Tuesday, September 1, 2009

My New Hobby...and a Give-Away!

I know I left you hanging last week and I apologize! Between the kids going back to school, orienting to my new job, and trying to fall into some semblance of a new routine, my craft/computer time has been slim to none!

Of course, it does not help that I been trolling the beaches of Northern Japan either. :) My new hobby is sea glass hunting. You have to be careful...I always go armed with a plastic cup to ward off the seagulls. :)

So, I hate to admit this...but the beach is less than a mile from my house and I had not ever been! In my defense...it is not a swimming beach. The undertoe is so strong it could suck you in and deliver you to San Francisco! At any rate, you can see my hesitation with 3 small children.

My friend, Tiffany, invited me to go and, quite frankly...started the addiction!

Here are some pics of the beach...note we had a tropical storm coming in, so the sun is hidden behind the clouds.




And this is what the glass looks like as it is sitting on the rocks (look at the blue-ish stone in the center of the picture)...

And what it looks like in my glass jar!


See? Isn't that gorgeous?!! I just love how the light reflects off it. It is going to be a wonderful keepsake of our time here!

Now for the good part! If you would like your own small jar of authentic Japanese sea glass hand collected by yours truly, leave me a comment on this post! I will draw for a winner on Sunday night! (I need a reason to go back out this week...tee hee!)

23 comments:

Rachel said...

That is just beautiful!

Suzi said...

I LOVE sea glass!! I bought some "fake" stuff or my bathroom since there aren't a whole lot of beaches in St. Louis, MO. LOL When we went to CA a couple of years ago, my dd was determined she was going to find some sea glass. We did find a small piece of broken glass that had been smoothed a little by the waves. She was happy with it.

Becki B said...

Well Siobella your time at the beach was well spent then. I love the Sea Glass. Put my name in the hat I would love to win some!!!

Grace said...

Oh I'd be HAPPY to give you a reason to go out again! I have always loved sea glass! I have a couple pairs of earrings made with it and I just love it! Unfortunately I can't wear them because I'm allergic to anything but gold... I guess I could put them in a jar?!! I certainly can't blame you for strolling along that beautiful beach and what wonderful memories of your time there!

Karen said...

Hi there! We love collecting sea glass & driftwood on the Northern California coastline. There is Glass Beach in Fort Bragg where an old closed glass factory used to dump and while the bigger pieces have been picked over for years, its filled with tiny ones still. I hear you on the undertow factor. I won't take my kidlets to the beach unless there is another adult with me....one per child!! (they think its hilarious to run in opposite directions and see me wish for magic powers to split into two....or maybe stretch like Mrs. Incredible, which is what we called her before we knew her name was Elastigirl....somehow Mrs. Incredible stuck!! :>) Glad you are finally able to enjoy your coastline!! :>

Jenn Embry said...

Oh that is so cool and very pretty! I wish we had a beach nearby.

gale said...

Ooh that's gorgeous!! I hope I win!! :D

Stephanie said...

this is soooooo gorgeous!! I would be addicted too!! I bet we'll see some gorgeous creations inspired by that glass :)

Jen said...

The photos and the sea glass looks beautiful!

Teresa Jenkins said...

I'm sooo jealous... keep me out of the drawing though, as I have my own jars/vases/cups full LOL I really miss it! Did find a few pieces on a visit out here to Colonial Beach! Made me miss being there even more! Glad you are enjoying it!

Naomi said...

Ok, I am in! I would love to have some real sea glass. It would be so pretty around a candle garden on a blue glass tray on my bathroom counter....hmmmmmm....yeah, definitely!

Linda J - By The Sea said...

If you LOVE sea glass, I invite you to visit Sea Glass Lovers on the Ning network. We are a private online sea glass community made up of close to 2300 members worldwide.

Members share over 8000 photos, craft and sea glass display ideas, beach locations, shard id, contests, photography, speciality collecting groups and much MUCH MORE!

We are a private, agenda and politics free and a non jewelry site. Membership is free to all.

Visit http://www.seaglasslovers.ning.com

Kay said...

Oh, that is so pretty _ i'd be heading to the beach every day too if i were you. Navy people have the best stuff in their houses :)

CathyRose said...

Oh, no wonder you are hooked! Sea glass is so lovely. It looks like you have quite the collection. I love how you displayed them in the jar.

Covered In Crafts said...

OoOoO!! I'm in. Crossing my fingers too!

Louise F NZ said...

This is gorgeous Siobian, reminds me of my childhood growing up by the beach.

peggysue said...

I am disqualifying myself from winning, two reasons, we collect beach glass on Lake Michigan, which as I said before is sodium free and much more healthy! Ha!!! And I already won a lovely gift from Japan and want someone else to get happy mail! Fun hobby, that is pretty stuff isn't it?

Teresa said...

OHHHH! It is absolutely beautiful!!! I have heard of people collecting sea glass, but have never seen any before. Love it!

Gina Lindsay said...

Wow, you have collected a lot. Your pictures are gorgeous.

Anonymous said...

Wow, beautiful. I love sea glass. We used to hunt itwhen we were kids.

Jane Izumi Matsumoto said...

These are beautiful!! I have never seen sea glass before. I think I need to look into these... love to collect mineral rocks with my boys.

Tlbran said...

WOW, That is very cool! I love the pictures you took of the beach. It looks so cool with the storm coming in.

katiesniche said...

What a great new hobby! I don't recall a lot of it on Okinawa, however there were a couple gals at the craft fairs that were making jewlery out of it, so there must've been some around. So pretty. I finall, after being in the states 18 months, found a curio on Craigslist and unboxed all my Japanese things a couple months ago...it's so nice to have it all out so I can see it.