Goodbye beading

The other day I was cleaning out my craft area while talking on the phone with a friend (I'm always multitasking) and I ran across my beading supplies.  I had lots of beads, wire, findings, and other stuff that I used to use to make bracelets and necklaces.  I always liked beading because the time it took to finish a project was relatively quick compared to some other hobbies I could name *cough*quilting*cough* and I ended up with something that I could use.  But I haven't used them in a long time. 

Part of it was that the beads just seem like choking hazards now that I have two little kids running around.  I was always nervous that a bead would disappear down a throat or up a nose.  But the other thing was that I just never clicked with beading.  Somehow I could buy beautiful beads but never be able to come up with anything to do with them but make bracelets and necklaces with stone beads and sterling silver beads alternating.  Sometimes I'd have a different idea, but I could just never seem to get the specific look I wanted.  There's definitely an art to selecting beads, combining them, and stringing them in a creative way, and I was just never very talented at it.  It never clicked the way sewing has...I'm not super-talented at sewing either, but I feel so much more inspired when I sew.

So, I packed up all of my beading supplies with the exception of a needle-nosed pliers and a bunch of jump rings - the idea of making linked-ring jewelry still intrigues me - and put it on my porch.  I listed my free beading supplies on Craigslist and within an hour it was gone.

I'm happy and I hope the supplies went to someone who can make something great, or at least enjoy playing around.  My experiences with beading has really made me appreciate the jewelry making process and the talented people who do it.  And now, I'm going to use the compartment boxes I used to store my beads to store my needles and bobbins.