Back From the 1000 Mile Road Trip

Scrap Box Bracelet Detail

The finished piece

One rivet needs to be redone. Practice, practice!

Our journey to Santa Fe bestowed all kinds of weather. We were lucky to have lodging with friends and family all along the way except for one night in Gallup, New Mexico. We made stops at thrift stores, antique shops, Hobby Lobby and Michael's, Rio Grande Jewelry Supply in Albuquerque and of course the Bead Fest in Santa Fe.

We were treated to drinks at the "Tallyho" in Scottsdale and Whiskey Row in Prescott with cousins. We covered some new ground along the way and enjoyed dinner in a Navajo run restaurant in Chinle. We were served fry bread as big as a plate with homemade stew at "The Junction".

We were surprised to drive into a major snowstorm in Santa Fe which didn't dampen our plans for Dave's skiing and my workshop.

I was happy to have finished my bracelet in the "Scrap Box Bracelet" class by Kim St. Jean.

I managed to find a need for more supplies along the way and now I feel as if I really need to curtail my supply buying.

I'm making a challenge for myself to not buy any more supplies for a good long time (see, I'm afraid to set a deadline for myself)

This last year or so I had decided that I would use some of the money from the sale of my house to set up my two studios in both Alaska and Arizona so that I could play and create to my heart's content. I think that I have a good base of supplies now and need to focus on using what I have at the moment and not expand into other mediums. I've been so inspired by other artists blogs and excited by the techniques I'm seeing that I want to try it all. There's a part of me though that feels that I'm focusing on accumulating stuff at the moment and that now that I've had a good season to play that now I need to get focused on marketing and specific goals. It's been so much fun to have the freedom with my retirement but now I need to get to work for my selling season in Alaska.

I'm even writing a LIST of tasks that I hope to accomplish before we head north at the end of April. With this moratorium of supply buying I've decided to even extend it to my other foodie supply addiction of buying of spices and condiments and sauces. If I can't make it with what I have I'm going to have to get inventive. This includes great deals at thrift store and garage sales too. However, I will still allow myself to pick up rusty bits and pieces on the roadside.

I promise to share my struggle with you if I feel like I'm faltering in my resolution!

*The LIST*

1. Finish two assemblages that I've already started
2. make whorls for wholesale orders
3. make a bunch of hammered metal toggles both copper and silver
4. headpins and other metal embellishments
5. make more of my vintage button earrings.
6. experiment with my new inks (play)
7. finish prepping my art journal
8. finish decoupageing my thrift store bread box
9. Get orders ready to send off to my Alaskan galleries
10. Naturalist Notebook project- showing my inspiration from nature in my creations

Do you ever find yourself making resolutions like this in regards to your creative life?