Sometimes life is like a bunch of discarded jewelry that you turn into a beautiful necklace...

I made this necklace for Lacey last Christmas. As I was creating my vision for the finished product and stringing the beads, I had a great blog idea but it's been almost a year and still  no blog has been written. Luckily, I still remember the basic gist of my metaphor... but I lost my blog outline with all the details & examples. I guess it's for the best because I really need to make this a short post... got lots of craft show planning, sewing and executing to do! Why are there never enough hours in the week??! (*insert crying emoji here*)

So the story goes like this...

Step 1 of making the necklace- I had all these random pieces of discarded jewelry, which represented parts in my life that I was unhappy with. I didn't want to throw the jewelry away but I didn't like how it looked in its present state.

       I'm naturally a pessimist. I'm learning to accept that the universe is kind of a bitch. (ex. I've experienced death of family members since an early age, I live with a painful chronic disease which has no cure, and I work at a dead end job while trying to get my tiny small business off the ground.) Of course, there's good in my life, too, but when you're a pessimist, your brain is wired to focus on the bad.

Step 2 of making the necklace- I cut apart all the old necklaces & bracelets and organized the beads into categories that were visually appealing to me. Then I started to plan out how I wanted to create my new & improved necklace.

       I used to beat myself up all the time over how unfairly things turn out. But, I'm learning that a lot of the time, I am a good person and it's completely not my fault. The situation is out of my control. (ex. I work just as hard or harder than my coworkers but I get a lower raise just because I'm not friends with my boss on a personal level. Ugh!)

Step 3 of making the necklace- I strung the beads using my vision of how I wanted this new necklace to look. At first, it seemed like a silly idea. I'm making a Christmas present out of old discarded jewelry that even I don't want anymore. But, as I got more and more into making my design, I started to notice how nicely it would turn out.

       Over the past few years, I've taught myself to accept the way things are (ex. I have endometriosis. I understand that I will be in severe pain. It is a problem but I have a solution... I will take copious amounts of pain medication, pack an extra pair of underwear & pants and continue to live my life.)

Step 4 of making the necklace- I just kept on stringin' those beads and the more I did, the more I enjoyed this little project.

       Instead of being frustrated with my lot in life, I've been working on making the most of what I have (ex. I don't do as well on social media and at craft shows because I'm an introvert but I'm still making friends with other vendors by just being myself and I will continue to work hard at not being afraid of engaging with people at shows and I will even invite them to my booth and make small talk.)

Accept and look on the bright side...that has been my personal mantra over the past year or so.