The Messy Workshop Blog Hop Party

Hello and welcome to another fun Blog Hop hosted by B'Sue from B'Sue Boutiques.
Today is OK to be messy, but to talk about my mess I have to tell you how it all started.
 
“Once upon a time there was a girl who liked to play with neat things and everywhere she walked she left behind a trail of beads."  

The Upgrades  

On the beginning of my jewelry path things were very much disorganized; well you know beginnings are always messy.
Because it was a new business I didn't have much to work with or a place to make my creations, so I worked on the couch with a tray on my lap and also on my husband's desk, and that way I left my mess (and beads) behind wherever I was.
After just a few months I moved to the kitchen with my small folding table next to our dining table, let me tell you, trying to cook and bead at the same time it was a lot of trouble!
I was in the kitchen for a while until I had so much stuff (or for my husband it was so much mess) that he awarded me with a major upgrade: the basement!!!  I cleaned and improvised tables, fixed cabinets, got new organizers, and more. The trouble is that there isn’t any heat at all and it is freezing almost all the time; but it’s worst during the winter because it’s like working at the north pole! Sorry Santa but even the elves work in better conditions than I do. But OK I finally had my space, no more: "Sweetie can you move your beads a little bit so I can eat on the table?", “No of course you can't move my beads, don't you see that there is a design going on there? But I guess you can put your plate over my organizers”. For my poor husband it was a miracle he didn’t find a pearl or a Murano glass in his food.  
Even with temperatures below zero and with poor lighting I have to admit I love my little creativity cave; it's perfect with my crappy 1970’s style carpet and the crazy purple ceiling I simply enjoy saying: I have a workshop!.

Behind the Messiness 

About the mess well its messy all the time, just that there are different levels of the mess. Sometimes the mess is worse than other messes.
But how this scary, mind blowing, and unthinkable mess came to be; well that's easy.  Last year after the summer-fall festivals the Christmas festival arrived, and with all that work and running with almost no sleep by the time my last festival ended I was really worn out. All I wanted to do was to sleep until it was time for my trip to Peru.  So I stuffed all of my shows decor, my leftover inventory, and everything else in my poor little workshop and I left (also add up all the unfinished projects on my tables).
3 months later my sweet husband tried to help clean while I was gone, and of course he was clueless to where things belonged and that ended up in yes... more mess!
So here it is my awesome mess and it was waiting for me all these months!

I'm not embarrassed, this is truly the essence of my work: some dirty paint brushes, pieces of metal and chain on the floor, those tiny seed beads that fell off one night before my last show, and what about the ink that spilled on my chair. Yes this is my studio, all you need to do is just picture me during the nights, sometimes laughing while watching movies, some others almost crying because I made a fatal mistake, and there are some days where I had fallen sleep in a very uncomfortable chair and woke up with E-600 glue on my hair; that's my life!
So a big applause to all of my friends and colleges that are not afraid to show the real designer in them, the ones not with the big studio with the beautiful chandelier in the middle of the ceiling, with the fancy tables and chairs, cabinets and flooring (not that I have anything against that).  A big applause to the ones that like me had or are working on the kitchen table, or in the living room with a tray on their laps and beads and mess all over the floor, maybe some other ones that work in the basement or the garage. So cheers to all of you that no matter how much mess you have you can still make beautiful art because remember:

"The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all." (Mulan)

So my friends... Hurray to mess!!!!
Here some examples of the flowers that had bloomed surrounded by my mess: 

 Sadly the mess can't last forever... I had to clean up.

 Thank you for visiting!, but please don't forget to visit the rest of the blog hoppers! The list is below:

MESSY WORKSHOP BLOG PARTICIPANTS:

Brenda Sue Lansdowne
http://www.bsueboutiques.typepad.com/
Robin Delargy:
http://looloosbox.blogspot.com/
Kim at Cianci Blue
http://cianciblue.blogspot.com/
Jennifer Jazwick-Smith
http://hudathoughts-jennifer.blogspot.com/
Mary Shannon Hicks
http://www.uptwnsh-fallingintothesky.blogspot.com/
Tracy Swartz
http://tracyswartz.com/category/blog
Jacqueline Marchant
http://jaacquelinesjewels.blogspot.com/
Lynnea Perry Bennett
http://designsbylynnea.blogspot.com/
Terry Matusyk
http://pinkchapeau.wordpress.com/
Laurel Steven
http://laurelsteven.blogspot.com/
Dr. Brassy Steamington
http://drbrassysteampunk.blogspot.com/
Pamela Takeshige
http://www.crittersandthings.blogspot.com/
Kris Lanae Binsfeld
http://www.cherishdesigns.wordpress.com/
Outre Art
http://theartistspaintbox.wordpress.com/
Linzi Alford
http://www.magpieintheskyspoilheaptales.blogspot.com/
Deb Davis
http://naturaltreasuresbydeb.blogspot.com/
Tamara Jones
http://irrysistablejewels.wordpress.com/
Harry Wood
http://www.oscarcrow.blogspot.com
Gerry Nickerson
http://gersgems1.blogspot.com/
Elizabeth Owens-Dwy
http://www.thepolymergeek.blogspot.com/
Georgene Lockwood
http://sylvanavintagedesigns.wordpress.com/
Charisa Sloper
http://www.blog.obsidiansoda.com/
Jennifer Justman
http://soulsfiredesigns.blogspot.com/
Beanzie
http://the-vintage-heart.blogspot.com/
Mary Deis
http://mdeis.blogspot.com/
Cheri Reed
http://creativedesignsbycheri.blogspot.com/
Sondra Kolner
http://scrappybydesign.weebly.com/index.html
Sonya Ingersoll-Stille
http://www.dreaminofbeads.blogspot.com/
Lori Anderson
http://www.prettythingsblog.com/
Sandra McGriff
http://skyescreativechaos.blogspot.ca/
Shelly Joyce
http://www.aujourlejour-shelly.blogspot.com/
Joan Williams
http://www.lilrubyjewelry.wordpress.com/
Kashmira Patel
http://sadafulee.blogspot.com/
Deb Beechy
http://beetique56.blogspot.com/
Ginger Bishop
http://lilmummylikes.blogspot.com/
Kelli Jacobson
http://creativemoonjewelryandthings.com/
Natalie McKenna
http://www.grubbi.co.uk/
Andrew Thornton
http://andrew-thornton.blogspot.com/
Mary Govaars
http://mlhjewelrydesigns.com/
Kate Mulligan
http://mulliganstewjewelry.blogspot.com/
Lisa Lodge
http://pineridgetreasures.blogspot.com/
Tami Luchini
http://ssprocketsmetal.blogspot.com/
Monique Lula
http://www.moniquelula.com/blog/
Lee Koopman
http://stregajewellry.wordpress.com/
Jayne Capps
http://mamasgottodoodle.blogspot.com/
Susan Lloyd
http://designsbysusan-dbs.blogspot.com/
Cynthia Wainscott <--- You are here!
http://www.exoticperujewelry.blogspot.com/
Stephanie Amanti
http://www.stephaniesjewelrybox.blogspot.com/
Alicia Marinache
http://www.allprettythings.ca/
Sam Hamp
http://hampgirl59.blogspot.com/
Lennis Carrier
http://www.windbent.net/

Fear no more

It has been a long time since my last post and I apologize for that.

I was so busy with the Christmas shows and getting ready for my big - oh so waited - trip to my beloved Peru that I left everything on hold, and now how do I start...

It's always so difficult for me to write, my mind goes crazy and there's so many things I want to say. I give myself many excuses to don't start but also is the fear of: "oh what If nobody likes what I write, and what if I make a mistake... To be honest I have the same  fear giving speeches, I can't breath, and I sound funny, even my legs shake!, but every once in a while I like to challenge myself with a healthy dosage of fear. To me fear is like a vaccine, you get a little bit of the disease so you can overcome it later. 

 

My friend B'sue inspired me to keep going with a blog post that suited me well: "for those of you who think they have nothing to blog about" Thank you Brenda!, when I read this I decided that it was time to get back on the horse ( or the Llama) and not let go. 

So here I am, to stay, with so many goals for this year, and the hope to take my art and my Jewelry business to another level and  most important: Fearing no more.

 

P.S. 

I saw this Llama on the streets of Lima city, unusual there, but really cool to see it walking with all those bright and beautiful colors!.

And to all the Exotic Peru fans I will be reopening my Etsy Store soon, you always can catch up with me here or in my facebook page. 

I'm trying to adapt again to go back to my business, getting ready for the summer festivals and being a good mommy for my very - VERY - active 2 year-old, wish me luck! Nos vemos! (see you soon).