Is it patience or perfectionism?

The jewelry set that I made for my Grandmother and shipped to her this past weekend.  She received them today and fell in love, and that is the best compliment I could ever get.  I love to beautify!

I am often told that I must have a lot of patience to work with seed beads, and I suppose that I never put too much thought into that until this past Sunday at the bridal show when someone was admiring my netted tube bear bracelet.  It was at that moment that I saw the bracelet how someone who doesn't bead sees it, and it does look really complicated, and I guess it seemed complicated to me before I learned to do the magical stitch that creates the netted tube.

Yet, when I look at the beautiful things that other people make, I think what they do looks complicated too.  For example, I won a pendant a few weeks ago and blogged about that earlier, but the metalwork on the pendant looks intricate and complicated to me.  I tried to follow the wire with my eyes around all the twists and turns, wondering, "where did she even start?"

I think that is just one of the perks of selling online, I get to see all the other beautiful, intricate things that people made with loving hands.  People who take the time to master their craft and create wonderful things for others.  Many times I see things that are sold far under what would equal minimum wage, and yes, I have done it too.  Yet, I would rather see the jewelry and accessories that I make go  to a loving home than to see it sit here on a shelf.

I take pride in what I make, and often I do have to take out rows of beads on the piece I am working on to fix one bead, but if I  hadn't, the piece wouldn't shine as it is supposed to.  When something is off, I can tell, and even if others may never notice, I do, and that's what is important  to me.  I had to redo the piece that I am working on today three times to get it exactly right.  Nobody paid me to do that, nobody probably would have noticed the one bead that was off, but I did.  Ok, ok, I am a perfectionist.  I admit it.  But how many of you crafters out there can't  say the same?

So, is it patience or is it perfectionism?

Native American Beaded Hair Stick : TSBeading - ArtFire Accessories

Native American Beaded Hair Stick : TSBeading - ArtFire Accessories

This beaded hair stick was beaded using the right angle weave stitch (RAW) 3x3.

I have long hair and I enjoy wearing my hair down most of the time, but sometimes it gets in my way when I am working, and usually I will then put something in my hair like a pencil or a dowel of some sort to hold it up without pulling too tightly. I have been having a difficult time lately finding hair sticks, and so I decided to make some for myself.

Lucky you, I've decided to take it a step further and make some to sell as well.

Beaded Earrings, Web design in purple

These earrings never got to be displayed for sale because as soon as my grandmother saw them she fell in love and I knew where they were meant to go.  :)  I will be making a woven necklace to match these for her, and she also gave me an order for two more necklace and earring sets!  They are much more sparkly then the camera would pick up, but here they are nonetheless. 

Beaded Bear Bracelet

My inspiration for this bracelet was the stone bear totem that I found at my local bead shop. The bear is fancy jasper and has beautiful greens and corals on a white background.

The bracelet itself is 3x3 right angle weave (RAW) stitched. I beaded the toggle clasp using the peyote stitch.

Measurements: This bracelet measures at just about 8.5 inches or 21 cm long when lying flat. However, because of the cylindrical shape of the bracelet, it fits my 7" wrist. I'm including photos of the bracelet on my wrist so that you get a better idea of how it might look on your wrist.

I weaved this bracelet and toggle clasp using Beadalon's thermally bonded bead weaver's thread, and I reinforced the stitches in the clasp and near the ends of the bracelet for longevity and durability. So, go ahead and wear this bracelet with confidence!