Our New Seaside Serving Tray

Cheryl and I decided to try our hands at some something brand new for A2Sea Creations. Here is our first seaside serving tray that we designed and handcrafted together. It can double as wall art by just adding a hanger on the back. It would make an ideal gift for a bride who is having a beach wedding, someone who lives near the ocean, or for anyone who loves the sea!

Our new seaside tray won't be for sale on our site, however, we hope to have a few for sale in a local gift shop. We shall see... if so, we will keep people posted here and on Facebook. For those of you on Facebook, here is our link... A2Sea Creations on Facebook. Please consider becoming 'A Fan' and help us spread the word! That would be much appreciated. Now, off to Oregon I go to see my son Matthew, his wife Cristina and my adorable grandson, Levi. Yay for me!

Learning New Things

Beachcomber's Bounty - Earthy Jewelry Set

A very popular pendant fashion at the moment are the longer styles. And even more popular are the ones you can adjust to any length. There is a store in Coombs that is interested in carrying my jewelry but asked if I could just change the cords to the slip knot style. I said I would give it a try.

So, with some help from my hubby, (he was a boy scout, way back when) I managed to learn the technique and posted one on our Etsy site. I love to learn new things... except for those painful moments when you are all thumbs and think you will never get the hang of it. But it's such a good feeling when you finally master something and see the finished product.

My next challenge is to start drilling holes through sea glass and seashells with my dremel tool. I've watched some videos and my dear hubby has offered to give me a hand. This will open the door to creating so many more wonderful jewelry pieces.

I have a sense of excitement about this year. I have made up my mind to do some things I have only talked about up till now. If I can't do them on my own, I will find help. The possibilities are endless and I am up for it.

So keep an eye out for our new jewelry and nautical treasures we will be posting soon on A2Sea Creations!

Memories and Music

CANNON BEACH, OREGON - PHOTO BY MICKI FINDLAY

Holy cow! I can't believe how long it's been since I've blogged! I have been very very busy finishing a huge wedding song contract so I have been a little preoccupied, to say the least. But today I finally got it all finished and packed up ready to ship to Ontario. What a great feeling... especially because the recipient is so happy with her song! It is very creatively fulfilling for me.

As for my trip to Oregon to visit my son Matt, his wife Cristina and my adorable and funny baby grandson Levi, what a treat that was for me! I took the slow way down to Roseburg, along the Oregon Coast; a breathtaking part of the world. The ocean is crazy wild and there are so many quaint, old, interesting towns along the way. I took in the Sea Lion Caves which amazed me... so much so that I stood in one spot for over an hour because I could not pull myself away from the sight of hundreds upon hundreds of sea lions sitting, playing and nuzzling. Some of the males challenged each other on the rocks as the violent waves came crashing over them. It was a memory I will never forget.

I so enjoyed getting to know my grandson. I feel so blessed that I was able to be there while Levi did some new things for the very first time. He had changed so dramatically over the course of a year and I have missed so much, sadly. But he sure made up for it while I was there!

As far as A2Sea Creations is concerned, much of our work has been put on hold during the summer months as Cheryl and I have caught up on time with our families that live so far away. However, I did make some new wire-wrapped sea glass pendants and one is now for sale on our site. Cheryl has been making magnets for our upcoming Nanaimo Farmer's Market. (Sept 29th) I will be posting more info about that soon. We sold a couple of items and I just mailed them off to Iowa today. I love how the internet makes our world so 'small'! I get to talk with people all over the world and know that our creations are being enjoyed in so many faraway places. So cool!

I hope everyone is having a great summer and spending time catching up with loved ones also!

New Vintage Seaside Pendants

Well I must say, the markets are always a surprise... one never knows how they are going to work out so it's always an adventure! Our last one was on Canada Day in Parksville at the beach. We had to be all set up by 9 am but no one came and no one came and still, no one came. So I asked someone if they knew what was up. They said, "Oh, no one really comes until after the parade... around 12:30." Wow! That would have been helpful information to have a little earlier.

Then, after a long day of only 3 very small sales, 4:30 rolled around and we figured we'd better pack up. So, disappointed and discouraged, we were about to put things away when all of a sudden, customers suddenly started coming in droves and were buying, buying, buying! What a funny day. We ended up staying an extra two hours to accommodate all the customers and Cheryl and I were both feeling a whole lot better !

Markets are a great deal of work but it is a very rewarding feeling to have people appreciate your creations. We were able to do some networking as well and obtain a few possible leads as to where else we may be able to sell our nautical treasures. And the day was perfect... the sun shone, the wind blew... oh yes... the wind. That's a whole other story. If you are a marketer, you know what I am talking about. That is a challenge in itself. The first hour was taken up with finding ways to keep things from blowing away!

I had designed some Canada Day Pendants and photo pendants for the market. We now have some new pendants for sale on our site which I am rather excited about. They are vintage-inspired with a seaside twist. There are several designs to choose from, as you will see there in one of the photos. Perfect for a beach wedding gift for sure! We also have some new seaside, multi-purpose boxes for sale now which are such a great gift for men and women alike. They hold pen and pencils, cigars, change, even reading glasses. And they truly are West-Coast creations; embellished with seashells, driftwood and sea glass that Cheryl and I have collected from our Vancouver Island beaches.

Well, we hope everyone's summer is turning out to be wonderful. I am going to Oregon soon to see my son and his wife and my grandbaby, which is something I am so excited about!

Happy summer everyone!

POCKETS FULL OF SEASHELLS

Story and Photo by Micki Findlay - 'I Sea Art' (Series) - (To purchase click here) A2SeaPhotography

One of the kajillion things I love about my husband David is that he's up for almost anything, especially if it's something that makes me happy. (You gotta love a man like that!)

A few weeks ago, we traveled to Victoria. BC, which is on the south end of our island. We went there to help a friend move. When we were done, I asked David if we could stay in Victoria awhile as it happens to be my favorite place to be. "Where would you like to go?" he asked. "I don't know. Can we just drive around a bit? I just don't feel ready to leave quite yet." So, to no one's surprise, we ended up on Dallas Road which runs all along the ocean. "David, can we stop and collect some seashells for my crafts?" "Sure", he replied. So that's what we did. And instead of just watching me do my thing, (which would have been fine with me) he crouched down beside me and got right to work. I never asked him to. He just did it. And, because he has eyes like a hawk and is so patient, I soon had all of my pockets stuffed full of seashells, various colours and shades of sea glass and bits of driftwood. And I have huge pockets.

I love the way David approaches marriage. He gets that when you help fill your partner's pockets with seashells, you fill up her heart with love. But is it really that simple?

Absolutely.


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