Are You Ready for New Years 2016?

So, are you ready for the new year?  Have you thought about resolutions, and such?  I don't really do resolutions.  Nothing like setting yourself up for failure, lol.  But, I do try to set small, attainable goals, or make progress on goals already started.

For this blog, my crafting blog, I have the following short term goals:

1-  Continue to improve my drawing and painting.  Maybe expand to other mediums, such as watercolors.

2-  Make more wood burned items.  I have only had time to do a few of wood burned items, and I do so enjoy learning how to do it.

3-  Continue making jewelry, and maybe add some new gemstones to my personal collection.  I have expanded a lot in my wire wrapping, beading is still not a favorite, but maybe as I learn more that will change.  I have sold almost all my inventory of my traditional setting jewelry pieces.  So, I would like to replenish my inventory a little bit.  I still have a ton of gemstones that need setting. 

4-  Probably not in 2016, but eventually, I would love to be able to melt my own metals, and make my own jewelry settings.  That has been a long term goal for a while now, lol.

5- I want to learn some new crochet topics.  Though, no matter how many sweaters I begin, or big afghans, those big projects are not the ones I enjoy doing.  I mostly love items that have to do with holiday decor. 

6-  Expand my promoting skills for my Etsy store, and my brand new Society 6 store.  Be sure to check them both out, by clicking on the widgets in the left hand column of this blog. 

7-  Last but not least, continue to learn and improve my photography skills. 

So, what are your goals for 2016?

So I Tried The Beaded Bezel Tutorial

On Sunday, my husband, and kids were going to be out of the house, for an extended period of time. I figured this was a great time to try the beaded bezel tutorial, I shared in a previous post. First let me say, if I ever say beading looks easy, please slap me. I spent the first two hours, just mastering the first three rows, ugh. Of course some of that time was spent watching the video a few times. Once it clicked what the first three rows were supposed to look like, I got it. Ha then came the rest of it. Now I did finish it, but it is way too ugly to share LOL. I did learn a few things, however.

1- I have a disability for following directions. I think I have mentioned that before. Had I followed the directions, it might have come out better.

2- I think I can modify the directions, to suit my inability to follow the directions supplied to me.

3- There must be an easier way to accomplish the same goal.

4- I will be messing around with some different ideas rolling around in my very active head, to see if I can come up with something less complicated. I am not so sure of this, but I can dream.

In conclusion, I will be doing this pattern again, and again, until I get it right. I would love some words of encouragement from all of you experts out there.