Beads of Courage Needs Acts of Courage Donations

My headline pretty much says it all.  Beads of Courage is low and trying really hard to supply all the hospitals that they are affiliated with.  Is there a chance you can help?  Here is the link to their donation page which also gives you their address, what kind of beads qualify, (just about anything as long as it doesn't have metallics on the surface, sharp edges, annealed and well cleaned.  Pretty easy to find some spares, isn't it?)  And from my experience, kids love the less than perfect ones just as much.  I save mine with the slightly crooked smiles, color experiments or just doodling around, because I know some child will enjoy them very much. (As pictured in the photo above- some of the loot that will be heading their way:)

http://www.beadsofcourage.org/pages/beadartists.htm

Here's a little story.  One time I was visiting one of the Atlanta hospitals with the Beads of Courage program and kids were coming by and picking out a special bead.  There were all kinds of fancy beads in the tray, but a little boy kept pouring through them.  His fingers were moving them around until his face lit up.  He found a very simple but really nice royal blue bead and said this was the very bead he had been dreaming about.  It had no decoration on it, but to him it was just perfect. That was when we were asking the kids to design a Dream Bead and he told me that he had just found his Dream Bead and didn't need anything else.  The beadmaker happened to be present and told him that she had brought two, so you can imagine his delight when he found and got to take the second one as well.

That stuck with me.  We don't have to submit the fanciest beads. Each of us makes something that will touch someone's soul and will be special to them for the rest of their lives.

I'm hoping you'll join me in a donation in the near future.  It makes a big difference to these kids, and I don't know about you, but I get just as much from it as they do.

Finding Wonderland- It's Hard!

Our Fire Divas group of lampworkers is making beads for Bead & Button's auction to benefit Breast Cancer. An Alice in Wonderland theme was chosen, which in one way is exciting, but in other ways, is quite a challenge.
(and let's be honest, Tim Burton's upcoming movie and of course Johnny Depp were mentioned too.)

Originally, I had signed up to make Alice, but it seemed like everyone was having a tough time with the Cheshire Cat, so I decided to throw my hat into the ring to try him too.

Some of the challenges- not to make him look exactly Disney, but still the viewer know who it is, finding a good bright pink and one of the hardest challenges for me, making all those darn stripes. Geesh, that isn't technically hard, but time consuming and so easy to mess up.

Sure, his little round body was easy to stripe. Just go around in circles. But two arms and legs and a tail take a lot more time. I was busy stacking dots for a looooong time in order to form the stripes. This was my first try. I know that when I make another Cheshire Cat, I'll be making him a little differently and in a different pose. I have visions of a complete set to sell at the Gathering.

What's important is that he looks pretty good with the rest of the beads in the Fire Divas' set and perhaps a bead store or individual will fall in love with all of them and scoop them up while benefiting the non-profit.

I also sculpted and donated a White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, which I'll show you another time.

Have you tried making stripes? Did you use a different method to create them? And which Alice in Wonderland Character is your favorite?