Learning to Create My Own Designs

I’ve always loved learning from others, following tutorials, practicing patterns, and trying my hand at techniques shared by makers I admired. Whenever I used someone else’s design, I made sure I had permission, whether through a purchased pattern license or a tutorial freely offered by the creator. But deep down, I knew that someday, I wanted to take what I’d learned and create something that was completely my own.

That moment came when I stumbled across a pattern for a beautiful pair of Cherry Blossom statement earrings. I couldn’t believe it. Cherry blossoms have always been one of my favorite flowers, delicate, fleeting, and full of quiet beauty, and I had wanted to make something inspired by them for a long time.

At the time, I was still a beginner in a lot of ways, learning new stitches and refining my technique. But I decided to go for it anyway. Petal by petal, bead by bead, I began piecing the design together. When I finished that first pair, I was in awe, not just of the earrings themselves, but of the fact that I had learned something new through the process. That experience sparked something in me.

I realized I didn’t want to stop there. I wanted to create an entire collection, a series of floral-inspired jewelry pieces that felt personal, purposeful, and uniquely mine. But I also knew I didn’t want to use someone else’s pattern for my first collection. I wanted to design from the heart.

So out came my trusty notebook, the same one that holds half-finished sketches and random ideas, and I started researching flowers. I remember scrolling through images and being drawn to the bold color and gentle shape of violets in full bloom. That’s when the next piece of the series was born: the Violet Radiance Earrings.

I didn’t have fancy design software, just printable brick stitch graph paper and a set of colored pencils. Using a photo for inspiration, I started sketching, adjusting the petal shapes until they felt right. Then I got to work translating that drawing into beads. Somewhere along the way, I realized the pattern needed changes, the petals didn’t flow quite how I wanted them to. So, I paused, adjusted, and reworked it until everything aligned.

It wasn’t a perfect process, but it was mine.

The real breakthrough moment came when I held that finished pair in my hands. That was my “aha” moment, the point where I felt proud, grateful, and deeply aware that what I was doing wasn’t just crafting; it was creating art. I thanked God for giving me this gift, this joy of turning tiny beads into something that could capture the beauty He made in nature.

I fully believe that creativity is one of the ways we reflect the image of our Creator. Each time I sit down to design, I’m reminded that I’m not creating in isolation, I’m creating in partnership with Him. He inspires the vision; I just get to bring it to life.

Through this journey, I’ve also learned that growth stops when we stop. It’s true in art, in faith, and in life. If we give up too soon, when things feel hard or when progress seems slow, we miss the beauty of what’s blooming beneath the surface.

The Cherry Blossom earrings helped me grow in skill and technique, while the Violet Radiance earrings helped me grow as an artist. Each design, each stitch, each revision has reminded me that growth often looks like persistence, showing up, trying again, and trusting the process even when the outcome isn’t clear.

And isn’t that how faith works too?

Creating my own designs has taught me to trust God’s timing, to be patient with myself, and to remember that blooming takes time. Just like a flower grows quietly beneath the soil before it’s ever seen, so does creativity, and so does faith.

So, I’ll keep sketching, beading, and learning. I’ll keep growing through the process, one petal at a time. Because in every design, every challenge, and every small moment of progress, I see His hand, guiding, shaping, and reminding me that all beauty begins with Him.

Choosing Joy: The Story Behind InspireJoy Studios

When I first started my creative journey, I didn’t have a grand plan or a clear name that reflected what I wanted to build. My first business name, Memorable Moments Market, came from a random name generator and honestly, it never quite fit. It felt like I was trying to live up to a name that didn’t speak to my heart.

But InspireJoy Studios? That name was different. It came from a few different places of inspiration, one being “joy.”, the For King & Country song that always lifts my spirit, and this quote by Henri J.M. Nouwen: “Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.” That statement hit home for me. Then came Scripture like Hebrews 1:3, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being…” and Joshua 24:15, “Choose you this day whom you will serve… as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

It all connected. Joy isn’t something that just happens; it’s a daily choice. We can wake up and let the day control us, or we can wake up and say, “This is the day that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.”

Not every day is perfect. Some mornings, I wake up and the best I can do is keep everyone alive and that’s okay. But on the days when I choose joy, everything shifts. I start to notice beauty in small things, grace in the chaos, and purpose in creating. Over time, I realized that this was what InspireJoy Studios was truly about: encouraging others to live fully, to thrive instead of just survive, and to find joy in the act of creating and being created.

There wasn’t one defining moment when I suddenly knew this was more than a hobby. It was more like a slow unfolding, a quiet realization that God had woven creativity into my design from the start. I’ve always loved making jewelry and experimenting with new techniques, and each piece tells its own little story. My Solar Pop dangle earrings were inspired by bright colors and bursts of light, while my softer, neutral-toned pieces reflect calmness and growth. Some designs speak to the fun, bold side of me; others reveal the peaceful maturity that’s come with time.

And through it all, I’ve learned that creativity isn’t just a pastime, it’s an act of worship.

My faith, much like my creative journey, moves through seasons, some strong and steady, others quiet and flickering. Yet even in the quieter moments, I see God’s beauty in the everyday: the shimmer of beads, the color of thread, the joy that comes from finishing a piece that makes someone smile. Whether it’s a simple pair of earrings or a statement design like my Cherry Blossom earrings, my goal remains the same, to capture glimpses of God’s creation through my hands.

Some people paint. Some take photos. I work with beads. And through them, I hope to remind others that beauty and joy are always within reach, even in the smallest details.

InspireJoy Studios isn’t just about jewelry. It’s about faith, creativity, and the everyday choice to reflect the radiance of God’s glory through the things we make and the lives we live. Every piece I create is a quiet reminder that joy is found in choosing Him daily, in the mess, the making, and the moments that shape who we’re becoming. My hope is that as you follow along this journey, you’ll be inspired to find joy in your own everyday moments, to create, to grow, and to see God’s hand in the little things that make life beautiful.