Cabinet Knobs

To expand our home decor line, we have now added cabinet knobs or drawer pulls.  We have simple knobs to start but will be adding more styles later on.  The knobs used are solid brass (gold-tone) or steel (silver-tone) and then covered in clay.

Home Decor

   

We've been focusing on expanding our home decor art lately.  I find covering switch plates can not only be a lot of fun but also very rewarding as they add a nice accent to the walls.  We are creating a line of designs for custom ordering where the customer can select their type of receptacle cover, pattern and color.

You can see more of our latest designs on our Jewelry for the Home site and more will be listed on a regular basis.

Some New Buttons

I was commissioned to make some buttons for some sofa cushions last week.  I had some fun making them and experimenting with mica powders and inks and love how they turned out with a sort of antique-patina finish.  I got carried away and made a few and so the extra ones are now for sale in our ArtFire Studio.

    

    

Tutorial - Making an Elegant Organza Ribbon Cord

  

I made some heart pendants a while ago and no matter what type of cord I tried with them, they just didn't seem to look right.  I had some organza ribbon in just the right colors and so did some experimenting and created some pretty organza cords.  This is how it is done:

Step 1 - Cut a piece of 1" (25 mm) wide organza ribbon 1-2 inches longer than you want your finished cord to be.  If there is wire running through the edges, then pull them out with pliers.

Step 2 - Fold the ribbon in half, lengthwise, and sew a 1/4" (5 mm) seam from the raw edge.

Step 3 - The tricky part is turning the ribbon inside out.  I happen to have a really cool tool called "Fasturn" which makes turning sewn tubes of fabric right side out a breeze.  You can see how it is done if you click on the link here .

Step 4 - After the ribbon is turned the ends can be finished off with ribbon crimps or cord tips.  Trim the ribbon so there is no frayed ends and to your preferred length.  For added strength, I like to apply some glue to the cord end before inserting it into your crimp or cord tip.  I do this by applying some glue to the cord end, fold the end in slightly and then fold in half lengthwise.  I then apply a little more glue before inserting into the cord tip and crimping.

Your ribbon is now ready to string your pendant and attach a chain and a clasp.

 

Salute to the Sockeye 2010

Every year in October, thousands of spawning salmon swim up from the Pacific Ocean and make their way inland to Adams River where they lay their eggs.  The Adams River Salmon Society organizes a Salute to the Sockeye at Roderick Haig Brown Park attracting more than 100,000 visitors over a three week period.  There is a gift shop set up in a log cabin in the park where many of the local artists sell their work.  I had the pleasure of being juried in for this year which will be most exciting.

Here is a salmon brooch pin and earrings I made as samples to sell along with my other nature themed pieces.

Back from Creative Chaos

Well I'm back from our weekend at Creative Chaos in Vernon, B.C.  It was extremely exhausting but had a fun time.

I joined up with another clay artist and friend, Joan Tayler, which seemed to help make the time go by much quicker and this way we could cover for each other for breaks.

Our next show to get ready for is the Shuswap Lake Festival of the Arts which runs from July 10-18 in Sorrento, B.C.

Pantone Fall 2010 Colors

After a long winter, I hate to think of fall already, but I'm getting a jump on things and mixing up my Pantone colors for Fall 2010.  Some of the colors are very close or a shade or two darker than the spring colors of this year like Lagoon (Turquoise), Living Coral (Fusion Coral) and Woodbine (Dried Herb).  I love how the spring colors can mix and match with the fall ones making them more versatile.

We've had many requests for custom order earrings in solid colors so we created an earring collection in five different styles and a variety of colors that coordinate with our other pieces.  Of course we also do custom color matching for weddings, etc. which can be a lot of fun.

  

  

I'm almost all packed and ready for the Creative Chaos show in Vernon, B.C.   I'm joining up with my clay artist friend, Joan Tayler so I'm sure it will be a full but fun weekend.