Reflecting on creativity

It might be amusing to people who know me now to hear that I never considered myself a creative person. When friends and family see the fancy birthday cake or the new jewelry or the custom picture slide show, they always say "Oh, you are very creative."

My father was an artist, he could paint and draw. The urge to create runs deep in my family, as we have many talented artists and musicians in the family. I discovered that urge as an adult and a new mother.

Sure I liked to play with art supplies, and make crafts as a child. But it wasn't until I was an adult that the urge took shape, became imperative, to really makes something with my hands. I dabbled in art, water colors, pastels, paints, and drawings. That was fun but I had no real talent for that media. I began making cakes, and got a taste of what I was craving. But it wasn't until I started on jewelry that my passion ignited.

And even with the ignition of passion, and the creation of many pieces, and the experimentation with different material I do not feel that I am a creative person. I can and do make pieces, and enjoy working projects other people have put together, but I truly long to have the vision and talent to come up with those creative projects on my own.

I have learned that the biggest obstacle to creativity is fear. The fear of failure, the fear of wasting materials, the fear of ridicule, the fear of losing passion for the art. It's hard to take the risk of thinking and working outside the box when all those fears weigh on me.

But without risk there is no reward. I'm am eager to make this a year of expanding, building, nurturing my creativity to see what I can coax out of my imagination.

Wish me luck!

Fall is in the Air!

Fall is in the air, one of my favorite times of the year, and yet a time that always kicks off the busy holiday season. I like to make my kids something to commemorate the season, and with the cute and affortable lampwork beads out there, this is relatively easy to do.

My daughter loved the bracelet, and I made a zipper pull so my son wouldn't feel left out.

Our family enjoys Halloween, and we usually have a party every year, with some of the most outrageous homemade costumes you have ever seen. For my mother and her two sisters, I made matching spider web earrings.

Daisy Stitch Cube Necklace

This is another design from Ruby. I love cube beads, but never seem to know what to do with them, they have so many posibilities. These beads are a teal color. It is a summery look that is versatile enough to be casual or classy.

Blue Drop Earrings

Yellow Drop Earrings

Green Drop Earrings

Pink Drop Earrings

Round Lime Confetti Earrings

Round Purple Confetti Earrings

Blue Lilac Crackle Bead Earrings

Light Sapphire Drop Hoops

Emerald Drop Hoop Earrings

Herringbone Bangle Bracelet

I've long been an admirer of Ruby and her wonderful beading tutorials. I thought these beaded bangles looked fun, and decided to give it a try. I did this in size 11 pink ceylon Toho treasure beads, accented with size 15 japanese seed beads in shimmering dark rose. The other beads are just crystal size 8 seed beads. I made this for my daughter, as she loves these colors, and it matches most of her wardrobe. Although I did not capture it in the picture, I added a guard chain to the bracelet, as my magnetic clasps are not the stronger ones that are out on the market.

Back After a Break

It's been a long time since I've been in the mood to create. Nothing like life's stressor to put a damper on the creative juices. Now with a new job for the husband and new friends in our lives, I've felt more inspired to be creative.

I've just finished this spiral bracelet for a friend who has a daughter in cheerleading. Their colors are purple, silver and white. I used size 8 opaque white beads for the core, and 4mm purple velvet AB bicones and size 11 crystal silver lines beads for the spiral.

My First Etsy Sale!

I was so excited/happy about this. I finally had a completely unsolicited sale from Etsy. These babies were shipped off to my first official customer a couple of days ago. She indicated that she would have been interested in a white pair also. I have a set in crystal that I sent her a link to, but so far haven't heard back. Oh, well. I'm just happy that this effort has finally started to be successful.

My First Commissioned Piece

My friend Rana, whom I work with, asked me to craft a mother's bracelet as a gift. It was a good process, as she had a good idea of what she wanted, which was out of the box from what you might think of as a mother's bracelet.

I was used to using light colors, but Rana chose jet crystals and vitrail crystals. Mixed in with those were the four birthstone colors. Plus she asked for a two-strand for something I would normally make a single strand item.

But I love the piece came out.

Blue Goldstone Bracelet

I've had the blue goldstone for years now. Do you ever just freeze? Paying more than $30 for a string of beads tends to do that to me. I don't want to use them "wrong." But I girded my loins, and here is the fruit.

Ok, enough mixing metaphors...enjoy!

Easter Choker

This piece I made for my 6-year old daughter to wear with her Easter dress. I complimented it with a pair of simple hoop earrings. She looked lovely. :)

Blue Heart Bracelet

So I bought the Boss's Bead Bag from Fire Mountain Gems a while ago. It was an interesting experience that yielded a lot of dodads for my daughter to play with. Among the various items were quite a few of these heart beads. I liked the look and feel of them, but I stashed them to the side for years, until I heard their lonely call. They said "Lady! It's time to do something with us." And here is the end result.

My UFO

No, it's not an alien spacecraft, it's a project that had been languishing for about two years. The wire knitting portion of the project was easy, it was finishing the ends that drove me to procrastination. The unfinished ends of the bracelet were just taunting me, and my only response was to shove the project under piles of beading supplies. Every once in a while I would come across it, and it would challenge me anew. Well, I just couldn't stand it anymore, and decided to use these sterling silver cones I picked up at the Bead and Button show a while back. I haven't engaged in another wire knitting project since this project. I'm not sure I'm totally happy with the results, but now it can't plague me anymore.