Beading: Something Fun and Therapeutic

Over the last seven years, my beading talent and knowledge have definitely changed. When I started out, I had no idea that there are so many different ways to do something as simple as stringing a bead; more specifically, the types of stringing materials. I started out with thread-like elastic, and then moved to Stretch Magic cord. Finally, I discovered Beadalon beading wire.

That's when I really started to have fun beading. I found it so easy to work with that I could easily spend hours stringing beads and never realize that I had forgotten to eat or even to have a cigarette. I think I came to the realization that, like many kinds of therapy, beading helps me keep the world at bay. That's exactly what beading has become for me, a kind of therapeutic tool and one that is never the same twice.

There are probably hundreds of kinds of beads, from the very simple, to the very interesting, and expensive. I personally love working with natural stones like amethyst, rose quartz, or jade. I also love to work with Swarovski crystals. I usually only work with bicones, but, sometimes, I grab up sliders, or dangles, as I like to call them. Therefore, when I combined them with seed beads, I really like how they turned out.

Something about working with certain colors makes a person justifiably inspired. In a moment of inspiration, I recently devised an adaptation of a design that I had seen on the Fire Mountain Gems website. Initially, their design only used a combination of freshwater pearls and Swarovski crystals. I decided to add something to the design. I added a natural gemstone that I felt accented the colors in the crystals and the pearls. I ended up making three different sets of earrings, in three different colors, using three different types of stone. They are all unique, and I felt much better after succumbing to inspiration!

As I said, I find beading very therapeutic. There is something to be said for spending time learning how to bead. Not to mention the fact that if you are making things like bracelets, earrings, and necklaces for yourself, then you won't have to pay for overpriced foreign junk at the local Wal-Mart. There is definitely some therapeutic value to that idea!

I have also seen the value in beading within a group setting. When we started our bead society last year, it came as no real surprise that there were others that enjoyed beading, too. I began to notice, after awhile, that the group was also an outlet, not just for beading, but also for personal frustrations. We all have some kind of stress in our lives and being able to talk to others about definitely helps. A close camaraderie developed between several of the members, all because of beading. Beading became a form of therapy for them, and for me, whether we intended it to be, or not.

That's all you may need to de-stress a bit. Whether it's beading, reading, writing, or whatever, you need some kind of "me" therapy. The world won't end if you take some time for yourself. Trust me on this, if you don't take some "me" time, you'll be so stressed, it could make you sick. So, even if it means taking 30 minutes a day for you, do it! Your kids and spouse will probably thank you for it, because when Momma's happy, everybody's happy, right? Just something to think about!

Thanks for reading!