Expanding my Horizons...

It's official...my new Blog is now "live"...

Although I'm still a little apprehensive about sharing my thoughts and "blogging" - I am bravely expanding my horizons in the hope of sharing more of my inspirations for jewelry designs, along with my "moments" of craziness, laughter, and stupidity (like DUH...I can't believe I did that!).  So hopefully you'll find me amusing enough to start "following" LOL.  If you're a seasoned blogger - do share your wisdom, as I need all the help I can get!

The last couple days my thoughts have been centered on the creative process... and all the steps in between (mainly because I've been cleaning up my workspace).  Most of you only get to see the final piece...but have you ever wondered what the "production" stage looks like...the amount of supplies...the endless possibilities and choices...the mess??   I have quite a few creative friends...and I can tell you that most of us are MESSY.  This of course is not to say that I can't be organized...because I am - it's just I have my own method of organization (my husband who is a Civil Engineer...well - let's just say he looks at it and thinks "chaos" LOL).  

Designing...I love the process of choosing beads and planning designs, then grouping components and findings together in "project bags".  It's one of my favorite things to do...next to designing and shopping for beads/unique findings :). I work on these really soft foam mats (they help to keep things from rolling around).  My rule of thumb for design time is that I can have no more than 3 mats full on my table before I need to "clean-up" and take the time to put everything back in their proper storage places so that I can start with a clean slate AGAIN!  Yesterday was one of those days that went whizzing by way too fast...between listing, website improvements, juggling sales platforms (Etsy, Artfire, Zibbet, and my own site) AND squeezing in some design planning time - it was close to 2am before I rolled into bed - yes I'm a night owl and seem to be able to function on 5-6 hours of sleep.

So the process?  Sometimes you know as soon as you see the focal - what the design will be...some nights I dream about designs and wake up to sketch them in the pale moonlight...and sometimes you just have fun pulling out your beads and findings and take pleasure in visualizing multiple possibilities (which often leads to an entire line or series - such as my newest Woodland Walk and Woodland Romance series). 

I create many of my own focal beads & pieces...but what also makes my designs special is when I can highlight other artisans creative pieces.  Collaborations are so much fun!  When I find someone I like - I'm a very bad shop-o-holic and wind up having a design day that's named after them! These were some of my purchases for a Menagerie Studio Day with "Martha" (the artisan that creates these beautiful clay focal pieces that have been created with a combination of materials and antiqued in a shabby chic style - they are simply amazing and I can't wait for the rest of my supplies to arrive :)

OK - well that's my little "spout-off" for my first post.  I can guarantee that not all of my posts will be this lengthy...you just caught me on one of my chatty, social days!  Have a good one!

~J-Lynn