Essential Oil Bracelet

I enjoy using essential oils and I have several pottery pieces in my shop with un-glazed backs.  It's easy to add a few drops of essential oil to the back of the pottery pieces and your body heat releases the oils.  With approx. 30 inches of 3 mm leather and a few beads you can make this easy slide bracelet.  I have the focal bead available in many colors and textures.  I just looped the leather through the bead on each side and tied with a slide method on the back and knotted the ends.  Thanks for looking. 

This handsome guy is Levi, my youngest child.

Rosemary's Granddaughters

My cousin Paula has been making jewelry with some of my pottery pieces and I wanted to share what she has done with my pottery.  We live more than a 100 miles away and we both got our creative gift from our dear grandmother Rosemary.  She was an avid crafter, seamstress, florist, and fixer of things.  She was also one of the best cooks I have ever know, lucky for me she taught my mom who how to cook who then taught me. 

Sweet Rosemary

 
Paula makes beautiful earring with leather (she has a face book page, leather to leather) she has wonderful colors and textures, and she has recently made some leather cuffs with my large focal beads.  I know that Paula stays really busy with her job and family but finds that creating is in our DNA and is a great way to express yourself and make beautiful objects to enjoy.  Paula and I don't get to see each other often but it has been fun partnering with her on these projects from a distance.   

One of my favorite quote beads I make

This is one of my essential oil beads she made into a pendant

Summer time is for Succulent Pots

I have really enjoyed making the succulent pots and its a great way for me to help fill the kiln as it takes 100's of beads to fill the kiln.  Sometimes having a few larger items to take up the space in the kiln is nice.  My pots are organic and free shaped and I often make them and gently drop them while still wet to let gravity aid in the formation, much like the landscape is formed naturally.  Send me photos of how you use your little succulent pots and I will post them to share.

I made this one for my mom for Mother's day, it is the color worldly mix and I have similar in the shop

This one is a rustic truck red and brown, I love the way the red flowed down the pot

Cobalt and copper brown rich tones that would look great in your home

This one is a nice teal green 

This color is slate and it always looks as if the piece was buried for a 100 years before finding it again

Beautiful Cross Pendants

Patty is a stay at home mom to four boys - she has been creating for as long as she can remember.  She adores romantic sentimental Victorian jewelry, charm bracelets, colored pearls, birds,vintage hearts, padlocks and lockets. She also has a more Bohemian side which loves Czech glass, silk and bright colors. …

I love what she did with some of my cross beads and wanted to share them with you.  

Succulent Pots

I have been busy making some new items including succulent pots and coasters.  The pottery pots are hand built with a organic feel, with lots of curves and crevices in free form designs. I wanted them to look as they were part of the desert part of the earth, holding a tiny treasure of a hardy succulent or cactus. Made of clay, shaped, dried, fired, glazed inside and out and fired again before becoming a one of a kind pot. They are glazed with a food safe glaze and should be hand washed only. Available in several colors, there are holes at the bottom for drainage. Available in my shop, the succulent in the photos are not included and are only there to help showcase the potential of the pots.   Succulents are available at your local nursery and can be easily added to the pot. The pots are not intended for children.

Also handmade coasters, a classy way to protect your furniture from your favorite drink, the back is cork to further protect your furniture.

New Colors

I have several new glazes, fun colors with a hint of sparkle.  The colors have a lot of dimension and texture even though the glaze is smooth.  Rich tones of green, blue and a tomato red.  I have a few more but I haven't had time to fire those pieces yet.  Listed in my shop with lots more options.

This shade sure looks great with turquoise

Also two new this purple shades.  The first is more of a cranberry and the second a true deep purple.

Please send me photos of your finished products using my beads and I will post them on a upcoming blog.

No shoes for the shoe makers children, no jewerly for the bead making potter

Have you ever heard the old proverb about the shoemaker who was so busy making shoes for his customer that his children went without shoes. Well that applies to me, except my children have shoes I just don't often have time to make myself jewelry.  Which is silly considering I have 100's of beads and supplies.  

So here goes a crazy story....

I went last week with a pottery cuff bead to the local craft store to buy a few beads to coordinate with one of my sea green beads, which are actually more brown than green but that's the glaze color so to keep me from being confused I use the glaze name.

ramble --- ramble  

While I am holding my bead up to the round beads on display trying to find a match while frustrated with the terrible fluorescent lighting blaring down from over head.  A nice lady shopping at the same time commented on how much she liked the bead and she proceeds to tell me that she donates 100's of bracelets to benefit cancer patients.  Knowing I had more of this bead I offered her the bead as a gift, which she declined but instead wanted me to make her a bracelet with the beads I had just chosen and the cuff bead tin hand.  

So I made this for the nice lady and I will get it to her later this week.  

LOL  I am glad she is getting a treat for herself since she gives so much to others.

Now on to the shoe proverb...

I made her a bracelet, I made one for a friend and I made a handful for a donation to a scholarship fund raiser.

Wait, I didn't make one for me yet.

But I will...

I did not take photos of the process but wanted to explain the details.

Open up a jump ring for each side of the bead, then I knot the elastic thread onto the jump ring and I hide the knot in the cone shaped bead next to the jump ring.  I then thread on how many beads you need for your wrist side and end with another cone.  I then stretch the elastic and tie a knot which I loop on to the other jump ring and that knot is hid under the cone.  I close up the jump rings, and apply a dot of glue to the elastic knots, let the glue dry overnight and then cut the end of the elastic that is left from tying the knot.  I can make one in about 15 minutes.