One of my favorite things to do in making jewelry is to go shopping for beads. My senses are assaulted as I walk the rows and rows of bead-filled tables---so many colors, so many kinds, so many styles, so many variations.... I always set a budget limit before I go so that I do not get home with beads I should not have purchased or feeling guilty because I spent more than I should have. A budget helps me to be discretionary in my choices to insure that I LOVE what I buy. I usually walk the entire floor to see what's there. After the first few visits to gem shows I became much more knowledgeable in where to spend my time. I pretty much know the tables I am going to walk by and not stop. That is not because I don't like their merchandise or I have anything against the vendors, but I have learned more the style and types of beads with which I like to work. More often than not I'm not even sure how I'm going to use the beads I purchase. I can just tell that eventually the beads and I will make a good team! That's part of the fun of designing. I don't know how you design your jewelry, but I do the following when I sit down to design: First, I pray and ask for wisdom. I realize that God is the Creator of the beautiful world in which we live. He is the Master Designer. I know he can give me great ideas. Then I begin working. I string some beads together, take them off, string some more, take them off, string even more...you get the idea. It is not unusual for me to make a design and then realize that is going to be OOAK or TOAK (2 or 3) because I only bought enough beads for one or two sets of jewelry. Such is the case with the shell necklaces pictured in this blog. These necklaces turned out so pretty, but alas, I am out of beads! Isn't it fun to be a jewelry designer?
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