Work with what ya got...

As I worked on a pair of new Raga earrings today, I contemplated how these evolved and how many of my creations have come to be. For so long I COLLECTED. All of the beads and treasures that I was finding and buying amounted to more than I could make with them. I was taking in more than I was putting out. At a certain point I had to STOP the madness! I was running out of room, I was forgetting where I put things and I felt overwhelmed by all of this STUFF. It was time to start using it, 'to work with what I got'. Now there's a certain rhythm to my work. The excess from my "Rags and Riches" necklaces becomes a pair of Raga earrings.The trinkets and charms that don't make there way into Journey necklaces become little "Key Chain" necklaces. Only a few beads leftover from stringing a necklace? Those get wired together to make a little charm. Leftover bits of chain become chain extender. I get a sense that I'm finishing what's on my plate. Sometimes just sorting through what I already have leads me in totally new directions. All these things that I've hoarded and admired get to become new things and go out into the world. It's better for my wallet, for the environment, for my living space. All this 'working with what I got' reinforces that concept within my life and its not a bad thing to be reminded of.