A bead a day keeps the Dr away 🩺

Whenever I'm bored, lacking inspiration, or just want to challenge myself, I make a bead.

Sometimes it's copper, sometimes brass, and every now and then, silver. They're often different sizes because I can never remember what I made last and I'm always trying different techniques.

Creating a full strand of handmade beads has been a goal of mine from the start, but it's a project I've always paused before finishing. You don't really realize how many beads it takes to make a necklace, and when you're making them from scratch it's an even more daunting task!!

With the rising cost of silver, I recently dug into my"graveyard" box, the place on the bottom shelf of my desk where unfinished ideas wait to be revisited. I figured maybe I could find an older piece ready to be finished and sold. Instead, I pulled out every bead, cleaned them up, and arranged them into a pattern. When I looked at them all together, I immediately noticed my growth as a silversmith. From the earliest beads with lots of mistakes to the most recent ones that look "right" , each one is part of my story. I paired them with a section of handmade chain that I made when I first picked up that skill and a small scrap of chain I had on hand, and this piece came together beautifully if I do say so myself.

To me, this necklace is a reminder to keep moving forward. It's okay to set something aside and come back later. Progress takes time and it's not always linear. My plan is to keep making beads and eventually get to my full strand with anyhope, silver will come down so I can justify using a whole sheet on myself!