Project Bead

So those of you around Creative Bead Chat might have seen some posts about this. I figured I should blog abut it and let you all know a bit more about it. ;)

First off... This was FUN, let me tell you!

The idea came to me when I contacted Kashmira about being part of my monthly blog feature. My plan had been to send business to her shop, thus my purchasing a gift card... she however suggested donating a pair of earrings. I think I said something along the lines of that being silly, since all her work is donated already.

Bingo.

Idea.

I contacted Marla James to discuss my idea, since she has more experience dealing with groups and fund raising, etc, and could let know what she thought of it... and perhaps who might be interested in hopping on board.

Within hours, I had created Project Bead. In total, we had 14 ladies taking part... each of whom packaged up some amount of beads/ beading supplies... Some just a few that they could spare, and some enough to choke an elephant under the guise of 'cleaning out their stash' … they know who they are ;) lol

I waylaid Marlene Cupo to act as a 'middleman' and we all sent our contributions to her, where they were all packed up together into one box... and sent to Kashmira :)

What I had expected to be a dozen ladies sending a handful of beads or so a piece, pulling together to fill a small box with maybe a couple pounds of goodies... turned into this...

photo courtesy of Marlene Cupo

this pic shows all the loot together.. but doesn't really let you get the full feel of JUST how MUCH is there...

For more photos, visit Kashmira's album in CBC 'Project Beads'.

That pile... contains NINE AND A HALF POUNDS OF BEADS!!

Can you believe that?! In two weeks, we got a little over a dozen ladies to gather up almost TEN POUNDS of beads and get them to Kashmira... and then we all bounced around on our toes waiting for it to arrive at her door... and some of us ( re ME) stalked the usps tracking page waiting for the delivery confirmation ALL DAY :D

So my little group of Bead Faeries pulled together to gift a box of goodies for Kashmira to create more jewelry out of to raise money for her Project Why kids :)

Sure, we could've just donated the money, but where's the fun in that?! ;)

Despite the gathering and delivery of goodies for Kashmira being finished, I've decided to leave Project Bead active.. There are plenty more angels out there, slipping past under the radar, and sooner or later they'll come to our notice... then we'll send out the call for beads again!

If any of you would be interested in joining and becoming a 'Bead Faerie', each bead drive will be done separately, so if you don't agree with the cause, or if you can't participate in one, there's no worries. You'll receive a new invite for each one and you can decide based on the info provided whether or not you want to join in :) I'll just add your name to a list of people to contact when the time comes; IF you're interested, send me an email, or a pm on fb :)

If you'd rather no one know you're a 'bead faerie', you can join the ranks of Anoymous B.F's and chose a 'codename'. I'll have your real/ FB/Blog name on my list, with your 'faerie name' beside it. The cards sent with the goodie boxes you took part in will have your codename listed among the participants :)

As for what to donate, that will no doubt change from gathering to gathering. Beads for the most part, but some times other items would be appreciated as well. Since each gathering will be done in a short span of time, you should be able to use only what you have on hand. If you want to purchase or make something special to send, it must be able to be ready to mail to our Collection Faerie with in a week. If something comes up where specialty items are needed, we will send out invites and notes in advance of the actual gathering, so if you wish to, you'll have time to make or order items in.

As for what not to donate- nothing too big or too heavy. Remember, these items are all being gathered together and sent to the recipient as one package. As well, we do NOT collect money - the sole exception would be if we were taking on an overseas case where we had no Collection Faerie close to them. If that were the case, we MIGHT consider doing a small fund for shipping costs, HOWEVER, we'd most likely just coordinate things so that each would be sent separately, but on the same day with a note stating it was from the group.

I can already see that Project Bead is going to be kept busy... so to keep people from getting burnt out, each gathering will be limited to between 12- 20 'faeries', depending on how big a gathering we need to accomplish. The participants will change through out, cycling through the list so people aren't being asked constantly to donate beads to various causes. 

My Beading Faerie List, however, is going to continue to grow. All are welcome :)

If you join my list and then something comes up and you find that you won't be able to take part in any for a while, or you receive an invite but don't agree with the cause... all you have to do is just respond to the invites with a 'sorry, not this time. Try me again next round' and we'll send that invite on the next person in line. 

 Being on the list doesn't mean you HAVE to accept the invite when it comes. No pressure to take part. 

If you DO accept the invite, then you ARE expected to get your donation into the mail as quickly as possible, and meet the deadline. The deadline will be mentioned in the invite note, so if you can't make it, don't accept! Wait for the next round when things might be easier for you.

... and whoever stuck that term 'Bead Faeries' in my head... thanks >.< Now I have this image that I'm totally going to need to doodle out and make into a logo or mascot lol

So if this sounds like something you want to be a part of... leave a comment asking to be put on the list. Make sure you leave a way for me to contact you. If you don't want your contact info known, or don't want anyone to know you're joining, email me :)  mattiashogan@gmail.com  OR skye_sands@hotmail.com