Knotted Bracelet Tutorial

A few years ago I took a mini class from Erin Seigel on making knotted waxed linen earrings and I've been a knotty girl ever since.  I love the huge range of colors and the tactile feel of the linen as I make the knots.  Today I'm I sharing a tutorial for a knotted holiday bracelet.

I shared a button loop bracelet tutorial in the past, but it was made with flexible jewelry stringing wire. The purpose of this tutorial is not necessarily to help you end up with a bracelet just like this, but rather to share with you some hints or tips that will help you work with waxed linen, whether you make a bracelet like this in other colors or whether you use these techniques in earrings or necklaces.  So, let's get started.

Waxed linen comes in different thickness or plies.  The linen I'm using in this bracelet is 4 ply, which is what I usually use.  You can choose to use a neutral or coordinating color or try out  bright contrasting colors.  In this case I'm using 4 ply black.

 Materials

• About 35 inches 4 ply waxed linen in the color of your choice
• 3-4 focal beads
• 1 button (in this tutorial I'm using a button with a shank).

 (The ceramic flower bead is by Lesley Watt of Thea Elements.  The faceted ceramic red bead is by Michelle McCarthy of Fire Fly Design Studio.  All other ceramic beads are mine.

• Size 6-8 seed beads or 4 mm fire polish or round beads
• A handful of various other beads, medium and small size, with holes large enough to accommodate one pass of the linen  (I only ended up choosing a few of what you see below.)

 Directions:
1.  Thread on a dozen or so seed beads or 4 mm beads.  Fold the cording in half and center the beads on the fold. Pinch the working ends of the cord together and see if the loop you've formed will fit around the button,  You want it to fit snugly, but not tight.  Adjust the number of beads in your loop, if needed, to get the right fit.

2.  Tie an overhand knot at the base of the loop.

*Hint - Waxed linen is a pretty forgiving material if you go slow with it.  Make your overhand knot, but tighten it slowly.  You want the knot as close to the base of the loop as possible.  If it is too far away, you can loosen it up and re-position it so it will be closer to the base of the loop.  It's easy to loosen and re-position a knot as long as you haven't completely tightened it.  But once it is pulled tight, it is unlikely that you will be able to loosen it.  So go slowly and pay attention to where the knot will be landing.  

3.  Now string on the focal beads.  You can knot between each one or just place a knot at the end of this grouping, as I have done.

4.  Now separate the 2 cords and string 1 of your smaller beads onto each cord and tie an overhand knot after each small bead.

5.  Continue to add beads to each thread.  You can knot after every bead or after small groupings of beads.  I'm doing a bit of both.  If your bead has a large hole, like the red cube bead above, the knot may just slip inside the hole.  To prevent that, you can use a smaller spacer bead next to the hole, (see below).

Another way to compensate for an over-large hole is to make a grouping of beads, with smaller beads on each end, as I did with the large-holed green tube bead, above.
6.  Continue adding beads and knotting until your bracelet is the length you want.  When using larger beads, as I have, you need to make a longer bracelet, as the beads stand off of your wrist, increasing the circumference. Drape the bracelet around your wrist to see how it is fitting.  Remember, you can always add more beads, but once knotted, you cannot subtract beads and you would have to start all over from the beginning.
7.  When you've reached your desired length, bring both linen cords together and tie an overhand knot.

8.  Take one cord and pass it through the button shank from left to right.  Pass the other cord through from right to left.

 9.  Pull these two cords in opposite directions until the button is close to the knot you made at the end of the bracelet.  Wrap the two cords in opposite directions around the space right above the knot.  Tie them in a knot and then wrap them around to the other side and make a knot there, too.  Dab the knot with a touch of glue and trim the cord ends.

I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial.  If you make something following these directions, I'd love to see it.  You can tag me on Facebook or post it on the Art Jewelry Elements Facebook page.  Enjoy!

~Linda
Linda Landig Jewelry 

Foldio 2 Table Top Photo Studio Review

A few weeks ago, AJE team member, Diana P., mentioned that she was replacing her Foldio 1 with the larger Foldio 2.  I was like, "What in the heck is a Foldio?"

I learned that a Foldio is a portable light studio or light box (see picture above), available through Photojojo.  I did a little research and bought the larger Foldio 2 right away.  I already had a very good light box by E-Z Cube (see picture below), but it takes up a lot of space and we expect to be moving to a smaller home in January.

The Foldio has several innovative characteristics that are not to be found in a standard light box. As the name implies, if folds up easily and compactly.  My E-Z Cube folds up too, in principal, but its like wrestling with bed springs.  You have to twist it a certain way (that I never mastered), while pressing down, and then fold in the sides and slide it into a nylon bag, before it springs open again, like a Jack-In-A-Box.   Needless to say, it was just easier to leave my  E-Z Cube open at all times.

The Foldio is made of lightweight, corrugated plastic which unfolds into a cube shape with one open end. The sides of the cube overlap in the the same way as the folds on the bottom of an envelope do.  Each side is held in place by three powerful magnets.  If you look at the photo below  you can see the faint outline of the magnets on each tab. Pull the magnets apart and the cube folds flat in seconds.

 Because it folds up so easily,  I can simply fold it up and store it in the closet or on a bookshelf if I have guests over or if I need more working space.

 The Foldio lighting system is also innovative..  Both the Foldio 1 and 2 come with streamlined, inbuilt LED lighting.  The lights on the Foldio 1 run on batteries, so you can use it outdoors or anywhere, without requiring electricity - it is entirely portable in this sense.  The Foldio 2 is larger and has 2 rows of lights that run on electricity.  I turned my Foldio on its side, in the picture below, so I could photograph the 2 rows of tiny LED lights.  The round knobs on the right can dim or brighten the lights.  I love that feature!

My E-Z Cube (and every other light box system I've heard of) has separate lights, which are quite expensive. I couldn't afford the lights offered by the E-Z Cube company and so I jerry-rigged shop lights with high wattage daylight bulbs. My shop lights worked well, but they took up a lot of space.   My E-Z Cube and lights took up the entire top of bedroom dresser that you see in the first picture.

Since the lights on the Foldio are built in, they don't take up any extra room at all.  I love the extra space that I've gained on my dresser top, but I have to say that the Foldio lights are a mixed blessing.  The space savings and that fact that you can adjust the light intensity are big pluses! However, because the lights are built in at the top of the box, it is difficult to avoid casting shadows on the product item you are photographing.  With free-standing lights, you can set one on either side of the cube, which reduces shadows, plus you can move them around to adjust the angles of the lights.  With the Foldio, the lights are always up above and if you try to shoot downward, from above your product, your hand and camera will cast a shadow.  You can work around this, but I find it annoying.  If you decide to get a Foldio, I suggest lowering your camera to the height of the product you are photographing and then shoot straight at it.  If you want to take a shot from above,  hold the camera outside of the box (so your hands are not below the lights) and then use your zoom to get in closer.

 In summary, I think the Foldio, although not perfect, is going to meet my needs at the moment. It is perfect for someone with limited space and/or a limited budget.  I think the EZ Cube plus lights or a similar arrangement from another company, is a better option for the professional or someone with the necessary space.

~Linda
Linda Landig Jewelry
  

The Journey - Part 3

This is the third in a series of posts titled "The Journey".  I've been sharing the artistic journeys of our AJE team members.

Pacific Crest Trail -  © 2015  by H. Landig

Many of of us have worked in other art mediums.  Some of have been artists our entire adult lives and others of us have come to this path later in life.  Just like you, all of us are continually growing, learning and evolving.

In Part One of the series, we took a look at Karen's, Jen's, Melissa's and Niky's art journeys. Part Two gave us a little history for Lesley, Sue and Rebekah.  Today's post will cover the remaining team members:  Francesca, Caroline, Kristen and myself  (Linda).

Francesca Watson-
Although Francesca is best known for her metalsmithing expertise, she started her jewelry journey with a focus on wire wrapping. I love the fanned out wire in the bail.

This is Francesca's first bezel set pendant. She says, "OMG. Let me count the things that are wrong with it...but I was sooo proud of it at the time!"

And these versatile earrings were Francesca's first attempt at sweat soldering.  She says she wore these all the time...till she lost one of them.  Don't you hate it when that happens!

Kristen Stevens
We all know Kristen for her prowess with seed beads, but from this early picture, you can see that she has tried her hand at a bit of straight forward bead stringing, as well.  The bracelet shown in the lower part of this picture is one of her earliest attempts at seed beading.  She claims she had very limited knowledge at the time she made this.  Uh-hum, wish I could do this, even now!

Caroline Dewison
Caroline started out wanting to do lampwork, but her children kept spending all her money - you know how that goes!  So she looked for other things to do in her kiln. She got herself a bag of clay and the rest is history! This is one of her first ceramic pieces from 2010.

And here's floral bead, also from 2010.  

This picture shows an early iteration of Caroline's wonderful sea urchin beads.

Jenny Davies-Reazor
Jenny was already making and selling beaded earrings, in a local shop, when she was in high school! But her real love became metal. Jenny says, "I found a receipt from my undergrad art school days- sterling was $5/oz! 
 Here are three of Jenny's early college pieces. She states. "The pendant on the right was first semester metals, sweat soldered. The ring, (ocean and phases of the moon), was made purely for me, for fun. I wore it every day for approximately 10+ years. The moonstone pendant was lost wax cast, (in my) third year metals (course). Also for me, not a specific assignment."

After college came full time teaching and concentrating on painting. Metals got left behind. And 20 years ago there weren't torches suitable for apartment use so Jenny turned her attention to ceramics.  Jenny feels that her study of design/metals has informed her work in both beads and mixed media. She adds, "I want to return to the roots and let the solder flow!"

Linda Landig 
I started making jewelry in my 20's during a stressful period in my life.  I wanted to do something fun for myself, to balance the negatives in my life at that time.  I started out metalsmithing.  I made this really ugly belt buckle for my brother, about 2 years later.  He probably gasped in horror when he received it.

When we had children, life became busy.  I eventually sold all my metalsmithing tools and machines (note to self: really bad decision!) and dabbled in some other crafts for awhile.  Around 1998 or so, I wandered into a bead store and was instantly addicted!  I made my mother-in-law a necklace for Christmas and have been hopelessly in love with beads ever since.  These earrings were made around 2002.

My latest gig is an infatuation with clay.  And in a way I feel I've come full circle.  My earliest childhood memory is of being 3 or 4 years old and sitting in, what seemed to me, to be a very high stool (probably a bar stool) in the clay studio of a friend of my mother's. I remember being given clay to play with and now here I am in my 60's playing with clay again.   The sculptor, Evelyn Raymond, was fairly well known in Minnesota in the 1950's.  I found this link to an old newspaper article about her work.
This photo was taken much later, in the 1980's, when my parents took a trip back to Minnesota.
That's Evelyn in the foreground, my mother in the back. 

One of my first stoneware pendants.

That concludes our series on the AJE team's evolution as jewelry artists.  I hope you have enjoyed the journey.

~Linda
Linda Landig Jewelry

 

Making The Oak Leaf & Acorn Pendants

I started forming the idea for this month's COM pendant way back in March, while we were still in Oaxaca, Mexico. 

I'd attended a garage sale/art show where I saw this cool necklace made of drilled acorns.  I thought that if I cut the necklace apart, the acorns would make cute earrings and could be accents in other jewelry. The necklace was only three dollars so I snapped it right up!  The necklace led to thoughts about incorporating a dimensional acorn shape into a ceramic oak leaf pendant.

I tried impressing a real oak leaf into the clay, but it didn't leave a deep enough impression for what I had in mind.  So I drew an oak leaf on scratch foam (Kristi wrote about scratch foam here, if you'd like to learn more).  I cut the foam out in the shape I wanted the pendants to be and then glued a cork on the back to use as a handle to press into the clay.

After making the oak leaf impressions, I cut them out, using a fettling knife. 

I made a silicone mold of one of the Oaxacan acorns. Then I attached the molded clay acorns to the leaf pendants and added the little wire loops. The wire is made of a special metal that won't melt in the extreme heat of the kiln.

I let the clay dry for about 24 hours and then used a damp sponge to smooth any rough spots and to round the edges. The pendants were then fired in the kiln to about 1915 F (1046 C).

After the pendants were fired, I glazed them in rich autumn colors.  I wanted deeply saturated fall colors, so sometimes I mixed 2-3 commercial colors together in order to arrive at the exact palette I was looking for.  All the pendants received 2-3 coats of glaze; front and back. 

 The colors always look so pale and chalky before they are fired.  The heat transforms them and it is always a thrill to see what they look like after the second firing!

Once the glaze was dry, the pendants were carefully hung from rods in the kiln.  If any of the glazed pieces are touching, they will fuse together during  firing.  

The kiln was then reassembled, enclosing the pendants and they were again fired; this time to 2185 F (1196 C).

The result?  Take a look!  Two of these pendants are available in my shop now, with more coming later this month.

~Linda

Linda Landig Jewelry

September Component Of The Month Giveaway

Ready to move into designing jewelry for autumn?  September's Component Of The Month ceramic pendants are a good place to start (or perhaps you're way ahead of me and are working on winter designs already!).

I love fall colors and had a lot of fun combining them into different palettes.  I hope you find these inspiring for your designs.

Want to play along? Here are the rules…

• I will giveaway 1 stoneware leaf pendant (chosen at random) to each of the 2 winners selected randomly from those who leave a comment below this post. Your comment MUST include your EMAIL AND BLOG address so we can contact you should you win.
• Please — only leave a comment if you can commit to creating a finished piece and blogging about it on the reveal date.
• The names of the 2 winners will be announced on Saturday, September 5, 2015.
• This giveaway is open to US and international countries, but please be aware that these will be posted from the US and international addresses will have longer postage times… sometimes up to 3 weeks.
• The blog reveal will take place on Tuesday, September 29, 2015.

Good luck!

 Linda Landig Jewelry