I’ve had hobbies come and go. When I was a child, I would get craft kits as gifts. I created holiday ornaments that I painted and glued together. In Jr. High, I took lessons to play the guitar. I practiced for about 2 years but my progress was not impressive. I took up Caligraphy at one point and got special nib-tipped pens and bottles of ink. However, I only completed a single page of practice in my lesson book.

One hobby that had a longer life than most was jewelry making. I made necklaces, bracelets, and earrings…lots of earrings.

I enjoyed all the parts of the process. 

Walking into a bead shop is a lot like being a child walking into an old-time confectionary. You just stand there and drool. Where do you begin? Every tool, doodad, charm, bead, and book held so much…potential.

Beads are beautiful. I’ve got bags of beads that coordinate and that I planned to make something with someday.

I also loved to make my own beads. One summer I made paper beads. Another fall I formed, rolled, and baked beads out of Sculpey clay.

The books were inspiring. I never actually copied or followed the instructions to make the specific items, but the pictures gave me new ideas. They also demonstrated new tools that I would need. 

I loved using twisted and curved wire with my beads. Sometimes I hammered it. Sometimes I wrapped it around sone or stained glass shards.

It’s been about 7 years since I’ve made anything new.

During Covid, Luka and his girlfriend would spend hours making necklaces. They would make pendants out of acrylic and experiment with different wire-bending techniques. Luka has always loved some shiny gold bling around his neck, so this passion came as no surprise to me. 

Now my collection of beads, wire, and charms sits in neat, clear acrylic storage bins collecting dust. Last year, Kadon helped me reorganize my work room and we made sure everything had a place and all my supplies were easily accessible. But that didn’t even inspire me.

I suppose I should/could sell it on an online marketplace. But beads don’t go out of style. Do they? Maybe I’ll go upstairs and put some burgundy/red/silver beads together and see what happens. 

Maybe this will be a hobby that doesn’t die, just rests for a while before I feel inspiration again and the need to pick up my needle nose pliers. I didn’t learn jewelry-making from a kit or from a workbook. It was something that bubbled up as I touched the beads and twisted the wire. A bit of magic perhaps.

Perhaps I’ll just hold onto those beans a while longer.

Click here to check out other Sidetracked opinions

Click here to listen to the Sidetracked Legacies podcast

#sidetrackedsisters #sidetrackedlisa #sidetrackedlegacies #legacywriting #legacystories #writeyourownlegacy

Want to create your own legacy? Join the Sidetracked Sisters and start now!

Please follow and like us: