Operation Inspiration: Phase Three

I’m heading into the final stage of my plan for boosting creativity in my workspace. The new ugly necklace is complete, and it turned out pretty fabulous, with a fun combination of herringbone strips and circular brick stitch medallions. I used a coconut flower button for the clasp, which not only added the finishing touch, but also allowed me to finally get one into a project after having such high hopes for them.

Apart from refreshing my workspace and using up old leftovers, one of my favorite ways to find instant inspiration is to buy new beads. I haven’t placed a bead order since last year, so it was definitely time to get some fresh materials in my studio. I’ve got a good sized bead order on the way right now, and there are some pretty exciting things in it. I’m trying out a few new seed bead colors, some new accent beads, and of course I stocked up on Fireline so I’ll be ready to make whatever comes to mind.

Now that the ugly necklace is finished, I’m getting back to favorite projects. I’ll be finishing the fringe necklace with black and gold stripes that I started ages ago - and then, who knows?

Do you have a favorite bead or material to purchase when you need a pick-me-up?

Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading
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Operation Inspiration: Phase Two

For the past week or so I’ve been picking away at getting back into beading with one of my favorite recharge methods, and I didn’t even have to clean up first!

Once it occurred to me that putting a stopper on the herringbone collar project I was (not) working on would help get me inspired again, I realized that it would be the perfect place to start a new ugly necklace. I took out my box of UfO’s and selected a few choice scraps of beadwork, then opened a few packets of beads that I had been planning to put away last week. I’m going to stitch all of these elements together any which way and use the free-for-all as a way to find my creative groove again.

I had been planning to make another Unfinished Object purge necklace at some point this year, and now is as good a time as any. Beading without any rules - not just freeform but totally without attention to style or form - is so liberating and has never failed to give me a cleansed feeling in the creative sense. It’s also giving me an opportunity to try out some unusual beads that have had me stumped for months.

The center drilled coconut daggers have been on my mind a lot lately, but I just couldn’t come up with a good design to use them in. By adding them to this completely crazy necklace, I can use them in ways that I wouldn’t dare to otherwise, and get a feel for what they can and can’t do. I’m also incorporating some assorted leftovers and some really fun beadwork scraps from the past couple of years. I can’t wait to see how this piece turns out!

I’m hoping to have this ugly necklace complete in the next few days, so that I can be ready to work on normal projects again by the time Orange is the New Black hits Netflix. A great series always helps to keep me in my seat and beading away, since I can’t stand to watch movies or shows alone and not have something for my hands to do.

The final phase of Operation Inspiration all depends on my bead budget, but will probably be the most effective overall. Then things will really get rolling again!

How do you like to deal with stale or unfinished projects?

Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading
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Operation Inspiration: Phase One

Although I have been relishing the extra time I’ve been getting to relax, veg out, and just hang around with my family lately, it’s definitely time to get back to beading and all of the creative things I used to do once upon a time. Somewhere inside of me there’s a person who loves to create jewelry, photograph it, write about it and experiment with colors at every opportunity. I just have to figure out where she’s been hiding.

In order to get back on track, I’ve got to find my creative grooves again – refresh and start new. There are quite a few methods that I’ve mapped out, including finally getting around to deciding on a new shop platform and filling it up with pieces from Ancient Worlds, Modern Beads. I think that starting there will help me figure out what I want to do with the rest of my inventory and get back on track shop-wise.

Beading Workspace: Before

In the meantime, I’m determined to start making again. To get my motivation and inspiration going, I’m going to try out some proven methods, only this time I’ll be doing them all in a heap, like a great creative detox. Phase one is almost complete.

First I rolled up my sleeves and cleaned my workspace. Over the past few months, I’ve been a bit lazy about putting beads away, and filing things where they ought to go. My workspace also managed to accumulate a lot of unnecessary objects such as a DVD I meant to watch and forgot about, and a big bag full of little bead baggies that was just taking up too much space. Although it’s convenient to have them there whenever I need a place to put a recently cut strand or hank, it’s not worth it to have it cluttering up space that could be holding beads, or books, or nothing at all.

I realized that the herringbone collar I was working on was dragging me down as much as anything else, so I’ve packed up the beads for now. As soon as I get a chance to re-file all of the beads that had collected on my table, I’ll be ready to start fresh.

Now my workspace has only the essentials: my tool jar, inspiration notebook and 7-year pen, my bag of culled beads and my beeswax. I left my collection of seed bead leftovers in the hopes that I’ll be inspired to use them. All that’s left is the paint and glitter stains that only sandpaper can remove!

Beading Workspace: After

Phase Two will be even more cleansing and I'm really looking forward to getting started. How do you work through creative blocks?

Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading
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Work in Progress: Sluggish Green Collar

I have been a big neglectful of all my duties these past few weeks, both in beading and in blogging. Before we get around to an update on this week’s progress, let me say thanks for sticking with me so far! Although I had a little surge of ideas and projects, it turns out that I’m still a bit burnt out from making designs for Ancient Worlds, Modern Beads. It would also seem that taking on two projects at once wasn’t the great idea that I thought it would be. After stitching a few inches of the new herringbone collar that I started, I realized the repacking and unpacking of so many different bead types - all of which I need to have out at once - was just too time consuming, and I’ve been plodding along on the collar without picking up any other projects.

The collar is coming along nicely, though I haven’t spent quite as much time on it as I should. I’ve been feeling a bit unmotivated of late, partly because I have no idea what to do with my pieces when they’re finished. Over the past several years, I’ve juggled both an Etsy and an ArtFire store, testing them both out to see which one suits me best. Because Etsy runs on temporary listing fees as well as a 3.5% commission, I decided that it was just too expensive and time consuming to list most of my work there.

Just as I was getting into the process of moving and cultivating an ideal selection for both shops, ArtFire rolled out Google and Amazon ads on all listing pages. Although I’m not necessarily opposed to having third-party ads on pages I’m already paying for, the page design is really terrible, and sellers have no control of the quantity or types of ads that are displayed. The only way to opt out of the ads is to sign up for 3% commission fees - something that I’m not prepared to do for one-of-a-kind pieces that can sometimes be over $100.

New ArtFire Page Layout

I'm working more than usual at the day job right now, which is fabulous; but I simply don’t have the time or energy to research and cultivate a shop on a new platform right now, so I’m feeling a little glum when it comes to making new pieces. I’m hoping that giving my workspace a really good tidy and refresh will help me at least get some of the beading bug back so that I can get back to making jewelry just for the joy of it.

What are you making this week? Are there any challenges in your path right now?

Copyright 2015 Inspirational Beading
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Work in Progress: A Rope and a Collar

I’m a little behind on projects this week, as I’ve been catching up on sleep instead of staying up late to bead. It’s a bit of a double setback, as I’ve taken on the rare challenge of working two projects at once. The red bugle cuff that I had started last week was a bust. One of the seed bead colors that I had chosen didn’t work out – I was spending more time culling them than actually getting any beading done. Feeling discouraged, I decided to set aside the project for later and get started on another design that I had been pondering.

I got to work on a new fringe necklace that would combine a black and gold striped rope with some striped Java glass and perhaps a few mother of pearl chips. Then I got a sudden craving to make a new all-seed bead herringbone collar. I started with some cactus green 8/o’s and built a nice palette from there. The beadwork hasn’t turned out quite right, so I’m going to need to restart, but I’m hoping to continue with it until the end.

What are you making right now?

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