Stepping Out of my Comfort Zone

Old shoes, favorite jeans, mac & cheese, fleece blankets ... all provide so much comfort and if you're like me, you could live in the Land of Comfort and not look back!  BUT, as an artisan, I know it's imperative to step out of the L.o.C. once in a while in order to grow.

This being said, I'm going to bare my soul to you all right now... I have a very, very hard time with rejection.  I love peace and happiness, and I like it when everything is going along beautifully.  The word that I have still not overcome in my life is hearing the word "No."

In some respects I know that's a good thing.  Don't tell me I can't do something because I will prove you wrong.  But when it comes to the pieces of jewelry I design, those pieces come from my heart.  So when I put them out there for the world to see, there's always that moment of "what if someone doesn't like it!"  gasp  While the logical, intelligent side of me knows that everybody has different tastes and you can't please everybody, the soft tender soul in me just wants everybody to feel all happy and inspired when they see, feel, wear a Designs by Dawn Marie original.

Why do I spill... well, I'm putting it out there that my goal for 2011 is to be more "active" in the bead community.  This involves putting my designs up for gasp votes and critique from the public!  Yikes!  I could crawl back in bed with a bowl of ice cream as I type this!  Yes, I have never entered my jewelry in any sort of contest or tried to be published in a magazine.  While it's a tremendous goal of mine to find my name in print somewhere (preferably not the speeding tickets in our local paper) in order to get there I have to take that HUGE step of submitting a Designs by Dawn Marie original piece.

Just the other day, I saw my friend Regina with Sundance Gems post on her blog about a contest through Happy Mango Beads.  Happy Mango is so generous, anybody can enter regardless of who supplies your beads and supplies.  The theme of this contest is Be(ad) My Valentine!  Since I love LOVE I have deemed this the perfect contest to enter to help me through my self-imposed "rejection therapy!"

So there you have it... one of my biggest fears laid out there for you.  I know we are always our own worst critics, but I know I can't possibly be the only one!  Who knows... maybe once I submit an entry to this contest, I'll find the courage to submit a piece to a printed publication... it remains to be seen!

Thanks for being in my corner (and for reading this whole darn post!)  You inspire me and I can't wait to share what I create for this contest!

Make it a terrific day! {Hugs!}
~ Dawn