to the Beach

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    Gone to the Beach

    thermometer indoor/ outdoorWhen someone mentions the phrase “gone to the beach,” you sort of think of beach towels, crowds and sunny days. On Dec 31 in Prince Edward Island, Canada the phrase gone to the beach paints a picture of cold, windy and ice caps on the water. What would drag you out of bed at 5:15 at a temperature of -5  to make a lunch and head to the beach? You guess it, Sea glass

     

     

    Beachcombing in the Winter 

    beachcombing in winterBaby its cold out there! So why bother? There are a couple of reasons one takes to the crisp cold sea shoreline of PEI in the Winter. First- it won’t be crowded, second- the beach won’t be picked over for seaglass, third- we are busy in the summer months and can’t always get to the beach to replenish our supply, and fourthly-  Winter tides are different and although there is no special time for collecting sea glass, it is said that winter is the best time of the season. Winter brings higher tides. The tides will bring about more sea glass onto the shore. winter beachcombing seaglassts always windy in PEI and so you don’t have a choice but a windy day is preferable  with more than thirty knots,  because the wind will expose sea glass from under the sand. That said be sure to search for sea glass in and around the high tide mark or line. Then if you add rainy to that windy day you will find only seasoned beachcombers collecting sea glass. Nevertheless, one needs a lot of seaglass to make a matching pair of earrings so I had better get rough and ready.

    I’ll return later today with my winter seaglass finds and frost bit fingers.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog post on Gone to the Beach, I hope you rather enjoyed what I endure just for glass, not just glass but Seaglass.

    ~ Seaglass Cindy

    1 Comment


  • charlene says:

    have fun!

  • Leave a Reply to Cyndi

    Seaglass by the Sea Shore

    hunting PEI for seaglassI am a passionate lover of seaglass.  As a child I remember always wanting the shiny toys like a lite bright, now that I’m older not much is changed. Being close to the shore and hearing the ocean washing back and forth has a calming effect. Treasure hunting the shores of PEI and hunting for sea glass has magical moments.  seaglass washed onto the beachesPerhaps I’m reclaiming my young days and that is what attracts me to the ocean, the beach and calls me to sea glass hunting.  I am a beachcomber of seaglass, collecting the shiny pieces of  sea glass after mother nature tumbles it onto the shore.

    My passion for seaglass has become my hobby, well I should be honest it has become an obsession.  Sometimes we can record the journey that a precious gem has taken by the colour shape or type of glass.  
    Jadeite seaglass wrappedThis piece of Jadeite dates back to 1940’s. Martha Stewart made Jadeite very popular increasing it’s value. I’ll save the research theory for another time. It ‘s hard to believe that glass was once made of sand. Glass becoming part of the sea again; washing back and forth with the elements of sand, stones and the tides. Turning the glass and tumbling it over time into a precious gem of seaglass, depositing it onto the shore for you to find. The glory of the hunt hunt for me is the end result after I have wire wrapped it into a beautiful piece of jewellery. 

    Thank you for visiting my sea glass by the sea shore blog.  It is considered a good day when the sun shines bright and the seaglass sparkles on a sandy shore.

    Take care my friend,

    ~ seaglass cindy

    2 Comments


  • Janus Wilson says:

    I’m surprised you can beach-comb in the winter. All power to you and your lovely jewelry.

  • BetteJo says:

    Oh my goodness – where do you get the energy to keep up with your home, take care of guests and the tea room, update all the sites you have expanded to – and spend time with family and celebrate the holidays!? You must by a dynamo!! 🙂

  • Leave a Reply to Cyndi

    Sea Glass Earrings

    green seaglassEven though it is Winter here in Prince Edward Island and we have snow on the ground it is also a great time to go beachcombing and find sea glass.  Over the past two days we have ventured out and found what I would say are some good quality pieces.  
    green beachglass earringsI have been in the studio drilling glass for earrings and I broke my first piece of sea glass.  No big deal, it wasn’t blue or red but it was a perfect match for a pair of earrings I had picked them out for.  knotted wire seaglass earringsMatching sea glass for earrings is very time consuming and takes a lot of patients and time, something I have in the Winter months as our little shop doesn’t see too much business. You are not only matching size but colour and shape.  Seeing it is Christmas I put out the open sign for two days last week and had a few drop ins from Islanders who have family home from away. I have everything I need scattered all around me when I work and I wonder if it looks messy to people who drop by or if it looks like I was working.    

    white sea glass earringsLast night I finished up these earrings. Most of them are all seaglass that I drilled with the exception of one pair of bead earrings.  The earrings are hung onto photos of PEI. These photos are in the studio and are used in “My Island Experience” when travellers stop by to scrapbook. hammered wire beaded earringsI wire wrap and I have found I also like to hammer wire so this is my first pair of earrings that I made by flattening out the wire and then punching a whole in one end for the earring hook.  If you notice white fuzz on the earrings when you click on the picture to enlarge it, don’t worry this comes off, I like to have a 12 x 12 swatch of alpaca on my work surface so things don’t roll away when I’m working.  

     

    I’ll be bagging these up today and getting them ready to price. Thank you for stopping by my blog on sea glass earrings I hope you drop by again.

    ~ Seaglass cindy

    0 Comments


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