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Sunday, September 2, 2012

A New Beginning

Welcome to my blog!  I am so excited that you have joined me for my jewelry making journeys!  I have so much to share with you that I'm not quite sure where to begin!
How about a few photos....
These silver plated Chandelier Earrings with Czech glass beads began a whole stream of ideas for many many more pairs! 
                                                                                                                                                            
A few of my Knitted Wire & Freshwater Pearl Cuff bracelets (still getting the hang of how to get the pics all organized on here...so please be patient with me!)
This is one of my favorite designs; Hand Knotted Silk with Turquoise & Lapis Lazuli Gemstones chips.  I have TONS of Gemstone chips, so look for more of these to come!

The beginning...I have been making jewelry since I was a little girl, I'm sure some of you remember those knotted friendship bracelets...but I guess if I think about it I've always been drawn to the best products...I would only use the beautiful smooth embroidery thread which was of course the most expensive thread I could find then!  I still remember the excitement of walking down the isles, looking at all of the beautiful colors, trying to decide which ones to add to my ever growing collection at home!

Funny how I can't seem to remember the beginning of my beading, how did I discover them? Ah yes! It was very popular to have beaded safety pins on the shoelaces of  your runners in elementary school, so of course I just had to start making them for myself and everyone else who wanted them!  (For my American friends - "runners" are sneakers)

Then the next step was to make necklaces; simple stringing with fishing line, then progressing to a stronger beading thread..... until my sister bought me a book; "Complete Beading For Beginners" by Karen Rempel.  That was it! It was all over! I searched for local bead shops and found a Native American bead & supply shop, it was on Redwood Ave I think, I purchased a bead loom, thread and of course a "few" seed beads.  I was so excited to get home and start beading!

That book was the beginning of many design ideas, including some I still use today such as peyote stitch.  I will do a blog showing some pieces I made 10 years ago and some from this year when I decided to delve back into one of my oldest and favorite techniques...so stay tuned!

My creativity really flourished when I moved to the U.S. with a few amazing local bead stores and the Internet bead supply companies.  Suddenly my brain was going crazy with endless possibilities! 

I feel like that was a new beginning for me, as is today with my first blog post!  I am slowly catching on to all this tech stuff, but wouldn't have even known how to start if not for the help of a wonderful friend and client of mine, Danavee. 

I really enjoyed remembering these moments and sharing them with you!  What was the first piece of jewelry that you remember being drawn to? Was it Grandma's pearl earrings? A sparkly ring your mother wore? A bracelet a friend of yours had?

Share your memories with me I would love to hear them!
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4 comments:

  1. Yahoooo! Beautifully written! I'm so excited to follow along.

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  2. Can't wait to see all of your beautiful creations!!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Mollie! There will be many more to come!

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