This week I have decided to alter the parameters of my challenge – because it’s mine so I can! Last year I tried to do my weekly blog on a Thursday, this meant I could play on Friday evening because I didn’t “have to” finish something off for the challenge. My vessels are taking longer to make than I expect, which is fine because I love doing them, but now I am trying to simplify my ideas to fit them into a self-imposed timescale of a week. I’m not enjoying the stress and I don’t believe artists get bonus points for how quickly they work (unless you use the time is money* equation).
I am now also using the beads I made from last year’s challenge to make finished pieces of jewellery. I do this when I’m waiting while the girls do ballet etc. so it comes out of a different time budget. Therefore I have decided that my challenge will now be as follows: I will work on my vessel each week, and if it is not finished within a week I will post some of my ballet-time jewellery instead.
Maybe by the end of the year I’ll be able to work quicker and more efficiently and have a vessel completed each week? But for this week it’s a ballet-time bracelet.

I used beads from my Orange Palette for this bracelet. I made the red stick beads specifically for it after pairing the square retro beads with the gold pearls. You can find it in my Folksy shop.

Hooray! Tonight I can play. I’ll probably finish off the trinket box I’m working on. But I don’t “have to”. 😉
* I don’t think money is the best measurement of an artist either.