A Few Steps to Help You Achieve Beading Inspiration and Aesthetic Sense

From Paula S. Morgan, former About.com Guide

While you're working give yourself plenty of positive feedback. When you've finished put your piece away in a drawer for a while. Later, take it out and evaluate it. What do you like about it? What could you have done to make it more striking? More professional looking? Would purple have looked better than blue? Should you have used silver findings instead of gold? Don't beat yourself up, just look it over with an eye to future improvement. Be sure to give yourself credit for what you did right. It's OK to say "hey, that beadwork looks really great! Think about how far you've come and how much you've learned. Give yourself a pat on the back for your perseverance. Beading can be tough and you've mastered an intricate skill. Congratulations!

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• Keep a Notebook or Journal of Inspirational Images/Articles.
• Look at other people's beadwork; write down what you like/don't like about it.
• Make swatches of beads to see how the colors looks when worked.
• Test bead colors next to each other to see how they are affected.
• Do as good a job as you can on each piece, but know when to stop.
• Don't be afraid to start over if the project is just not working well.
• Take time to learn a new beading stitch or technique.
• Remember to be critical of the beadwork - not of yourself

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