Try Something New This Month

One of the things I learned from my show frenzy this past year is that it's easy to get stuck in a rut.  I found myself making the same jewelry pieces in different variations rather than looking around to see what else I could create to keep my shop fresh and new.  When we finished shows for the season, I went into a huge creative slump and couldn't think of anything new to make.

I specialize in wire wrapped and wire woven pieces.  I love wire and working with metal. But I also love beads (who doesn't?) and decided that if I was ever going go get motivated again, I needed to learn some new techniques.  I started with a beaded necklace that I saw in a magazine.  Here's my version of that piece.

 I had so much fun doing this!  It really started my creative juices flowing.   A friend of mine had the cutest pair of earrings that she found in a local garage sale.  So I decided to do a version of those next.   Here they are.











It's amazing how inspiration really jumps out and grabs you when you're trying new things! 

We left Arizona in May and drove over to visit our Son in CA for a month.  While we were there, we checked out an Arts and Crafts Fair in Livermore, CA.  I met some incredible artisans there and decided to give PMC another try.  I'd played around with it previously but really didn't get the concept.  I tried making a PMC button and added it to a leather cord to make a bracelet.  The picture is a little blurry, but you get the idea.  What do you think?

  When we arrived in WA at our Daughter's house in June, she had all of her scrapbooking supplies out.  We started looking through them and I spotted a bin filled with brads and rivets of all sizes and colors!  Before long, here's what happened!














It's so easy to get stuck and lose our inspiration.  We feel comfortable with our niche and it's hard to branch out to try new things.  But there is inspiration all around us and the rewards are so worth it!  I challenge you all to try something new this month.