During this project I had a lot of trouble deciding if I wanted to sell my beading. I didn’t want it to become disingenuous, and I didn’t want to take away from the personal feeling that beading has for me. Once I had decided to set up an Etsy, I put it off for a couple weeks. I was avoiding having to confront the fact that maybe, I didn’t want to sell my beading after all. I had a few long conversations with my aunt, my dad, and Mr. Hansen, and decided to leave the Esty up, but to focus my project mostly on the improvement and creation of beading. I also had a wonderful conversation with Ms. Misonne, my art teacher, and she offered to get me in touch with Northern Heart Designs to bead for them. This job offers a perfect mid-ground. I get to practice and make money off beading, while not getting attached to the pieces or feeling like I am “selling-out”.

Over the course of this project, I have refined my beading skills significantly. The first pin I made was of a small white dog, from the video game Undertale. The stitching is much messier, the bead placement is inconsistent and kind of awkward, and you can see most of the thread on the edge. It was my first time beading an edge, which is the part in the beading process where I sew the beading felt and the leather backing together, adding beads in with each stitch. The felt is very visible, if I were to redo this I would trim the felt much closer to the dog. You can also see that on the first half of the white part is used black thread, which added an odd background behind the beads, whereas on the second half I used white thread and it looks much better

The most recent piece I have made is this pair of earrings. These earrings are buttons I have beaded around to make them fancier. I used many different sizes and kinds of beads to add texture and depth. When I laid down the beads on this piece I went back through the first bead to better connect the beads. Doing this avoids awkward gaps in the lines. For this edge I used a new stitch I learnt. It is similar to a simple raised edge; however I don’t go back through the last bead and it ends up making a lovely diagonal design. I also added a fringe with bugle beads. I wanted it to look kind of Halloween-y, and using longer beads makes it look creepier. I am proud of overcoming challenges and the progress I’ve made this year.

After Propel I will keep posting new items to my Esty, and I will continue to bead for Northern Heart Designs. Beading is good for relaxing and relieving stress, and being able to make a little money off of it will be helpful after high school. I don’t know what I want to do yet once I graduate, but I am confident that my knowledge and interest in beading will help me in some way. I am currently thinking of going into the Library and Information Technologies program at Red River College, and although my knowledge about beading might not be immediately useful, being able to bead with my friends will a nice way to relax.

This semester in Propel I have learnt so much about beading and my culture. I have discovered new techniques I am excited to learn about in the future. In the beginning of the year, I was very uncomfortable presenting and participating in conversations in class. However, through practice and a safe environment I am much more comfortable participating and speaking in front of the class.  Propel has taught me how to better manage my time outside of school, and how to juggle a busy schedule. I have overcome challenges and even though it was hard at times, it paid off in the end.

I am incredibly grateful for the experience I had in Propel. The knowledge I have acquired during my time here is absolutely irreplaceable to me.