Swept From The Sea Designs was created out of my love of the ocean and the beautiful glass it produces.
A LITTLE NOTE ABOUT AUTHENTIC SEA/BEACH GLASS...
AUTHENTIC SEA/BEACH GLASS?
Authentic sea glass (seaglass) / beach glass (beachglass) is broken glass (bottles, etc.) from shipwrecks, boats or people onshore that for one reason or another has found it's way into the water. Most sea glass is from the early 19th and 20th centuries and can be found along the shorelines of oceans, lakes and rivers. It is tumbled smooth over time (years, decades, maybe even centuries...) and develops a lovely frosted patina from the action of water (waves, currents) against the sand. These colorful jewels are becoming more rare, as the use of plastic and recycling increases.
DIFFERENT COLOURS OF SEA/BEACH GLASS
There are many different colours of sea/beach glass, that range from very common to extremely rare.
VERY COMMON
White, Sprite Green, Rootbeer Brown, Brown
COMMON
Seafoam, Light Green, Lime Green, Forest Green, Olive Green
RARE
Pink, Lavender, Light Blue, Cornflower Blue, Cobalt Blue, Citron, Opaque White
EXTREMELY RARE
Yellow, Orange, Red, Turquoise, Teal, Gray, Black
Hence...any discrepancies in the pricing of similar items is due to the rarity of the glass.
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JEWELRY CARE...
SPECIAL CARE OF SILVER SEAGLASS JEWELRY
Sterling silver after time will tarnish. Some build-up of tarnish may also occur on seaglass. Seaglass can be cleaned by scrubbing gently using a mild detergent (I use laundry detergent) and a soft bristle brush. Don't forget to rinse and dry well.
STERLING SILVER JEWELRY CARE TIPS
Sterling silver is a precious metal and there are steps you can take to help your jewelry remain beautiful for years of enjoyment.
- To help prevent tarnishing, store silver jewelry in a tightly sealed plastic ziplock bag.
- Avoid wearing silver jewelry in pools or hot tubs with chlorinated water.
- Protect your sterling silver jewelry from exposure to makeup, hair spray, nail polish and household cleaning agents, the chemicals in these products may damage your silver.
- To keep your silver looking good, gently wipe off skin oils after each wearing with a soft polishing cloth.
- To clean and remove tarnish, polish silver gently with a soft polishing cloth.
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ABOUT ME...
Crafting has been an important part of my life since my Mother taught me how to crochet twelve years ago. Since then...I have learned cross-stitch/hardanger, mosaics and beadwork.
Swept From The Sea Designs was created out of my love of the ocean and the beautiful glass it produces. I still remember the first time I saw sea glass. It was in a tiny bottle filled with water on someone's desk. I had no idea what I was looking at. (I haven't always lived by the Pacific Ocean...it was all new to me.) I was totally mesmerized by the way the light shone through these beautiful little jewels. Then one day at the beach I found one of these little treasures and it all came together.
To make my jewelry, I've learned how to drill glass. It requires tons of practice and lots of patience. It's time consuming and not always easy. It can be very tricky. It's totally been worth all the effort because it allows more light to shine though (which as we know...from the bottle of sea glass on the desk) I find mesmerizing. I've also spent a lot of time at the beach collecting sea glass. I love it even though it's hard, dirty work. It's a treasure hunt and I never know what I will come home with. Very exciting!
My future plans are to keep learning more about jewelry making and spend some serious time at the beach looking for treasure.
One more thing about me...I love silver! So most of jewelry will contain some silver.