Confetti Stone - Page 5

Enufstuff · ‎03-12-2010

It all started in 2011. My middle daughter and I went on vacation to Bermuda. She was a sea glass collector

and had heard about a beach in Bermuda where sea glass could be found. She had to see that beach.

I had been going to Bermuda since the 1970's and I didn't know about this beach. We found how to get there and it is not seen from the road. There is a little trail that goes behind houses, to the beach.

We started picking up pieces of sea glass and I was noticing so

many triangular shaped pieces. I said to her, "These are Bermuda Triangles". I collected a bag full.

When we got back home, I started to think about what to do with all my triangles. My daughter only saves her sea glass in jars. She doesn't care to make anything with her pieces, yet.

Then I started to look online, how people made jewelry with

sea glass., mostly wire wrapping. I bought all the tools and supplies and started by making a triangle pendant for my youngest daughter's birthday.

I also made a seahorse pendant for her, using sea glass and

Swarovski crystals. A seahorse would be special for her, since we saw one at a beach in Bermuda, when I took her there for a vacation in 2008.

She loved her pieces and she cried when she saw the seahorse.

She wore her jewelry to work, she is a teacher. Her co- workers loved the jewelry and said, "Your mother should sell her sea glass jewelry."

She told me this. I had only planned on making some pieces as gifts for family and for myself. She kept trying to encourage me. I also worked fulltime at a school, back then. She said "During February school vacation, make a bunch of jewelry and then I will have a jewelry party at my house, so you can sell it". So I did.

She invited about 16 teachers and friends. I made and served Bermuda Rum Swizzles and she serve snacks. I had bought nice little silver boxes for the jewelry and pretty aqua gift bags and matching tissue for wrapping.

I made pendants and earrings, with Swarovski crystals or pearls as an accent. Mostly in silver and always sterling silver ear wires. A few pieces were in gold filled.

I sold over a thousand dollars worth of jewelry and the most expensive piece was $35.

I did go back to Bermuda a few more times with my husband

and brought home a little bag of sea glass each time.

At the end of the school year, I had a jewelry party at my house and invited my co-workers. That was also successful.

Then male teachers at school wanted me to make pieces for them to give to their wives.

Friends and teachers came to me when they needed a gift.

The next school year, I had another jewelry party at my house,

with many new teachers. There is usually a bit of a turnover in staff each year.

At each party, I served Bermuda Rum Swizzles and snacks and played Reggae Island music. I decorated with my seashells

and Bermuda art to set the scene.

I got small seashells and tied them with silver ribbons onto the aqua gift bags. They loved my packaging. I always including a little extra gift, a tiny bottle of pink Bermuda sand or a Pink Sands votive Yankee Candle. At my parties, I also had a drawing for a free sea glass gift.

Then I set up and sold my jewelry at a few craft fairs until 2018. My middle daughter and I were planning to sell our things at craft fairs, but Covid came along.

We have not done it yet, but if things are better this year, maybe we will do it. I still have more than a hundred pieces of sea glass jewelry to sell. If that doesn't work out, I may try Etsy. But, I'd rather sell in person.

Enufstuff · ‎03-12-2010

@cheriere I agree that learning about the stones is what makes them special, in addition to just admiring their beauty.

Do you have any books about gemstones? I have a few and I love them.

There is "Rock and Gem Magazine". I get their newsletters online and there are a lot of interesting articles. I have not subscribed to the magazine.

Much of it is geared towards mining and lapidary work.

You can also look up Yianni Melas the gem explorer online.

His story is interesting. He is the one who discovered and named Aquaprase and Aquadite.

Back in the 90's QVC was a great source of information about the many gemstones. I remember Kathy Levine going to Brazil

and floating on a raft to get to where the Amethysts were being mined. The miners were wearing shorts and flip flops. No protective gear. (no OSHA there)

I saw show hosts travel to where Sapphire was mined in Australia and Peridot in Arizona. There were others too.

I loved the shows with Lisa in Italy.

The shows back then were very informative and fun to watch.

There was a priest from Russia with Amber, a Chinese lady with Jade, the pearl shows and more.

Of course, I had to buy something from each show. My Q card really got a workout. Those were the days.

cheriere · ‎12-01-2023

@Enufstuff I only have one. It was written by a host that was with JTV at the time, Dan Dennis. It's a very good book with a lot of nice illustrations too. It was written in the early 90s I think. It's funny because a lot of the stones he wrote about are now mined out or at the time, weren't used in jewelry as much as they are now, I wish I had more gemstone books.

SportyShorty07 · ‎04-15-2014

@Enufstuff @cheriere Looks like we're gemstone gal pals! Isn't it amazing that gemstones come from the earth? They're so pretty and I've never met a gemstone that i didn't like .

@Enufstuff Wow- you got some really good finds from QVC when they did those big Italian Gold jewelry shows and major gemstone days! I bet that your daughters, daughter in law and grand daughters and great grand daughters love the special jewelry pieces that you've given to them! That's so thoughtful of you . How lovely of you to celbrate your daughter in law's birthday with that fire opal ring and to give her opal pieces as gifts! Oooh the Lord and Taylor opal and gold gifts from your husband sound spectacular and mesmerizing! The little girls are going to be thrilled to receive their birthstone rings when they get older.

The offerings from Creaser Jewlers and RD Allen in Maine look so fancy on their websites! Its incredible that they mine and cut and design their own pieces- it must've been such a treat to purchase one of a kind jewelry from them, and that grape juice oclored amethyst sounds so rich and captivating. Your watermelon tourmaline gemstone necklace sounds super pretty too!!

Good for you for getting a new jewelry piece for every vacation! That'sa great way to have fun memories tied to a piece of jewelry. I love jewelry- sometimes I even throw on a ring to vacuum or I put on a gold singaporean chain with a gold gemsotne pendant while I'm doing my aerobics tapes. I like the glitz and glamour of jewelry . I hope you're enjoying your retirement! That must be fun and relaxing!

Enufstuff · ‎03-12-2010

@SportyShorty07 I love your philosphy. You are much younger than I am and you seem to really have it together.

I love your answer to the ex boyfriend. I'm glad that you are good to yourself and treat yourself to things that you love.

I loved jewelry since I was a little girl, but I did not buy really fine jewelry until after I raised my five children.

I was very young when I got married and was divorced after 21 years. My children came first, so I wasn't spending money extravagantly. I dressed the children nicely and made many dresses for my three girls.

Like you, I always exercised and sometimes dance classes. My girls were all dancers. One was tap, one ballet and one jazz and acrobatics.

I always took care of my hair and wore makeup. I still won't leave the house without makeup. Even though I did not have all the gems that I have now, I always wore jewelry to match my outfits.

After my divorce, I gave my three daughters the jewelry that their father had given to me. I had a lot of bad feelings towards

him, having cheated on me and leaving for a girlfriend. We had been together since I was 14. He had only known her 4 months.

Two weeks later, he realized that he made a mistake and wanted to come back home. No way! After all I had given up for him. He did re-marry someone else a few years later, but she did not cook. I had spoiled him. He loved my cooking and at one time wanted us to open a small restaurant, with the things that I made.

I finished my Food Science and Technology degree in 1985 and worked in an analytical lab as a microbioligist for seven years. Then I worked for 32 years in our city school department.

It was only after I remarried in 1992, that I started spoiling myself. If I wanted something, I got it. Now I have too much stuff.

sunshine 919 · ‎12-22-2013

Your earrings are beautiful. I love the stone. I have never heard of it.

Enufstuff · ‎03-12-2010

@sunshine 919 Thank you very much.

SportyShorty07 · ‎04-15-2014

@Enufstuff Thank you for your sweet words ! I'm a work in progress and I'm working towards accomplishing big and little dreams this year- slow and steady wins the race! The look on my ex's face was priceless when I fooled him on who gave me that ring. It took a lot fo strength, courage and belief in yourself to leave your ex husband- I am so sorry about the infidelity. I've been cheated on by a few men that I've dated- its such an upsetting feeling. I don't like to be lied to and decieved. Like you, I look my best and feel my best and we're both lovely and great catches- we did nothing wrong to make a man cheat, its just an inexcusable compulsion that they had.

One guy I dated for a little while would get calls late at night while I was on dates with him and he'd say that they were clients from work and he'd speak to them in Mandarin chinese and of course, I couldn't understand the conversations so I thought- "Well, he works in the architectural field and maybe they're picky about floor plans" well, all of these clients were women and I put two and two together and when I called him out on it demanding answers and an apology- he said nothing. I secretly called an uber while in his car, then got out of his car and I told him that he was a lying j-e-r-k and that uber was taking me home for the final ride, not him. The feeling of being cheated on made me jaded for a while. Self care, exercise and little gifts for myself were essential and critical in building myself up after that. Exercise is so great for emotional and physical well being- its great that you're into fitness too.

Isn't cooking a great skill to have? I went to culinary school after college and I love to cook and bake desserts- I hope my exes miss my homemade desserts that I gave them and I hope they miss my pot roast and cakes and cookies ! I'm very glad that you remarried! Good for you for getting a Food Science and Technology degree and your lab work as a microbiologist and work in your city's school- thats really incredible and very impressive! You seem like such a caring person- to put your daughters into dance classes and always make sure that they're loved and provided for and feel special, such a wonderful thing to do and its nice that you are spoiling yourself now! I like your profile name- enuffstuff! I have a ton of stuff too! I also never leave the house without makeup or jewelry on- even if its running errands or something simple, I love to wear a full face of makeup and have sparkly jewelry on. I even sleep with tinted lip balm on .

SportyShorty07 · ‎04-15-2014

@Enufstuff Thank you for that wonderful story about how you got into making jewelry! How amazing that a trip to Bermuda and discovery of unique truiangular seaglass could set the ball in motion to having you creat jewelry for your daughter s that then impressed coworkers and husbands of coworkers and fans of your jewelry! You're not just an artist, but you're also an expert in branding and merchandizing- from the Rum swizzles and reggae music at your jewelry show home parties and the packaging to the little complimentary pink sand gifts- you know your brand!

Your daughters believe in your work and helped market your work too- such great girls! I smiled reading how you made all of these pieces special and how your daughter cried when she was presented the seahorse necklace. I think that you should definitely try to sell your pieces at a gair and/or on Etsy- they soulnd gogeous and you've demosntrated your great talents on this forum! I'd buy it! That's so cool that you made an amazing $1000 in sales at your first party with the most expensive pieve being $35. Go, Enufstuff! Maybe even pitch your pieces to QVC? I majored in art in college and I want to sell my art too.