Saturday, July 7, 2012

Paper Bead Jewellery..

Well, it has certainly been a busy few months.

Why is that, I hear you ask.

Well, do you remember this post from last year?   Scrub that, I can't find the post I'm talking about.

Anyways, I was telling you about the charity event we held at Church last Christmas that I organised.

I taught the women how to make paper bead jewellery, which we then sold at an end of year Christmas event.  We raised the money to help with the building of a women's hospital in the Afar region of Ethiopia.

So, we are putting the event on again this year, but raising the money for an HIV/AIDS orphanage in Thailand.  A friend of mine takes a mission team over there each year, to create a holiday at home for the kids.
That might not sound like such a big deal, BUT, I can assure you, for those kids, it is huge.
Because they have HIV they are pretty well ostracised in the community (for fear of contracting the disease).  They can't even go to the local swimming pool in the heat of summer.  They can't go to school, or take part in other normal kids activities.

Here are some of the pics of the first lot of jewellery made for this year.

By the way, I've started a website for the night and a facebook page, to show some samples of the paper bead jewellery and to give peeps an inkling of what to expect on the night.




Lariat necklaces are such fun.  I love to add in charms like teapots and keys.





The pendant isn't a paper bead (in case you're wondering), but the rest are.




All the bead start off as white paper, and are handpainted.




Paper bead earrings don't drag on your ears.




I love the purple chunky beads.  And because they are paper, they are so lightweight.




The lettering was all painted on to the beads by hand.




Paper beads mix well with other sorts of beads, like crystals.




So many beads to make, sooooo little time.
Christmas will be here before you know it!

cheers
Fi