Turning Jewelry-Making Inside Out

The anthropomorphic feelings of Pixar’s Inside Out (L-R): Fear, Disgust, Sadness, Joy, and Anger. Photo courtesy of screenrelish.com

It should come as no surprise that customers of all ages have recently come into the shop singing the praises of Pixar’s latest movie, Inside Out. Although the staff here at Blue Door Beads hasn’t seen the movie yet, from what we have heard, the film contains some good messages for kids — as well as adults — regarding feelings. One customer decided to use her young daughter’s current infatuation with the themes & characters of the movie as a teaching moment:

Mom approached us in the shop and asked us which stringing material we would recommend for what she hoped would be an ongoing project for her daughter. When we asked her what she meant by “ongoing,” she said she hoped that her daughter would be able to string beads into a bracelet, but then also be able to continue to add beads over time. We recommended she start with an extra-long piece of colorful linen, so that her daughter could wrap the bracelet around her wrist several times. She could start with just a few beads now, but eventually fill up the entire bracelet if she wanted.

We asked what the significance was for her daughter to be able to add beads over time, and Mom explained:

“In the movie Inside Out, the main character has a range of different feelings about how things are going in her life. Sometimes she’s happy, sometimes she’s sad, sometimes she’s angry…..and sometimes she has those feelings all in the same day.

When my daughter came home from school yesterday, I asked her how her day was. ‘My whole day was BAD!’, she said. When I asked her, ‘Your whole day? Are you sure?’ she replied, ‘Yes! When so-and-so was mean to me today, it made me so angry!’ I gently told her, ‘Well, sweetheart, that was only one part of your day. Let’s talk about the other parts, too, and discuss your feelings from throughout the day.’

My goal is, when she comes home from school, to have her sit with her project while we talk about her day. Each time she describes an emotion she had, she’ll add the emotion’s corresponding color to her bracelet. [In the movie, joy is yellow, sadness is blue, disgust is green, fear is purple, and anger is red.] I would like her to see that it’s OK to have a wide range of feelings, and she can then do something constructive with those feelings, and together they can create something beautiful.”

We congratulated Mom on her incredibly thoughtful and original project idea, and we asked her to please come back to the shop with her daughter so we can see how her bracelet progresses. After they left, we discussed how refreshing and heartwarming it was to see a parent truly engaging with her child, wanting to support her in a creative endeavor while also teaching her some life skills, and genuinely enjoying spending time with her.

We carry a wide range of beads in all the colors of the rainbow! Mix and match to suit your taste, mood, or feelings for the day!

In today’s world, adults and kids are prone to being constantly connected to their favorite electronic device. We invite anyone and everyone to come to the shop, disconnect from the outside world (even for just an hour!) and create something at our work table. It’s fun, it’s easier than you think, and no matter how you were feeling earlier in the day, we’re pretty sure you’ll take home some feelings of happiness after you’ve spent time creating at Blue Door Beads!