Beach Bracelets

For the past few days I have been sorting through my collection of shells, picked up on the beaches in Florida, for just the right shapes to complete these bracelets.  The shells used here are naturally these shapes, the waves in Fort Lauderdale are so harsh that very few shells make it to the shore hole.  They end up broken and smooth just begging to be made into jewelry.  I just love the way the curve of the shells fit so nicely on the wrist, it's hard to photograph them since they really are not meant to lay flat but I did the best I could.  The beads were tumbled so that they look like sea glass, it adds a nice pop of color and movement.  The copper toggle clasps have been made from some left over copper flashing someone gave to me, they have been etched and shaped so that they curve with the wrist for a comfortable fit.

Green n Blue Beach Bracelet $75.00
Shells from Fort Lauderdale Beach

Shades of green Beach Bracelet $75.00
Shells from Fort Lauderdale Beach

Shades of lavender Beach Bracelet $75.00
Shells from Saint Augustine's Beach 

Pink n Gold Beach Bracelet $75.00
Shells from Fort Lauderdale Beach

Shades of Blue Beach Bracelet
Shells from Fort Lauderdale Beach

Shades of purple Beach Bracelet
Shells from Saint Augustine's Beach

Pinks n Purple Beach Bracelet $75.00
Shells from Fort Lauderdale Beach

Bits of the Beach

Today I dreamed of being at the beach and since Dave picked up shells for five days this past February I have a few to play with. On the Fort Lauderdale beaches the shells tend to be broke into small pieces and have nice round edges that just scream to be turned into jewelry.  The glass in these are beads that have been tumbled to look like beach glass.

Bits of the Beach Necklace $45.00 on a 24" chain 

Bits of the Beach Necklaces $45.00

Class Time

Today I started a 12 week class called Non-traditional Materials for Jewelers from the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts.  My teacher's name is Amy Culp and I think it's going to be interesting.  Amy taught us how to work with some paper pulp to make some paper beads, even though I don't think this is anything I would ever bother with since glass is so beautiful and paper just doesn't do it for me it is a technique that may come in handy at some point in my jewelry building.  The second part of today's class was spent working with a resin and paper to make a chunk of resin/paper that we will turn into something interesting next week, or maybe not depends on how it turns out.

At the beginning of the class we were asked about our favorite found object and I told the class about the treasures my husband brings home for me from job sites.  I never know what might come home in his pockets or back of his truck but I forgot about my favorite all time found object the shells I picked up on beach of Fort Laurterdale.  My stash is running out and it is looking like the next trip will have to be a business trip to sit on the beach and pick up shells. Here are some of the bracelets I have made with the drilled shells and beach glass beads I made.

Beach Bum Bracelet in my favorite color combo

I love using the copper tube to make this style bracelet

My friend Sandra's favorite color combo