Making jewellery from beach finds

Towards the end of last year I sold some of my work in person at a craft fair. It was a lovely experience to get to meet some of my customers in person and to be able to get feedback on the items I made from people who could see and touch them. I also ran a competition to win a £10 gift voucher for my shop for anyone wanting to sign up to receive my newsletter. It has taken me a long time to post the winner but without further ado...

 

 

Congratulations Karen Fearnley! Your name was picked at random by Baby Barnacle and I will be sending you an email shortly with your prize.

 

If you would like to sign up to receive occasional updates and special offers just go to the 'newsletter' tab above.

 

As the weather has been starting to get a bit more spring-like (even though the Easter weekend itself was a bit hit-and-miss!)  we have managed to get down to the beach a few times recently. I love the chance to do a bit of beachcombing, and found quite a few tiny treasures among the surf. 

 

Most of these will probably find their way into future art works in one form or another, with a few being suitable for jewellery. I have finished a few pieces made with some of my previous beach finds, and they will soon be available in the shop. Until they are do let me know here or via my facebook page if there is something that speaks to you.

 

Have you been enjoying the warmer weather after the storms of the last few days? Hopefully they are over now and spring is here to stay!

Beachcombing; hunting for hearts

A couple of days ago I went down to the beach after work for an hour to look for treasure. I've always loved collecting natural treasures, I was the kid with pockets full of shells and stones, the one who insisted that my parents make room in the car for my 'special' stick, or rock, or pinecone after every walk.

Beaches are some of my favourite places to scavenge. Well, some of my favourite places in general! I have almost always lived near the ocean, and I can't imagine living away from it for very long. I think my ancestors were mermaids...

I'm always on the lookout for interesting little trinkets that I can incorporate into new jewellery designs or my mixed media artworks. Pretty shells, stones, pieces of beach glass or plastic, old rope, rusty metal and driftwood are all fair game. These are a few of the shells and stones I collected, all washed by hand with an old toothbrush and laid out to dry in the sun. I'll try to remember to show you the photos of the final pieces these trinkets eventually become!

 

I have a particular love of heart shaped stones, and always look out for them. At the moment they are dotted around all over the house, on windowsills and shelves, in bags and pockets, but I'd like to gather them all up and display them together somehow. A little collection that can be constantly evolving and growing.

 

How do you display your collections of little treasures, whatever they may be? If you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them!