Beach glass

My sister, Kathy, and my niece, Michelle, just returned from a "mom-and-daughter" vacation in Florida, where it was mostly warm and sunny and beautiful. They did a lot of beach walking, and I asked Kathy if they found any beach glass. That's my big interest when I walk the beaches... I don't care much about the shells... I like the beach glass, and also the perfectly round or oval stones. Since I don't live near any beach, and lately haven't traveled near any beach, my collection of beach glass is pretty slim.

Somewhere I once heard that beach glass is called "mermaid tears"... and doesn't that sound lovely? But then I did a little bit of 'net research and discovered that mermaid tears are also known as nurdles, and they are actually small pieces of plastic pollution on beaches.

Anyway, I like the term, "beach glass" because that's how I've always known it. Here's a link to an article on it in Wikipedia. I was looking at some beach glass jewelry recently on Etsy.com, and I wondered about if my rock tumbler could make a good replica of beach glass... apparently fake beach glass abounds for tourists to buy at beachside shops.

I've always thought of looking for beach glass along the ocean shorelines, but then I found this store on Etsy, Lake Erie Beach Glass. And if you think about it, of course Lake Erie would have all kinds of beach glass... it used to be so polluted, there could be an unending supply of beach glass from that lake. One thing I had not thought of is old pottery pieces worn smooth like beach glass. Some of the pieces this Etsy shop uses for jewelry are beautiful, like these blue and white pottery pieces.

I think that set is so pretty, old-fashioned pottery made into something unique and interesting and new. I also like this brown pottery piece made into a pendant... though I think I'd like it better without the curly silver at the top. I like the color.

You'll just have to check out this Etsy shop; there are a lot of beautiful pieces there... bracelets, rings, and even miniature art. I do like the traditional beach glass jewelry pieces the best, like this one, too...

There are other sellers on Etsy from the Great Lakes doing some beautiful things, like this driftwood and beach glass photo frame, and this shop.

Makes me want to plan a few weekends this summer along the lake shores. That's one thing about living in the "middle of the mitten," Lake Michigan and Lake Huron aren't too far away. Lake Superior is definitely more of a stretch, and Lake Erie is, in my experience, very crowded. I was talking with Joycie's boyfriend, Mike, about beach glass, and he said that the state park beach near Bay City (where he lives) has been being cleaned up a lot, and they have found beach glass there.

Things to look forward to this spring and summer, when I'm no longer under "house arrest" (as I fondly refer to this medical home-bound requirement) and I can look down while I walk!