April Bead Stash Favorites

I haven’t been getting quite as much beading time in as I would like over the past few weeks, so I’ve spent some of my days off avoiding more tedious tasks and just stealing a little time with my beads. Rather than finishing up my inventory counts, I’ve finished and started two projects, and I’ve planned out a few more. Since I’ve just finished combing through most of my stash, I’ve got a lot of inspiration to work with this month.

I’m most eager to work with these amazing transparent ruby bugles. The color is so delicious, like raspberry juice, and I think it will look fantastic with some cobalt blue in a new cuff. I was so pleased with the way the blue satin one turned out, I’ve been excited to make another, and this color is too good to pass up again. The only thing I have to decide is which color of Fireline will look best with the color and stitch.

I’ve been amassing a small collection of coin beads over the last year or so, and I just had to move them to their own spot in my stash to accommodate the different styles and colors. I think the latest addition is these two-tone face beads, though they’ve been around so long I can’t remember. I did start a medallion with one, but it kept getting pushed to the back burner for other things. I’m looking forward to seeing what else they can do.

Finally, I re-discovered quite a few slices of tagua in my natural beads compartment and had to wonder why I’ve let them go unused for so long. I’ve got a long list of new pendant ideas to help cut them down a bit, although it might be tricky finding ways to use all of the purples. It's not a color I work with often, but the choices were limited when I bought these, and I was pretty obsessed with the style at the time. Hopefully some color inspirations will appear soon!

What kinds of beads are inspiring you right now?

Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading
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2015 Jewelry Purge

Tax season is coming up, and since I’m going to be spending a lot of time combing through my bead and jewelry stash, it’s the perfect opportunity to cull some old designs. It’s always hard to let go, or to admit that a piece that I was once proud of isn’t quite up to my current standards. I’ve found, however, that once I’m done I feel pretty good about the process. It’s very refreshing to skim off the bottom and see what’s left.

I wasn’t expecting to have a lot of pieces to pull this year, so I was a little surprised by how much beadwork I ended up with in the out pile. I had to really push myself to ditch a few of them, but it came down to how well they fit in with the designs I’ve been making, and the ones I intend to make going forward. What’s different this time around is how many pieces I like enough to keep for myself, rather than just stuffing them in a box to be forgotten.

I’m also determined to dismantle quite a few of these designs and salvage some of the more interesting accent beads. My plan is to catch all the seed beads and make soups for future abstract jewelry. I’ve already got a really great idea for next year’s Ugly Necklace Contest entry, and it’s going to require a lot of seed bead colors. These scraps should come in really handy.

Looking back on these older designs is really fun. There are some accents and stitches that I was once madly in love with, and I remember using them fondly. It’s also reassuring to think back to the last jewelry purge I did, which had me cringing quite a bit at what I was eliminating. This time I was actually still happy with a lot of the pieces, just not happy enough to keep them around. They’ll make welcome additions to my personal jewelry stash, though a few of them will need some alterations first so they will work with my wardrobe.

How often do you critically inventory your jewelry shops? What’s your favorite thing about the process?


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Work in Progress: Leftover Rings

This week I finally got around to setting up a little filing system for my growing collection of herringbone rings. I simply labeled some of my bead cups with sizes 7-10 and made room for them in the bottom of my beading tray. But when I sorted all of the rings I had made into the cups, the quantity looked painfully small. I need to step things up a little if I‘m going to have enough inventory for the holidays.

Since I was between two projects and not ready to start the new one, I pulled out all of my seed bead boxes and druks, and started setting aside colors for future rings. I chose a handful of pinks, purples and oranges from the druks - colors I’m not likely to need desperately for upcoming projects. Then I gathered up some assorted seed beads with low quantities that I’ll probably never replenish - experimental colors and those that just don’t suit my work anymore. Combined in the right ways, they’ll all make some fantastic rings.

I’ve got two down and one more on the go, then I’ll have to get back to regular designs again. I’ll be keeping this supply of leftover beads handy to work on a ring or two whenever I get the chance.

What are you working on this week?

Copyright 2013 Inspirational Beading
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Destash Challenge Wrap Up

The end of the year is just around the corner, and before it passes us by, it’s time to wrap up another year’s beading challenge. For 2012, my mission was to use up all of the beads in my stash that I had been keeping for more than a year. It was a big goal, since my collection has been forming since around 2006 or so, and my preferences for style and stitches has changed a lot since then.

There were a few flubs and failures in this destash challenge, but for the most part, I was able to turn beads I had been ignoring into really great designs. Apart from having lots of space for new beads, and being able to see the materials that I really like without distraction, the most rewarding part of the destash challenge has been all of the new experiences and insights into my own beading style and skill.

It all began with an entry into the Ugly Necklace Contest, which turned out to be a very relaxing, liberating, and hilarious experience. This project wouldn't be revealed until the spring, so the first official destash design was a collar necklace. I nearly ended the challenge with another hideous design, but it turns out that there were a few inspirations left in the destash tray.

A single roble wood bead became the base for a new necklace in my Egyptian Gods series. To create the look of Hathor’s crown and horns, I stitched a herringbone tube around wood beads in a pleasing curve. Although I've had a pretty good head start, this series is going to continue into next year's beading challenge. I'll be sharing the entire series to date, and all of the inspirations in 2013.

Just when I thought I was done for the year, one last bit of inspiration struck. I had decided it was time to make use of some peanut seed beads I had ordered, and make a new spiral lariat. Predictably, I got bored after several inches of stitches - and anxious to start some other ideas cooking - so I switched to a pendant and added the last heart shaped nut bead from the destash pile.

So here’s what’s left:

For accent beads, I still have a few mother of pearl charms with flowers painted on them. I’m probably going to add them to the craft beads and pretend that I never bought them. There are also two matte transparent ruby glass rings, one black clam shell Czech bead, and Swarovski Elements rivoli. The heart shaped nut bead found it’s home right after posing for this picture.

I still have oodles of mother of pearl chips and macrame beads left, along with a strand of patterned wood beads. Since there are enough of them for just about any project, I don't mind setting them aside until the right idea comes along. Hopefully they won't keep me waiting too much.

The rest of the bead tray spots are taken up by an assortment of seed beads. I’m not at all unhappy with the amount of beads I was able to use up this year, and I know I’ll be able to make use of what’s left. So they’re all going back into their proper place in the stash. Some of them may make an appearance in a new ugly necklace some time in the new year.

Although I wasn't able to use up every single last bead that I had set aside for this challenge, I did achieve my goal of making new designs with old beads, and cleared out so many things that would still be sitting around if it weren't for the extras motivation. I'm calling it a success!

Thank you so much for joining me on this year’s beading journey!

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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Cute Cluster Rings

I’ve been learning new things and gaining plenty of insight throughout this year’s destash beading challenge. This month, I gained the knowledge that ending a challenge in the busiest two months of the year is probably not a great plan. I should have figured this out sooner, since I’ve had multiple challenges end around the month of November, but this year it really hit home. Luckily, it looks like the destash challenge is going to wrap up nicely, and the no-deadline approach to individual projects has been a big help.

For the most recent destash project, I took a little detour. Rather than try to completely use up some beads, I started a project that would make a tiny dent in several items from my stash. I wanted to return to the fun cluster ring design from March 2011, this time using some leftover beads.

I started with the remaining magenta E beads, and of course some mother of pearl chips. Even if I made dozens of rings, I’d still have plenty of these left, but they are perfect for chunky embellishments. I also grabbed some 3 mm Swarovski crystal rounds that have had no home to go to during the challenge, and the remains of some rootbeer lined topaz 6/o’s that are too few for anything else.

I had planned to make 5 rings in all, and use up all of the crystals, but I discovered half way through ring 3 that this set just didn’t have the same appeal as the originals, which included African Christmas beads. I can’t say for sure what went wrong, but I decided to call things off and move on to a more rewarding project. I’ll be keeping these rings for myself – they’ll be fun to wear for the holidays!

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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Rivoli and Wine Collar

I recently returned to a favorite technique to tackle one of the remaining two rivolis in my destash tray. With only a few weeks left in this year’s challenge, I didn’t want to waste any time fiddling with experimental techniques. After all, I can only do so many ugly necklaces in a row.

I started with a crystal purple haze rivoli, and some of my leftover purple E beads. The colors go together quite well, but what to pair them with? To save time, I went to the 15/o beads first, and chose a color that would also look good with the multicolor crystal. After picking some transparent lemon lime, I had a long debate over a base color.

Finally, I chose matte purple - a very grape-y shade that I hoped would work well with the other colors. I was surprised by how much the lime green altered the overall look of the purple. It was transformed from an almost juicy color to a more velvet burgundy. Looking back, I don’t think it would have hurt to add a few brown branches and beaded leaves. This piece has a relaxing vineyard mood.

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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Halloween GI Joe Pendant

I didn’t put much effort into a Halloween costume last year, so this time around I made sure to go all out, including making a new necklace to go along with the outfit. The Harley Quinn necklace from two years ago was a fun project, and I didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity this Halloween - plus it would be a great time to use up some destash beads.

We decided to go as characters from our favorite video game, which has been renamed "The G.I. Joe Game" at our house. It held the record for most guns in a video game ever, so I thought that was a good place to start. I went through all of the action figure accessories in the toy box, and chose one that would make a good pendant - one that had a place for a bead loop, that is.

The red-lined sapphire seed beads are from the destash tray. I added them awhile back for possible use in a multi-strand design. The holes are just too small for most stitches, but for this project I didn’t mind suffering through a few needle switches. I used openwork right angle weave to make a simple chain, and frogged a clasp from another necklace . Even though I never take apart pieces, I had saved this one because the beads in it are just too good to go to waste.

As for our costumes, they are totally custom made. I put together and altered items from the back of my closet to get the Lilith look. Despite heavy rain, we had a blast. I had to carry an umbrella to keep my hair from melting - the wig is custom colored and shaped with a mixture of Kool-aid powder and conditioner.

What was your Halloween costume this year?

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading and Gearbox Software
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Another Ugly Necklace

Throughout this year’s beading challenge, I’ve been pondering the possibility of doing a bead collector’s necklace - a project made with a wide variety of beads and stitches. It seemed like a good idea to keep in mind if I ever got stuck with a lot of odds and ends. With only a few really good projects left on my destash list, and a whole lot of beads that I didn’t know what to do with, I decided to do just that. But with a twist!

I never got around to finishing the backwards quadruple St. Petersburg chain from a few months back, so I decided to use it as the base for another UFO collage. I collected up all of the singles and pairs, seed bead mixes, and assorted hopeless beads from the destash tray, and got to work constructing a new ugly necklace. This time I actually had to really stretch to get all of the elements I wanted in one piece. I was able to use up all of the remaining silver-lined crystal seed beads, and had to start adding some of my beach sand mix to keep things going.

I had just as much fun putting this piece together as I did the first one. I ignored the rules, made awful color choices, and just put beads and thread together whatever which way I wanted. It was a great way to relax and recharge - like unclogging a drain and dancing in the rain all at once. I included several leftover UnFinished Objects from the first ugly necklace, too, so my work space looks a little tidier than it did last week.

Have you tried any wild, crazy, or ill-advised beading projects lately?

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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Purple Salmon Necklace

As the destash challenge starts to wind down, I find that I’m either using very few beads per project, or oodles and oodles. Last week, I tackled my last carved bone fish charm, and nothing else.

I’ve already combined one fish charm with blue tagua, so this time I went with purple. Rather than do a really easy chain, I decided to splurge on time and beads, and go for a chunky rope design. Although it requires a lot more work, the rope provides a much simpler backdrop for the charm duo.

I matched the bone fish with matte vanilla seed beads, and added some dark transparent amethyst 8/o’s. I blended the two colors together with some wisteria lined crystal, and got to work. Luckily, Russian spiral takes very little time to weave, and I was finished much quicker than I expected.

I had hoped to do a few more charm and tagua combinations for this challenge, but I’ve decided that the flower tabs I have in the destash tray are just too ugly to waste on pretty tagua slices. I don’t want to spend time fretting over how to make them pretty - I’m sure it’s possible, but I have so many other projects to do that are going to turn out on the first try.

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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Bugle Feather Keychain

Not every project can turn out they way we want it to, but if we’re determined enough, we can make mishaps work for us. This happened to me over the weekend, when I tried to tackle some gunmetal twisted bugles. I had been pondering the idea of turning them into an embroidery pendant for awhile. At first I thought something abstract and stripey might work. Then it occurred to me that it would be easy enough to arrange the two bugle sizes in the shape of a feather.

I chose some brown felt and turquoise seed beads to complete the look, arranged some beads and made a rough sketch to follow so that the feather shape was sure to come out. I hadn’t completed very many stitches when I realized that while the idea was good, it just wasn’t going to make a nice pendant. Since I was already committed, I just kept going. It took only a second or two to figure out a use for the mediocre design.

When I cut out the beadwork, I left a little tab and sewed it into a loop before attaching the backing felt. With a keyring in place, I now have a new zipper pull for my purse. (I was a little too rough on the old one). I like the design, and the size is much better. I’m looking forward to showing it off!

Have you turned bead lemons into lemonade recently? What did you make?

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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Three Elemental Pendants

If there’s one thing that I can say about the destash challenge, it’s that I’m learning an awful lot about myself and my beading habits. The most recent lessons came from trying too hard to force beads together, instead of just letting things evolve naturally.

It all started when I decided to make a bunch of elemental Y necklaces, to use up assorted destash beads. Things were going really well at first. I combined some matte yellow Czech clams with the last two of my emerald glass rings, and a handful of green hexes and cubes.

After adding a variety of blue beads, the palette was complete - lots of beautifully aquatic transparent glass, filled with light and ready to head to the beach. I was really happy with how this necklace turned out, after avoiding the clam beads for months, and I was so excited that I forgot what made this piece so perfect.

Rather than choose beads carefully, I mashed a whole lot of destash elements together for the Flora pendant. I started with lime cubes, and added a dash of bright orange 8/o seed beads that I never seem to have any use for. Once the pendant was complete, I tried to use the same palette for the beaded chain.

Instead of trusting my instincts, which were telling me to make the chain and beaded bead contrast like in the Earth pendant, I tried to make greens and oranges and wood beads all work together. I sort of liked how it all looked, but something was telling me that it could be a lot better. I took a little poll on Facebook to confirm these doubts, and started over.

I didn't try to find a way to make all of the beads work together - instead I decided to change the palette quite a bit. I grabbed half a packet of raspberry lined seed beads, and made little daisies with rootbeer centers. I kept the topaz fire polish I had chosen, and the wood beads, but didn’t concentrate on using everything up. The new necklace was much better.

Finally, I moved on to Air, again excited about finally finding a use for some tricky destash beads. Starting with some green and blue Swarovski Elements butterflies, I added a handful of blue fire polish, some Ceylon seed beads, and the last of the white porphyr pinch beads. Since I already had some pastel colors, and I needed seed beads for the base of the beadwork, I also added half a packet of smoky amethyst.

It wasn’t until I was ready to think about a clasp that I realized how little the Air necklace resembled the previous pendants. I was really ready to move on to other things, so I threw on a Swarovski button (another destash bead down!) and called it a day. This necklace I’ll be keeping for myself. Perhaps it will serve as a reminder of what happens when you rush inspiration and cut corners with bead choices.

At this point in the challenge, I’m looking ahead to the end. I have a few tagua pendants to complete, and then it will be time to take stock again. There are two more projects I want to finish, which will make a big impact on what’s left in the destash tray, but they probably won’t empty it completely. After this week’s lessons, I’m thinking that a few items will stay through the New Year, so that they can wait for the right project to come along.

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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Herringbone Ice Pendant

Although the weather is still warm and summery around here, I thought it was time to finally tackle a particularly tricky, and very wintry bead from the destash tray last week. I’ve had this ceramic focal for years, leftover from an Emily Carr inspired necklace, and I thought it would be perfect in an elemental pendant.

I combined a variety of blue and white seed beads, including some destash selections: Ceylon pearl 6/o, white 4mm cubes, sapphire hex cuts, and a new strand of blue cat eye rectangles that were left over from some custom work. I had a little trouble deciding on a pattern for the herringbone beaded bead, because I didn’t want similar colors too close together. In the end, I had to place the pearl and white beads together, but I like the contrast of finishes.

The elemental pendant series is turning out to be a great outlet for leftover beads, and a fun way to combine colors and themes. So far I’ve got Light, Earth, Fire, and Ice. Rather than focus on just the four elements, I’m taking a more fantastic approach, and drawing on all the different incarnations of nature. The possibilities and options are very inspiring. Before the weather does turn white, I’d like to tackle Flora and Water.

While I was stitching the pendant, I set up the camera and put together a little inspiration video, to complement last week’s herringbone tutorial. This time I added some captions for a little filler, and I think it is an improvement over my first sped-up beading video. I’d like to do more variations on this theme - any suggestions?

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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Halloween Skulls and Flowers

When I started the destash challenge, my purpose was to use up and eliminate all the beads I had been keeping around for more than a year - that is to say, since before January 2011. It’s been almost a year now, and I’m starting to eye some of my older new beads in the same way. So when I realized that summer was officially behind us, I decided it was time to try and use up some of my Czech glass skulls for a fun Halloween design.

I took a while deciding just what type of project to do. I didn’t want to fall into my old habit of making something to suit the beads, even if it didn’t suit me. I’ve been having fun with beaded flowers lately, so I thought I would to start by making a few jet black daisies to go with the skulls and see where that got me.

I used jet AB druks for the flower base, and opaque black 15/o seed beads. The shimmery finish of the druks called out for another dash of color, so I made sure to include some jet lined garnet AB 6/o’s when I started compiling a final palette. From the destash tray, I grabbed those gunmetal E beads that never seem to go away no matter how many times I use them. To help the white skulls blend in, I also added the last of my batik bone beads.

Rather than make something elaborate that would showcase the skulls and flowers in a really obvious way, I made a simple, though very long, Y necklace. I really like the way the red seed beads help to blend everything together - skulls and flowers, blood and roses.

Have you made any spooky designs for Halloween this year? What was your inspiration?

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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Candy Colored Herringbone Rope

For last week’s bead tray update, I showed a preview of a new rope necklace that is a little different than the designs I’ve been making of late. Although it was a bit of a departure from my ‘make what I like’ mission, I couldn’t resist taking a little herringbone break. Not only would I be able to use up a lot of destash beads, but I thought it would make a fun tutorial. Stay tuned for a step-by-step on how to make what I like to call herringbone bobbles!

I combined as many seed bead sizes as I possibly could, and chose colors that I’m not likely to use ever again, like hot pink 11/o’s and canary yellow Delicas. There are also lots of destash hex cuts, cubes, some leftover pinch bicones from the Sunrise Collar, and magenta lined E beads (though I barely made a dent in those).

Although this started as a bit of a ‘just do it’ kind of project, I was really excited about all that color, and I’m actually thrilled with how it turned out. The colors are so vibrant and cheerful in their rows, and the rope itself has a great flow. I seriously considered keeping this one for myself, but I thought it would be even more fun to give it away on my ArtFire blog.

Have you had any great design surprises lately?

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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Orange Sunrise Collar

Today’s destash challenge design was a long time in the making. I’ve been pondering possible uses for two strands of translucent white pinch bicones for months now. In the back of my mind, I knew that sooner or later I would make a collar with them, but I was waiting for some other inspiration to strike. With the really ‘usable’ beads that need to be destashed winding down to a minimum, I decided it was time to just cut these strands and make something great.

Right around the same time that I pushed the pinch bicones to the front of the queue, I had another light bulb moment. Why has it been so long since I’ve made any Egyptian replicas? It felt like the right time to remake some favorite Egyptian jewelry, and I went with the collar of Princess Nofret as inspiration. The pinch bicones could stand in for the silver paddle fringe.

Unfortunately, when I went to my bead stash to choose colors, I was stumped. I had the red, but no pale green, and no dark gray. I tried dark green and pale gray, but to do that, I would have to combine multiple finishes - transparent, matte, colorlined. I didn’t like the way it looked at all, so I decided to stretch the palette a little and combine colors that were similar, but looked fantastic together.

The final palette includes ceylon cream, transparent rootbeer, aqua lined jonquil, and red lined topaz. The colors all have a lovely warmth. The red lined topaz is especially beautiful - a perfect sunset orange. I’m still planning to do a more accurate recreation of Nofret’s collar, once I have a chance to find just the right combination of colors. I may have to cheat a little though, and assume that the green has faded over time, just to add a little more color.

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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Lost City Tagua Pendant

Now that I’ve got my beading groove back, the destash challenge is rolling along smoothly again. I’m seeing all kinds of new ways to use up beads that have had me stumped all year. Last week, I took a break from the tough stuff, and did something a little more fun.

When I went shopping for some new tagua slices this summer, and could only find packages of 10, I didn’t hesitate to snap up the colors that I needed, and some extras in a lovely rich blue. Hidden at the bottom of the destash tray are a variety of small front-drilled pendants that need a little boost, and tagua is my favorite way to back up a weak pendant. I would have more than enough tagua to put an end to most of these pendants, so I paired them off and set them aside for later.

Among these tricky pieces are a pair of carved bone fish - possibly salmon - that are just as plain as can be. When I paired one up with the intense blue tagua, I had visions of a mysterious underwater city - Atlantis! This week, I started adding beads from all over the place, including a packet of blue and white porphyry bicones from the destash tray, and my new Czech Picasso ovals. The coppery brown with hints of turquoise and lime look just like treasures at the bottom of the sea.

To add a little extra personality to the piece, I made two beaded starfish in teal green. When I added them to the necklace, I stitched back around and included a few sprigs of coral fringe in bright green. The entire necklace has so many mysterious aquatic elements, though I have to admit that the ovals are still my favorite.

There are three more pendants like this one to come, but each one will (hopefully) have it’s own theme!

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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Autumn Apple Collar

I suppose it must be time to get out and pick a few apples from the neighborhood tree, because I’ve still got crisp fall fruit on the brain. When I finally shook off the case of beader’s block that took over during the herringbone rope fail, the first thing in the destash tray that called out to me was a packet of vintage Czech leaves in smoky amethyst.

I asked around for some feedback on possible color combinations, and thought I had it all worked out - something equally smoky and mysterious in cool tones like blue, teal, and black. But when I pulled out my 11/o seed bead trays, all of those ideas went right out the window. As soon as I spotted a packet of transparent red AB, I had visions of juicy apples.

The color is a lot more like magenta than plain red, and with the addition of some dark topaz, it was a perfect match for the amethyst leaves. The palette had all the mystery that I wanted, with just the right amount of sweetness. I topped everything off with one more destash pick - some leftover Czech nuggets with hints of blue and red.

Of course I had to put all of these beads together in a collar. I’ve decided that it’s time to start focusing on what I really like to do, and leave behind all of the stitches and styles that just don’t fit my tastes. I think all beaders reach a point where experimenting is less productive than specializing. Doing beadwork that we think we should do, instead of what we really like, is just going against the creative grain.

What do you think of the relationship between repertoire and repetition? Are you set comfortably in a niche or searching for your beading identity?

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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Is This Thing On?

Have you ever looked at your work space and felt like you’ve just stumbled out of a weird dream, or come back from a long vacation, or that you just have no idea what’s going on? This is the feeling I get whenever I start a project that gets away from me. I start avoiding beads without even realizing it, until it seems like I’ve lost track of my talents. It’s a lot like that feeling that you’ve forgotten to do something really important, but can’t figure out what it is.

A while back, I started a new herringbone rope necklace, with the plan that it would gobble up all of my miscellaneous 11/o seed bead remainders. I mixed together all the reds, yellows, greens, and blues, and cut into one of my new black hanks. Everything was going great, and then I started to get a little bored. I started worrying about how exactly I was going to add one clasp to two ropes. Before I knew it, I was avoiding beading, and even planning blog posts left me feeling drained.

So, I decided it was time to take a rest from this project - refresh and restart my creativity. I pulled out my strand of wasabi green diamonds, and worked on a multi-strand necklace, similar to the one featured in this month’s fashion collages. I needed something funky for the backdrop, and I thought it would be refreshing to use up a whole lot of my very precious tortoiseshell druks.

I was still dragging my feet a little, feeling creatively drained, but the new necklace turned out great. I tried going back to the color blocked rope project, but I just didn’t feel it. I’ve decided to leave it on the tray for those middle of the night emergency beading situations, when I still have half a movie left to watch, and I don’t feel like digging out new beads when another project is finished. Eventually I’ll find the right mood and moment to finish it, but for now, I think I need to make a striped cuff or something really ‘me’.

I'm not sure what this could mean for the destash challenge. I only have a few months left, and the remaining beads have yet to inspire me. I'm determined to finish, but I have to find a way to make the beads work for me, instead of working against them.

Have you had any beading mishaps or creative slumps lately? What do you do to get past them?

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Double Chevron Tila Collar

Maybe I’m just procrastinating, but I’ve been still working on destashing seed beads, even though most of them are welcome to hang around for awhile (unlike some of the other beads in the pile). Last week, I decided it was time to make use of some of my leftover Tila beads.

Although I love the idea of Tilas, and I’m really pleased with how it worked out in chevron chain and right angle weave, I’m not all that crazy about these beads overall. I’ve seen so many projects and tutorials for them in the last year, and none of them really grabbed my attention. The projects look fantastic, but I’m not in a hurry to try any of them myself. I can’t explain it, but Tilas just don’t speak to me like some other beads do.

Still, I’ve got some beige and white baggies in my shaped seed beads stash, and I thought it would be fun to experiment a little more with the chevron technique. I hoped that if it turned out, I’d have a new place for Tilas in my repertoire. I’ve already had success using double chevron chains for a collar, so I tried it out using Tila beads in the shared rows.

I don’t want to say the chevron chain is a finicky technique, but the truth is that when doing a curved chain, the slightest change in bead sizes or quantities can really effect the shape of the beadwork. I love how this collar turned out overall, but next time I’ll have to try reducing the inside row a bit. This is by far the widest collar I’ve made yet!

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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The Great Jewelry Purge

As artists, sometimes we can be our own worst critics - everything from doubt to perfectionism can get in the way of the pieces we want to design or share. On the other hand, sometimes we are a little too forgiving of our mistakes and mishaps, or a little too eager to share designs that might only be fridge-worthy. At least, I know I am.

I once read a help article for Etsy sellers that said something like “Get rid of your amateur items - you know which ones I mean…”. I knew alright, and I got rid of those not-so-great pieces right away. I thought I was done, but later learned that cultivating one’s work is an ongoing job.

This weekend, I did something that was long overdue. Encouraged by the refreshing and liberating experiences I’ve had during the destash beading challenge, I decided it was time to go through my jewelry inventory and weed out the duds. There were a lot more than I thought there would be! I pulled out all of the pieces that didn’t quite fit my current standards and style, and a few things that made me say “What was I thinking?”.

I’ve never been much for frogging - that is, dismantling - jewelry or even unfinished designs, so I have a whole pile of jewelry to deal with now. The good news is that I get to wear some of my favorite pieces, like my Raspberries and Cream lariat.

How do you feel about frogging, purging, and deactivating your jewelry designs?

Copyright 2012 Inspirational Beading
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