What do you put in your bead journal?

#1 2006-03-05, 2:29pm

As a newbie, I want to start a journal of the beads I make and how I made them. What points do you cover in your diaries? Thanks!

Cindy2 · #2 2006-03-06, 4:34am

Hi Beadstruck!

I record color combinations, latticcino recipes, color reactions and generally things I do differently and/or successfully. I put inspiration pictures in the journal and general glass musings.

I've been doing it less lately because those musings are now going into my blog.

Cindy

JanMD · #3 2006-03-06, 6:22am

Hey Beadstruck - - - Don't limit your journal in any way. My journals (I now have quite a few of them up on the shelf) contain:
-- all my notes from all the classes I have taken over the years since I started my interest in glass, including glass blowing, glass casting, pate de verre, PMC, and jewelry making, as well as all the glass beadmaking classes. (I love taking classes!)
-- my ideas for beads, including sketches and color notations.
-- descriptions of my bead experiments, how they turned out, some rare ones with photos.
-- my idea sketches for jewelry pieces.
-- photos of successful (in my mind) jewelry pieces that I have sold or given away.
-- stuff cut out from magazines, mostly pictures illustrating great color combinations -these are pasted onto the pages.
-- names and addresses for suppliers and any other bead or jewelry related resource.
-- color print-outs of especially inspiring beads taken from the online forums and from Ebay, including explanations of how they were made, if the artist is forthcoming -these are also pasted onto the pages.
-- all my notes from all the local chapter meetings, other events, and the ISGB Gatherings that I have attended.
-- and a big black spring clip inside the back cover holds all the loose stuff, like hand-outs from classes, brochures, and so forth.

The advantage to having all of this stuff in one place is that you won't misplace anything. But the special bonus is that, when you are paging through looking for something specific that you know is in there, you run into all this other stuff that is way more interesting. It's great!

JanMD

dogmaw · #4 2006-03-06, 6:32am

You can also put fabric swatches in them for color and design ideas.

sassy · #5 2006-03-06, 10:11am

I put color recipes and results of frits New ideas ands inspirational pics. progress and whatever I happen to be working on at the time. I love to put in the new ideas because later I read through and find something I want to try.

#6 2006-03-06, 10:52am

Wow! Ya'll have given me allot of info here. It's very interesting to see what each of you puts in your books. Really inspiring!

Sarah

Shawn T · #7 2006-03-06, 11:06am

I put color combos in mine, and the results of each of them, as I would forget how I made my beads a year later if I didn't.
Pulled cane combos, and mixing glass combos the ones that turned out very well go right in my book. With the exact amounts: example 1/4 of white mixed with 3/4 of rubino.
Bead idea's that I draw out, I draw most all my sculpture pieces first.
Colors from magazines that catch my eye.
Jewelry ideas, any and all.
Web addresses go in there also, suppliers phone number, that may not be listed on websites.

When I first started and even sometimes now, my best ideas would come to me in the middle of the night, or right before I fell alseep, I would keep a journal beside my bed, so I could write or draw out and idea. As if I didn't I wouldn't remember it in the morning, it would drive me crazy all day trying to remember what I had dreamed about.

Laurie L · #8 2006-03-06, 4:54pm

Pictures....loads and loads of pictures.
Jewelry designs, beads designs etc... all hand drawn ideas I think up.
Color combos...I have seen or think might be cool
Frit...recipies, ideas, color combos and working tips
Wholesale companies, names and numbers
Doodles
Info from other lampworkers, my most valuable entry!!!
Comments from people that have seen the journals...ex - did they like/hate it.

You name it its in there.

Angela Schoonen · #9 2006-03-07, 9:39pm

I can't believe that I've never thought of a bead journal!
Sometimes I am so slow.......

Bob Torbett · #10 2006-03-08, 2:55pm

I never thought about starting a journal either. It seems like a logical thing to do. Especially since I couldn't tell you what combinations I have used any any beads or making stringers.
GREAT IDEA!!

Bob

dogmaw · #11 2006-03-08, 3:51pm

And as a huge plug here, I have 4 handmade journals for sale on my web page, just click on the "Specials" link on the right hand side.

adovbs · #12 2006-03-08, 5:12pm

I started a bead journal just a couple of weeks ago, and it's been a real help so far!

The other night I couldn't shut my mind off, it kept thinking abotu all this cool stuff I could do with vessels, so I got out my journal and started sketching, sketching, doodling, making notes, and I'm so glad I did! I put enough stuff in there that one night to keep me busy for a month of experimenting!

I also put in color swatches or combos I think would look cool, mostly clipped out of magazines and taped in. And lists of things I want to do for shows, lists of inventory I want to take with me, things that I need to look into further on suppliers...

#13 2006-03-08, 7:11pm

I decided to do my "journal" on 4x6 cards. That way I can put some in my purse or by the bed and then file them by topic. It seems like that way I could find what I'm looking for easier. I'll let you know how it turns out.

JanMD · #14 2006-03-09, 7:22am

Instead of a journal (or in addition to a journal) some also use a cork bulletin board. The advantage of this is that it's all there in front of you all the time. No paging back and forth searching for stuff. Jinx used to also use an adjacent blackboard, for sketching ideas.

JanMD

Shawn T · #15 2006-03-11, 11:07am

Quote:

Originally Posted by beadstruck

I decided to do my "journal" on 4x6 cards. That way I can put some in my purse or by the bed and then file them by topic. It seems like that way I could find what I'm looking for easier. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Yup I do this also, and even found the ones with the holes punched in the top of them and a little notebook that the fit into. So that way I can pull out a card when I need it or want it, or it can lay flat and stay open on my work table.
I love the index cards to write my notes and journal info on, I even use different colored markers to write different things so I can find them quickly.

beadman · #16 2006-04-10, 11:20am

i just made a little booklit.....its small but it works great

PaulaD · #17 2006-04-11, 9:49am

I have a big notebook with all of my class notes in it and another one with the color combinations that I tried that day and liked andmay want to do again some day..I put a date before each entry on that one.
And then I have a 4 foot high pile of papers which consists of photos taken off the internet or tutorails taken off the internet so that I always have something new to try whenI light up!
Paula

Laurie L · #18 2006-04-11, 3:17pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shawn T

Yup I do this also, and even found the ones with the holes punched in the top of them and a little notebook that the fit into. So that way I can pull out a card when I need it or want it, or it can lay flat and stay open on my work table.
I love the index cards to write my notes and journal info on, I even use different colored markers to write different things so I can find them quickly.

OH GOOD IDEA !!!!