"Should I Give Up?"

Hey crafters! I hope each and every one of you are having an awesome week!

So I just ran into pictures of some of my first clay creations ever. Oh do they ever look it, too! Anyhow, I was inspired by these pictures to write a post about not giving up.

I know there are many beginners out there who are experiencing the joys and frustrations of making miniatures. I, too, am still learning and perfecting the craft of minis. One thing that I find I do is give up after one or two tries that are flops. The question that comes to mind is: "When should I give up?"

My answer is this: "If you want it badly enough, never." This basically goes for anything in life. This means when you make mistakes and are dissatisfied with try #1, try again! And again! That's part of the beauty of the whole process. That's how you get good.

Instead of letting your first "fail" overtake and decide for you, use it as a challenge to push yourself forward and to grow as an artist. Think about how much power is in that seemingly small decision.

Now of course, there is always the random occasion when you really do decide that a hobby just isn't your thing. But that is a different topic that you can let things like intuition decide.

And now I'm going to leave you with some of those pictures in the hopes that it will encourage you! Even though I am still learning the craft, you can already see the progress in more recent pictures (like on my facebook) vs. these beginner ones. (Oh, and keep an eye at the end of this post for something fun that you can be a part of!)

Sunny-side-up egg and a bagel. I over-baked it... but hey, at least you can tell what it is, right? ;)

Some of my first cupcakes. 

I'm pretty sure this is my first ice cream ever. Gotta love the plate! ;)

Hot chocolate! In a... urm...very unique mug.

lemon danishes and shortbread. Just a bit messy and over-baked. But hey, it was a start!

Okay, and now for a quick, fun idea! Email or tweet a "then" and a "now" photo of one or a couple of your clay creations. In a week or so, I will post them here as an extension of this encouragement post. You can email them to: rachelsminis@gmail.com OR tweet them to me @rachelsminis. Can't wait to see how you're progressing! (even if it's just a little bit! Everything counts.)

Have a wonderful week, and best of luck!