Lyndsay's Creative Journey

What I have done lately...

2011-07-08T13:57:00.004+10:00

My latest piece using some gorgeous beads by Anne Dundas.

I wanted simple, but I am unsure if this is too simple??? To me it looks incomplete.

Then there is this peyote stitched cuff....

Another UFO complete finally. I gave up on the fancy button clasp I was planning as it was too fussy and too gold. I felt it would detract from the look of the cuff, and lets face it, the patterns on these should be the focus!

So 2011 is here and....

2011-02-10T11:52:00.002+11:00

I confess to not being very creative this year either, so far :(

I have little to no desire to finish UFO's nor to start new pieces.

I know what my problem is though..... I look at other people's work and I don't stack up (I know it is all relative). I feel like everything I do is a replica of someone elses' work or I wonder why, when I see something so fantastic, didn't I think of doing that first??

I need a niche and to do that I need to purge all the old stuff, so I am having an Etsy sale via Facebook to get rid of the old pieces.

I guess as we go along in our crafts (whatever they are) we look back at our older stuff and wonder if it was ever really good or were we in denial. I think I have been in denial.

I don't want sympathy and I don't want validation. I have done some gorgeous pieces, I know that. But I also know that I have done some stuff that stinks!

So I am saying goodbye to the stink and hello to the new inspirations that I hope to have.

Oh My..... Where has the time gone....

2010-04-30T20:15:00.002+10:00

I have been a really neglectful beader this year and it is bothering me!

I started work on a casual basis in the 2nd week of January this year. Nearly 12 weeks later I was offered the role of Assistant Manager. I had just got used to the hard yakka involved in 20-30 hours per week of working in a Petshop, only to go and increase my hours to over 40 per week!

Not only was it a culture shock, but my body has not done so well by me- I am tired all the time. I have also GAINED 4kgs since commencng this job! I throw bags of dog and cat food and bird seed around weighing from 8kgs all the way up to 25kgs! I should be losing weight!

So I get home at about 6:20pm at night and by 8:30pm I am crawling into bed and crashing for the night.

The only good thing so far is that I do not suffer from insomnia anymore LOL

Actually I shouldn't say only thing. I love my job, I really do. I am just dying for the day that my body learns to cope with it :)

Hopefully, I will have some things to show you soon :)

Latest Use the Muse project...Sneak Peak!

2010-03-25T09:34:00.003+11:00

I received my kit, took one look at the beads and went "oh crap"! This kit is definately not my colours. It contains Tiger Eye, which I loathe...... and the muse just doesn't seem to want to talk at the moment.

I do however have a vague idea of what I want to do, I just don't know if it will work given that I know of one Muse that broke.....

Anyway, here is a piccy of the little I have done and the beads I have to work with (not the Muse though, because that is against the rules).

As yet un-named- but it is FINISHED!

2010-02-05T13:39:00.003+11:00

Finally, I can tick off another UFO...

I beaded the cabochon probably close to 18 months ago, then didn't know how to finish it. After rediscovering the Cellini Spiral, I decided that it was perfectly suited to the cab.

The question then was, how to attach the spiral to the cab????

I worked through some ideas and came up with this.

My list of UFO's is getting shorter....

2010-01-06T12:34:00.003+11:00

I have worked my backside off these past few days thanks to a new group on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.php?gid=230032434388

So far I have completed these two cuffs:

Triangle Earrings

2010-01-01T13:07:00.003+11:00

I bought a tutorial off Sabine Lippert here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Trytobe and used the triangle pattern to make these earrings for my sister>

I then made these grey earrings and whilst over for Christmas dinner, my stepmother snagged them.

These are such fun little gifts to make and quick too!

Use the Muse III reveal....

2009-12-18T09:24:00.005+11:00

The big reveal happened overnight (for those of us in the bottom half of the world anyway) and sadly, I was not lucky enough to get a place. However the entries that won are amazing, intricate, awesome and awe-inspiring!

I really hope there is another contest!

Here is a link to the winners page: http://www.thebeadersmuse.com/winnersutm3/

Two pairs of earrings

2009-12-08T11:16:00.004+11:00

The first pair are for my niece for Christmas. Her name is Morgan, so the main bead is Morganite. My sister has been wanting some Morganite for her daughter for ages and I finally found some.

The second pair are a simple peridot pear shaped drop, wrapped in rolled gold and finished with rolled gold ear posts.

I need your help....

2009-12-08T11:07:00.004+11:00

Here are some of my UFO's.

What I want from you guys, is to stay on my back! Pester me, hound me and don't let up. I really should finish these projects that are scattered all over my craft room.

Some need a lot of work, others just need a clasp....

I am adding myself to the "I need more hours in the day" queue..

2009-12-08T10:51:00.003+11:00

I have all these amazing cabochons, and it seems like no time to do them.

Not counting these cabochons, I have 26 projects on the go at the moment.

WOW!!

Maybe I should outsource???

And a UFO that is finally a FO

2009-11-19T16:49:00.004+11:00

I started this cuff sooooo long ago, but ran out of beads. As the beads were sent to me in error I had no clue as to what size they were. I finally bit the bullet and bought both size 10 and size 8 delicas so I could finish.

It turns out they are size 10 :)

I added a sparkly little button as a clasp.

And a couple more...

2009-11-19T16:47:00.004+11:00

These two 3 drop peyote cuffs are yet to be named and still need clasps, however they are worthy of being shown.

I am finally beading up a storm again....

2009-11-19T16:40:00.007+11:00

After a fairly long hiatus, I think I have my mojo back!

I have been having a great time using my collection of 1.5/1.8mm cubes. And of course the weave of choice is peyote. However I went a little nuts and did random 3 drop and here are the results.

I have called this red one The Temptress, she is sexy and sultry and would go perfectly with that Little Black Dress!

Etsy Treasuries

2009-10-03T13:32:00.002+10:00

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=85327

I have been having fun lately doing Treasuries on Etsy. Treasuries for me are a great way to look at items I normally wouldn't look at.

I pick a theme or a colour and go searching using that word or phrase. This treasury, the theme was "Clutching at Straws". I then went searching for straw coloured clutches and anything else straw coloured that fit.

Ever see something and it just tells you what it wants??

2009-10-03T13:21:00.006+10:00

I saw these gorgeous freshwater pearls from http://www.silver-maille.com/ at the Sydney Bead &Gem Show last weekend and they just knew what they wanted me to do with them.

I had just prior to this purchase also bought stunning Czech Rondelles from http://www.cranberry.net.au/ that matched perfectly with these pearls.

All I needed was an equally gorgeous Sterling Silver Clasp and here you have it.

No beads!

2009-08-26T10:08:00.004+10:00

So I finally finished a canvas wallhanging that I started in January.... not bad, only 8 months!

There is not one bead on it (unless you are willing to count a bead of glue????), of which I should really be ashamed. You see I have about 8 beading projects on the go at the moment and I haven't touched any of them in ages.

I just don't know where to start.

Hubby (who is my biggest supporter) says "just start at the beginning....." Uhhmmm, the beginning of what? I know what he means though.

Anyway, I am off topic.

My house has completely boring white walls. So over Christmas I bought a bunch of canvases with the plan of painting them bright and colourfully so that they would brighten up these walls.

I did okay until I got to this brown one. The plan was chocolate brown gold and hints of deep red. These are the colours of our bedroom. Anyway- it didn't work. So I painted the whole canvas chocolate brown and left it.

During a declutter of all my yarns the other day, I came across these gorgeous brown ones and this is the result.

My Favourite Piece

2009-08-04T10:42:00.005+10:00

I made this cuff "Okeanos" without any planning whatsoever. I grabbed the cabs and the seedies and off I went.

I really love this cuff- the colours are soft and subtle, yet the piece makes a statement- well I think it does, anyway.

After I finished it, I went hunting for a name that would suit. It had to have soemthing to do with the ocean as I felt that the piece represented the ocean. I typed Ocean into Google and found "Okeanos" which is Greek for Ocean.

I entered this piece into my local show this year and it placed 3rd in the Woven Jewellery category. One of my other pieces took 1st.

Welcome to Lyndsay's Creative Journey

2009-08-04T10:08:00.000+10:00

I have often thought about starting a blog, but never really got around to it. After recently seeing a fellow forum members blog, I thought "It's now or never" LOL.

My creative journey isn't just about beads, it's about everything creative that I do. Some of my creative exploits including quilting and scrapbooking. I also love taking photos- although they aren't artsy, they are just whatever is around at the time.

My creative journey is also about my battle with depression. I was recently diagnosed with depression, although I feel that it has been an issue for at least 2 years. My creativeness is an up and down journey just as my depression is and it is this journey that I share with you here.