Thrift Store Find

I love going to the thrift store and looking at the cast offs that other people donate.  I am always on the look out for something to reuse.  This week I found a cool leather belt with a punched hole design, it was $1.50. I then went to the craft store and bought some turquoise braided ribbon and I was ready to create. 

 I cut 7 inches off the end of the belt, as I have a larger wrist, you might use more or less depending on wrist size.  I then began to sew or whip stitch the braided ribbon thru the existing holes.  I did have to cut the end off once and heat with a lighter to help the ribbon go thru the holes easier.

 Notice in the above photo where the arrow is pointing is the middle of the leather where I marked it with a pen before starting. 

 When I got around both sides and to the last end I tucked the ribbon under the last few stiches and did the same on the other side.

 Above you can see how the ribbon is unraveled some and I am tucking it under the existing stitches.

 A view of the other side so you can see one side finished and the other almost finished.

Above is the back of the belt where I tied a knot in the waxed linen thread to hold the bead on to the belt.

 I then sewed one of my pottery cuff beads thru the existing holes with waxed linen thread, if needed I could have punched holes.  On this one I lucked out as they were already there.

 The above photo show the cuff sewn on both sides.

 I had to punch one hole to add jump rings and a lobster claw but was able to use the existing hole on the other side.

 I made a quick pair of earrings and just attached the beads to ear-wires with jump rings and added a tiny copper bead for an accent.

 I simply threaded leather into one of my doughnut beads for a simple choker.  And tied a sliding knot to put on and off.

 These beads are in a Tahitian Blue they have a real water color effect which is fun for casual wear.

A close up of the earrings.

I wonder what people make of the loads of stuff I donate yearly to the thrift store? I think it is nice that we have the stores in our town, they benefit great causes and they are a great resource for items to reuse.  It is so much fun to find a treasure like the belt I found.  The best part is I have a large section of the belt left for another project and my daughter has already spoken for they next seven inch cut.  :)

More Show and Tell:

The following pieces were made by Carrie Grabowicz.  Carrie is a stay home mom of two sweet boys with lots of energy who love to have fun.  Her shop name Hammi Jammi came from a nick name she gave her boys when they were acting silly.  Carrie states that "It started off that they were "hams" if they were goofing around. Then it turned into "hambone jambone" and finally it turned into "hammi jammies."  What a fun name to use for her shop and a sweet sentiment behind the name.

 A beautiful design using one of my lavish steampunk beads.

 The above was made with an Elli bead in Autmun, the design below is also the Elli bead with flowers in Aqua Fresca.

Show and Tell

What fun to be a kid and have show and tell day at school.  I just want to share some designs using my pottery beads.  It is always fantastic to see what my beads have become once they go to their new homes. Check my shop for all these pottery beads, and I am constantly adding new colors and designs.

These were made by Lori, Lori has been making western cuffs using my beads and leather, super cute.

Galen has made these lovely pendants using some of my pottery beads.  

 

Nicki Lynn has made a cross cuff bracelet and a bird pendant that are really nice.

 

Stephanie has a talent for combining colors to make exciting western cuff bracelets.  Please note that the Y'all beads are a design she had me custom make for her so you will not find them in my shop.  Have a great idea for a personal design? Just contact me for the details on how you can have your own personalized beads.

 

Thanks for looking and have a Healthy, Happy New Year.  Until next time...Cindy

Beautiful Designs using Captured Moments Pottery Beads

Just wanted to share with you some beautiful designs that have been sent to me recently by my customers.  I hope you enjoy seeing their beautiful handiwork. I also want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, I have so many things to be thankful for and among my many blessings are my wonderful customers and the ability to do something I love to do.  I am thankful that my beads bring you joy and for some readers additional income and I wish you health and happiness always.

These designs are from Susan Love.  Susie’s earliest creative memory was when she got into terrible trouble from her mother for cutting up some curtains and making each of her friends a bikini.  She has always been involved in crafts, from sewing, pottery, stained glass and for many years now making jewelry. Recently she got interested in precious metal clay, silver, bronze and copper; so expect to see a bit more of this appearing in her shop soon. 

 With a nack for western flair, Cameron Zimpelman has an Interior Design degree and yet she has always been designing and making jewelry, accessories and clothing since she can remember. You will find a wide range of different styles in her shop, she loves diversity and has thousands of ideas that she is working on creating. 

 I hope you enjoy looking at these lovely designs created using my pottery beads.

I love Olives

I have fond memories of the holidays when I was a young girl.  We would go to my grandparents house and there was always wonderful food to eat.  My favorite treat was the olives.  My Unkie Dan (his special name) was always helping the ladies in the kitchen, and he would let me put an olive on every finger.  How I loved those olives, I thought my granny must be rich to be able to always have olives for Christmas.  I can remember telling myself that when I grew up I wanted to be rich enough to always have olives in my refrigerator.  As an adult I have almost always had a jar of olives in my refrigerator as I still love those tasty green treats.  I made some super cute olive beads, they make me smile.  I hope you enjoy them too.

See past blog post for a tutorial on how to make this cuff

Here are some great designs made with my beads. The following three designs are made by Stephanie.  Stephanie has a great eye for design, she is a Tampa girl transplanted to New Jersey caught between lovin' the big city and wantin' to be a country girl. You can find Stephanie's shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/SassyBelleWares

This was a special order bead that Stephanie had me design

Girls Raised In the South focal bead

A few more great designs using my pottery beads.  These designs were made by Lisa Casteel Morton she loves creating works of art with beads, chain and wire. She enjoys wearing pieces that she creates as well as making jewelry for friends and family. Her Etsy shop is https://www.etsy.com/shop/SouthernGraceJewelry

Lisa has a great quote on her profile at Etsy.

"The biggest myth about Southern women is that we are frail types-fainting on our sofas....Nobody where I grew up ever acted like that. We were about as fragile as coal trucks."
----Lee Smith 

The focal bead is in copper brown

Edgy bracelet tutorial using a pottery cuff focal bead and a bicycle tire

If you have been following my blog you know I like to recycle or up cycle items.   This hole project began when I spotted a old bike I had as a child up against the barn of my childhood home.  My daddy helped me take the chain off the old bike and I used it to press into the wet clay to make this super cool edgy pattern.  Then another crazy idea was to use a recycled bicycle inter-tube as the cuff of the bracelet.  The inter-tube was rescued from a bike my kids have recently out grown. I took the old bike inter-tube and fashioned this cool, edgy bracelet.  It was super quick to make and a fun accessory especially for bike lovers. 

I started by cutting off approx. 9 inches of the inter-tube, I then folded about a half inch of the tube inside itself to form a more finished edge.  I punched a hole with my leather punch and attached a metal button like one finds on their bluejeans. See post for details.
 

 

 

I then cut a button hole on the opposite side and curved the ends of the inter-tube using household scissors.  I glued the ends shut with household white glue.  To hold in place while drying I put clothes pins on the end.  Sorry I forgot to photograph that step. After it had dried overnight, I removed the clothes pins.

 

I held a 30x60 mm pottery cuff bead up to the center of my bracelet and punched holes to match the hole placement in the bead.  I then attached the bead to the inter-tube using micro screws.

 

This is the finished bracelet, ready to wear.  It should be a fun piece to wear with jeans and perfect for a bike or motorcycle enthusiast.  This piece was made with a stormy blue pottery bead but I have it in rusty truck also which is a brown with red rust spots.  Enjoy! Cindy

Note: that bike tubes have a natural curved shape so if you use a focal bead that has a top and bottom design you may consider adjusting that with the curve of the tube.