photo above...elbow deep in a project (idea) that is giving me fits.
I know what I'd like to do but lately my beads seem to be fighting me and I'm getting rather frustrated. First I couldn't find chain that I
Photo above...The small section that I've done but it's not working out. Right now I'm having trouble with my homemade jumprings as they keep opening up with the weight of these beads. As you can see it is going to be a black and white theme with a marvelous Venetian glass bead as a focal pendant.
Photo below...Using some of these black and white beads -
photos below...Maybe a sprinkling of crystals -
Photo below...and a splash of these jet black hearts with an AB finish -
photo below...Then, just for fun maybe I'll throw in a couple of these?
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Good luck with your project. Walk away for a while and it'll come to you.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Venetian glass...it's so beautiful. Memories for me too of our trip there last year. :-)
ReplyDeleteI get so frustrated when I'm sewing and something just doesn't work out the way you envision it in your head...I agree with the above comment, sometimes walking away and then coming back to a bit later seems to work.
Good Luck with it...I think the "in progress" already looks great!
I have this delima all the time!!! Good LUCK!
ReplyDeleteTotally understand your dilemma.The ideas will come to you and it will be stunning!
ReplyDeleteHi there, I'd love to share this creative dilemma story on A Bead A Day if you wouldn't mind. This is perfectly expressed and trust me, you aren't alone!! :)
ReplyDeleteoh i totally know what that is like!! i can't wait to see how it turns out tho!!
ReplyDeleteI understand even though I don't make jewelry. The same thing happens when I'm sewing. I have the fabric, trim, lace, buttons, bits and bobs and a fabulous idea in my head. You would never know it from the piece in front of me! I love the black and white combo and the black hearts. Can't wait to see how it comes out!
ReplyDeleteI definitely know this problem!! Sometimes I have a 1/2 started project in a box in the back of a drawer for a year before I finally have the guts tro try again. I really beleive in the put it out of mind for a bit plan because each time I restart a project after a 6 month or more break, it turns out more beautiful (and 100 x easier) than I had planned.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it's that we try too hard to make something the way we imagine it, even if the way we imagine it isn't possible just that way. The harder we try, the more we get in our own way.
ReplyDeleteOne method to bulldoze through the frustration is to take some beads from the project you want to make (or similar beads, say with a similar color scheme), and just make something else without imagining first. See where the materials will take you. Then come back to the trouble project refreshed. :)
Oh Anna, I think you just voiced what all of us creatives struggle with. In our minds we see it so clearly but getting to the end result can be a painful challenge.
ReplyDeleteI love your colour choices and maybe a bit of soldering for those jump rings. Would that work? I'm not much help as I am not a jewelry maker. I wish you well and look forward to seeing the final pieces :)
Have a lovely day, T . :)
Sometimes the best thing to do is one of two options -- step away for a while or scrap it all together and start from scratch! I was having a similar issue recently with a mural I was trying to paint. Luckily it was just for a sample board because had it been in a client's home I would still be there, sobbing. I finally looked at the mess it had become one morning and said 'you know what...', pulled out my roller/primer and just coated over the darn thing! Then I took a deep breath and smiled because I wasn't restricted anymore to what my brain was telling me it was supposed to look like. I plan to give that subject matter another shot someday but today is not that day lol.
ReplyDeleteThe good news with your beading project here is its looking gorgeous and you have a clear theme and scheme ready to go. I wish you luck but am sure you'll figure out something perfect to hold those gorgeous beads!
I recognize the last photo! You've been playing with your artistic wire worker! Yeah, I have days like that usually when I am really too tired to be designing. Take a break is the best answer!
ReplyDeleteI've kept thinking about this post, and I was wondering (if you're still having trouble with the jump rings, that is) if you have tried lightly hammering the jump rings first to work-harden them and give them added strength and durability? That might just solve that problem.
ReplyDeleteI thank all of you for your thoughtful comments. I think I will step away for a while.
ReplyDeleteJamberry - I did whack the jumprings a number of times with a wooden mallet and it made them a little stiffer but not enough. When I decide to retackle this project I may purchase some commercially made 18 or even 16 gauge jumprings and see how that works...or maybe just use a commercially made cable chain.
But right now I think I just need a break from it as I feel like I've been pounding my head against the wall...and I'm not even a headbanger. :D
I know this type of frustration. There's bad hair fays, and then there's bad art days... where nothing seems to work just-so! At least you fashioned some cute earrings from the beads?
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm glad you liked the wig tip :D! I'm currently working on a doll that will sport hair harvested from my old purple Halloween wig. It holds sentimental value, which is why I couldn't bear to donate it... even though it takes up too much space in my closet! By processing it for a doll, I keep the sentimentality without the extra storage space XP!
Anyway, thank you so much for your ideas! I'm definitely acting on them :D