Before I was an Associate Editor here at Bead&Button magazine, I couldn't wait to receive the latest issue in the mail. I would scan each article and become inspired by a technique I hadn't tried yet. Now that I've done a lot of beading I can look at a piece of jewelry and see what stitch was used and how the designer constructed the piece. I thought that some of the excitement about tackling a new project had gone away — until I started working on the February issue! I was lucky enough to work on Sherry Serafini's embroidered and embellished cabochon project. It was fun because I hadn't done bead embroidery for a long time. In fact, it was such a cool project that I couldn't stop working on it.

When I finished the project, my next thought was about all the seed beads and various other beads that I've accumulated over the past 17 years. I might be able to embroider a king-size quilt with all of them! (Maybe I'll start with a purse.)

Two other February-issue projects that I worked on enabled me to tackle techniques in a new way. I hope the projects in the February issue inspire you as much as they inspired me. The issue goes on sale Jan. 1.