I wish I had the “before” picture. Oh my. I started this ring before Christmas, it wouldn’t cooperate with me, so I quickly became frustrated and put it in a drawer for “later.” This morning I was looking for something else and pulled the misshapen hunk of sterling silver and stones out of the drawer and decided to work on it. I figured it was a lost cause, so what did I have to lose, right? Well, I worked and I worked, and this is the result. I was really happy with the way it turned out.

And then there’s this piece:

The “eye” design with the iridescent shimmer and Celtic knot motif is something I did in polymer clay several months ago. I had planned to make a pendant and earrings at the time, but for whatever reason it just didn’t “suit” me. So once again I put it in a drawer, and then the other day I saw a pair of wire-wrapped earrings someone else had created, and the perfect idea sprang to life! I even named this piece. I call her “Sheherazade.”

So I guess as tempting as it is to throw our mistakes away, it’s usually a good idea to keep them. You just never know when the creative forces will click into place. I love it when that happens!