Getting to Know You

Some of you may have noticed that the button on the right has changed.  The Bead Soup Blog Hop was cancelled. :(  But luckily, one of the members of Bead Peeps, a beading group on Facebook, emailed me to let me know about their blog hop.  So I joined and entered.  One part of the blog hop is letting fellow members know my particular beading preferences, so here we go.

1. I started making jewelry very gradually.  I made pieces with whatever beads I could find in craft stores (usually plastic) up until I was in high school.  That was when I found the plethora of jewelry making websites, blogs, and tutorials.  I began trading out the sub-standard plastic for gemstone and glass.  Eventually my skill turned to upcycling old, unwanted jewelry pieces made of whatever material.

2. I have a duality when it comes to style.  On the one hand, I like to make elegant pieces of gemstones and precious metals.  On the other hand I make bohemian, eclectic style jewelry made of bits and pieces of whatever I've taken apart.

3. I'll use just about anything.  I dislike using plastic that has been bought recently, because I don't want to be a part of the demand for more plastic consumption.  However, if it comes from a piece that has been worn for awhile, I don't mind it.  I don't like to use nickle or nickle-heavy metals, as I and many others have an allergy to it.  I am trying to incorporate more color in the metal I use, such as brass and copper.

4. I love using wire.  I try to learn wire wrapping techniques whenever I can, though I am still learning.  I enjoy making multi-strand pieces quite a bit.  I am also learning how to use alcohol inks and other colorants, as well as using sheet metal.

I CANNOT BEAD WEAVE.  That isn't to say I don't like or use seed beads, but trying to weave them with thread has proven to be beyond my ability.  I hold great admiration for those who can though.

5. I love to use earth tones and jewel tones.  I LOVE metallics.  I've shied away from pastels, especially pink, but am trying to include all colors in my palette.

Random trivia?  Um... I'm about to be a first-time aunt.  I am going to school for massage therapy.  I love tiny bubbles.  You know, the ones that come out of a dish soap bottle sometimes?  Those things make me so happy.

Blooming Late

I learned to tie my shoes the 'correct way' when I was eight years old.  That's right. Not to say that I couldn't tie my shoes, because I could.  I just made two loops and tied them together instead of the traditional pulling the second strand through to make the second loop.

I've never had a real job.  A job that I could put on a resume with a manager that wasn't my sister or someone I've known since I was a kid.  I'm 24, mind you.

I finished high school at 20.  No I wasn't held back.  I was home schooled for high school.  I just didn't do the work until I felt such pressure  that I would explode if I didn't send a test in.  Note to any parents putting their kids through a correspondence school: Check in on their progress.  Ask about what they are learning.   

I do not have a driver's license.  In England this would be somewhat normal.  Heck, Chicago has it's fair share of license-less people.  But they have subways and buses.  We don't (at least decent buses).  I catch rides everywhere.

I just went on my first date ever.  Again... 24.  It went well, no fire-y rains of terror.  

I just started college this past autumn.  After a few years of worrying and deliberating and ridiculousness.

This post has a point, I promise.  It's not meant as a complain-y wall of text, but rather a reminder.  People do thing at different speeds.  Just  because someone isn't meeting the goals of their age group, doesn't mean they never will.  It's also not a terrible thing if they don't, just so long as they find a way around it.  

Or to put it another way, it's doesn't matter that you can't tie your shoes the right way, just that you don't trip on the laces as you walk.