In The Beginning

When I first started making jewelry I was trying all kinds of styles and techniques. Well wait a minute ... I still do that. That is how I keep learning and getting better at making jewelry.

But when I look back at the early work I can see my wire wrap isn't tight. The wrap itself is too long, doesn't quite come to the top of the bead. Even tho, when I look at these early projects I can see that I had so many ideas. I just couldn't bead fast enough to get them all out there. This was about 3 years ago. 

I am beader who rips things apart multiple times. And I am one who recycles materials. If I don't like the piece anymore, I rip, sort and reuse. So when I saw this post and challenge by Art Jewelry Elements to encourage beaders who are just starting out by showing our early work... I admit I had a hard time finding my stuff. 

I started making jewelry on a whim. My brother and his family were coming for a visit and my sister-in-law had mentioned taking a class while they were there. I told her that there was a local bead shop offering classes that I thought might be fun, and would she like to try that? We did. It was an hour class where the woman showed us simple wire wrapping. I walked out with pliers, wire and a handful of beads. From there, I just kept practicing, and practicing. 

My early photography was with a camera that did not have the close up function (usually shown with a flower). But my husband bought me a point-and-shoot Kodak that I still use today. I didn't take pictures for several months because I really was just focused on trying to get the technique down. But after about 3-4 months, I was snapping pictures regularly. Once I had my point-and -shoot camera there was no stopping me. I was pulling all kinds of things into my pictures from around the house. Shells, vases, scarves ... you name it. I was trying to find my 'style' and I was constantly playing with color and background. You really can't do it wrong. It's really about what you like and how you want to show your work.

I started my Etsy site about a year after my sister-in-law and I took the class. She is the one who told me about Etsy, which I had never heard of before. I took the day off in 2010 for my birthday and dedicated the entire day to setting up my own shop on Etsy. I posted a few pairs of earrings, and just went from there. It really is pretty easy to set up an Etsy shop. I did it all on my own by just following the step-by-step instructions on the site. I recommend playing around with all the tabs once you get the shop operational.

I didn't start blogging until about a year later (this past Christmas). I honestly had no idea there were so many blogs out there, or such a large supportive beading community. I have another friend who knits and she said, why don't you try blogger? She told me it was really easy, and then showed me her site. Blogger is also pretty step-by-step. And I learned a lot by just flipping around through all the tabs and playing with the various functions. 

I still feel pretty new to all this, but I forget that there are things that I know that I can pass on to other beaders, and bloggers. This past week I did my first tutorial. I have never done one before, but a friend asked how I do wire wrapping. It's so funny. I don't think of myself as an expert, but I have certainly practiced quite a lot. So I decided to show how I do my wrapping. 

Honestly, don't be afraid. Get out there and try things. Push yourself to try a new stitch, wire wrap style or technique. What's the worse that can happen? You rip it out and give it another try!