What's Up Wednesday

Another regular feature on my blog?  YES!  What's up Wednesday is where you will find upcoming events, news, and interesting tidbits. 

So what's up this Wednesday?   I'm attempting to make a major overhaul in the way I manage my time.  Until last week I managed my time by making a daily to-do list.  Totally sounds like a great idea.  It's not. My list included everything, everyday, and I do mean EVERYTHING! 

Here's a sample:
Make beads,
clean and photograph yesterday's beads,
deliver beads to Sun Dog,
list on Etsy,
Flikr update,
blog,
fan page update,
tweet,
post office and/or bank,
make jewelry
(plus housework, dinner, laundry, grocery shopping, dishes, etc., etc., etc.)

See what I mean?  Basically, I always felt like I was behind, then overwhelmed, and then in need of a nap. Not to mention the guilt over whatever didn't get done.

So my new program is to make a list of everything that needs to get done in a week and assign tasks to specific days.  Many of these things could be done once a week. I don't have to clean and photograph beads everyday; if I do it once a week I only drag out all the supplies for those jobs once (saves time and since it's not on the list every day I don't feel like it's overwhelming me).

Many of you are probably thinking "well, duh!".  But believe me, it's huge for me to tell myself it's ok to put something on the list for Tuesday, and then only worry about that thing on Tuesday.

This is my first week, so I'm still tweaking my schedule - but I see this working really well for me.  The goal is to eventually get everything done, AND be less stressed, and (slightly) less neurotic ~ Wish me Luck!

Motivation Monday

YAY it's Monday!  Ok, that was probably overly enthusiastic for a Monday, but hey, it can't hurt to start the week off with a positive attitude! :)  Motivation Monday will now become a regular feature on my blog. Here you'll find the 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! 

Like many (many) people, I have become addicted to pinterest.  I've found it's a great place to find color, shape and pattern inspiration for beads.  This week I've found cakes particularly inspiring ~ somehow they all look like beads to me!  Here's a few to show you what I mean:

This one is from Project Wedding

and here's one from Party Inspirations facebook fan page:

For some reason cakes really speak to me as beads. Perhaps because the color palettes are similar, or because the process of applying frosting is similar to applying layers of glass.  Either way, there is a wealth of inspiration out there in the cake world!

And lately Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have been rocking my studio!



 
See you all next Monday ~ and until then Stay Motivated!

Featured Friday

I decided my blog needed a little more structure. Or maybe I need a little more structure so I quit neglecting my blog!  So on Friday's I will be sharing cool handmade products from great artists that I've found. I hope you find things you'll love too!

First ~ A little something from my friend Rachel of Inferno Glass Beads  I love her big hole lampwork charm beads!  Doesn't this one just glow? Check out her Etsy page for more great lampwork!

I also love the metal work from Christopher Crooks Metal Art  I have one of his geckos and it's beautiful!  Actually, I intended to hang it out on my deck but it's so great I hung it in my living room so I could enjoy it year round. Take a peek at his Etsy shop and I'm sure you'll find something you love too! Here's one of my current favorites ~

Check back next Friday for more great handmade finds!