some new designs~

i love my antique & vintage shell buttons! years ago (like 10, wow!) i would cut old rusty cans found in the arroyo dumps & flatten the metal, file the edges & weave shell buttons onto the slices creating earrings that sold like hotcakes. then i started teaching & left that world behind. the other day though, i took my old idea & put it forth with enameled bottle caps.

i added some chain & there you have it. then...

i took the whole caps that i make as components & wove some shell buttons onto them.

the backs have little nipples made from hematite beads wrapped with the copper wire. i love the backs!   

purple babes

hanging backs.

xoxo        

~a fire like morning and a thank you

i torched enameled and built a fire just to create for you!

the green sticks are double green overlay with gilding on the fold. 

i think i'll make more of these in different colors.way cool if i must say.

the pit fired clay beads are a surprise! 

this time they made it through the fire. 

sometimes they don't fare so well as this is not a science but a journey 

from wet clay to pit fired components.

the fire is never the same and the combustibles change making for an 

ashy color sometimes and jet black at others. like on these kitty cats who got both.

variables i cannot control. 

what a gas! see my shop at right if ya just gotta have some for yerself. xoxo

and a big thanks to fanci for having a give away as i won an amazing pair of earrings! 

yummy! more xoxo all over the place!

~more parts

been creating components for you to get busy with. some pit fired clay dangles and beads. some enameled beer bottle caps. all in my artistic rejuvenation shop. some new jewelry too. xoxo

pit fired clay beads~

i started making my own clay beads. i saw some kiln fired beads that went into a pit for effect and thought, wow! i live by and work at a pueblo known for pit firing without the kiln and had seen it done with beautiful pottery. amazing work. i thought. i wonder if i could pit fire, just pit fire, clay beads? so i went to santa fe clay and purchased 25 pounds of white clay. away I went.

making, making, making, experimenting with the clay. here is a small selection of the 100 i made at first. it is soothing working with clay. carving, decorating, making holes to create beads for adornment...and i did some research. not too many hits on beads, but read a lot about pit firing pots. i love an experiment!

and then starting fires! i pit fired them in my charcoal grill as digging a pit in my yard is out of the question. i have an all edible yard full of gardens, in the city, with no place for a pit. the first day, my daughter came out and thought i was burning paperwork as a cleansing ritual and asked if she could throw in some school work. she's too cute!

a sampling of the first round. i had the fire too BIG the first go around, so i doused  it and re-fired these babies. they came out pretty cool me thinks. i must admit. it was hard finding the beads in the ash. so my son dug around and found them all! he's very helpful and i am very grateful.

again. another view of the beads.

and a little house because we are the house family. i married into a fun name. we make so many things into houses.

enameled beer bottle caps with beads from the second firing. i wear them all the time! they are a conversation starter for sure.

today i started the third firing. this time i made bobbles with wires for hanging. i traded the lunch folks at school a few of my beads for this can. they opened it specially for me to use, so i thought i'd give in return. i put grass in the can, laid in the bobbles and set the can on a bed of grass, paper and oak.

i built up the sides with wood as i went. sheesh! i hadn't even had my coffee yet but here i was, starting fires at 6 a.m. gotta do it before the winds pick up. it's so peaceful in the back yard so early in the morn anyway, so i truly didn't mind.

after the fire died down, i pushed all the coals up around the can and put the lid on on the grill and waited.

two hours later i pulled the can from the ash and uncovered it. lookie! i made bobbles! and i can see them! no digging around in the ashes this time.

cooling on a tray. they were already pretty cooled down as it was and i only lost three out of 26 to fractures while they were in the fire itself. the first and second time around i lost about 6. not bad.

i dropped a couple as i transferred then. yup. solid! this is a low fire technique and unglazed so they should not be submerged in water just like any other unglazed clay. but they are strong and fit.

another view all dangling.

i made a couple of pendants with my enamels and the beads and bobbles. i love how they compliment each other. whew! what fun i am having.

my husband, mr. house, is getting a kick out me playing with fire as usually i shy away from it. now to make some more for next weekend! xoxo

~dead computer woe's

ugh. got some bad news. computer died altogether. 

they are trying one last resuscitation before giving up. 

it means i cannot post photos of my new work, 

but i grabbed  few images off etsy to share. 

not making too much as the school year comes to a close 

& i await my fate as my heart is failing. 

not much fun around here at the moment. but, chin up!

regardless, i did make a stacked pair of earrings 

with beads scavenged from items i had about.

they are sporting purple numinosity headpins 

& purple torch enameled beer bottle caps. 

then a pendant of a blue torch enameled beer bottle cap, 

antique key & a lovely faceted crystal

lastly, a lovely pendant with shimmery labradorite, 

antique crocheted button & found metal.

i collaged the back side. fun, fun!
here's to
dancing on the battlefield
as a friend of mine likes to say. xoxo

~bead soup blog hop starts today!

my post is not showing up in the blogger line up, so here's the link to my reveal. cheers!