Mixed Media-Pottery and Weaving

I just finished some pendants where I added holes in order to be able to weave in the opening.  I will be listing the pendant frames in the shop soon.  You will be able to weave the middle yourself.  I wanted to give you a peek at them and a brief tutorial.

Each of the pendants has an odd number of holes.  Take embroidery thread, or thin wire and start with one hole and cross over to the opposite side.

Continue in a clock like fashion of crossing over to the other side until you have used all the holes.  At this point I tied off the thread and later added a dot of glue to insure it would stay tied.

A image of the back.

A image of the front.  I then took yarn that I had and used a bobby pin to make it easier to weave the yarn over and under the thread.

With this image you can see the design starting to take shape.  Continue to weave over and under to fill as much of the opening as you desire.

I left a tail of the original thread and then added a yarn where I wove over the first thread to help secure it.  I like the contrast of the texture adding the yarn.

Another shot of the front and I think I could have event added some seed beads as I was putting in the original threads so they would have hit at the holes if I wanted to add a little more texture and bling.

 When I was done with the yarn I tied it off in the back and added a dot of glue to secure the knot so it wouldn't unravel later.

Here is another example where I used a heavier cord for the base and sari ribbon to weave through the cord.

On this version I used a thin wire as the base for weaving and added a ribbon and a fuzzy yarn.

A close up of the one I used for the tutorial and below all three examples together.  I think you could add a ribbon or leather cord and wear as is or let your imagination run wild.

I will have these in my shop soon.

Lyn from 2Simplify sent me these photos of two bracelets she made using some of my Elli beads and I wanted to share these as well.  Notice the cure coin and charms she used on the back of this piece, when you do something similar with your designs it helps to balance the weight of the piece and lessens the chance that the bracelet will turn on your wrist as you wear it.

This is the worldly mix color, one of my favorites and the texture was made with a vintage piece of tatting.

Boho and Colorful

I just finished a batch of Boho and Colorful pottery beads that I have made into sets of four.  The large cuff bead is gently curved to hug your wrist and is approximately 48 mm or nearly two inches.  The pendant bead is 39 mm and the two smaller earring beads are 21mm.  They are in a mix of fun bright green, cobalt blue, tango orange aqua, and some yellow.  I just finished a fun set for myself and after wearing a few times I have received lots of compliments. I just added some colorful beads I had in my stash to complete.  I have these in the shop, I hope you enjoy creating with them.

Ready for Fall

The weather finally dropped to the 70's here in Texas, wow Fall is on the way. In the spirit of Fall I have new designs that bring on the feel of the crisp air and the changes of seasons.  I have been having fun enjoying combining glazes to create Fall inspired combinations. Here are some of the new combinations.  I will have all posted in the shop soon.

Caribbean and Copper

Copper Brown and Autumn

Aqua and Tutu Tango

 This Boho inspired set includes a pottery cuff bead and a coordinating pendant bead.  The acorn cuff was made by making a mold of an real acorn from the oak trees in my yard.

A wonderful acorn in this fall design

         And more sets with a pottery cuff focal bead and a pendant bead.

Stormy Blue and Tidal Pool Green

Mocha Mint and Espresso

Black Ice and Bright Tamale Red

 

Mirror Blue and Autumn

 A feel of earth and sky above and just the earth below.

Espresso and Rare Earth Brown

A set of 4 pottery beads in a mix of matte and gloss black and a touch of red

The black and red set is a combination of matte and gloss black and red.  It is almost like a volcanic eruption, and the colors mix is gorgeous and earthy.  This would make a great set with metal or thread woven amongst the holes.  See most blog post below for a sample of this design in a combination of blues and greens.  I have more that I will be adding soon, I hope you enjoy seeing the new designs.  

I also want to share some photos of finished pieces that were sent to me by customers.  I love seeing the kids (my beads) all grown up. LOL ...I hope you enjoy seeing these lovely designs below.

Sharing some of my pottery pieces in bracelet designs

In September, I will have some bracelets in a new mall a friend of mine is opening. I am excited to have a new fun place to shop and a location to display finished pieces I have made.  If you are in the College Station, Texas area you can stop by and visit.  Here are some of the designs I will have in the shop featuring my pottery beads, natural gemstones, leather, sterling plate and pewter accents.  If you want to make your own bracelets my pottery beads are available in my shop.  I hope you enjoy!

This design features a adjustable leather cuff

A leather cord wraps multiple times around your wrist in this design

This design has a simple beaded band

Natural gemstone beads accent the pottery focal, I also have earrings to match some of the designs.

My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys Pottery Cuff Bead

My new "My heroes have always been Cowboys" Pottery cuff bead

     This Cowboy on a Horse in one of my Elli pottery cuff beads.  I call these Ellis as they are Elliptical or Oval.  I really like how they turned out.  I am also excited to soon be wearing my fantastic cuff bracelet made featuring this cowboy bead.  Brenda from Beaded River Jewelry made me the fantastic cuff and sent me a sneak peek photos of my bracelet.  I have wanted one of these wrap style bracelets for quite a while.  And after Brenda sent me a photo of one she made with one of my  "If the boot fits" beads, (see past post).  I had to have her make me a wrap cuff with this handsome cowboy.  Now I am like a kid at Christmas patiently waiting for my new goodie.  
     Brenda sent me a note, "Here's our guy! He's made of my favorite Picasso finished tube beads that look old and rustic like they've been buried in the dirt for a couple of hundred years. I hope you like him. He's sporting a bit of some of my old jeans too.
     Like him I love him, and since I seldom take off my jewelry when I am working with pottery it will have some real dirt on it soon.
    I hope you enjoy a sneak peek at my new treat.  Later, Cindy

Lovely new piece designed and made by Beaded River Jewelry on Etsy

LOVE The Star button especially since I am from the Lone Star State 

Beautiful Christian Jewelry

The focal bead is a Carmine

I jokingly call my beads THE KIDS, and as a parent we hate to see our kids leave the house but it is fun to see them all grown up.  Lora Dalton ADOPTED some of THE KIDS...LOL.  And has raised them in a good Christian home.  Joking aside, I do love making Christian beads, along with the Rodeo beads and fancy beads that I have in my shop.  Lora was kind enough to send some gorgeous photo of some pieces she has recently made with my pottery beads.  Lora has a new shop on Etsy, Jeremiah 29:11 Jewelry.  Lora is a Christian artist who lives in Lees Summit, Missouri and she loves to create and repurpose jewelry and fashion items. 

Focal bead is one of the popular fish beads in my shop

This blue beauty features a Carmine bead also

Happy Girls are the Prettiest Bead

She added a cross detail to this Carmine bead in Malachite Green

Tutorial for Leather Cuff Bracelet

Honey Brown Mixed Media Cuff

This bracelet was accepted to be in the October Issue of Bead Trends.  Unfortunately, they are no longer publishing the magazine, so they sent it back to me.  Here is the tutorial I hope you enjoy making one similar.

The Inspiration:

Inspired by the love of vintage, this mixed media cuff features 2 vintage metal findings and a pottery bead in a metallic golden brown.  The pottery bead used on this cuff was handmade by me and is named after the most beautiful woman I know, my mom Zephyr.
The leather cuff is made using a cold connection process with micro screws.  A love of antiques and all things old becomes a show piece cuff bracelet.

Supplies:

Copper Brown Pottery Zephyr Bead from www.CapturedMoments.ETSY.com

2 Antique Victorian style brass stampings https://www.etsy.com/shop/2VintageGypsies

Leather 4x9 inch piece from Michaels

DIY Metal Jean Button Sewing Dept. of Michaels

6 brass daisy beads

6 micro screws and nuts www.CapturedMoments.ETSY.com
Leather Punch

Scissors

Hammer

Wood block

Small screw driver

Instructions:
1. Cut leather to 1 3/4x 9 inches, or smaller to fit your wrist.  Add jean button by punching a small starter hole at one end of the leather approx ½ inch from the end and centered.  Put the top ½ of the button through the top of the leather in to the punched hole and put the bottom ½ of the button on the bottom side of the leather aligning with the button top.  Place top side down on a block of wood and hammer it once or twice to secure.  Punch a small hole in the center of the other end of the leather ½ each from the end, and another at 1 inch from the end.  Cut down the center of the two holes to make a button hole for the jean button.

2. Determine the mid point of the leather, place the pottery Zephyr bead at the mid point and mark on the leather where the holes are.  Make a tiny hole with a leather punch, and then add a daisy bead and a micro screw thru the bead and secure on the back with a micro nut.  You could add E-6000 before attaching the screws for a more secure fit.  Repeat on the other side.

3. Attach a antique brass finding on either side of the pottery bead using the micro screw and daisy bead, securing on the back with a micro nut. The back of the micro screw can be sanded with a file if it is too long.

Making Faux Fossils

     My eight year old nephew has a upcoming Boy Scout event and they are learning about fossils.  My sister who helps with the Boy Scout activities was visiting with me about the upcoming event.  They want the boys to be able to dig for fossils. So I decided to help by making faux fossils.
     First I went out in our yard looking for bits of nature and found plants, and sticks.  I also raided a box of sea shells.  I took earthenware mud and made a flattened ball and pressed the objects into it to make an impression.  I wanted to have lots of variety for the new fossils.  I loved the plants but I wanted a creature hummm... after some thought and searching I found a old plastic bug in a board game and I pressed it into the clay, the bugs are my favorite but I only made a few as I was almost done when the thought hit me.
     I fired the pieces after they dried, and then took coffee grinds from the coffee pot and put the grinds in a bowl with some hot water and submerged the now bisque pieces into the mix.  I let them soak all day as bisque is very porous.  I let them dry overnight and then I hit them with some brown shoe polish for a little depth.  I think they turned out really cute, and they did not take that long to make.  I used pottery mud but these could be easily made with polymer clay, just bake the clay as directed and touch up the details with some paints or inks suitable for polymer clay.  This might be fun for a birthday party or even as a treasure for geocaching. 

This one was made with a plastic bug

I like that plant and shell designs.

Acorns and sticks worked well for impressions.

 

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.