Basket Weave Texture

Ever since I discovered how you could create your own moulds and textures from clay, I've been on the lookout for any interesting object to use in this way.  Some time ago I purchased this toothbrush holder at a dollar store to hold some of my clay tools on my work table.  What really caught my eye was the cool woven texture on the sides.  It had been sitting on my clay table and I finally put it to use yesterday and made a texture sheet from it.  When I make texture sheets I like to use the Sculpey Bake & Bend.  If you make it as thin as possible where you still can get a good impression, it can hopefully fit through your pasta machine afterwards since it is very flexible.

I was wondering if this texture would work for the textured tube beads and couldn't wait to try it out.

They came out not too bad.  I created some with mica powders and the others I antiqued with burnt umber paint.  I wanted to see which effect turned out the best.  I think I like them both since they have two totally different looks.

For more ideas like these you can check out my tutorial, Textured Tubes & More...