Fresh Tile Earrings for Mother's Day

This morning I opened the kiln and my glazed ceramic charms were beautiful.  I made them into earrings and listed them in my etsy shop, www.shookaloot.etsy.com.  Here are some of the pairs..

What pieces have you made lately?  Do you have anything special cooking for Mother's Day?
Happy Creating!
--Kathy

Jewelry Connector Inspiration

Jewelry connectors are a finding that has two or more loops for connecting to other items.  Some have one loop on one side and one on the other (1 to 1) while others have one loop on one side and 2, 3, 4 or more on the other side.  Connectors can add interest to your jewelry piece and even help set up the framework of your piece.  I love to make connectors to sell or jazz up my jewelry creations.  Here are some that I've made. 

As you can see, all of these are 1 to 1 connectors.  They can either have holes at each end for looping or they can have wires.  They can be bold pieces or accent pieces. 

I'd love to see what connectors you make or use all the time, and how you use them. 
Happy Creating,
Kathy

Ceramic Rustic Forest Artbead Bracelet Design

Okay, so I showed you the beads I made with my new glazes.  I've now made a bracelet out of some of those beads.  Here it is:

This bracelet turned out so well.  It is a beautiful combination of browns, reds, greens, and metals (copper, antique copper, and antique bronze).  All of the components are handmade art beads made form earthenware clay.  Some are glossy, some are semi-gloss, and all are multi-tonal.  So much fun.  A little out of season, but what can I say--I love these colors!

Try your hand at mixing different metals.  You'll find some interesting combinations.  I'd love to see your stuff so send pictures. 

Happy Creating!
--Kathy

New Glazes (At least new to me...)

Every year my favorite clay store has an annual sale.  Needless to say, this is when I stock up on many goodies.  This time around I bought lots of fun things including several new earthenware glazes.  I'm always eager to try them out, so here are how the colors look...

This is Mayco's "Rust Red" Elements glaze.

This brown is reddish and some parts turned out yellowish.  It took well to deep texture for the patterns.  Finer detail was lost--see the cameo bead.  Also, since the hues vary in these pieces, pictures (such as the squirrel) kind of get lost.  Coverage is good though and I was surprised and delighted at how the polka dots in the oval bead turned yellow.  Fun!  This is a great basic brown for jewelry although I didn't find it to be exciting.

This is Duncan's "Desert Pine" Courtyard Art Glaze.

Okay, I love this glaze and will definitely be using it regularly.  It is not very shiny (unlike the brown above) but it looks rustic and has such great contrast!  It took really well to both the patterns and flat beads.  The cameo looks a little weird, but I'm glad I tried.  Maybe I can do a scary Halloween bracelet or something with it.  :)  This green tends to go really well with a lot of the rustic glazes that I like to use.  It screams fall to me.

This is Duncan's "Ocean Mist" Artisan Glaze

I really love this glaze too.  Again, it is not very shiny (the bottom right bead is not this glaze)--it's fairly matte, but almost looks like a patina.  It does not show detail very well, but the color and saturation variation is a lot of fun.  It could be a fantastic background for decals too--maybe the iron oxide brown HP printer ones???  This color says summer to me although you could easily pair it up with different colors to make it work all year round.  It looks like these pieces have been around a long time, but I don't think they will be in my studio that long.  :) 

So, overall, I think that these glazes were all a success.  I'm sure I'll use all of them, although the green and blue look most promising to me. 

Which of these three glazes is your favorite?  What glazes do you like to incorporate in your ceramic jewelry?  Happy Creating!
--Kathy
(PajegoArtHouse.etsy.com)

Spring Colors!

I'm so excited it is spring that I'm starting to use some brighter colors.  Here are some examples of newer pieces I've made that sing spring to me.  What colors say spring to you? 
--Kathy

 

(If you like these pieces, check out my etsy shop, PajegoArtHouse.etsy.com.)

How To Make A Cord Necklace

Periodically I need to make cord necklaces for my pendants.  This is how I make them...

What you'll need:

2mm nylon cording--you can get this at Hobby Lobby, JoAnn's, or online.  Look in the ribbon section.  I like to use black, but you can get some great looks from other colors.

Closures (AKA "End Crimps")--you can get these at Hobby Lobby, Michaels, or online.  I usually like to get them from Michaels, and I like the silver ones.

Barrel Clasp--you can get these at Hobby Lobby, Michaels, JoAnn's, online (etc.).  I prefer barrel clasps because I find they are easy to open and close, and when you buy a pack, the pieces in it are more likely to fit/work right than regular clasps.

Pliers -  For this project, I like to use flat jewelry pliers.

Now you're ready to go.


Step 1:
Cut your cording to length.  I usually like to make 18" necklaces, so I cut my cording to about 17 1/4".

Step 2:
Place one end of the cording into the closure (end crimp).  Be careful not to put the cording up by the loop.  Using your pliers close one side at a time over the end of the cording.  This takes some practice so if yours look smashed at first, don't give up.

Close up the other side too.  Both ends should be finished off.

Sometimes some of the cording will fray and peek out from the closed metal.  If this happens, just use a razor blade and cut it off (being careful not to cut the actual necklace cord or scratch the metal).

Step 3:
Using your pliers, open the loop on one side of the barrel clasp and hook it onto one end of the cord.  Then close up the wire loop so the clasp is secure.

Do the same thing to the other side of the clasp and necklace cord.  When you've finished, the necklace should make a complete circle.

Step 4:
Slide your pendant onto your necklace cord.  Voila!

We would love to see what pieces you make with your necklace cords, so send it pictures or comments.  Happy Creating!

Love Those Cameos

Cameos have been used as jewelry since as early as the 3rd Century BC.  They often have contrasting colors and feature lovely relief designs.  Since I love cameos, I've decided to start making them out of ceramic for jewelry.  I thought it might be fun to change them up a little from the traditional look, so I've decided to add bulkier backgrounds and use fun colors.  I've got fantasies of lime green, light blue, red, etc.  Here are some I made using watermelon colored glaze, white glaze, and pink glaze.  I've paired them up with some other handmade beads for unique sets.  Do you wear cameos and how do you like them--traditional or funky?