Geode Hunting

One of the first exciting things that I found when I was little was a half geode. I found it on Herne Bay beach, lying in the shingle. I was walking on the promenade above with my family, and spotted the crystals sparkling in the sun, it was a flint nodule with a large cavity, and tiny sparkling yellow quartz crystals inside, the geode had been split open by the sea.

Since that day, whenever I feel I'm in the right environment I have a little hunt about for geodes, and half geodes. I have to say that by far the best place I have ever found geodes, and minerals in general, has been in the mountains around Granada, Spain.

I picked up so many pieces of rock from Andalucia that my airport case was far too heavy to pass the 25kg weight limit. You should have seen my ex-boyfriend's fathers face as I unpacked various large crystal and rocks from my bags in a panic at the airport terminal.

I managed to keep three of my favorites, but left some beautiful rocks behind in Spain. The quartz crystals in the photo to the left are quite large, they were inside a round but crusty gray rock, really rocky looking. I gave it a smash with a hammer and broke off this piece.

Beachcombing Tips - How To Beachcomb

The picture shows one of my most interesting beach combing hauls, it was all found at Folkestone beach, and includes various crystals and minerals, plenty of fossils, a lot of large and beautifully coloured sea glass, pieces of old pots, a china horse...

Half the excitement of beach combing is that you never know what you are going to find, but of course finding nothing is not fun! And has happened to me on a few occasions, before I figured out where to look. - This 'how to beachcomb guide' is a pointer of places to look for certain objects based on my own experiences of beachcombing.

Stuff can be found all over the beach, but the areas mentioned in my beachcobing tips should yield a higher concentration of finds. The pictures are all objects that I have found whilst beachcombing.

How To Paint Pebbles And Rocks

Every time I visit the beach, field, or river, I always pick up some flat, or interesting shaped stones to paint. I have been doing this since I was a kid, and have always enjoyed using the stones as a canvas.

The picture shows a bowl of stones that I have painted up to look like cacti. This was a really fun project to do, and made a fantastic gift for my mother.

She loves unique items in her home, and has placed this cacti bowl in her bathroom, where it is too dark to keep a plant.

Found Some Amber on the Beach :)

Yay! I managed to find two pieces of amber the other day, just lying there on the beach. I was not looking for amber at the time, just shells and stuff, I picked up the piece of amber because it looked like a yellow colored quartz pebble, but when I lifted it up it felt really light. I was not expecting this, for a moment I actually thought it was a piece of sucked toffee and screamed, lol! Then I realised it could be amber and put it in my bag to look at later.

The next piece that I found, I actually thought was a bit of plastic. It is not a rough piece, it's ready cut and looks like it has come out of some jewellery and got broken up a bit by the sea. This one has a lot of sparkling 'fish scales' inside it, which looked like flecks of gold when I saw it on the beach.

Latest Pebble And Sea Glass Finds - From Herne Bay East Beach

Quite a lot of sea glass picked up from the beach at Herne Bay to Beltinge. All of this was hiding in the shingle bank, which sits above a strip of sand.

I found some yellow, aqua blue, and one brown piece amongst the usual greens and whites. I also found a large piece of olive green coloured beach glass, which when dry looks like a regular stone.

This one has been frosted a lot more than the others, and is much thicker, so I guess that piece is probably much older and has had a lot more battering from the sea. You can see it at the front of this picture of the sea glass I found at Herne Bay.

Crystals And Minerals Found At Folkestone

This is the first in a series looking at local crystals and minerals. I intend to write about all the minerals that I have found in a certain area, as there is not much information online about where to actually find crystals and minerals in Kent, or which ones can be found. (For any sea glass, sea pottery, and shell enthusiasts, I will also be doing some more general beach combing guides for my local beaches, with information on what can be found in each place.)

These particular mineral examples were found at Copt Point, Folkestone, Kent. Copt point is very well known for it's amazing fossils, and is a great spot for anyone interested in minerals and geology. The beach is full of huge boulders, with clay cliffs. The boulders are great for trapping various bits and pieces that have fallen out of the cliffs or been washed up, and Copt Point is one of THE best beaches for beach combing IMO.

Funny Looking Rocks!

Good job I am not too superstitious as these angry face rocks would have freaked me out more. I found them on the same day as well! Rocks with faces always capture my interest, usually they have nice happy faces though. I do find these ones funny! 

I took these to show my neighbour when I found them, I held them up to him and said ..."They're my friends.."

"I can tell!" he boomed back - funny!

Best Beachcombing And Fieldwalking Finds

Sometimes I fall in love with an item I have found, this can be a plant, flower, or feather, just as much as it could be a unique stone, fossil, or relic. These are my top ten finds so far...

1. Some Sort of Jasper? - This stone was actually originally part of a huge boulder, which I found outside my ex partners parents farmhouse in Granada, Spain. I have a massive interest in minerals and the farmhouse stood in a very beautiful and mountainous area. We went out with pick axes and I developed a great method for finding crystals and minerals. It was as simple as finding the crustiest looking boulder or stone around, (one that was crusty but has a definite shape.) Then smash it open, 9/10 times we found minerals or crystals inside.

This was the first boulder I smashed open, and it was so amazing I wanted to keep the whole thing. I chipped off this part with the pick axe, and it was one of the few pieces I got to bring back from Spain. Of course my luggage was full of stones and at the airport I had to remove most of them before I was allowed to get on the plane, or pay an extra £5 per kg which I did not have, Very annoying.

New River Pebbles Poster

This poster features the same picture as the background of my blog, it is one of my favorite images that I have taken this year, and my favorite of the stream bed. (I just want to point out that I am English, but writing for both America and UK audiences so I will use the American versions of words when I feel like it. Like favorite instead of favourite for example)

Anyhoo' this particular photo came out so well because the stream bed had just been swept clean by an almighty flood. I have pictures of the stream bed before the flood and it looks like it needs a damn good clean.

Pretty River Pebbles And Water by stylishimoarts

I have also used the same image to make a range of matching products, below is a sample of some of the other products featuring my river pebbles photo.

River Pebbles Home Decor by stylishimoarts

If you enjoy art, poetry, or taking pictures, then I highly recommend setting up a Zazzle account and selling your own products too.

Stone Age Tool Pictures

Or lithics as we fancy people call em' :) I find these stone age tools all over the place locally, there are literally hundreds lying around the fields to be picked up.

How to Find Stone Age Tools

You need a flinty area, and a keen eye to find stone age tools, a wet day helps as the markings on the flints show up much better in the rain, making the tools easier to spot. Look for flat, shiny, flints. Pick these up and look for signs that the flint had been worked. The best way to identify a stone age tool is to look for the 'bulb of percussion'. (see how it rises up in the pic below, this is the point where the stone age tool was struck)

Here are some of the best tools I've found...

The picture below shows a notch scraper, this was used as the name suggests, to scrape notches in pieces of wood. I have actually used this tool myself to scrape a notch in a stick, and it worked like a dream!