Sea Glass Hunt in Victoria BC

This is a video from back in 2012 when it was still pretty easy to find sea glass on the beach along Dallas road. I have not looked there in recent years but I can guess it won't be as plentiful since more and more people have sought it out! At any rate, I am sharing this here after ignoring my blog for several years! I hope you enjoy. If you liked this video, please subscribe to my YouTube channel! Gracias :*

Tree of Life Sea Glass Pendant Necklace

Over the course of the summer, I learned to make this vintage bronze framed tree of life pendant, threaded with hand drilled sea glass. The glass was collected along the shores of Victoria BC. When I started out making this tree of life pendant, it was an utter disaster. I tried to make this with non-drilled sea glass and was a complete failure. The whole thing looked like something unrecognizable, and held no composition or balance of any kind. After working with the mangled wire for nearly 3 hours, I gave up, ripped all the wire apart and put it away in my kit for a couple of weeks. But, my failed attempt at the tree of life pendant was not forgotten.

Eventually, when opening up my kit of supplies, the unused wire looked back at me. I was reminded of the money I'd spent on the wire (was not cheap) for this aborted project. This attempt meant using drilled sea glass. I plucked out some glass bits that were small and bead-like but still drillable. When I started this final version, I recalled something that Michael said (he taught me how to do this at Bamboo and Bling here in Victoria). He said something about not caring, loosing control, just letting it go. Let it turn into whatever it will be. I approached this version with no attachments, no expectations and just let my hands guide my mind to the design. Thinking too much about it, means stalling and gapping in the process. This version took me about an hour, if you count in the drilling, then maybe a bit longer. But in the end, I am really happy with the results. Soon, I am going to brave up and make another one.

This one is for sale by the way at my new Etsy shop. If you'd like to buy it, you can find it here: Tree of Life

Teal Sea Glass: My favourite of all

Teal is my all time ultimate favourite sea glass colour! The colour flows somewhere between green and aqua blue. It's a more rare find for me, and teal sea glass can often disguise itself against the pebbles as a stone. When not hit by direct sunlight, the colour seems to absorb the darker ground colour very well, especially when the glass is dry. I think that is why discovering teal sea glass is such a thrill for me. The challenge of discovering these rarities, makes the hunt that much more thrilling. When I look at my overall colour collection, teal sits in one of the smallest containers I have.

This summer, I upgraded my lavender sea glass into a larger container which was unexpected as I thought it was more rare than teal. I don't know what teal sea glass once was, do you? In this piece in particular, one person on Facebook said they saw the profile of a person's face. I could say I see the profile of a Mayan sculpture face. Having lived for several years on and off in the Riviera Maya, I recognized this iconic shape almost immediately. This piece is probably one of my larger teal finds. I very much welcome more teal sea glass into my life. So, what is your favourite sea glass colour? Please take the sea glass colour poll. I regretfully forgot to add teal to the list, but I am guessing that some might lump it either into the green or aqua category.

A pile of Sea Glass

Sea glass hunting can be a hit and miss. Some days, I am lucky to find a handful along a seaside walk while other days, I hit the jackpot and come home with an almost filled doggie poo bag full of treasures. If I really want to score, I need to get down and dig. I actually love digging in the pebbles and sand, and have come up with a strategy for doing so. It's much easier to use a tool for pushing aside the pebbles, so I use a small piece of drift wood bark. Pulling back the layers, reveals the moist and curved colourful shapes of the glass, popping out of the dark pebbles that surround them.

In this photo, you can see the vibrancy of the colours bounce off the natural volcanic rock formation found along the Victoria waterfront coastline. I find the natural world makes the best back drop for showing off sea glass finds. The photos are as scrumptious as the sea glass themselves. Who knew, that trash could become so beautiful, so treasured, and sought after. The best part of all? It's free. I don't need to pay anything for this priceless experience provided by the paradise that surrounds me. There really is no amount of money that can buy this kind of thrill. It's no wonder people are waking up around the world to this past time, hobby or in some cases occupation. Heck, I'd be happy doing nothing else but strolling the shoreline, walking one step in front of the other, in a mindful fashion, seeking out those adrenaline rush discoveries. It's a simple yet fulfilling experience, sea glass makes me happy.

Sea Glass Beach Art Photography

Here is a photo composition of sea glass I took while sea glass hunting at the beach. Found washed up dried kelp roots, make a beautiful looking nest or basket for the colourful sea glass pieces. The sea glass nest is then placed upon a beach log, giving it the organic background texture. I think it's awesome that I can go to the beach, find sea glass and make such beautiful photos from what was essentially garbage and washed up ocean debris.

I took this photo with my cell phone rather than my compact Canon camera or Nikon DSLR. I find using my cell phone to be a much easier experience than dragging a camera with me on the beach. I think that cell phone cameras will one day replace much of our use for the bigger cameras. As I have owned and used many kinds of cameras over my life, I welcome a mobile camera with an optical zoom. As a sea glass hunter, I always have my mobile phone out taking photos and videos of my explorations and sea glass finds and then immediately upload those to my social networks. One cannot get enough of looking at photos of sea glass!!

Colourful Sea Glass in a Shell

Beautiful sea glass includes a rainbow assortment of colours. Beautifully frosted and perfect for craft making endeavours. I don't normally make it a habit of picking up shells, but this one seemed so perfect for showcasing a handful of my favourites. The more rare finds for me include the aqua colours. I usually only find smaller pieces of aqua sea glass. A couple of years ago, I found more. Interestingly though, I am finding more lavender sea glass bits, which are said to be more rare than the aqua colours. Cobalt coloured sea glass is almost non existent these days. I usually find tiny pieces amongst the sand. This photo represents some really awesome finds!

Photo Sea Glass Transfer Necklaces

Here are my original photographs, transferred onto white sea glass, hand picked from the shores of Victoria BC. The process is a bit lengthy. First, I selected the photos to transfer onto the glass. Setting up a contact sheet of smaller images, allows for variety to work with. For the transfer, I used a matt Mod Podge product. First brushing the image with the Podge, then pressing it facedown onto the glass. I let them dry for at least an hour, before taking a damp towel and carefully rubbing off the top layer of paper. At a certain point, it gets easier to just use your finger to roll off the remaining paper. In some cases, I created more rustic and depreciated styles. Then, let the pendants dry for a few hours. About a day later, I sprayed a couple of layers of matt acrylic sealer overtop and let them dry for another day. Once dry, I am able to submerge the pendants under water for drilling to be threaded onto a cotton cord, as seen above. They make beautiful artifact stone like pendants. Chunky, colourful and customized to the liking of the wearer. I managed to do a huge batch of these and they sell at $25.00 CA. Here's one handful of the completed pendant necklaces. I've labeled them "moon stones".