Seaglass roundup and tips

Every time I go to the beach I take my seaglass finds home and photograph them. I realised I had a lot of photos building up so I'm going to pop them all into this one post and provide some tips for sea glass collecting as well at the end :)

I should mention that I not only get excited about seaglass but also broken pottery and pretty smooth rocks :P

I also get super excited about anything love heart shaped! Brown is the most common seaglass (at least in my area) but I'm still happy to find smooth solid pieces and even happier if they are love heart shaped!

This was a fun day - Ben found some super gems for my collection!

A huge sand dollar.  Well on further googling I'm not sure it is a sand dollar.  Ben said he vaguely remembers from childhood it being created by a sea creature as a door for their home - how cute is that! Does anyone know anymore about these? I've found a few smaller ones but this is my first big one that intact :)

*I chated with Ben and we have officially renamed them sea portals :)

Whilst out trekking the rock pools (I'd never thought to look in) Ben also found me my first ever sea marble! I know it's just a marble but being sea-i-fied makes it super rare in my eyes :)

And an aerial view of the loot :)

This day was super amazing too because I found a piece of bright blue glass! I have a few in my collection that my friend Karla found in Thailand but this was my very own find. It isn't the most smooth piece I own but I'll happily overlook that due to it's blue-ness!!

A feather, some pottery and a love heart rock :)

And a small find the other day.

I'm still on the look out for a yellow, black and red piece of seaglass and the top of the bottle (how cool would a seaglass ring be!)

And now for my seaglass finding tips!

1) not all beaches have seaglass - look for areas where shells and shell grit wash up, good chances you'll spot some brown glass. Once you get the hang out of spotting glass, it's really easy and reminds me of one of my favourite things to do as a kid - puzzles!

2) some pieces look really pretty at the beach being all slick and wet but when you bring them home and they dry up they start developing a frosting and start looking less pretty. I used to throw out many pieces because of this until I googled a solution - baby oil! Seriously one drop on a piece of cloth and you can restore any piece :) any oil is okay too!

3) my cleaning method is really easy, rinse, dry and then a smudge of baby oil for those that need it

4) I find I come home with more loot after a big storm the night before. I also find that if I think about a colour of glass I start seeing that colour more - spooky! Also low expectations are good :)

5) check the tides of your beaches, low tide is the best - you don't want to trek down to your beach only to discover there is no beach to look on :p

6) also and maybe contradictory to the above, think about the time and shadows. I still haven't decided if bright midday sun helps me locate seaglass more easily or if just before sunset when the light is less harsh is easier.
7) if I'm travelling to a new area (for a holiday or such) I'll do a quick google/flickr search to see if seaglass pops up.  Sometimes people don't like to share their secret seaglass locations but you can usually get a good idea if there is any in a certain area or not.
8) not 100% sure on this tip but I have a feeling the more isolated and pristine the beach is the less likely you'll find seaglass.  Why? Well my thinking is that there isn't as many people dumping rubbish (bottles etc.) so less chance for seaglass to form
9) try and not be discouraged.  From my experiences the majority of beaches I've travelled too - don't have seaglass - you just have to stumble upon that magic spot!

Maybe you have some tips yourself? Let me know!
HAPPY hunting!!!

p.s Ben and I are off camping in Byron - so no doubt this blog is going to go a little bit quiet!