Inspiration...

Returning to beading after a long absence has been kind of a funny thing for me.  It's been quite a while since I've done any major projects - probably close to ten years!  I've really been enjoying my beading time, despite the changes in eyesight I've experienced lately.  I think a good natural light lamp and magnifier of some sort will be an important purchase in the near future.

Good light will certainly help with my photography, too.  Look at this horrible (yet okay) picture of a pair of earrings I made a few days ago ~

I'll be happy when I can get these into more natural light.

Anyhow, the last few nights I've been going through old Beadwork magazines that I've kept on hand, and culling out projects and inspirational articles and pictures to put into a notebook.  You know - the old-fashioned version of Pinterest!

It's been interesting to look at the trends of 8-12 years ago, and remember seeing all of them the first time around.  I'm finding some good projects and technique tips, and reminders of what inspired me to start beading in the first place.

Robin Atkin's book "One Bead At a Time" sucked me in and helped to start me on the road to beady ruin!  Haha.  Robin excels in bead embroidery, and my goodness she does beautiful work!

You can get a free dowload of her book HERE.  Get it - you won't be sorry!  There is something about her highly detailed, textured work that draws me in and makes me want to try my own hand at covering a surface with beads.  I did just that, working a design onto a denim jacket.  Now that I'm back, who knows what I'll do!