Sea Found Kit Instructions
Once a simple piece of glass―perhaps a bottle, bowl or decorative object―that had outlived its usefulness and was carelessly tossed into the sea, genuine sea glass is treasured for its historicity and beauty. Over a long period of time spanning fifty or more years, sea glass and pottery travel with the ocean currents as the waves tumble each piece, transforming them from broken shards into refined and polished pieces with lovely soft edges and texture.
The sea glass and ceramics in this kit were found by beachcombers in Hawaii, California, and Japan. As Danielle, a beachcomber based in Hawaii, writes, “I have always marveled at how nature has taken a once empty man made container and turned it into such lovely gems. . . I never get tired of looking for them.” We hope you enjoy this kit full of ocean art that we’ve put together for you and can admire it for years to come!
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List of Items ―10mm Organic Hemp Cord (the coarser or darker cord) ―5mm Organic Hemp Cord (the lighter cord) ―Muslin Bag that includes genuine sea-tumbled sea glass and/or pottery and beads ―One large piece of driftwood ―Home compostable kraft bag and sticker
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What You Need ―Scissors ―Relaxing Ocean Sounds ―(optional) Sewing needle ―(optional) Vegan Eco-friendly glue like “Crafter’s Pick” ―(optional) Objects you’ve found while wandering along a beach, woodlands, or other wild places (e.g., interesting rocks, fossils, shells, and twigs) |
Instructions
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First we are going to make the hanger. Take the larger piece of driftwood and decide whether you would like to tie each end or tie it in the middle to hang your piece. To tie on each end: take the thicker hemp cord and tie a knot on one side, leaving an end tail. Once you have a knot, wrap the cord around the wood 4-5 times and then tie a double knot with your end string tail. Now we’ll do the same on the other side. Measure the cord approximately 8-10”, which will be the part that hangs the piece, and then tie another knot on the other end of the driftwood. Wrap your cord 4-5 times (the same amount as the other side) and tie it off again with a double knot. Cut off any excess cord. For a single wrap: in the middle of the driftwood, follow the same steps above except instead of wrapping both sides, simply tie and wrap the middle, measure your desired length, and then create a slip knot to make a loop to hang the piece. Cut off any excess cord. |
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Now for the creative part! Gather the sea found items from the kit as well as any other treasured objects you’d like to add. Arrange them on a flat surface. Play around the with arrangement. You could do a single cord or several. See what works 😊
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Once you’re happy with the layout, start stringing the objects together with pieces of the narrower hemp cord. A needle is helpful to keep the string from fraying on the end. Starting at the bottom object, wrap it in the same way using the method in the first step. For sea glass and ceramics: wrap once so that the string meets at the bottom and the make a knot, Wrap around 2-3 times going front to back over (counterclockwise) and then slip the string behind them ― this keeps the object straight and in place. Pull tight. For beads: simply tie them in place.
Tips for tricky pieces: Genuine sea glass and ceramics come in all shapes and sizes. If you have a piece that doesn’t want to stay put, look for an area that will let the string lie flattest or try tying from the middle. Sometimes a little eco-friendly glue helps.
For larger pieces: hang them near the bottom of the string and wrap them with more string to hold them in place.
For smaller pieces: do 1-2 wraps and don’t forget to tie the knot at the bottom or it may slip out!
Be sure to leave about 5-6” on the top of your cord so that there is enough string left over to tie it to the hanger.
Repeat step #3 for any other strings.
Once you’re finished tying and wrapping all of your objects, tie each string to the hanger with a double knot. Cut off any excess cord.
Find a special place to hang your lovely new piece to admire the beautiful ocean art. Share it with the Earthlover community by tagging us @earthlovebox and using the hashtag #seafoundearthlove on Facebook or Instagram!
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