New designer spotlight

Laura Rendall states that creating art with her hands has always been her passion. She is new to Etsy and has recently opened Korále Art because she wanted to create unique jewelry pieces that incorporated different forms of art. The beads she uses come from places such as Austria and the Czech Republic and have a historic past.  The pendants and focal pieces she uses are created by artists here in the USA who use everything from wood to porcelain to clay. See below designs using Captured Moments pottery beads .  Also check out and follow my Pinterest Board with lots of designs using Captured Moments pottery beads.

Antique white with leaf design

In Blueberry

Rosemary bead in Seagreen

Washer bead in the color Worldly Mix

New Bead Designs

I have been working on getting out new designs for 2013, and the first batches are coming out of the kiln and the kiln is filled as I type with a load that is nearing 1945 degrees Fahrenheit.  So I wanted to introduce you to some of the new designs.  And with anything new comes the need for a name ummm....see older post for more on this dilemma. 
Introducing the LaDonna Bead, this bead has a tag or industrial feel.  It was inspired by a friend of mine who showed me this great found object she and her nephew rescued from the parking lot of a truck stop.  It is large and light weight and looks like it was made of metal.  LaDonna has a great shop filled with metal work and pieces made with found objects.  

The LaDonna in Stormy Blue

 On the sample piece I attached beads and a key using some recycled oval jump rings.

In Black Ice

The new Zephyr bead is curvy bead that is flat for pendants and earrings and I will have it in lots of colors and textures. The sample below is in Autumn and has a lace texture.

 The Edith bead is a square bead and comes in a large curved version for cuffs and a smaller flat version for earrings and pendants.  The smaller ones would be great linked together.  The sample is shown in copper brown in the whimsy pattern.

 This lovely decorative bead is the Rosemary bead, it is nicely curved for bracelets, shown below in Turquoise blue with a floral pattern.

A new little fish, in a soft tea green with brown letters, I will be making fish in lots of colors, a great little Christian bead it will be fun to design with.

 I have more designs still drying and hope to have them done soon, luckily there is a roast in the oven and time for me to post them and get them ready for your designs.  Enjoy the new designs, stop back to see all the new colors soon. 

What a great honor

What fun to be in a national magazine.  I am honored to be in the February 2013 Bead Trends Magazine.  Last year I submitted a interchangeable bracelet design using 3 of my beads and 3 cords or chains to have up to 18 different variety's of a bracelet. These are super easy to make just basically adding a few jump rings to the end of one of my curved bracelet beads.  You can use either leather or chain with a lobster claw on each end, then just wrap the cord or chain around your wrist.  The fun part is once you have made the leather cord or chain with lobster claw ends you can mix and match them with my pottery beads and have endless combinations, especially if you layer the cord and chain.

Bead Trends February 2013

Here is a Rodeo cuff, a Elli Bead and a Carmine Bead

The tutorial is in the magazine

 

This is one of the photos I submitted to the magazine.

 

Here is a sample of the rhinestone chain and leather being layered with the rodeo bead. I wear this one all the time and always get lots of smiles and compliments on the bracelet.

 

This is one of my Carmine beads with mixed metal accents, I put a hole in the bead before firing and then I add the accent beads with tiny micro stainless steel screws and secure them with a tiny micro nut.

This is my steampunk cuff that was also in the February 2031 Bead Trends Magazine

Bead Trends also accepted this steampunk design I made for the February 2013 issue.  This fun steampunk cuff was made out of a pair of my kids recycled blue jeans, you can either buckle the bracelet on or zip it on, as I used the existing buttons and added the zipper to it as an accent.  The bead is one of my lavish steampunk beads and I added 2 layers of gears.  The chain is a piece of recycled ball chain. I just got the cuff back from Bead Trends and I am looking forward to wearing it soon with jeans.  The following images are ones that I took and submitted to the magazine, I thought you might find it interesting to see what I took vs how the magazine photographed the piece.

This image shows the layers of gears well and you can see how I linked the ball chain into the gears.

I have had my beads published before but this was the first time I had sent in the designs.  Lucky me as I flipped thru the magazine I came across this great piece by Molly Alexander she made this great necklace and the little blue bird house bead is one that I made.  Thanks Molly for giving me credit.  Molly has been published many times, she is a talented artist.  Molly has a great blog if you want to visit her there.

Design by Molly Alexander, the bird house bead is one of mine.

  

 Another great design was featured in the February 2013 Bead and Button by Beth Moser, I love what Beth does with the tiny beads and beautiful designs.  I just do not do well with such tiny beads, but I admire people that do.  The rings are available in my shop if you want to pick up February's Bead & Button magazine and gives these lovely rings a try.

These beautiful rings are the work of Beth Moser as see in Bead and Button Feb. 2013

Art Washes Away from the Soul the Dust of Everyday Life

Art and being creative have always been a part of me.  It is what feeds my soul, gives me peace, an escape.  I cannot imagine not creating, something....beads, beautiful baked goods, sewing.  My hands and mind moving in harmony together or sitting idle waiting for inspiration or even being given an excuse to ponder to dream or to just wonder.  I am not alone when it comes to art as there are many of you who feel the same.  I made cuff beads with the quote from Picasso; Art Washes Away from the Soul the Dust of Everyday Life.   Cindy Cima Edwards made a fantastic piece using one of my beads and was kind enough to give me credit for my bead.  Cindy's design is featured in the November 2012 Bead Trends Magazine.  There are step by step directions in the magazine.  She really made a great bracelet with warm browns and golden tones. I love how she took a metal cone finding and flattened it for the detail on the side of the cuff bead.  This would make a perfect gift for yourself or a friend. Now go create :)

Cindy Cima Edwards design with my Art Washes Cuff Bead

The November 2012 Issue of Bead Trends

In Copper Brown

In a green tea glaze too

A tiny peek at the process

Just because many people don't understand the process of taking mud to beads I thought I would share a quick peek at the process. The mud I use comes from Austin, Texas in 25 pound bags, and it is gray and...smells like mud.  Or I often imagine it smelling like a good pot roast as it pays for the groceries among other things. 

 

Mud new in the bag