Vanessa, The next generation of beader

What a wonderful time we had in Saturday's class! Several beaders were hard at work on projects and the youngest of the group was Vanessa, a delightful, talented young lady from Rancho Cucamonga. She had come out to the desert to join her Mother and Grandmother in a beading session at Monica's Quilt and Bead Creations. Lucky for us she was willing to help in a project called 'Beading to Beat Autism'... Vanessa just kept on beading and before long she had made not one, not two, but ten stretchy bracelets for the cause! It was marvelous to observe the diligence she had in class and to note that she represents the young girls of the next generation of beading..she already had a great sense of color theory and excitement for the craft...I think we're in good hands for the future.

So, speaking of the future, the Autism project is spearheaded by a another young lady, Michela Riggles..she's been on the Ellen Show and others promoting her goal of raising monies for a research and educational facility in Kentucky. Read about her journey on her website; www.beadingtobeatautism.org it's an amazing undertaking for one so young.

As I said, our future is in good hands.

Beading to Beat Autism...a Beading Girl's Night Out

What a fun night we had last night! To kick off the 2011 Bead Shop Hop, we introduced all attendees to the schedule of events upcoming in September. Wow, two weekends in a row seeking out all the great Bead Shops in SoCal...a beader's dream come true!
Tied into this evening was a worthy event as well, we all gathered around the beading table to create little stretchy bracelets that will in turn help a young girl's dream come to fruition! Check out www.beadingtobeatautism.com and read about Michala's story...she's only fourteen years old and has aspirations of building a center for education and research into the silent world of Autism. At age ten she raised over 250Thousand $$$ for her family and the treatment of her young brother, now four years later she desires funding for a Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Find out how to help her further this dream...
For some great pics of the night I'm sure we'll have some good photos on Monica's Quilt and Bead Creations web site, www.monicasquiltandbead.com. I bet we hold this event again so Monica herself can take part in the fun and others who were unable to attend can have another opportunity for fun , creativity and community service.
Above is my creation with Turquoise looking Magnasite and a Red Coral bead for contrast, remember your color theory?!? Lots of Silver spacers, nice chunks add a bit of panache! And then there is the puzzle Charm ( a symbol for autism)...given to me awhile ago by Deb, one of my Bead Chick friends. This Charm has some great words on the back as well...family, tradition, love, friends, charity...to remind us of what's important in our daily lives.
It was amazing to hear the stories of how many in attendance last night knew someone close to them who had Autism affecting a close personal friend or relative.