Introducing Beach Gemming

Whether it is for making jewelry, making a mosaic or just putting in your favorite glass bowl these little "gems" from the sea are beautiful. Beach Gemming not only offers you sea glass you can create with, but they also have things already made. I personally love their photos and they have turned several of them into cards. Perfect for sending to a sea loving friend, or just framing for your home.


Here is what this homeschool family has to say about their shop...

"Beach*gemming is a term we have coined to describe the relaxing activity of collecting surf-tumbled sea glass from along our local beaches in Monterey, California. Wave after wave continually uncover, weather and condition, multitudes of sea glass shards from decades past resulting in beautiful, multi-color, and collectible beach gems.

We have been collecting sea glass for a year now, enjoying our family time together, taking in the refreshing scenery, and pointing out the joys of beach*gemming to tourists from around the world. A look of wonder appears on their faces as they collect colorful sea glass gems to remind them of their visit to Nobel Prize winner, John Steinbeck's "circle of enchantment".

As some of you may know, sea glass hunting can become an obsession. Whenever we expect a storm our first thought is NOT "will a tree fall on our home this time?" but, "I wonder if we'll find any interesting sea glass pieces when the storm passes." We have tide charts in our vehicles and in the house. Pure Sea Glass, Sea Glass Chronicles, and the novel, Sea Glass, have joined the ranks of our collection of the Classics for leisurely reading. We're hooked."

Introducing Gastone Totes

Glaston Totes features handmade boutique handbags, quilts, baby items & gifts. This is a wonderful store with some beautiful bags. These have always been some of my favorite bags since this store became a part of the SHE team. They just look classy and well made.


Here is an introduction from Cynthia's profile along with a little history lesson. A true homeschooler.

"My name is Cynthia. I'm a stay at home mother, home school teacher to my 12 year old boy/ girl twins and a wife to a wonderful husband. We live in Northern California.I have sewn all of my life. My mother made most of my clothes growing up. She taught me to sew when I was young. I picked it up again several years ago when I made a diaper bag for a friend's baby shower gift. That bag was the hit of the party. Glaston Totes was born. I sell locally at a crafters' mall and at local arts/ crafts shows.The name "Glaston Totes" comes from one of our very favorite places in England, Glastonbury in Somerset. We have been fortunate enough to visit the area several times. Glastonbury Abbey is not only the site of the oldest Christian community in Britain -- the birthplace of "Ecclesia Anglicana" (the ancient Anglican Church) -- but of the first above-ground Christian church building in the world. Holy Tradition tells us of a young Jesus spending time at Glastonbury with great-uncle St. Joseph of Arimathea, member of the Sanhedrin, owner of the Holy Sepulchre and a wealthy tin miner/ trader who traveled there often. (Now far inland, old Glaston was a port city when the earth's sea levels were higher than is the case today.) St. Aristobulus, mentioned in the 16th chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, is believed to have served as the first bishop in the British Isles and was buried near Glastonbury Tor in 99 A.D. Known as England's "holyest earthe," the Abbey and monastery grounds were home to the medieval saints such as Patrick, Dunstan, Benedict, David and Bridget.Some hold that St. Joseph is said to have buried the Holy Grail near the grounds of the Abbey ruins, perhaps at the Chalice Well. Moreover, legend has it that it is the site of the Isle Avalon and Camelot, and that King Arthur and Queen Guinevere are buried there.

Today, the surrounding farmlands annually host one of the world's premiere music festivals.

Christians, the pagan mystics who currently dwell at Glastonbury, and those who just come looking for "something," agree that it's a special place from which emanates an unmistakable "energy."

Thanks again for visiting my profile. If you have any questions, please email me. I do accept custom orders and have lots of fabrics from which to choose."


Find Cynthia's blog here.

Introducing Antiquity Gamecrafters

Of all of the members of SHE team I personally find this shop to be the most interesting and tempting for my pocketbook. These games are absolutely beautiful to look at, as well as educational and just plain fun! I encourage you to go look around.


Here is what the shop owners have to say...

'It started with one game...

My husband grew up in a family that played games....lots of games. But of particular note are two games that were played because Brian's father was Armenian; Tovli (backgammon) and Fertgal (Nine Man's Morris).

When we lived in the Middle East we had the privilege to visit Damascus and purchase a beautiful Tovli board inlaid with Mother of Pearl which looked very similar to the one Brian's grandparents had owned. However, when it came to teaching games to our children, he realized that we had no Fertgal board, so he decided to make one.

That was our first handcrafted game board.

We homeschool our family and as we began to study the history of ancient civilizations we learned about several games that were played in those civilizations. Brian began making some of those games for us to play as a supplement to school; usually as a Christmas gift to the kids. I thought they were so beautiful that Brian should consider selling them. Well, he really didn't take me seriously until we took some to an indoor 'garage' sale at a homeschool co-op. He sold more of those games than I did any of my 'stuff' and everyone that walked by simply raved about how beautiful and unique they were.

And so Antiquity Gamecrafters was born...."

~Brian and Jennifer Kooshian~