I honestly am starting to feel like I am getting the hang of this, which is better than how I thought that I would be feeling at this point in the project. I made my first two Poppies and then I decided to make one more because my best friend wanted one. The third turned out great in my opinion!
Once I finished with the poppies, I figured that it was time to start a new project. Up until this point, I had been tracing the pattern onto the felt from a picture online. I knew that if I wanted to create my own beading projects, I would need to learn to draw my own designs. So I did what I always do- Ask Google.
Google gave me a couple of suggestions but eventually led me to Reddit. Now Reddit is a site that I use quite frequently because I like seeing reviews from real people and getting advice. But I wouldn’t have thought about going to Reddit at first for beading advice, but once I thought about it, it made total sense!
I found a post from someone who was asking about how other people draw their patterns and I found it quite interesting. I liked that other people could comment on it and give feedback! Some people suggested tracing and others suggested using a program like Excell, Loom or programs suggested for beading.
I decided that for this week, I would use the tracing method one more time since I wanted to save the new online source for next week and review Reddit this week. I traced the pattern for the BC Lions Logo for an ornament I wanted to make for my Father-in-law and then I beaded it up quickly. I was able to get this project done in one day which is great because I worked while my students worked and I found that the time I am spending on these projects is becoming less and less.
As for Reddit, I think that it is a great source for problem-solving and asking advice, but I wouldn’t use it as a “learning site”. The way that I use it now (as a forum to answer questions) is probably the only real use for it in learning a new skill. But that being said, since many of the other sites for learning to bead (Tiktok, Youtube, Websites, etc) don’t have a great forum to problem solve, I think that Reddit fits in well for this need and I am looking forward to using to continue to problem solve in the future.
Hi Briana!
I also think Reddit is a good source, but its toxic users bring down learning purposes for me. The beading tracing method seems efficient and is in the spirit of the holidays involving the BC Lions. I always look forward to reading your posts, and keep up the remarkable artistic works!