How to Start a Sea Glass Collection

As the saying goes, 'One man's trash is another man's treasure.' By starting a sea glass collection, you are essentially collecting pieces of glass that have been transformed by the ocean from litter into small, decorative pieces of colored glass. Many creative folks make a hobby of collecting sea glass and even use it as art or for jewelry.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Go Natural or Artificial

1. Head to the beach or shore of a large body of water to find authentic sea glass strewn along the edge of the water from the tide.

2. Buy a rock tumbler to try and create artificial sea glass, or check online to buy artificial sea glass. Artificial items are often less expensive than authentic sea glass. Plus, they are available in every color!

Know Your Colors

3. Look out for any sea glass that is red, yellow, orange, black or a deep blue. These are the rarest colors of sea glass to find.

4. Start with brown, green and clear pieces. These are the easiest for beginning collectors to find, because they are the most common colors for glass bottles.

Appreciate the Art and Science of Sea Glass

5. Realize that sea glass is litter from bottles, glass from shipwrecks and even lost or discarded household items broken into smaller pieces by rocks and ocean currents.

6. Trace the frosted appearance of sea glass back to the hydration process. By being in constant contact with water, lime and soda in the glass are brought to the surface, forming crystals.

7. Understand that the natural process of creating sea glass is one that can't be perfectly duplicated by man-made technology.

Start and Care for Your Collection

8. Decide on the purpose of your collection, whether it be for display, to use in crafts or to sell.

9. Gather the materials needed to start and support your collection. These may include a tumbler, jars or display cases.

10. Dust your sea glass regularly if you decide to put it on display. This will help keep it looking bright and beautiful.

Tips & Warnings

• Get an early start to find the best pieces of sea glass. By starting early, you can usually find beaches that have not been picked over by other collectors.
• Watch for any sharp edges on sea glass that has not been completely smoothed over.

[ChristineRenee]

on 3/22/2009 Collecting beach glass is a great hobby, but I think most people who get serious about it are not going to be very interested in including fake beach glass in their collections.