Challenge Day One: Planning and Organizing

So, I've figure out that there are four things I need to do to get started on this self-imposed challenge:
1) Start coming up with ideas using the materials on hand
2) Know what materials I have on hand
3) Finish any orders in progress, and
4) Learn the ins and outs of this whole blogging thing...

The first photo helps with #1 - it shows a grouping of materials that I've had sitting on my workbench for about 3-4 months, just waiting for me to put them together. So far, in the past several months, I've added a few materials and taken away a few materials, and every once in a while, moved the whole group to get it out of the way while I worked on something else, and that's it! Something must have inspired me to put them together in the first place, but at this point, who knows what it was! That grouping will be my first challenge - it won't matter whether I use ALL those materials or not, just as long as I use some of them!

The second photo shows part of #2 - the making a mess to make things neater part so that I know what I actually have as far as materials go.
I will be working from home full-time beginning in mid-January, so for Christmas my hubby is making me another desk/workbench which will be added on to the one he made me before. I will have plenty of space to work on jewelry, make phone calls, take phone calls, work on the computer, etc. It will take a little rearranging and a whole lotta organizing to make it all come together, so I figured I should get organized both for the sake of the workplace and the sake of my creativity. All the things on top of the desk and underneath it (and all of the things on the floor and the shelves that you can't see!) will be neatly organized and theoretically labeled so that I know exactly what I have and where it is.

As for #3, no photos, but I only have two pieces I am working on right now for customers - a sterling silver beaded kumihimo necklace (one of my favorites!) and a glass tile. Both should be done by the end of the weekend, leaving me ready to focus on #1, #2, and #4 ....

That brings up one other thought, though. Even though I haven't really made any progress on the challenge yet, I've already decided on two exceptions to the "no purchasing supplies" rule - if I need to for an order at the request of a customer or if I need to so I can finish a piece and I don't have the materials to make what I need either. I think both of those are valid reasons.

And, as for #4, I hate going into things not really knowing what I'm doing, but that's what's going on here. I'm going to have to learn how this blogging thing works as I go. Hopefully it won't be too long before I figure out how to add links to my online shops, make the page pretty, add buttons or links to other shops I like, etc. Maybe I'll even have some followers before too long!