Border Canes & Beads

Spring is here.... last week felt more like summer but it's a little cooler and spring like today.  I need to get  started on my flower beds which I usually don't do until late April or early May but the weeds are growing like... well... like weeds.

And with Spring it also means it's time for baby critters, cute little bunnies, birdies and squirrels.  I love looking out my clay room window and seeing baby bunnies and squirrels playing in the grass.... and so do my cats.  Yip, it's that time again, hunting season for Corny.  A couple days ago I woke up to bunny parts all over my back porch, little unlucky bunny feet and ears and other gross stuff, yuck!yuck! yuck!   No wonder she didn't eat her cat food!   I've tried keeping her in but boy I have to tell you, she is persistent when she wants out..... spends the whole night scratching the side of my bed and meowing in my ear, if I close the door she scratches terrible marks on the door... I've given thought to choking her but end up tossing her out the back door instead.  Then she gives me that "told you so" look, swishes her bushy tail  and dashes off into the night.  You'd think the stupid rabbits would find some place else to have their babies.

I have lots of photos to show you. I've played with clay this week more that I realized.  It clears my head and I can think about other things while I clay.

Click on the photos for a closer look.

This first cane I made a couple weeks ago.  I thought I had solved my over reduction problem when I started making "border" canes but this just goes to show I can even over reduce a "border"cane.  It wasn't a total loss though as I do like the pendant I made with it and it will work well for background for a couple projects I'm working on.

These are a couple weeks old too..... I like the colors together. I used a piece of the bottom border cane to make a couple smaller canes.

I used the scraps from the top cane to make the beads on this pendant and then used colored wire and copper beads to complete the pendant.

My latest "border" cane. I used the scraps to make bicone beads and a heart bead.

The bicones strung on wire. I will make a bracelet when I find my memory wire.

Bowl of beads I made with scraps from several of my border canes.

More beads from border cane scraps and a pendant made from one of the beads plus colored wire and starburst beads.

Close up of the pendant.... or maybe a brooch if I can find a small pinback that will fit on the back of the bead.

This is one of my favorite color combinations.  The shades of orange with the lavender blues is so yummy.

Close ups

Layered together.....

I used some of my earlier tile beads to make a bracelet.  It looks really good on.  I am going to concentrate more on bracelets and earrings, at least one bracelet and one pair of earrings a week.... I did make a pair of earring last week but forgot to take a photo..... oops!

Okay that's it for today.

I have to do our taxes, get ready for Amanda's wedding, do some weeding and planting.... and find time to clay.  See you next week

Thanks for stopping by.