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  • Hi, I’m Emily

    Emily Fazio

    I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle.

    You can find me writing for HGTV and DIY Network, follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note if you'd like. I love notes.

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An Overachiever In Her Glass

June 13, 2012

Goal settin’ keeps me going, and I was happy to announce that I topped off the big container of beach glass with this instagram picture (find me! Search merrypad! I’ll follow you back!):

Getting our instaglass on.

What’s next?

Well, as many of you have questioned: What is it exactly that you’re doing with all this beach glass? The honest answer is, “I have no idea… yet”.

For now, I’m fulfilling a simple goal that I set when I bought the house three years ago, the goal to collect as much beach glass as possible while I live in such great proximity to the beach. I like it for a few reasons:

  • Its state and form is unique; no two pieces are alike
  • It’s colorful (dozens of colors collected on our beach alone, not just shamrock green, browns, and white that are most common among US and Canadian beer distributors)
  • Its transparency makes for great window decor. I like it best in a window where the sunlight shines through it. It’s like stained glass, but more randomized and earthy.

In the interest of keeping the collection growin’, I upgraded most of the glass collection to this big wine jug (not mine, found curbside outside a restaurant).

Freebie wine jug, found curbside. Is that too gross?

With the label removed and the bottle thoroughly cleaned (I can’t emphasize how much time I spent cleaning the smell of wine from the bottle), it was ready to be filled with beachy treasures.

Cleaning the wine jug, whistle while you work feverishly.

From the original window sill glass container, I transferred any pieces that would fit through the opening in the jug straight in. It’s a 1″ opening, which meant that most of the collection had a new home.

Beach glass in a pretty wine jug.

What I’m going to do with this ginormous and quickly growing collection of tiny beach glass, I’m not sure. Maybe make a whole entryway floor out of it someday like I did with the beach shale in this house. Ooh, or the floor of a shower. Or a tabletop! There’s no hurry, I’m only killing time collecting the stuff while we can now. Did you know man-made beach glass sells for $7.99/pound at the craft store? It’s not as pretty either. Please people, let me mail you some.

How many small pieces (<1″) do we have as of today? And how does the jug look sized next to a lemon?

Lots of beach glass. Jug sized compared to the average lemon.

It’ll be filled this summer easily. Better start looking for a bigger container.

The large pieces were better displayed in the tall narrow container; because it measures 8″x12″x3″deep, it’s scaled nicely for the windowsill, at least more so than a huge jug. And because it’s really narrow and now holding lots of larger pieces of beach glass, the sunlight diffuses through much differently. The colors are intense. Obviously, we need to find some more big pieces. They’re a bit harder to come by, but we can usually find 1-2 nice pieces each time we venture out for a beach walk.

New goal: fill ‘er up.

Collecting large pieces of beach glass.

Side note: Those teal bottles beside the glass container weren’t from the beach. Just an etsy purchase from olivedesignshop. But wouldn’t it be great to find a totally-weathered bottle whole on the beach?

To get a comprensive view, here’s the whole collection:

Pretty beach glass collection. And growing.

How does your garden beach glass collection grow?

Share

Beach  / Decor

Emily
I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle. I've been a freelancer writer for 10+ years and you can find my work on popular home and garden sites, like HGTV.com. Follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note.

8 Comments


Mindy
June 13, 2012 at 10:36 am
Reply

I heart beach glass! It’s so cool that you’re so close to a great source of the beloved beach glass! I have a small collection (nothing like yours) that I’m not sure what to do with either. If nothing else, it makes for a cool accessory when piled into a glass jar/vase, etc.



Shannon
June 13, 2012 at 10:39 am
Reply

Emily,
I remember you starting this collection last summer and to this day I’m still just as jealous! It looks wonderful in your window though, keep it up!

-Shannon



    Emily
    June 13, 2012 at 10:48 am

    Thanks Shannon! Glad you like, and hope all’s well!

Harper
June 13, 2012 at 4:02 pm
Reply

I’m (beach glass) green with envy! I’ve collected some pieces along the Outer Banks of NC but since beach glass collecting has gotten so popular, they are much harder to find. I have them scattered throughout glass jars that are filled with seashells (also collected from NC) on the shelves of my bathroom. As James Taylor would say, “I’m going to Carolina in my mind.”



    Emily
    June 13, 2012 at 4:04 pm

    Perma-vacation mindset! It does give off that vibe.

Ashley
June 18, 2012 at 7:01 pm
Reply

I love this!! My boyfriend and I started bringing home a few shells or rocks from the beaches that we visit. So far, they don’t have a home. But we are moving into a house VERY soon and I can’t wait to make a home for them. I love the sea glass idea and may have to collect those pieces as well!



darlene dodson
January 2, 2013 at 9:16 pm
Reply

I am jealous of your beach glass collection! I am an avid collector as I live near Lake MI. I haven’t been finding much this past fall and now winter. When I do find it, it is a treasure!



    Emily
    January 2, 2013 at 10:24 pm

    Fall and winter is pretty limiting around here too! I have the best luck in the springtime when the lake is churning but less traveled; during the summer it’s just too trafficked and everyone else finds the good pieces :)

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  • HI, I’m Emily

    Emily Fazio

    I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle. Follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note if you'd like. I love notes.

    Thanks for visiting!

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