My 12-Steps of Beading

Below is my 12-step beading process....

1) Have an ah-ha moment for a new design.

2) Pick out the beads.
3) Change my mind about the beads I picked out and pick out new beads.
4) Settle into a comfy chair and begin the beading!
5) 1/4 of the way into the design get flooded with ideas for variations on the design.
6) Work in vain to try and shut my brain off to the new ideas so I can finish the first idea.
7) Give in and put down the design I am working on so I can go pick out new beads for the new design that won't be quiet in my head.
8) Change my mind about the beads I picked out and pick out new beads.
9) Scoop the beads and the partially finished project from the first design that got bumped out of the way into a UFO baggie.
10) Settle into a comfy chair and being the beading!
11) 1/4 of the way into the design get flooded with ideas for variations on the design.
12) Repeat steps 1-12

I am concerned that I'm not fully understanding the 12-step program. But I don't have the time to figure it out right now....I have some beads I need to pick out for this awesome design idea I have.....

Must like leaves!

I know I do!  Well, I better like them since I spent the past couple of weeks beading over 50 of them and then using 47 of them to create this Falling Leaves II necklace for a kit.

My original Falling Leaves necklace used almost all the same colors as this new design, except I removed the Colorlined Cream size 11 that I use for the veins and added a new color of Delica in a Raspberry Goldlustre for some of the leaves.  But the feeling of Autumn is pretty much the same.

My original necklace has been a best seller for us in kit form for over 7 years now!

I've had a few requests to do a necklace that wasn't meant to be worn so close to the neck.  So I designed a new necklace using the same Russian Leaf technique as well as a Russian Spiral Rope.  The neckstrap is longer than shown in the photo, but can be adjusted to fit the beaders own personal needs.  There is a hidden clasp in the front under the fall of leaves.

I'm hoping to have it available in kit form very soon in reply to all the lovely requests!

I also had a request to do one in Winter Blues and Whites....not sure that's gonna happen this year!  Maybe next year.  ;o)

Do Your Creations Have A Story?

Most everything I have ever created comes about because of an event, or a series of events in my life.  Many times through dreams (hense the online name of DreamBeadr), but sometimes just because I saw something and it struck me in such a way that I felt compelled to "recreate" it.  Usually in beads. 

Sitting one day in my livingroom when the light started to filter through our back patio sliding door, it hit just right on this candle holder I have.

A week or so later, while sitting in the passenger seat of the truck returning home from a show, I started beading this bracelet....inspired by the candle holder.

I ended up naming it Julz after an online friend admired it.  I've also made it in other colorways.  It is a very popular kit for me.

Another recent creation is my Enchanted Necklace (which I am beyond thrilled will be included in Lark's 500 Beaded Jewelry Book due out later this year).  Part of the inspiration came from the Dragonfly button I beaded around where I had an idea in a dream that I wanted the button to look like it was nestled into a comfy pillow of beads.  The other part of the inspiration came from the ornamental plum trees outside my shop.  In the spring time they are full of gorgeous blossoms. 

And here is Enchanted

For my Ancient Seas necklace I was mostly inspired by the Ammonites.  I was trying to replicate the colors, while adding a touch of another brighter color that is often found in nature, Turquoise, but without having it be too distracting.  I had to dream about the design of Ancient Seas for several months before it came to life.  Because it is out of my normal "style" of design, I have needed to learn to love this necklace.  I certainly enjoyed the process while I was creating it, because so much of the design was new to me, which is always a fun place to be in my mind - exploring something new, but when it was completed I did not embrace it as quickly as everyone else around me seemed to.

I remain, however, very proud of this piece of jewelry.  Last year my first time teaching Ancient Seas at the Bead & Button show the class sold out within minutes of going live.  That was certainly a wonderful, and much needed ego boost for me.

And recently I've been playing around with Cubic Right Angle Weave (CRAW).  I've also been totally enraptured by the series of books by R.R. Martin and recent HBO series Game of Thrones.  Shawn and I have watched it twice now, and I am ready to watch it again!  And we've also listened to the second book, A Song of Ice & Fire on CD while we traveled to our show in Tucson.

As I played a bit with altering bead sizes and making the CRAW turn corners, this necklace began to emerge.  It reminded me a lot of Aria, one of the young female characters in the book who many times would much rather have been a boy.  She is beautiful and slight of build, depicting her feminity, but also rough and fierce showing her masculine side. 

So I named this necklace after her....Aria



So what inspires you when you create?  Nature, books, music, dreams, something sitting on the table in your livingroom?