Don't Be Afraid To Make Mistakes

I have had a number of students that I have taught to make beaded flowers. I've taught personally in several states, and my tutorial DVDs have been sold all over the world. Many students have also emailed me asking for guidance and advice on my patterns or on general techniques.

There have been many common threads among these students, of course, but there is one that stands out. Many of them were hesitant to try a new technique because they were afraid to make a mistake.

For example, one time I was beading with a group of friends. We had all found each other on the Internet. We were delighted to find that we lived fairly close together, and we decided to get together for a Beading Day.

Instead of cutting off the top basic wire, I was leaving it long and beading it, then twisting it into the regular stemwires of a petal. One of the beading ladies had never heard of this technique, and was fascinated. She was afraid to mess it up, though, and I could see her indecision. If she didn't do it correctly, she was afraid she'd have to undo her whole petal.

Another time, a student emailed me, nervous about a fairly complicated technique. I wrote back and took her through it step-by-step.

What I learned when writing my own patterns is that mistakes are part of the process. In the U.S. we're programmed to try to be perfect the first time we do something new. It's ingrained in us from an early age.

Once I was writing the Magnolia pattern, and found after I'd made a lot of petals that the pattern was wrong. It didn't look like a Magnolia at all. What did I do? After grinding my teeth a little, I cut all the petals apart. All that wire and all that time was "wasted." I hated to do it, but if I hadn't done it, the flowers would have been wrong forever.

And you know what terrible thing happened?

Nothing.

Nobody yelled at me, I didn't get a big red F on a test paper, and no one criticized. I just re-strung the beads, rewrote the pattern, and came out with a much better result than I would have had. The time wasn't wasted after all. I learned to take more time and be sure my patterns were right before plunging into a big project.

So - be patient. If you're just learning, pretend you are your favorite teacher from school, who was patient and kind. Nothing bad happens if you have to undo a petal, or a lot of petals. It's just metal wire and glass beads, and like nature, they are patient teachers.

Enjoy the learning process and relax.

More posts soon!

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What's A Bead Stringer?

A bead stringer, or beadspinner, is a tool used by bead artists to quickly and easily string beads on thread or wire. Basically it's a bowl with a hollow dowel through it, having the dowel supported by a pike on a stand.

What's this kind of tool used for? Well, beads are sold by bead shops loose in bags, in vials, or strung on hanks or master hanks. Getting the beads onto a length of thread or wire can be a tedious job if done by hand, especially if you're using Swarovski beads or other odd-size or odd-shape beads. The bead spinner or bead stringer makes short work of the project.

Personally, I make beaded flowers, which can take up to thousands of beads to complete. Even a smaller project, like friendship knot bracelets, can take so many beads that stringing by hand can be a real roadblock. In this age of automation, even a low-tech tool like a bead stringer makes sense and is a great investment.

Many artists have also made their own bead spinners out of materials that are readily available for less than the cost of a commercially-produced spinner. You may have everything you need at home right now. You can google the instructions for this project and make your own spinner in an afternoon's time.

How do you use a bead stringer or bead spinner? If you are doing beaded flowers, you will have to know how to use beading wire. Pour your beads into the bowl of the spinner. Open your spool of wire, and make a hook out of the last two inches of the wire. Dip the open end of the wire into the beads, and hold the end just under the surface of the beads. Slowly begin to spin the tool. It will take some practice to find just the right spot for the wire, and the right spinning speed.

Once you have found the right combination, you'll be delighted to see the beads http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifjump onto your wire.

If you are doing a project where the beads have to be put on string, simply thread a needle with your string, and use the spinner in the same way.

Having a bead spinner will make your bead projects go 10 times faster. Search for "bead spinner" and you'll find several places to buy one, or the instructions to make one. Happy beading!


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