Beach Treasures - ready for a creative afternoon with sea-glass, shells and pebbles.

Meanwood WI Craft Group meet next Thursday in the Rainbow jane Craft Shed, and we're going to be creating with sea glass, shells and pebbles. So, I've been busy sorting through my beach treasure stash.

One of my favourite things to do is wander along a beach, searching for the little treasures the sea has left behind. Every beach has something different to offer. Sometimes it's a vast stretch of golden sand with just a few scattered shells and pebbles, while other times it's a shoreline covered in pebbles, shingle and driftwood, each piece smoothed and shaped by the sea.

I love picking up the pieces that catch my eye and slipping them into my pocket. Never lots – just a few carefully chosen treasures that I know I'll enjoy using one day. I'm lucky too that friends often bring me their beach finds because they know how much I love collecting sea glass, shells and pebbles.

With the WI ladies coming next week, it was the perfect excuse to sort through my collection. Now I have boxes filled with small sea glass, larger pieces, tiny pebbles, smooth pebbles, little shells, larger shells and even a bag of driftwood. Everything now has been washed, sorted and is ready to inspire some beautiful creations.

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My Favourite Beach Craft - Sun Catcher Hangings

Usually I make sea glass hangings. Sometimes I even take my wire, thread and jewellery tools away on holiday with me and make them while I'm there! Bringing home a finished hanging in my suitcase always feels like a lovely reminder of the holiday.

A few years ago I ran a Rainbow Jane workshop making the hangings. Although everyone enjoyed themselves, a few people found the wirework quite tricky, and I ended up helping quite a lot. One of my craftiest friends still laughs and says it was the hardest thing she's ever made at Rainbow Jane!

So, for the WI ladies, I wanted to come up with some easier alternatives as well.

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The 3rd and 4th hanging were mad on holiday in Lesvos. For the 4th one I painted the sea urchins before stringing them together.

Choosing the Treasures

Whatever you decide to make, I think choosing the materials, although time consuming is the most enjoyable part.

I like to spread everything out on a sheet of white paper and simply look. I turn the pieces over, compare the colours and shapes, and see which ones seem to belong together. It's a wonderfully relaxing process.

As I was doing this, I noticed that some of my yarns were exactly the same soft sea colours as the glass. Then, of course, I remembered I have boxes of sequins too... and before long I was wondering whether I could create something a little more mixed media.

Time to Experiment

The next question was what to put everything on and how best to attach it.

I had a go at decorating some mdf fish with sea glass and shells. Having recently been learning about mosaics, I wanted to create something with a similar feel but without the extra stage of grouting or the mess!

After quite a bit of online research, I decided to experiment with decorators' caulk because it can also be coloured. It certainly worked... but I have to admit it felt rather like trying to spread chewing gum!

Once it had dried, I highlighted the gaps using Kintsugi glue, which dries to a beautiful gold finish. I also thought a few small sea glass sun catchers hanging from the fish would make a lovely finishing touch.

Mixed Media

Next I tried creating a small collage using pebbles, sea glass, shells and some of the matching yarn.

The brighter pieces are actually bits of weathered plastic that I collected on a beach in Majorca. Whilst it's terribly sad that our oceans contain so much plastic, it did make me think. After all, the sea glass we treasure today started life as discarded glass bottles. Time and the sea have transformed both into something unexpectedly beautiful, so I decided to embrace the weathered plastic too.

The sea glass is attached using B7000 glue because it gives such a strong bond. For the yarn, which doesn't need such a powerful adhesive, I used Tacky PVA and a little Matt Mod Podge.

The little fish is simply painted with a white Posca paint pen before the sea glass is added. The gem eye and bubbles were fixed using my hot-fix gem tool.

I really enjoyed making this piece. There's something incredibly calming about sorting through the colours and shapes, gradually watching an idea come together.

Ready for the Workshop

I think I've now got something for everyone.

Those who enjoy using wire cutters and round-nose pliers can make one of the sea glass hangings.

For anyone wanting something a little simpler, there'll be the option of decorating mdf fish or creating a small mixed media collage.

Still Experimenting...

Of course, I'm not quite finished experimenting yet!

I have some Milliput Epoxy Clay that I'd like to compare with the decorators' caulk to see whether it gives a nicer finish.

I've also bought some floating display frames, the sort normally used for displaying coins or jewellery. They might turn out to be a wonderful "no glue" way of creating sea glass pictures.

I'll update this blog once I've had chance to try both ideas.

Until then... all this playing with beach treasures has made me realise it's time for another trip to the seaside. I think I need to go and collect a few more pockets full of inspiration...