What to do with all these patterns....

When I first started beading, I went on a pattern buying spree.  I accumulated patterns and until I reached quite a large number, I realized that I wasn't actually beading any of them.

So here is a simple warning for all the newbies, or even those that just accumulate patterns....STOP. There is no need to buy a pattern if you are not going to work on it right away.  It is the equivalent to buying a dress that you think you may wear in the future.  Or even better, for us beaders, it is like purchasing beads, just because they are pretty.

One reason for this warning is that normally you will gravitate to creating your own designs, faster than you think, and then you will not want to just settle on beading up the patterns of another designer. But don't let that deter you from using the pattens you have purchased, you can always tweak a pattern and make it your own, or simply add your own personal twist to a pattern. Of course you want to give credit where credit is due, so mention the original artist, even if they were just the source of inspiration.

Beading is a great hobby, but it is also a business and of course businesses want to make money. So there is an influx of supplies for us crafters and many of us accumulate more than we can create. 

One way I have decided to deal with this dilemma is to actually take some time off from purchasing and actually spend more time on using up the stock pile that has been building in my office.

Therefore, I am going through all my saved patterns and I am actually beading them up, and guess what, I am having a great time learning new techniques and there is a bit of satisfaction I gain from knowing that I have not wasted my money.

In addition, I am also putting a pause on purchasing supplies....so much easier said than done, however, I am determined to not turn into a bead hoarder. No disrespect to the bead hoarders out there, however, I am a true believer in limiting waste and one good way for me to do that is to use what I have.

With all that said, I would like to introduce another Heather Collin design that I beaded up using some fabulous beads in my collection.  It is called Persian Tiles and I made a bracelet and a pair of earrings.

Each tile had to be constructed separately and then joined together

Since I had a couple of tiles left over, I made the earrings

This was a great project to finish and again, I was really overjoyed that I was able to complete this pattern that I purchased so many months back.  I am now moving forward with another project "Knot of Hercules" which is working up quite fast, so I will be posting that soon enough. In the mean time, I am also working on kits that I have purchased and so I am beading my way through a Beads East kit as well.  

There is more than enough to keep me busy, and I can't wait to show off my diminished bead stock in the near future.

Remember, less is more, especially when it comes to consuming!