What if...

The first in a series.

The secret of a tidy stash

"You're so organized!" said my friend, admiring my neat stacks of labeled bead bins. 

Little did she know that before she'd arrived,  I... CLEANED UP! Believe me, my bead area does not always look tidy and orderly. Usually it is a dumping ground for a few days mail, several projects in various stages, and my most recent purchases, which I HAVE to have out so I can look at them. For weeks. 

But I do have a secret way to keep things under control. I have a SYSTEM. I learned that if I stack and stash my stuff in containers, no matter how messy the interior of those containers get, my environment stays more or less serene. 

I need to see everything so I use the same clear containers, same brand, same type. I label them neatly and consistently. (Okay, so I did get a bit compulsive, printing color coded labels. ) I discovered that by using the same containers--like the metal loaf pans on my messy shelves-- even when piled high, it gives the ILLUSION of being organized. My friend thought so.

Sometimes I even fall for it myself.

Great storage tips coming in July with the next issue of Creative Jewelry. 

DOODLEBEADS video teaches peyote stitch!

There are many video tutorials online, but none like DOODLEBEADS as featured in the how-to section of Beadingdaily.com. I consider it edutainment!

This one is will teach you odd count peyote--even if you never did it before. There's another on even count peyote, and more coming on other stitches. Nothing beats seeing a little animation, and the music is fun, too.

http://www.beadingdaily.com/blogs/howto/archive/2009/02/23/odd-count-peyote-stitch.aspx

Jewelry show display

Using folding panels from MD displays, I hung my work for sale during a home party.  This is only about half my inventory! 

Just DO it

3.21.09

Teaching vs. Creating

It's hard to be a teacher. Most of the time I just make things without thinking. If I stop to analyze how I attach one bead to another, or how I make a design come together, I am stopped in my tracks. Just do it. 

Easier said than done? 

My best advice  is to build your best vocabulary, learn the basics... first the alphabet then the words, first the notes, then the scales... every technique, until you find the ones you like best, the ones that click. Then, like the commercial says, just DO it.

Inspiration not imitation, illustrated

9.16.08

An example of inspiration, not imitation.

Here's a netted collar by Adrienne Gaskell, which will be published in the Nov. Dec. issue of Step by Step Beads. I was inspired by the palette and technique, and created 2 bracelets. Does anyone think these look like I copied her design?

Imitation or Inspiration

Inspiration or Imitation, and why I care.

9.13.08
The battle rages, and among beaders, no less. Is it kosher to copy someone's design if they see it as a tutorial project someplace, and recreate that project, then sell it? I'm not talking about the whole "Who invented peyote?", which everyone knows is not the point. I am talking about using someone else's exact design and making a profit from it, without permission from the original creator. Sometimes there is a very distinct line between inspiration and imitation, as in my case.

This is my original O-ring design, first sold online in my own site, then published in Step by Step Beads and referenced on Beading Daily. I sell many versions of this, and people recognize it as one of my signature designs, especially the use of the rubber ring and rubber cord, and the prominent inclusion of the thread as part of the design.

These other pendants were found online, on the same art-for-sale Web site where I sell my work. Let me ask, inspiration or imitation? Should I care? They were underselling me, too.
My blog, my rant. One artist was nice enough in their reply to my request to stop selling my design, the other didn't at all understand why I was angry and was actually quite spiteful.

Go figure. You'd think we beaders would look out for each other in a world where overseas producers are ripping off artists left and right!