Jewelry Party in Niger

In December, my husband and I had an opportunity to visit our missionary friends in Niger (West Africa). While there, I hosted a jewelry party for the missionary ladies around town. It was fun working with such a diverse and interesting group of women. One lady actually spends much of her time with a tribe out the bush - so coming into town was an extra treat!

Here's a few pictures of the group stringing and designing clay beads.

Caroline's Birthday Party

This weekend Caroline celebrated her 8th birthday by beading with 7 of her friends. Each girl selected her favorite colors and designed a strand with special magnetic beads. The finished piece can be worn as bracelet or a necklace. I also found a special Swarovski crystal heart and made Caroline a necklace for her birthday.

Beach House Bead Party

I held my 1st official party at Laura's beach house yesterday. Seven ladies made a necklace and earrings while a few fast beaders came away with 2 sets and repairs to old jewlery. Everyone proclaimed to have a great time and seemed excited to model their new pieces. I personlly found it rewarding both to teach people and to see looks of satisfaction with the finished pieces. It was a great learning opportunity for me.

• People loved the ear ring display on the wire tree! (Great job Mom.)
• I sold less than I'd expected. Most ladies used the pieces for inspiration only. I need to find another outlet to sell finished pieces.
• The handmade clay beads didn't attract much attention. (boo hoo...I love making these!)
• 7 people was about the maximim I could handle.
• Next time, I'll bring more silver chains, Swarovski crystals, gold seed beads, and temporary crimps. The "shiny and flashy" beads were more popular than the stones.
• I think ladies would pay extra for the expensive beads.
• The hand made links were a hit
• The party lasted for over 6 hours...way longer than I thought! I had a blast because I knew the people; but If I extend parties beyond my circle of close friends I'll need to set a time limit.

In the end, I thought it was neat to have a bead party in the comfort of someone's home with food & friends. Both Laura (my friend) and her mom asked me if I'd be willing to do it again. :-)

Getting Ready to Party

One of my girlfriends has asked me to host an official beading party! Of course I blew all hopes of making a profit by running out to purchase loads of supplies. Oh well...at least I'll have fun in the process. I figured this would be a nice setting to try selling a few pieces. I've been thinking about how to display, tag, and price my work. So far, I've turned a wire tree into ear ring art. Also, I'm planning to use my Christmas gift tote (Thanks Tam!) as a convienient way to carry and sell my necklaces. I purchased a scrapbooking tool to create my own tags and I'm toying with the idea of decorating the gift boxes. My idea for a color scheme is a deep pink, black and white - a little girly with a classy look.