How to Become a Prolific Beader

As I am frequently told I am a "prolific' beader I thought I'd let you in on the secret.  Which means I sat down and thought how and why I am so productive.

• Firstly....You have to be an over-acheiver...you don't just go the extra mile you do the marathon.
• Then you have to have no social life to speak of, no husband, no kids.
• It helps if you worked in a factory where you were 'part of the machine'...think Lucy in the chocolate factory....hard to keep up at first but once you're used to the pace it's second nature.
• You have to absolutely love and be obsessed with beading.
• You have to know what you're doing! You can't be a speed demon if you have to keep looking at the instructions....know your stitches!



What can you do to increase your speed?

With flatwork it helps if you can read a graph chart rather than a word chart.  The old magnetic board and magnetic ruler make things much easier. (I bought a little page size magnetic white board from Wallyworld and a sheet of magnet 'paper' and cut an inch strip from it).

Time yourself...see how long it takes you to bead an inch and try and beat your time for the next inch.   This actually makes things feel faster even if they aren't, but it will increase your speed....and is the best way to approach, say, a long rope.

Did I mention know your stitches?

And if you're working from a pattern, take the time to read the pattern all the way through before you start!

Use a workable length of thread...I see people use too long a thread and it slows them down considerably because it takes ages to pull it all through and it always gets tangled and knotted. A workable length so you don't have to keep adding thread every two minutes is just under twice you arm's length, so, when threaded into your needle and the tail is almost as long as the thread. Leave about three inches of single thread and keep sliding your needle down the thread so you don't get the tail woven into the work.

Leave the bobbin attached...huh?

This is actually a time saver and strengthener. When adding new thread I leave it attached to the bobbin so that when I need more thread I just clip it from the bobbin, weave it to the last bead and carry on.  This means I have one less thread to secure in.

If you're working with a pattern where the beads are numbered....lay little piles out on your beading board in order, like paint on a palette.   If you're using predominately one color just pull it forward on the board.  If you are working on something that only uses a certain bead once in a while have that pile of beads furthest away from you....this saves time by it being harder to pick up by mistake.

Have a bead mat that shows the beads....green beads on a green bead mat make it harder to find them.

Make sure you have good light...invest in an Ott-light...they are well worth the money!

Set yourself goals, write the 'to do' list...but remember to be realistic, if you set your goals too high you will end up being deflated and always playing catch-up.  When making a 'to do' list make it for the week but leave every third day free...this gives you a 'catch-up' day and helps you know what you're actually capable of achieving.  When you can keep up to your 'to do' list it makes you feel much happier and successful which in turn makes you want to move on to the next thing.

I typically leave Friday's clear for catch-up work and I just schedule "beading" for the weekend so I'm not putting pressure on myself. Oddly, relieving the pressure does tend to speed things up.

Here's hoping these tips help you become the speed beader you want to be :)

"What Do You Mean I Can't Sell Your Designs?

They are in a magazine I bought so they are mine to do with as I please!"

Do you feel a soapbox coming?

You'd be right :-)

So, it was brought to my attention again yesterday by a very nice lady who, once I explained the situation to her, understood completely that though a designer publishes and sells their designs they are not giving you the right to sell what you make. (And she did not say my opening line)

The designs are published and sold so that you can make the jewelry for yourself or to give as a gift. Not so you can build a business/make a living on someone else's work.

Are there designers who allow you to sell what you make.....yes, and that is their choice. There are designers, and I'm one of them, who will give you, for a small fee, a licence to sell one of their designs and they typically advertise them as "commercial" patterns.

Why do some want payment? Because they are trying to make a living.

Just because a designer has work published it does not mean that designer is making the big bucks....I have had two patterns published one netted me $180 and the other $210 and for that I also had to give up the rights for an entire year! Could I have made more selling the pattern myself? YES

So why publish? Advertising, getting one's name out there and to contribute to the beading world.

Think of it like this...

You have a great cookie recipe, you send it to the local paper and they print it. Someone takes your recipe and opens a store selling cookies made from your recipe. How would you feel? Is it fair? Grounds for a lawsuit?

OR

Someone buys one of your patterns. They then make copies for all of their friends. We all know about 'bootleg' music and videos...this is the same thing but it's probably a struggling designer who needs those sales to put food on their table.

OR

You design jewelry and you publish your patterns, you have a store where you sell your jewelry. Someone opens a store next door and they are selling your designs for less than you do, they even credit you with the design. Where will most people shop? Where they can get it cheaper.

Let's roleplay :-)

Beader: Can I sell your designs?

Designer: No, I don't allow that, why don't you do your own designs to sell?

Beader: Oh, I can't design

Designer: Oh, so you think designing is a skill?

Beader: Yes

Designer: So, do you think design is a marketable skill?

Beader: Well, yes, I guess it is

Designer: Do you think people should be able to earn a living from their skills?

Beader: I guess so, I'd want to

Designer: How about I sell you a licence to make and sell one of my designs?

Support independent designers don't rip them off!

Winter Blogging Fun

 As a design partner with Artbeads.com I am periodically asked to design things within a theme....this time the theme was "Winter Enchantment".

To be honest I wasn't thrilled as I'd done a lot of white and wintry designs lately and was ready for a change....however, I am not one to refuse a challenge. So I started to think of non-white things that reminded me of winter. My thoughts went back to some of my favorite memories of winter, and when you've spent 12 years of your life living in a ski resort those memories are going to include snowy mountains and the glory of skiing.

I spent many a day skiing fresh powder under a glorious winter sun and that was my inspration for these earrings. Winter sunshine is different....not the orangey golden color but the cooler tones that Swarovski Light Colorado Topaz captures.  So that was the starting point for this design..."Winter Sun"

These turned out to be golden ice queens and though you certainly wouldn't wear them while skiing they are the perfect touch for that apres ski outfit.

This was the first time I've used Delicas with a KT after them...Metallic Matte 22 Karat Bright Gold....and they are just gorgeous!

I had ordered some 4mm Bright Gold pearls but I found them too large and too dark for what I wanted, fortunately I had some 3mm Gold pearls in my stash.

I've taken to encasing rivolis so the foiled back is protected without having to resort to the old clear nail polish trick....I think a nice finish.

I'm patting myself on the back for this project...not for the design, but for the fact that the beads arrived in the afternoon and I completed the project in the same day.

Hopefully these have brought a little sunshine and inspiration to your January day.

And the disclaimer:

Artbeads provide the beads and supplies for these projects and ask only for an honest review....I am not paid for my review or links.

January 17th? Really?

Boy, is this month flying by!

But like they say "Time flys when you're having fun".

And I am having fun.

Gosh, since I last blogged I've been named an "up and comer" by Marcia DeCoster on the Lark Crafts site and I got a little bit of interest from Lark Books about the book I'm working on. So, part of the reason time has been flying by is because my feet aren't exactly on the ground...lol!

Getting so organized and ahead of myself last month has certainly helped with time and creativity....I highly recommend it.

One day I had some time so I sat down with a sketch book and a copy of Vogue for inspiration and a couple of hours later I had eighteen new designs...not variations, not reworked things....totally new designs that actually made me think "where the heck did these come from?"

It wasn't until the next morning that I realised almost every design fit into the chapter categories of the book.

So, suffice to say I am uber excited! And for the first  time in my life I can actually say this is good....even great...maybe even fantastic.

If you follow my blog you'll know being raised in England I have a hard time saying I'm good at anything as 'blowing one's own trumpet' is considered rude in England...or it was when I was growing up. It's why I tend to give Morganna, my muse, all the credit....much easier to say Morganna is brilliant, not to mention designing always seems to come from somewhere outside me or so deep within that I feel a fraud for claiming the designs as my own.

However, I don't feel a fraud for creating the designs....because I know I am completely responsible for that...all the bead, rip out, bead rip out let's me know any brilliance on my part is worked hard for.

One of the toughest parts about writing a book for me is not sharing the designs, having to keep them under lock and key...well, ok, there's a tiny circle who get to see some, mostly because they are helping me with some of the beading and pattern testing. Without that little circle I may explode.

What I will tell you about the book is it's FUN!

If you only do flat peyote there will be something in it for you and if you are the most innovative, accomplished beader there will be things in it for you too.  I didn't plan it that way, I thought I was writing for advanced beaders...lol...what do I know!

Anyway....this is the best work I have ever done, everything I've learned over the past two and a half years about bead weaving has gelled into something bigger than the parts.

Now...I did start a book before and had three variations of a technique done but it looks pedestrian to me now...so they are headed for the monthly tutorial list...and as I can't show any pictures of the new work I can show these. This is a design I call "Petit Pacquet" or "Little Packages"...two variations here.

On the Chopping Block Today....

Well...not the chopping block....but hopefully these babies will be eradicated from the 'To Do' list today as I plan to have the tutorial done by days end.

Of course I have to remember how I made them :)

I am definitely ending the year with a burst of energy, getting lots done. I don't think I've ever been quite as prepared and organized in my work as I am now....I really think having the big white board as my 'To Do' list helps. It's so rewarding to see blank spaces appear as I wipe off each accomplished task.

The board was filled with everything I have to do through April so to see white space already is crazy...crazy good! If I keep going at this pace by mid January the board will be empty!

I also have my new day planner for next year....fun!

I get to schedule everything and be on top of it all....ok, so I admit, I'm a list maker. It's the only way for me to get anything done...no list and my mind wanders aimlessly.

Waiting For Godot....or Someone

I feel like I've been away from the beads for ages and I'm still not feeling like I'm back in the swing of things yet.

It seemed like there was a lot to do for Christmas this year which is so weird because our family had agreed not to do gifts this year and we'd decided to have a more relaxed Christmas without having to prepare a big meal.

Our visitors were late...six hours late.....each day!

So...most of our Christmas time was spent waiting.

I've discovered there is nothing worse than waiting. You can't start anything because you may have to put it down any second, so it's hard to focus. I've also discovered Morganna, my muse, gets really bored waiting and as she doesn't have to stick around she takes off....who knows where she is, I just know there's a hole in my brain where she usually is.

Anyway....the piece I was working on before the wait set in is this piece.

I bought this stone about eight months ago, much bigger and heavier than I usually work with...it's 2 1/2" wide.  The size was cool for doing a decorative bezel but boy, did I have a problem with the bail.

Creating the perfect bail for a piece is sometimes challenging and this was more than most. Such a large stone needed a substantial bail...plus I planned on adapting a Nancy Dale trellis rope which requires a generous hole.

My first attempts looked too long and threw off the balance of the stone and I realised I needed to create a wide bail.

After a couple of atttempts I finally worked a piece of tubular peyote and echoed the bezel at the sides. A little tricky to attach but I was finally happy. Of course I could have made life a lot easier for myself by using the stone portrait rather than landscape...but I'm not known for making my life easy :)

So...pendant complete, on to the rope.

Nancy has created a sweet trellis rope and was kind enough to gift the pattern to me (you can buy it here) and this was the perfect project for it.

After playing with the design I opted to add a kind of beaded bead cap that, once again, echoed the bezel at each end of the trellis. This worked great and I was off and running...well, beading.

Then I got whacked up side of the head!

All of a sudden the center beads of the rope looked too blue to me.

I hate that!

I think I knew it from the start but thought because they would be in the center of the rope I could get away with it....and maybe I could. The beads do match the very darkest turquoise of the stone but I just think it would be better if they matched the lighter shades.

Anyway...the project got set aside. Still wanting to play with Nancy's rope I chose another stone, pulled out some vintage gold beads that matched it perfectly and started the rope first.
And then the wait set in.
My studio is now the home of two new UFOs.

So...how were your holidays?

I Know Who I am Today

I'm a procrastinator.

Well...that's what I'm doing at the moment. I should be working on a Triquetra rope but I am so bored with it, this is my third in a month and I want to be working on new things. I think I may have the attention span of a goldfish...well, maybe a bit more than that.

The thing with seed beads and why I don't think I'll ever get bored with them is that there is no limit to what you can do with them. Fantastic for me, challenge-wise but it also makes me want to move forward continually so I don't really get long to enjoy my successes. I create something new or master a technique...say to myself "that's great, pat yourself on the back" then three beats later it's "what can I do now?"

I actually envy people who can create different colorways of things...one who comes to mind is Leslie Frazier (her Spring Dreams shown here), seeing her designs in different colors at the bead show just made my jaw drop.

Gorgeous work enhanced by the different colorways she had and the thought in my head was "why can't I do that?"

The answer is I'm basically a Designer.

I'm happiest when I'm designing something new.

Also...it does not matter what job I'm doing I will/have always managed to bring design into it somehow, someway. If I was cleaning toilets my design brain would be creating a new toilet seat cover or flushing mechanism.

I am also someone who likes to share knowledge so designing bead patterns and techniques which I can sell/teach is the right place for me to be.

So what I'm doing with my life now is incredibly fulfilling and right for me plus by finding some wonderful bead elves I am able to have different colorways even if I didn't bead them all myself.