50 Shades of Merlot

Last Wednesday, I laid out these beads on my beadmat to start another beaded project. This time shades of merlot with touches of purple, green and amber gold.  All I can say at this point is it's going to be another bracelet - at least that's my intention but there have been times I'd do a complete 180 on myself, un-assemble a project in the middle of it and start all over again on something new. One thing I've learned about the creative process, it can take unexpected turns. You're never sure what you end up with! Happy Beading!

Getting it Together, Bit by Bit

Two years. Two years since my last confession, I mean blog post! Where was I two years ago and where have I been since then? Let's see, two years ago I just started a new job in Bethesda after working with a company in Washington, DC for 13 year. There's about XX lbs difference between then and now mostly due to ups and downs in the pendulum swing of weight and slowing metabolism. Two trips to the ER, 4 more hospital stays, white belt to black belt, new pair of glasses, new car, driving lessons, stress of college admissions process which I chose in the end to ignore and "go with the flow," stress of continually solving problems at work and keeping a high bar in standards mainly due to my own performance. Long hair to short hair. Reluctant wardrobe upgrade. Getting used to high heels again. Not reluctant about that.

And finally, working to get out of the sabbatical mode as far as creating beaded jewelry is concerned. My "coming out" has been a long drawn out process, longer than I cared for it to take. I would like to think I'm getting better in terms of productivity. I've managed to find the time to create more pieces this past year so that should be a good sign!

Case in point, a friend of mine celebrated her son's barmitzvah this month. A couple of months ago, she asked me to custom make her jewelry to go with the dress she would wear for the special event. I ended up creating 3 different bracelets for her so she could choose which one she liked the most. Her dress was silver and bronze so the bracelets I made for her reflected the colors of her dress with some accents to it. Here's a shot of the 2 bracelets.

I didn't get a chance to shoot a picture of the bracelet my friend chose to wear for her son's barmitzvah, but she promised to lend it to me so I can take a photo for my library. Here's a work in progress photo I shot and shared on FB, in case you're interested.