Motivation Monday

                                     Motivation Monday

Things that inspire me, color combinations I love, the music that rocks my studio and anything else that makes me want to jump up and make a bead!

I've been hanging out on pinterest again ~(imagine that!)  and I'm finding manicures surprisingly inspiring. I totally wish I could do my nails like this, but I suck at nail polish; so I'm hoping for beads.  :)

I'm actually pretty excited to try these this week.  I'll make sure I share pictures (good or bad) next week.

Enrique Iglesias  is rocking my studio this week (between Spanish language instructions) thinking I can do two things at once, but we'll see! :)

Thanks for stopping by and stay motivated!


If you still need more motivation check out all the pretty flowers in KTBelleCrafts garden!

What Doesn't Work

Sometimes answering the question "what doesn't work" is as important as learning what does work.  Partly because answering this question means you are trying new things, experimenting with new ideas, and probably well on your way to some fantastic new art work! 

As a continuation of my collaboration post:  Dusty thought I could do something with the fork and spoon ends that were left over from making the bracelets.  So I decided to add glass to the ends and see if I could make fancy hors d'œuvre forks. 

It didn't work....

They would have been a little short, but I attempted it anyway as a "would it work" test.

This fork was stainless steel, which is what my mandrels are made of, and I know from experience I can permently stick beads to my mandrels if the bead release breaks.  However, in this case the glass shattered on the interior (why it didn't fall off yet I don't know).

Will I try this again?  Maybe.  Perhaps there is some other way to do it that would have better results.

Will I try other things?  You Betcha!  I already have 2 more new ideas that will either be abject failures or totally cool successes.  Either way ~ another valuable lesson learned at the torch.

Collaboration

If you ever want to really amp up the creativity in your art work ~ collaborate with someone!  Not only is it more fun, but the ideas grow exponentially when you work together.  I know when I sit down to create jewelry with a friend we're always critiquing and improving each other's work.  The other day I asked my husband to bend some spoons for me to make into bracelets. He did a few and they turned out like this:

I love it!  I'm so excited about these and I have a bunch of ideas for more! 

So anyway, while he's out there bending spoons he thinks maybe I should make necklaces too.  I hadn't thought of that, but told him I would certainly try it.  And here's what happened:

I love this too!  It turned out so much better than I expected ~ and without him I would not have even thought to try it.  He's still out there bending spoons and has lots more ideas for me.  The only downside to this collaboration is that I don't think I can keep up with him!!

Thank you Dusty ~ You Rock!!