Celebrating the Beads

Happy New Year to you all.  I would like to tell you about a new journey I have embarked upon.  At the end of 2013, I was having a discussion with my dear friend Nancy Dale about my beadwork, feeling like I was walking in the mud.  You see... I have always given my beaded pieces a name first, and then they built themselves around the name.  However, the names were not coming anymore and I felt like I was just making something just because I "should ".  Nancy began telling me about a new group she had just joined called Bead Journal Project.  A group of beaders that commit to making one piece a month for a year.  Generally these pieces are reflections of events in you daily life, emotions, or just what comes off the top of your little noggin!  OK...I can do this!!  So I started off with a bang...I came up with a theme and was all excited and then began wading in the mud, AGAIN!  OK....lets think about this and start over!  Talk to me BEADS!!!   New Year's Eve 2014...bottle of champagne exploding...with Shibori ribbon...and bubbles...oh pearl bubbles... and fireworks of excitement...and fun...and play..and dream.  

 After spending so much time building a Web site, managing a shop, worrying about promoting myself, entering in competitions,  I forgot to play and listen to the beads!  So this year I am hoping to experience growth in my beadwork by playing in the bead sandbox!!  I have already seen my mistakes in this month's challenge and know which direction to head next month.  I'm thinking something that will JUMP off the page at you!!!  So come follow me.... I dare you! ;)

Dance, sing, and play my friends,

                                   Julie