Finding Jewelry Inspiration

I'm so excited for this week, Wednesday earrrrly in the morning I am flying back down to visit the Cousin Corporation headquarters for my second annual brand ambassador retreat! I had so much fun the last visit I had (I blogged about it here, here and here) and I can't wait to be back in sunny Florida for a quick trip filled with lots of beads again!

Cousin recently asked each of us ambassadors to blog about where we find our inspiration for making jewelry. I get inspired a few different ways and thought I would share a few with you too!

One of the biggest ways I get inspired is just by visually being able to see my beads.  I love to play around with different bead combinations and that is generally what starts a new jewelry project for me.  If i can't easy see or access my beads though it is hard for me get inspired! Thus, I try to keep my beads out in the open as much as possible.  I blogged about it awhile back but I still LOVE my bead organization magnet board. This board hangs right above my beading desk and doubles as a piece of artwork (I think it is pretty at least!!) and functional storage for my beads. The best part? The beads are stored in clear glass front containers so I can easily look up from my craft desk and see what other kinds of beads I have available to work into a design!

Since I'm on my second year of being a brand ambassador for Cousin, I've accumulated quite a stash of beads and findings! I bought this clear pegboard off amazon as another way to be able to hang up strands of beads and packs of findings to be able to see what I have to work with.

Sometimes I feel like this is my own personal bead aisle at the craft store....except they are all mine and I don't have to buy them to take home with me ;)

Besides being able to easily see my jewelry supplies to get inspired by them, I also get inspired by following fashion retailers to see the types of jewelry they are selling! I love checking out Anthropologie, Stella and Dot, J. Crew, etc. to see what kinds of trends they are pushing. Sometimes the trends I see inspire me to make new designs and sometimes I like to just plain old copy cat and make my own knock-off version! Two of my favorite knock-offs are these anthropologie knock-off earrings

 

and this anthropologie knock-off necklace!

 

When I'm not looking at retailer sites, I of course love to check out Pinterest for new ideas as well.  I have an entire board dedicated to jewelry making ideas and whenever I am feeling super stumped or not inspired at all I will scroll through this board and usually come away much more inspired!

 Lastly, I get inspired by just keeping my eye out for different jewelry making techniques and trends where ever I am! I will be the first to admit that I am that awkward girl who whips out her smart phone in the middle of macy's or forever 21 to snap a picture of a cute set of earrings or that adorable bangle set to recreate later on my own.  I also have countless screen shots on my iPhone from jewelry I see on facebook or different style bloggers wearing on instagram that I squirrel away for inspiration later.  The world is full of jewelry and my eyes are always open and searching for more inspiration!!