Wanda L. De Coteau

sistrum & pillow shakers

you can judge the length from the yardstick

the Sistrum made from “Upcycled” & found materials
the handle is cedar driftwood collected in Groton, Ct
the Hoop is from is cookie tin

the rods are from a dry cleaner’s hangar
the shakers are washed bottle caps

the “new” materials
washers for shaker bits
some leftover Aluminum siding nails
& Jute cord wrap
this is all hand tool worked- (except for the electric drill)
$25

the pillow shakers are a “silly whim” experiment that worked
squares of random rawhide set up to use as a hand shaker- the sound is a bit louder than shaking a packet of medium sized seeds
on 2 I made a “finger loop” 1 – the blue- is plain
$7.50 ea
plus S&H

shell etc shakers

you can judge the length from the yardstick

from top Left to Right

These Rattles each are hand held & can be held in several ways- if you hold them so the “tympanic membrane/rawhide is covered with your thumb the sound is muted
uncovered the sound is louder
these are well suited for indoor use & may be used in areas where noise is an issue

Top Left- Cow hoof: I was in a silly mood and decided to experiment with a few cow hooves & scrap rawhide
these each are hand held & can be held in several ways
if you hold it so the “tympanic membrane/rawhide is covered with your thumb the sound is muted
uncovered the sound is louder
these are well suited for indoor use & may be used in areas where noise is an issue

the shaker bits are a minimum of 1 optical quartz stone chip, white sage (California White and/or Artemesia), and and golden tan washed gravel
the shell rattles all have the Umbonium shells for the main shaker bits
the tymapnum/rawhide is transparent enough to see the
shaker bits $10 ea

Lower Left- Quahog shells larger or smaller
with black suede accents
due to the thickness of the shell walls these are decidedly “personal” rattles and rather quiet- fine for “Hospital Quiet” settings I have sealed the shells with a coat of undiluted Weldbond
these are nice “palm” shakers
$6.50 & $10 ea

Top Center
Medium & Larger Cowrie shells

I did a simple treatment- making the tympanum from a goatskin drum head that had split
with a simple deerskin band
I sealed the typanum & band with Weldbond

the Cowries range in price from $7.50 to $15

Center Bottom
Conch shell (from East Lyme- made scungilli in sauce from the conchs)

lake all the “spiral” shells if you rattle “correctly” it is possible to get the shaker bit to work into the middle of the shell- and then back out
the closer to the surface layer the bits are the louder the sound
the narrow end can almost serve as a handle by itself
Conch – $17.50

Right side- moon shells
$15 to $17

plus S&H

for my drum beaters and rattles:
the white birch is mostly from a storm downed tree in Stonington & a few pieces from Groton
Sassafras is from Bozrah, Ct
There is also some Flowering Crab & Pink Forsythia (a shrub)
Occasional Rhododendron & Eponymous

the Black birch is Groton, or Stonington

shell rattles

you can judge the length from the yardstick

the rattle body is “upcycled/reclaimed” Pecten Raveneli Shells with deerskin bands
the sticks were cared to fit the contours of the shell
glued into place and “strapped on” with the Deerskin

the shaker bits are a minimum of 1 optical quartz stone chip, white sage (California White and/or Artemesia), and Umbonium (mini turban shaped) shells

the sticks
Top- I think it is white or black birch Buff deerskin wrap

2nd down- Pink Honeysuckle Shrub light gold deerskin wrap & sisal accent (there is a crack in the stick occurred in drying does not affect the strength of the handle)

3rd down driftwood handle with buff deerskin

bottom Flowering Crab stick (from my dwarf flowering crab)
Raw linen cord wrap

these are $12.50 each

plus S&H

for my drum beaters and rattles:
the white birch is mostly from a storm downed tree in Stonington & a few pieces from Groton
Sassafras is from Bozrah, Ct
There is also some Flowering Crab & Pink Forsythia (a shrub)
Occasional Rhododendron & Eponymous

the Black birch is Groton, or Stonington

gourd rattles

you can judge the length from the yardstick

these short handle rattles have driftwood handles
the shaker bits are ( a minimum of 1 optical quartz chip, dry stem bits from white sage (California &/or Artemesia)
and pistachio shells

These gourds dried indoors over 18 to 24 months
were dipped in Listerine to help prevent mold & keep some hints of the original coloring
the middle gourd had the outer color skin layer come off in places when I was cleaning it

the sound fairly soft and muted enough for use in locations where noise level is afactor

these are all plain (no collars)
the top rattle is on a white birch stick
the lower 2 are driftwood sticks
the lower 2 have a simple deerskin collar
all the rattles have been sealed with a coating of

Weldbond adhesive- this can be painted with either latex or oil based paints
*these are Not Sweat Lodge safe (prolonged high humidity may make the coating tacky)

(based on personal experience) prolonged High energy/very vigorous shaking may cause the gravel to abrade the inside walls & wear thru any thin spot in the wall
they are fine for general use

plus S&H

for my drum beaters and rattles:
the white birch is mostly from a storm downed tree in Stonington & a few pieces from Groton
Sassafras is from Bozrah, Ct
There is also some Flowering Crab & Pink Forsythia (a shrub)
Occasional Rhododendron & Eponymous

the Black birch is Groton, or Stonington

gourd rattles

you can judge the length from the yardstick

these short handle rattles have driftwood handles
the shaker bits are ( a minimum of 1 optical quartz chip, dry stem bits from white sage (California &/or Artemesia)
and washed gravel

These gourds dried indoors over 18 to 24 months
were dipped in Listerine to help prevent mold & keep some hints of the original coloring

the sound is a bit sharper than rice & mellower than glass beads

these are well suited for Indoor & small space use

the top rattle is plain
the lower 2 have a simple deerskin collar
all the rattles have been sealed with a coating of

Weldbond adhesive- this can be painted with either latex or oil based paints
*these are Not Sweat Lodge safe (prolonged high humidity may make the coating tacky)

(based on personal experience) prolonged High energy/very vigorous shaking may cause the gravel to abrade the inside walls & wear thru any thin spot in the wall
they are fine for general use

plus S&H

for my drum beaters and rattles:
the white birch is mostly from a storm downed tree in Stonington & a few pieces from Groton
Sassafras is from Bozrah, Ct
There is also some Flowering Crab & Pink Forsythia (a shrub)
Occasional Rhododendron & Eponymous

the Black birch is Groton, or Stonington

Y stick Rattles

you can judge the length from the yardstick

the top rattle has steel jingles on steel wire- the jingles are composed of hardware & jewelry bit plus tambourine jingles- the stick is Black Birch $16

the middle rattle has assorted shells on steel wire with Black Birch stick $15

the lower rattle has brass jingles -jewelry parts on brass wire & white birch stick $16

plus S&H

for my drum beaters and rattles:
the white birch is mostly from a storm downed tree in Stonington & a few pieces from Groton
Sassafras is from Bozrah, Ct
There is also some Flowering Crab & Pink Forsythia (a shrub)
Occasional Rhododendron & Eponymous

the Black birch is Groton, or Stonington

Drum beater assortment 1

you can judge the length from the yardstick
the top rust looks like white birch
the top grey is also white birch
the lower grey is saltwater Driftwood (from Groton, Ct)
my standard drum beaters run in price from approx #12. to around $20 depending on how much work
this batch as well as assortments 1 & 3 have a price range up to approx $15 plus S&H

for my drum beaters and rattles:
the white birch is mostly from a storm downed tree in Stonington & a few pieces from Groton
Sassafras is from Bozrah, Ct
There is also some Flowering Crab & Pink Forsythia (a shrub)
Occasional Rhododendron & Eponymous

the Black birch is Groton, or Stonington

Drum beater assortment 2

you can judge the length from the yardstick
top buff is Birch (white maybe),the white is sassafras,
the lower buff is Black Birch
the Gold is White Birch

my standard drum beaters run in price from approx #12. to around $20 depending on how much work
this batch as well as assortments 1 & 3 have a price range up to approx $15 plus S&H

Drum beater assortment 3

you can judge the length from the yardstick
the 2 “green” have a longer head
the one buff has some stains from being on the shelf at an event when we had some rain- still works fine gives it a “rustic” look

Drfitwood Athames

I hand carved & sanded these 2 pieces of driftwood
these were collected in Groton, Ct
completely had worked No power tools used
being Beach finds I oiled them with a blend of oils I use when I go to the beach
One is Pine the other is Cedar