I’ve been feeling a bit anxious lately. It could be my new age or it could be my eating wasn’t that great this past weekend. It could be that I’m just a naturally anxious person or it could be a combination of all three. Despite working out everyday and eating my meal plan, I’m still feeling slightly twitchy. And even though I love buying shoes, I can’t buy shoes every time I feel anxious or stressed because I’m not that rich. Bill Gates might not even be that rich. I needed to do something that didn’t involve eating or shopping or more working out so I busted out my creative thinking cap and started working on some beading projects.
Honestly if someone would pay me to be a professional crafter, I’d quit my job in a heart beat and become the next Martha Stewart (without the whole prison thing). Fortunately my grandmother and mother are huge crafters so they’ve helped me get addicted to beading and stamping and I’ve picked up a few creative habits on my own (scrapbooking, art journaling, etc). Beading, however, is one of the easiest creative endeavors to start and work on during the hectic work week. You don’t have to haul out a bunch of paper and stamps and markers and glue, etc. All you need is a few tools, some beads, wire, and the desire to create wearable art. Lately I’ve been a huge fan of beading weaving which involves thread, beads, and needles. I just finished a bracelet tonight that I created using the bead weaving technique:
Seriously taking pictures of jewelry is difficult! Or I’m just a poor photographer.
I had actually started this bracelet when I was in middle of no-where Michigan but didn’t buy enough beads! Fortunately my mother brought me the beads I needed after she returned from middle of no-where Michigan. It is actually a fairly simple bracelet once you have a general idea of the beading pattern.
I also decided to do some stringing. Stringing involves stringing beads on wire and using annoying things called crimps which are little barriers to beads sliding off the wire. Unfortunately, I’m not always skilled with crimps so I had to take apart the necklace I had strung in order to restring the necklace and hopefully get the crimps right this time. I can’t wait to finish this necklace because it’s classy and perfect for layering multiple necklaces.
This time I’ll get the crimps right so I hopefully don’t have to restring the beads…again. Second time’s the charm right?
Honestly I really recommend developing some sort of craft or creative endeavor that interests you. It’s one of the best stress busters. Creativity is an important part of humanity and exploring your creative side is a great way to handle the monotony of the stereotypical 9-5 work day. I’m feeling much less anxious (though those feelings of anxiety can hit when I’m trying to do those silly crimps) and I’m excited to wear my new bracelet.
How do you feel about crafting and being creative?
