• About Me
    • About Llywindatravels
    • Retirement = Full time travel

Llywindatravels 2021

~ Around the world with two suitcases

Llywindatravels 2021

Tag Archives: jewelry making

Llywinda Sea Glass

19 Tuesday Feb 2019

Posted by winifredcreamer in Australia

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

jewelry making

Neither of us is good at sitting on the beach. We need chairs (knees) and an umbrella (skin cancer) as well as good books or crosswords, water, and snacks…. We don’t just plunk down on the sand between swims. We wade, look at tide pools, and beachcomb.

I began collecting along the beach well before we started our current travels. In Peru, I found a Fred Flintstone figure. During our three months in northern California, I collected abalone and a few tiny pieces of beach glass, the gems among the shell. At our next stop in Barcelona, thousands of years of occupation around the Mediterranean yielded lots of beach glass, yet the only person I met while collecting was a young woman from California. We shook our heads at the oblivious Catalans, passing up the treasure under their feet.

Since then we’ve walked along beaches in Ireland and Scotland, Italy, South America, New Zealand and Australia. I’ve found cowboy figurines, mini-superheroes, and toy trucks. We’ve picked up lots of beach glass–Jonathan can see beach glass from 20 paces with his eagle eyes.

In Italy, I began to make pendants from beach glass wrapped in wire from the many bottles of prosecco we were consuming. Wire-wrapped pendants can be beautiful, but wine bottle wire isn’t always the best material. I had a lot of fun making do with pliers and what was at hand, but to create something better I had to invest in some beading wire, a few jewelry findings, and a drill. I bought a Dremel.

[A Dremel is a popular brand of multi-tool that is very popular with crafters. If you know what a Dremel is, you know it’s the first step on a slippery slope to a garage full of project materials and 15 kinds of pliers.]

My first design turned out well. I wear it all the time and it’s been a good conversation starter. People ask where I find the glass and when I tell them it is all along their local beaches, they seem truly surprised. I’ve continued making beach glass necklaces, trying out a variety of colors. There are lots of different variations that I still want to make. A few are laid out on the window sill and more are ideas. I frequently get distracted by new possibilities. I made earrings to match the necklaces, then made a detour into bracelets that still needs a lot of development. When we found shells on the beach, I made shell necklaces.

2.6.19 WC projects-001sm
2.6.19 WC projects-003sm
2.6.19 WC sm
12.14.18 Linda's necklacesm

When we found driftwood, I made a wall hanging.

I’m still learning how to wrap a perfect piece of beach glass in wire to make a pendant, though.

One day soon, I’ll set up a website. The slide show below includes projects that I’ve made when not drilling beach glass for necklaces.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Print & PDF

Like this:

Like Loading...

New jewelry

07 Wednesday Mar 2018

Posted by winifredcreamer in Peru

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

jewelry making

For a while, I collected broken watches and then took them apart. As I should have known, watches are all electronic and only contain a few tiny gears, most made of plastic, so watches are not a source of gears as they used to be. Most steam punk style jewelry is made from faux watch parts made in China.

As the watches got pried apart, I found interesting reels of copper wire and decided to use them to make something. This is the result. The center pendant is a coil of wire from a broken external hard drive. Techno-Egyptian revival?

 

 

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Print & PDF

Like this:

Like Loading...

Beachcombing Treasures

04 Monday Dec 2017

Posted by winifredcreamer in Sicily

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

beach combing, jewelry making

A great pleasure of being retired is having the time to dabble. I am a great putterer and after beachcombing extensively in Italy, I wanted to make something of my finds. I took the plunge and bought a Dremel. For the uninitiated, this is a tool that can be used like a drill, a polisher, a small grindstone, and mini electric sander. Once I discovered how to use the diamond drill ends by watching Youtube, I made a bracelet. The stones in this bracelet are from the beaches of Sicily, especially Heraclea Minoa, where there were lots and lots of flat, oval pebbles.

The bracelet was such a success that I decided to make a necklace. I used what I had on hand to connect the stones. These were labeled head pins and had a small decorative end on a straight wire. I bent them to fit and coiled the ends.Beach glass was next, and I selected pieces that were generally triangular, though there are several irregular pieces. Once I drilled them all, I strung them on beading wire with tiny crimp bead as spacers.I used these because that’s what I had with me. (Notice the clasp consists of a hook and a fishing swivel.)

I’m going to continue collecting beach glass so that I can make more. I know that you can make “beach glass” in a rock tumbler, but I am happy to wait until I find the real thing.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Print & PDF

Like this:

Like Loading...

List of previous blogs

Our new book! Available on Amazon, click image

Follow Llywindatravels 2021 on WordPress.com

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 326 other followers

Blogroll

  • https://www.llywindatreasures.etsy.com
  • Recent Press: NIU Today, Mar. 30, 2021
Advertisements
Advertisements

Blog Stats

  • 21,922 hits

Tags

Airbnb Airports Algarve Animals Archaeological sites Architecture Art Attractions Ayacucho beach combing Beaches Beach life Birds Birdwatching Birthdays Carmel Castles Cats Churches Coast Coastal life coffee Cooperatives Covid19 travel Craft fair Empedrada Family Festivals Fishing Flea markets Flowers Food food trucks Gardens History Holidays Home Decor Hotels Hurricane Illness/injury Islands jewelry making July 4th Landscape Lighthouse Markets Midwest Mississippi River Museums Nazca New Year's Eve Orkney Overtourism Parades Parks People Porto Restaurants Romanesque Shopping snorkeling Stained Glass Street Art Summary Thanksgiving Tidepools Trains Transportation Travel planning Travel preparation Travel tips Virus stories walks Weather Wine
Follow Llywindatravels 2021 on WordPress.com

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel

 
Loading Comments...
Comment
    ×
    Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
    To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
    <span>%d</span> bloggers like this: