Good-bye January - Hello February!

It's the start of a new week; we've left January behind and thank-goodness, now it's June. What's that you say? It's actually February? Another month of Winter, essentially....?

Oh well. At least February is followed by March, and is blessedly short. 

January may have been long, dreich and dark, but it's been quite a productive month for me here at Songbead. That opportunity that the beginning of a new year provides us with - to look back and take stock of what has come before - is never a bad thing, and it's made me reevaluate where I am in terms of life balance. I've blogged about it before, so I won't bore you with it again, but I have been considering taking on someone to help me one day a week for The Curious Bead Shop, to allow me to devote more of my time to designing, making and creative play. I'm hugely grateful for Curious and every single order that comes in, and I want it to stay that way - I don't want to begin feeling that it's swamping my week and stopping me from making and creating. 

And so beginning this past month, I've been making a concerted effort to CREATE more. I've missed magazine deadlines already(!) but I have been keeping my etsy shop stocked, taking more photographs (despite the time of year  i.e. poor light), and trying to keep my blog and Facebook page active. I mean, I love making jewellery. I like Facebook but I love blogs and that extra layer of the personal and intimate that they provide. So why not start the year as I mean to go on? 

Here's a peek at what January looked like for me in terms of jewellery design:

As for February, it's time to create a few more necklaces! And to work on my silver-smithing skills, so I can start to incorporate bits and pieces into my jewellery - this past month, I have started a weekly class, and I'm LOVING it. But more about that on another day!

How about you? How's your January been? What does February hold?