Ideas!

Started out today cleaning my basement/studio.  After scrambling to get Christmas gifts made and other presents wrapped my basement looked like a bomb went off.  Now it's reasonably neat and again a comfortable place for me to work.  I can put up with the mess for a while but then it begins to get to me and I can't concentrate on any thing.

Once every thing was in order and the shop vacuum used I sat down at my beading desk and went brain dead.  I usually have a gazillion ideas running around in my head but not today.  Then I got the bright idea to go through my beading/jewelry magazines.  I decided that when I came to a design I like, that I haven't tried before, I'd use that design for inspiration.  I say inspiration because just like my cooking and sewing I view the directions as suggestions.

Usually I'll go through a stack of magazines and mark what I'm interested in trying but then I'd move on, flipping pages and marking.  A lot of times I'd have a stack of marked magazines and never get back to the article.   This time I'm stopping when I see something and using the article, complete a project before moving on to another design.  So far it's working and I've made a new bracelet and earrings.

During this past year I've purchased several tools/beads/findings that I haven't used - yet.  I'm looking at this as the start of a new year and new ideas.  I hope to be able to complete a lot more projects without buying a bunch of new stuff.  Believe that?  Me either!  But I'm going to try.