I’m not sure how to start this post other than to say a big THANK YOU to all the wonderful jewelry artists that have supported me the past ten years.  You have made my beads look fabulous over and over again. After an incredible 10 years making beads full time I have now returned full time to my previous field of Occupational Therapy.  When I decided to return to work as an occupational therapist my plan was to continue to make beads part time, but - plans change… So I wanted to let everyone know I’m ending my career as a bead maker. Ornamentea currently has a variety of Elaine Ray Beads in stock on their web site and in their shop.  Along with that, I have a small stock of finished beads and one more kiln load to glaze and fire, which, to be honest I have no good timeline for, but I’m aiming for a spring delivery. After that, I’m packing it all up and won’t be making more.  I’m sad that I won’t have a ready excuse to get together with the great people at Ornamentea as often, but I’m happy to be back working as an occupational therapist. Again - thanks for all the support and great friendships - it has been an incredible journey with all of you and I hope to stay in touch. - Elaine

Artisan Whimsy 5 X 5 test team

This last month I had the great opportunity to be the "host" for the Artisan Whimsy 5 X 5 test team.  The idea of the test team is this:  One "host" sends a set of 5 identical items to 5 jewelry designers.  The designers are chosen at random from a list of volunteers.  The designers have approximately one month to design, construct, photo, and blog about their finished pieces.  To be honest, I think I had the easier part of the deal.

Melinda Orr asked me to provide pieces that were new and "not in circulation" yet.  I had been wanting to make some head pins for a while and this seemed like a perfect opportunity for me.  But - five sets of head pins seemed too redundant, so I concocted a few more designs and settled on these.

Feeling inspired?  You can get your own components here: http://store.ornamentea.com/store/category/9/59/Elaine-Ray-Ceramics/ 

Please let me know what you make - I love pictures!

Now onto the main show.......

Hop on over to each individual's blog for more pictures and insight into their creative process.

Cheryl Folies
http://cherylsartisticendeavors.blogspot.com
www.etsy.com/shop/getyourbeadon




Marcia Dunne
thealternativefoundry.blogspot.com
etsy.com/shop/alternatives
















Cory Tompkins
tealwaterdesigns.blogspot.com/

etsy.com/shop/tealwaterdesigns

Sharon Palac
sharonsjewelrygarden.blogspot.com/
etsy.com/shop/SharonPalac




Robin Showstack
allprettythings.ca/
etsy.com/shop/HEARTSDESIRESJEWELRY

Thanks for stopping by, 

Elaine

Elaine Ray last chance beads

I'm trimming my bead selection and soon the glazes Amazon, Patina and Denim will no longer be available.  When these sell out they are gone.  Take a look here:  http://store.ornamentea.com/store/category/9/187/Elaine-Ray-Last-Chance/

New glaze - Lagoon

Have you seen my new glaze?  The combination of the dark red clay and green / blue glaze remind me of the wonderfulness of clay beads.  Beads made from tiny bits of our incredible earth.

Thanks for stopping by,
Elaine

Finally - Orange beads!

Orange!

 As many of you may know I have been experimenting with different orange glazes for at least a year, never quite getting a color / clay combination I was happy with. The end of that search is here and now I have orange beads! By the way, I really love the color orange, and if you can't tell, the fact that I have orange beads again makes me super happy. If you want to be super happy with some orange beads, you can get them here about 1/2 way down the page:http://store.ornamentea.com/store/category/9/59/Elaine-Ray-Ceramics/page2.html

I think they would look cute with one these penguins:

Let me know what you do with your orange beads - Thanks!

Paragram Frame Beads to be discontinued

These Paragram Frame Beads make great toggles, earrings or small pendants for a light weight necklace.  They will be discontinued as they sell out, so get them while you can!

Thanks for taking a look - Elaine

New bead - Drops, tiny cubes and tablets.

Drop beads in 4 colors:  Dusk, Passion Fruit, Butterscotch and Ocean.  

Tiny Cubes and Tablets in Squash Blossom, Raspberry, Kiwi, Paperwhite, Purple Hyacinth, and Parakeet.  

I love it if you'd send me a picture or link to any of your finished jewelry using these or any of my beads.  Thanks! - Elaine

Spring Sprout natural Plant charm sets

Available in Ornamentea's shop only, not on the web site.   Give them a call if you'd like to place an order.    Thanks for stopping by! - Elaine

Spring Sprout Natural Plant charm sets

Daisy beads

Trunk Show March 1st and 2nd 2013

I've had several people inquire about purchasing items from my truck show when out of town. If you can't make it to the show and would like to make a purchase, please call Ornamentea after 11:00 a.m. on Friday or Saturday. 919.834.6260

They will have staff available that can be on the phone with you as a "personal shopper" and are willing to text pictures, etc. to help you shop from a distance. If you see something pictured that is already sold, you can let them know the item/s you are interested in and I'll make it for you after the show. I'll have print outs of the pictures to help with clarity.

Here is a link to Ornamentea's web site which includes more Elaine Ray beads and pendants, along about every beading / stringing / crafting / creating supplies you could ever wish for. If you see anything you like there, it can be added to your phone order - just let your personal shopper know. Remember, free shipping for orders over $50.00.

Thanks again to all of you!

Books 

Dresses

Owls 

Pocket Pendants 

What would you say? 

Homes (houses and apartments) 

Cars

http://store.ornamentea.com/store/product/27370/Daisy-Pendant/

Daisy pendant

front view, back match front

side view of holes

Pendants, glazed on both sides

Waterdrop charm sets 

7 piece rectangle sets 

5 piece sets 

Large tube beads 

Daisy beads

Natural plant charm sets 

Windows 

Cuffs

Flat Ovals

Peace 

shelves top view, glazed on top only

shelves side view to show holes

Shelves 

Then of course there will be beads, lots and lots of beads.  I'll post pictures of the beads after set up.  Some styles are sold on Ornamentea's web-site, some are not.  Even of the styles sold on the web-sight, there are many more color choices here at the trunk show.  

Feel free to leave comments here, but no orders please.  You need to call Ornamentea at 919.834.6260 to place an order so they can get your shipping and billing info. 

Thanks for stopping by,

Elaine

Getting ready for trunk show March 1st and 2nd

Many new shapes and colors planned for my trunk show at Ornamentea next weekend (March 1st and 2nd).  I am busy, busy, busy.  Stay tuned, if you can not make it to Raleigh for the show, I'll set up a way for you to make purchases.  Thanks for stopping by!

Attempt at re-growing celery

Follow up from my Pinterest board This I will try and let you know how it turns out:  

Regrowing celery for me has been a bust.  I have tried low sun, bright sun, inside and out without with the same results.  As you can see, the plant continues to grow, but the stalks are very thin and consistently die off as new stalks emerge.  I tried never letting the dirt dry out and letting the dirt dry out between watering   The dirt was new dirt from bag of potting soil, so I don't think that poor soil was the problem either.  Anyway, this was a "busted" for me.  It would be interesting to see if re-growing celery resulted in edible produce for anyone else and how they made it happen.  

The original pinned post can be see here: Chickensintheroad.com  Even though this didn't work out for me, I'd still recommend taking a look at their site - good info to be had.  

You hold my heart in your hand

During the next couple of weeks I am dedicated to only making items for my trunk show at Ornamentea on March 1st and 2nd.  This pendant was my kick off to new items and bringing back some old shapes and colors that I haven't visited in a while.  I've told myself I'll not work on any items that are currently on Ornamentea's web site for these two weeks to keep myself on track.  This is going to be great fun, I have 5 pages of ideas to test out.  In reality, as I work on each new shape more ideas jump out of the clay and the list goes on and on.  Stay tuned for pictures as the ideas progress.

Designers, add your own touches to these pendants

If you are familiar with my work, you will have noticed that I often make pendants that aren't necessarily "finished" and benefit from further embellishment from jewelry designers.  These two new pendants fall into that category.  

First are these Mardi Gras masks.  I made them at the suggestion of the very talented Traci Zeller of Downtown Glam.  Can you see all those holes running top to bottom through the pendants?  It will be a thrill to see what she and other designers will do with these.  I'm imagining feathers, sparkles and other overall fanciness.

Next up are these Pocket Hearts.  Each heart has a hidden pocket in the back.  A pocket for you to add a love note or a secret message.  Maybe you could tuck in a sweetheart picture or picture of a wish.  It's up to you.

You don't need to share the secret you put back there, but I'm all ears if you want to share!

Pendants to make you and me reminisce

http://store.ornamentea.com/store/category/9/59/Elaine-Ray-Ceramics/

The back is smooth and the open windows allow for pictures to be adhered to the back of the pendant.  I have adhered pictures of my three kids onto the back of the school bus. It has been quite a while since they were all on a bus, so it is good memories.  I'm now trying to decide whether to make this into a necklace or an ornament.  

Look what the lovely ladies at Ornamentea did with theirs.  Maybe I should make one with me and James Taylor riding to the Inauguration.  We are both from North Carolina you know, so, it could happen.  

With this kiln run came some lovely flower power pendants.  These are a good example of the same glaze on two different colored clays.   One of my favorite glazes - called Patina.

Did someone say Hearts!?!

Did someone say "Hearts"? Here are some new designs and some old friends. 

Upper left: new 2 part Friendship Hearts - I left the cut edge unglazed to emphasize that they are two pieces of one heart. Share one side with a friend, or use them both in a pair of earrings.

Lower left: new heart charms - many have identical twins and are easy to use in earrings, while others would make happy mismatched earrings. Also great for a lightweight necklace.

Upper right: pierced hearts, drilled with a horizontal stringing hole. (Some colors available online)

Middle right: these are all glazed on both sides with various hole placements

Lower right: sweet hearts glazed on one side only.

This is just a sampling of what is available on Ornamentea's store shelves. Come by and take a closer look at everything. If you can't make it to Raleigh, give them a call and they will be glad to ship to you.  919.834.6260

 Thanks!

Artisan Whimsy has a tutorial for upcycling Christmas Lights

Great tutorial on upcycling Christmas lights as earrings over at Artisan Whimsy posted by Carolyn Collin. Go take a look - these would make lovely gifts at anytime of the year.  Thank you Carolyn for the clear directions and great pictures.

Leave a link if you make any of your own - Thanks!