31 Days of Before & After ~ Day 13 ” The Order “

Sometimes I get carried away with my love for rusty, galvanized metal, industrial treasures, vintage dishes and just plain junk, that I forget to share another side of me. Another side of Rustique Art. The side that started this obsession with rusty + antiques + beads + wire = Rustique Art.

My little business is like a tree, it has one trunk and several branches, those branches are covered with a different type of leaves. My little tree has one branch that is filled with crosses, it’s probably the fullest branch as it’s pretty healthy, thank you Lord!
I make a lot of my crosses when I see something like a room or vignette in a magazine that strikes my fancy. Instead of setting out to recreate an inspiration room, I will create a inspiration cross. It’s pretty cool and I’ve had a lot of fun doing this over the past seven years.
Many crosses are made for  clients who want a custom cross made for their decor or to give as a gift.

A typical order goes like this:

Client: I was wondering if you can make a (size) cross with (these colors) and I will need it by (date).  

Me: Yes…Okay…when it’s done I will email a photo of your cross and when you approve it I will send you the invoice for (price).

This way of taking and completing an order has worked out great for both me and my clients.  The only time I’ve turned down an order was for wholesale.  I don’t do wholesale, it just isn’t a good fit for my small business.  For some it’s very good, for me  it’s not and this is due to the time it takes to make a beaded wire cross, add to the the materials (gemstones, crystals, glass and other types of beads can get pretty costly).  The time factor alone is a deal breaker as one cross can take several days, add more than one to an order and your talking none stop beading.  Since my business doesn’t pay the bills, my priorities are structured differently.  A custom order will take priority over some  tasks, but my faith, family and my day job take top billing 24/7  and then I make time for the order.

As stated earlier, this all works out and life is good.  But I truly believe it’s because priorities are kept straight and when this happens, blessings will follow.  I have however, tried to do it differently and it’s was a mess, so I went back to the  “shape up and fly right” mode.

Creating crosses for clients is a joy, but it’s also a challenge sometimes.  I don’t know the people who call me, nor do I know the person they might be buying for.  So all there is to go on is what little information received when the order is placed.   I believe divine intervention plays a huge role in my art.  Sometimes I wonder how it will ever come together and yet somehow it does.  A client will tell me the colors they want and as I’m writing them down, I’m thinking to myself…”no way”!  Imagine that! me the queen of  “every room in my house is a different color”.   But who am I to argue with the client?  I just take the order and begin gathering my supplies.

A recent order went like this;

Client: I need a 9″ beaded cross with purple, sage and cream with a heart in the center.  

Me: Okay…what will be the predominant color?

Client: Purple

Me: Okay, got it.

A prayer is said to asked God to bless this order, the cross and bless the time creating it and then it’s time to create.

This was how the cross began…

I seriously had my doubts, and then I began to place each bead and sew it onto the wire frame.  I remember telling my husband that I truly believe God is using my hands to create this cross.  I began with the large heart in the center and then an hour later I took a break and really looked at what I had complete in that time.  I was amazed at what I saw.  I didn’t place those beads.  God did.  I know that I don’t have that vision, I didn’t even think these colors would mesh, let alone meld into each other to create a harmonious symphony of color.

Oh ye of little faith!

Please don’t misunderstand me…I can’t boast as I was only the instrument in this symphony and I had a conductor.

I just had to be led, and when I did…this was the result

You want to know my favorite part?

Sending the photo to the client, very seldom do I worry if they will like it

okay maybe once I worried…but I soon realized that I’m not in control of the either.

Thank you for allowing me to share another side of me with you 🙂

 

By clicking the photo above you can check out the other participants of the 31 days of change!

Click here to see all Before & After posts to date

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See ya tomorrow!