Leather and Pottery Cuff Tutorial

I recently explored the possibility of making my own leather cuffs as I wasn't able to find what I wanted.  I found that both my local craft stores (Michael's and Hobby Lobby) sold leather strips (in the leather section of the store) that are approx. 4x9 inches.  I also found that in the sewing department I could purchase metal buttons that are designed for jeans.  The process was really easy, just cut the leather to the width you need and the length plus one inch to the length.  

Leather Punch

I have a leather punch that I used to punch a small hole in about 1/2 inch from one side and centered.

Metal button back

This shows the nail head of the metal button

Put the nail head of the metal button into the hole and then flip over the leather and line up the decorative metal button top, carefully flip over again and put the button back on a hard surface.  
 

This is the top of the decorative jean button

 With one good whack of the hammer it will be attached firmly to the leather.  On the other side of the leather I made two small holes parallel of each other and cut the center to form the button hole for the cuff.

Give the back of the button a whack or two with your hammer

The button is now attached

This is what it looks like buttoned

 Now embellish the cuff with old findings and a pottery bead. Determine the mid point of the leather, and align a pottery bead on a metal finding.  It helps if the metal is curved, just take a can of veggies out of the pantry and use it to curve the metal.  Line up the bead with the metal finding and mark on the metal finding where the holes are in the pottery bead.  Punch a hole thru the metal where you made your marks.  I use my euro punch to punch the metal but you could use a drill also.

My Euro Punch

Now line up to the mid section of your leather cuff and mark where the holes will hit the cuff.  Make a tiny hole with a leather punch, and then add a micro screw thru the pottery bead, finding and leather secure on the back with a micro nut.  You could add E-6000 to the back of the metal finding before attaching the screws for a more secure fit.  

This cuff was made with one of my Edith beads

I love the patina on the metal

This image shows the micro screws on the inside of the cuff.  The back of the micro screw can be sanded with a file if it is too long.

This image shows all the details of the cuff assembly

Another version using black leather and one of my pottery rose beads

These are so easy to make and the varieties could be endless using old findings and pottery beads.  I hope you enjoyed the tutorial.  Happy day! Cindy

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 just received my April issue of Bead Trends (I know you love the magazine as much as I do...but don't worry if your is not in the mail box yet, mine came early!!! WHY YOU ASK?).  I have two designs featured in the April 2013 issue.  The first design is a necklace with matching earrings in my new half circle sweet daisy beads.  It was made with copper chain and Swarovski crystal bicone beads in topaz.

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Supplies:
Beads: 5 half circle golden brown pottery beads with daisy’s www.CapturedMoments.ETSY.com
qty 4 8mm Swarovski crystal bicone beads in topaz artbeads.com
Chain: 22 inches of copper chain www.CapturedMoments.ETSY.com
Jump rings: qty. 14 9mm copper jump rings www.CapturedMoments.ETSY.com
Lobster claw clasp: one 15mm www.CapturedMoments.ETSY.com
Head pins: qty. 4 2 inch copper head pins artbeads.com
Copper daisy beads: qty. 4 5mm copper daisy spacer beads. Artbeads.com
Ear wires: qty. 2 copper ear wires www.artbeads.com
 
Step by step instructions:
 

Earrings

1. Take one head pin and place one copper daisy spacer bead, then one topaz bicone bead; make a simple loop.  To make a simple loop use your chain nose pliers and bend the head pin to make a 90 degree angle above your bicone bead.  Then with the wire end facing towards you grip the end with the your round nose pliers and wrap the wire away from you by turning the round nose pliers to make a nice loop. Then wrap the wire around the bottom of the loop to secure.  Cut off any excess wire.  Repeat to make a total of 4 simple loops.  2 will be used with the earring and 2 with the necklace.

2. Cut 2 pieces of 3 inch copper chain.

3. Attach one piece of the 3 inch copper chain to one of the pottery beads with a jump ring, attach the other end of the chain to the other side of the bead.

4. Carefully open the bottom loop of the ear wire and attach the copper chain that is now attached to the pottery bead into the center point of the chain.  Add the topaz bead loop to the opening also.  Close the bottom loop of the ear wire and repeat to finish 2^nd earring.

Necklace:

1. Cut two pieces of 7 ½ inches of copper chain.  Take 4 jump rings and attach a jump ring to each end of each piece of chain.

2. Attach one of the pottery daisy beads to one of the jump rings on the copper chain. 

3.  Attach the 2^nd pottery daisy bead to the first with a jump ring, add another jump ring and then attach the last pottery daisy bead to the other beads.  You will have a total of 3 pottery beads and each will be spaced with 3 jump rings. I used a oval jump ring in the middle of the three jump rings for interest.

4.  Attach the remaining chain to the pottery daisy bead with a jump ring. 

5.  Add a topaz bicone bead to the center jump ring to the right and left of the center pottery bead.  See finished piece.

6. Add a lobster claw to one of the chain ends.

7. Enjoy!

I also have a bangle in the April 2013 Bead Trends Magazine (see page 46-47) it is made using one of my pottery heart beads.A simple design using copper wire from the electrical supply store.

Supplies:

Wire: 16 inches of 8 gauge copper wire, from the hardware store, electrical dept.

And 16 inches of 12 gauge wire

Bead: Pottery heart bead in Malachite Green from CapturedMoments.etsy.com

Step by Step Instructions:

1. Cut a 16 inch piece of 8 gauge copper wire and make a larger loop at one end this will be part of the clasp.

2. Thread pottery bead unto the 8 gauge wire.

3. Bend the wire around a bracelet mandrel, or an oval shaped object. I use the handle of an axe from the garage.  You want to then check the sizing and see if it would fit your wrist comfortably.  Cut off any excess wire leaving ¾ inch extra to make a simple hook for your bangle.  Carefully flatten the wire on the bangle using a bench block and hammer, make sure your bead is in place where you want it and flatten the wire around the bead being careful not to hit the bead.  It is helpful if the bead hole is large enough to slide the bead out of the way while shaping the copper wire.  Flatten the copper wire of the bangle to add detail. 

4. Shape a simple hook to the remaining end.

5. Take a 2 inch piece of 8 gauge wire and fashion an “S” curve or other shape to accent your bangle. Or any design that you like.

6. Flatten the copper “S” shape using a hammer and a metal bench block.

7. Attach the “S” shape to the bangle near the bead with the thinner wire.  Wrap with wire to secure and wrap on each side of the heart bead to secure the pottery bead from sliding on your bangle.

8. Wrap the loop closure with wire to secure.

9. If you have a torch or a gas oven you can carefully hold your finished piece to the heat for a few seconds to torch fire the copper, changing its colors.  If you see colors you like on the copper, stop the torch firing as you cannot bring your piece back to those colors.  The pottery bead will not be affected by a quick flicker of heat. 

I hope you enjoy the tutorials. 

Bead Trends March

I just wanted to share this beautiful piece by Shannon Chomanczuk she designed this beautiful piece using a few of my shabby chic beads. It is featured in one of my favorite magazines Bead Trends in the March issue.  I love the simplicity of the neutrals used in this bracelet.  Happy day to all. Cindy

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

Fabric curved button bracelet tutorial

Happy New Year!!! Now that Christmas has passed I can share these cute bracelets I made as gifts.  They are made with a DIY covered button kit, fabric, and a sterling silver bracelet base.  I found some cute fabric to match the personalities of my girls.  One has loved outer space forever and the other loves bright colors.  I bought 1/8 of a yard of fabric, more than I could ever use but they would  not sell me less at the store.

 

 The button kit comes with a paper template and you cut the fabric out using the template on a part of the fabric that you like.  Take the fabric put it into the button maker (a plastic cup thing that is part of the kit) put the rounded part of the button on top of the fabric. 

Remove the button shank with a pair of pliers from the button back (this can be done by pinching the shank with a pair of pliers and it will remove fairly easy, or you could cut it off with wire cutters) and then tuck the fabric into the back of the button, and place the button back on top of the fabric that has been tucked in.

I forgot to remove the button shank on this one but I removed it with a pair of needle nose pliers after I made this button.

    Use the little pushing tool (see blue object in photo) the button back will crimp to the front making a finished button.

 Here is a finished button.  Now repeat until you have enough for your project.  I coated my buttons with diamond glaze to water proof them and help keep them clean.  I then glued the buttons to the sterling silver bracelet base, the 3/4 inch buttons fit perfect.  I used E-6000 glue which is great for projects like this.

 Bright colors and outer space, two fun looks from different fabrics.

  The above photo shows the back of the finished button.  These are really cute and would be a fun addition to an outfit.  I made earring by just attaching an earring back to the button using E-6000 glue.  

Happy New Year and Enjoy Creating.