Playing with Paint and Tea Dyeing

Some days my brain feels sapped of all creativity. I'm sure it happens to every artist from time to time, right? It's those times that I need to give my thoughts a chance to wonder freely without the bonds of what I must do. And so, I take some time to play and have fun unhindered.

What do I do for fun?

I take a handful of beads and I paint… and I paint them whatever colors I feel like. I paint a few colors on, rub some off, and paint some more… and so on. It's always a surprise when I finish, as I never go with a clear plan of what color I want.

Here are my latest "for fun" beads…

Some of these new colors, I'll be able to repeat again, and others… well let's just say I got carried away and am not sure what colors I used or in what order I applied them. But that's part of the fun in it, I think.

Some of these roses will end up in my shop and few of them are for a new project I'm working on. (More on that soon. :-)

And here's another new thing I'm dabbling in these days…

Tea dyeing! Ever since I finished my last AJE challenge necklace, tea dying has been on my mind. I love how the tea makes those bright colors just a bit more earthy and gives the fabrics a nice aged look—I look at fabrics totally different now, knowing that I can alter them to coordinate with my favorite palettes and to complement my jewelry designs. To some of the fabrics I think I'll add some paint staining and maybe some seed bead embellishments… fun!

Ah yes, I feel much more refreshed and ready to tackle that list of "must dos" now. Off I go…

What new things have you been exploring lately? What do you do when you're experiencing that creative funk?