Summer Experiments, new skills

When I was little my Irish mother used summer as a time to teach us creative skills. Alternative learning. The arts were an every day part of life in our house. Someone was always making a dress or new summer top. I remember making kid suede rose barrettes. They would be perfect with romantic bohemian chic looks. My dad made me a bead loom and drove me to a bead supply house in Boston to purchase giant bags of glass seed beads. I still have those big coffee cans full of beads. I remember trips to Natick Mall to an incredible old school button shop called 'Windsor Button'. Learning new skills was a way of life.

I still view summer as the lazy days of experimentation. The pace of life changes... (not slowing down, just different) I find myself on road trips to towns and cities I don't usually get to during the busy school year. I find evenings filled with more down time, and no check lists of school work or projects that must be completed. I cherish those evenings and view them as my time. I am using my free time this week to try my hand at beadwork. I am working on turquoise suede and using my spare glass bead collection.

Any critiques, advice or helpful tips are welcome! I hope to finish this cuff bracelet by the weekend.