January 9, 2016

So I got to sit down last week with fourteen lumps of clay and this is some of what I came up with. Now don't laugh, you promised! I was so happy just to get a bowl shape and almost the same size...lots of work to do...have you quit laughing yet?

The cups were a different story. One is really heavy and the other not too bad. The handles were from a cup that failed. Do you have any of your first cups and bowls that will make me feel better about mine? And the buttons, I've made buttons for ten years now! I cannot believe it's been that long, seems like last week when I started.

This is just the beginning stage. I have yet to bisque and glaze. So, hopefully, they will get done next week. Hope you've enjoyed yourself here today. Please join my blog, my numbers haven't moved in a long time, my fault of course. Thanks! Blessings!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Christmas 2015 is a memory now and my present from Santa lingers on, for a long time I hope! I've begun another new hobby, one I've had some experience with, but not much. Here she is, my little Clay Boss Clay Wheel. I'm so excited!

I have been following Simon Leach to the point I'm beginning to feel like a stalker...lol. I think I've liked and wanted to save everything I've watched of his tutorials. There is so much to learn. First off, I know I have to cut my fingernails, gather more supplies and sit down and try to cone up for the first time in a long time. I am so nervous, I am delaying it being here with you. This first picture was my first ball of clay that I coned up, made a biscuit, opened, and pulled up. Not Good! The second and third picture was my second ball of clay and I like the way this one ended up. I'm keeping this piece just for fun and to try to make a mug out of...we shall see!

Well, pieces one, three, and four were disasters...I kept the second piece for reference in the future. So prepare yourselves for a long and bumpy road. I am determined to make a mug and bowl before long and I hope you're with me for the ride. Blessings!

Helper!

I went to our new church building (under construction) and helped to paint the walls in the sanctuary.  It is a beautiful mid golden latex and it's going to look so great.  We are overly excited to see such progress as the weather has not been helpful this year and what work they've got to do on it has been spastic to say the least.  But every step is one step closer and what a great blessing this place will be to our area.
I still don't know what my mission there will be, but whatever it is, I am looking forward to it.  I know there is still something for me to do...I'm not done yet.
The LORD has been so graciously and wonderfully good to me, changing my attitude, changing my life and I will do what I can to honor Him the rest of my life.  I pray you know HIM and if you'd like some help in that area, just ask.  Ask me if you don't know how to ask Him, but if you do, please know The LORD loves you and has done everything He can to save your soul, it's all up to you.
More about clay later, there are some new things in the works!
Okay, enough for today, take care and thanks for stopping by.

Just So You Know...

I've closed my Etsy Shop.  I am now on Artisan Component Marketplace and Facebook.  Here is the link to my new shop...http://artisancomponentmarketplace.com/martisbuttonsandbeads/

And I cannot believe it's been months since I've been here and posted.  Shame on me, I guess I almost forgot about this blog.  Will do better...


as always, thanks for stopping by and take care!

Summertime!

For the last several days I've been taking pictures of clouds and learning which are which.  I didn't remember from school and the internet has all the information I need.  I may start posting them here.

What are you doing this summer?  Same old, same old here.  We are raising a few tomato plants in hopes of a fresh harvest and in another week I have to have cataract surgery for my left eye and in a couple of weeks after that go back for the right eye.  I am not seeing clearly at all close up and I really need to.

I have a few things bisque firing today.  A couple of new things and some rings.

Well, I hope you are having some fun and doing well, it's been a while since I've posted.
Take care and thanks for stopping by!

8th Bead Soup Results

Marianne Baxter is my partner for this swap, you can find her blog here:
http://www.simplyseablimejewelry.blogspot.com

I was thrilled with the soup she sent me, it's even in my favorite colors.  Isn't the glass piece beautiful?

Here is the result, I hope Marianne thinks I did a good job!  It is slightly asymmetrical and I used every bead she sent along with some of my green beads that I thought went beautifully with hers.

What do you think?

Here is the link to Lori's blog and the rest of the Bead Soup blogs, this is going to be a blast!

http://www.prettythingsblog.com/2014/05/welcome-to-8th-bead-soup-blog-party.html

Not Another Hobby!

Look what I've been doing the last few days!  It's not finished yet, still have to wash it and finish it up, and it's not perfect and it made my wrists hurt (well, only the French knots), but I am happy with it.

Most of it was done at the end of the day.  I told my husband it is so relaxing and he told me I need something to make me more relaxed…he was joking!  Trust me!

Have you ever done Brazilian Embroidery?  Let me know what you think…

thanks for stopping by, take care!

The Making of my Bead Soup for Marianne

Here is a picture I found somewhere online, probably FaceBook, that I thought was so gorgeous, I had to try to make it in clay.

First I downloaded and made a copy of the picture in the right size for a pendant. 

I cut it out and laid it down on a conditioned and ready piece of clay.  I used a stylus and got an impression of the flower into the clay.  Cut it out and added some detail.

After letting it dry for a couple of days between a couple of ceiling tiles, I used a sponge to wet sand the edges and smooth out what crinkles I could.  

Then the piece was bisque fired, cooled, glazed and fired to cone six which goes to over 2200 degrees.

There it is mixed in with beads that I got for the Soup and the special clasp that was handmade just for me by Jean Wells.

I hope Marianne likes it.  I was happy with the way it turned out and thrilled to be part of this Bead Soup again.  This really gives me a chance to grow in my less than fabulous jewelry skills.  I hope Marianne is happy with what I did with hers.

Got 'Em!

Just received my Bead Soup Blog Hop beads from Marianne Baxter today.  They are perfectly beautiful and in my favorite colors!  Check them out!

There are two little fish that I must do something special with.  I am not really into the Zodiac and horoscopes and all that, but my sign is Pisces and I've a feeling these are going to be a great dangle.  Off to do some chores, then back to think and plot what to do with such loveliness…  

Thank you Marianne!

My Bead Soup Blog Hop Partner is…

Marianne Baxter at:

 http://simplyseablimejewelry.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-color-orange.html

Marianne works in glass and metal clay and her work is lovely. I am excited to be her partner!  I have to fire her focal, I just finished glazing it and I just pray it goes as well as I hope it will!

The focal is fired and I will bag this stuff up and on the way before Friday!  It was such a nice bead shopping day for Marianne, I hope she likes it!

thanks for stopping by, take care

New Bones

Suzanne Berk is an animal rescuer.  I love her for what she does and I so appreciate her asking me to make some bones for her to use on her Rescue Bracelets at iRescue.  Here is a link:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/176941833/be-the-change-i-rescue-paw-prints-and?utm_source=etsythemeshop&utm_medium=api&utm_campaign=api

She has used some of my components before and I am thrilled to have some of my pieces in her work!

Here are a couple she sold last year…

Here are the steps to making the bones I did for her:

Step one is conditioning the clay and cutting out same size pieces…

Then make the cuts to shape the bones:

Then, I finalize the shape using my fingers.

Add high fire wire to use as a connector.

Let them all dry for a couple of days after wet sanding them to take down sharp edges and just make them look better.

The results of the fire:

Suzanne, I am honored to do these for you, I pray you will be blessed by using them and those they go to as well.  Thank you for what you do!  

I hope you've enjoyed seeing how these are made as much as I did doing them.

as always, thanks for stopping by and take care

In the Clay

The last few days I've made some new things, but the weather is so bad, with worse weather coming, that I cannot fire the kiln.  Maybe, hopefully, by the middle of next week I can fire.  I have a waiting order and I hate not to be able to get it finished and sent!

Today is the second day I haven't had sugar.  This is a new thing for me and I'm going slow to get myself under better control.  I have always been spoiled rotten and very self indulgent, but I am giving it a go, to try to make myself more healthy, I hope it's not too little too late.

In a little more than a month I'm going to be 58 years old!  Who would have guessed?  Not me, for sure!  You know the old line, if I thought I would have lived this long, I would have taken better care of myself…yeah, that's me!

I'm glad I have this blog where I can write and on occasion get a reply.  I usually have something to show, but today I'm just rambling.

thanks for stopping by and take care!

I'm Baaaccckkk!

I'm back in the clay…it's been months.  Tomorrow I am starting a new thing and I am wondering about how it will go.

I have missed you.  Sorry for not keeping up for so long.  Please hang in there with me and come back to see what's going on.

Take care and thanks for stopping by…be blessed!

HAPPY NEW YEAR--2014

Welcome 2014!  I pray each of you health, happiness, and love!  I'll be back!

take care and thanks for stopping by

Black Friday Weekend SALE!

There is a 20% discount on totals of $15.00 or more at Marti's Buttons-n-Beads Etsy shop beginning now thru Dec. 1, 2013.

My link is here:   https://www.etsy.com/shop/MartisButtonsnBeads

Thanks to Marsha for having these sales and keeping me as updated as possible!

Hope you find something you like, thanks for stopping by, take care!

From Beginning to End, the Making of a Ceramic Button

I just got some new clay last month and it comes pretty well ready to use. 

   But clay has a memory and can cause warping if it is not conditioned before use.  So, I roll it around in my hands, squeeze it and play with it for a bit.

  Then I get the mold ready to use.  This design was from an old piece of jewelry.  It was pressed into clay and fired to cone 06.  I spray it with vegetable oil before I press the clay into it.

The round of clay is pushed into the mold and pulled off then cut out.

 The holes are added and it is initialed on the back.

The piece is allowed to dry.  I then use a wet sponge to rub off imperfections, little nuggets of clay, I just try to get it as perfect as possible.   I bisque fire it to cone 06.  This process burns out some of the gasses in the clay that happens when it gets to 100's of degrees. 

Then it is under-glazed and glazed to cone six which is over 2000 degrees.  I think mine goes to 2260 degrees, but not exactly sure.

The finished buttons:

I hope you have enjoyed the making of a button, please let me know!

and as always, thanks for stopping by and take care

Here are the BEADS!

Here are the beads with the dog comb textures and all!  They turned out okay, kind of disappointed with a couple of the glazes...it sort of fell off the bead.

The first and second bead set on the bottom row, see how the glaze fell to the bottom of the bead?  I am no clay expert, I've said that many times, but I guess this is not a good "fit" of glaze on the clay?  Anyone out there that knows, please tell me...thanks! 

But, you can see the textures, right?  So much fun!  

thanks for stopping by, take care!

Always Looking for TEXTURES...

While looking around the house looking for textures for new beads, here is what I came up with.  Some are new, some are standbys.

Years ago when I quilted I saw old fabric stamps and fell in love with the idea of hand stamping with wood blocks.  I never had the opportunity to buy any until just a few weeks ago and I ran across what I thought was a great deal so I bought some old wooden hand stamps.  Here are a couple and the wet beads just impressed with them...

Here are a few of the textures around the house that I used on a few batch of beads this evening.

From my dog comb,

a glass coaster,

an old hair band,

the cat brush and a straw.

One thing that did not work out as well as I expected was from an old colander...

These beads will dry in a couple of days and then I will wet sand them, bisque fire, glaze, re-fire them to cone six and show them off later.  These were made with my new very dark clay and I can hardly wait to see them finished myself.  

Hope you enjoyed this time together, let me know, please leave a comment!  Check out my Etsy store where there are some things ready and let me know what you think!  If you are a Facebook fan, I have a page there called Marti's Buttons-n-Beads, please look it up...

and as always, thanks for stopping by, take care!

Bisque Firing Today and more...

Today I am running a bisque fire in the baby kiln, it has angels and new pendants in it.  Hope it turns out.

Also getting ready for the set up in Cairo next weekend.

I went to Zane Trace Button Club last week, first time I had been all year.  A couple of new faces and that is always nice, a beautiful trip and some great new buttons.

Here is a couple of pics of the new stash...

I love black glass buttons, the selection is unbelievable, finishes and designs are just remarkable.  My favorite of this stash is the bowling ball and pin that dangles from the ball.  It is a wooden button and I think it's adorable.  I think it will be a great feature on a wood tray!

The weather is so cool today, had to break out the sweats.  

So as always, thanks for stopping by and take care.

Major Fail

I had a major fail today and made a total a$$ out of myself.  Now mind you, years ago, I would have taken that in stride without so much as a shake of my head, but, as I grow older, I am trying so hard to also grow up...mature...become a gracious woman...that is, until I get behind the wheel of my car and become this crazy woman.  Where is this coming from???

The young man was flagging, poorly, like he had never done it before and he drove me to madness...I said things today I haven't said for a long time and it's so embarrassing to me.  Of course, nothing was said to him, just me acting up in front of my husband and then letting a few other people know how mad I became at the guy.

He was flagging traffic for a race inside a little town-why? I have no idea why-they would have had it in town, but they did and he let 20-30 cars come from one end of town and would not let but one car at a time go from our lane...I was incensed by the time we got where we were going, because, I could have thrown a rock and hit the place we were heading for...UGGGGHHHH, I hate acting like that.

So, once more, some where down the road, I will come onto another waiting situation and the next time, I'm going to try to remember today and take it in stride, not act like a crazy person...Lord, I've had to ask You to forgive me...again...and I'm just sorry that I acted like that and that for that reason You had to bother with me today...Thank You...I will try not to act like that again, I promise!

And even though some people will see this, it makes me feel better to confess it and hopefully, someone else will learn from my mistake and not act like I did today...


take care, and thanks for stopping by!