Since my interest in beading began several years ago, I’ve held onto unused pieces with the hopes of one day using them in the future. Unfortunately, that has rarely happened. I’m unsure how other beaders operate but I usually just buy new pieces when I have an idea in mind, which ultimately adds to an ever growing pile of excess beads.
Over the weekend my mom and I visited our favorite beading store where we picked up the “Best Of” issue of Stringing Magazine. This publication is by far my favorite beading magazine. It always has a ton of unique designs, most of which have a boho chic appeal to them (I highly recommend it to anyone interested in making their own jewelry). This issue even sparked my interest in wanting to create more earrings.
After finishing the Anthropologie-inspired earrings, I thumbed through the issue to see if I could incorporate my current “spare beads” inventory into anything of interest in the magazine. I realized then it would be easier for me to visualize my ideas by photographing the beads on top of the design in the magazine and jotting down any notes or alterations to the design I wanted. I’m not sure why I never thought of this process until now but I hope it will help use up my spare beads by turning them into finalized pieces.
Below are a few sample photos:
