Not as easy as it looks, people...

I am a lucky girl for many reasons, one of which is an amazing group of friends. I'm in two book clubs and both book clubs are teeming with women who positively burst with creativity and an interest in trying new things. When Bramble Berry bought/"won" a beading party at the local Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services fundraising auction, one of my book clubs jumped at the chance to learn a new hobby, bond and come out with some custom earrings in the process.

Here are me and Sarah, a 7-year book club member, trying to make our earrings. The actual picking out of the beads took longer than the wiring and stringing. It might be difficult to tell in the photos below, but my bead box is positively overflowing with beads of all colors shapes and sizes. There's got to be some sort of correlation between my copious collection and personality type because all the other gals had very clean bead trays, with only the minimum of perfectly chosen beads. Then again, I've been in all of their homes. Their houses are definitely cleaner and more organized than mine... (hm, correlation? I think so!)

Can you see how hard I am concentrating in this picture (to the left)? Can you see the bead of sweat running down my cheek (well, that's what it felt like)? Thankfully, it paid off and I have my very own custom set of earrings to prove it. I give major kudos to those who create handmade jewelry. It is way harder than it looks. I was also amazed to learn how many different methods there were for jewelry making! Wowza!

All in all, the experience was a blast. I'm thankful for good friends, the opportunity to learn a new craft and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

On a side note, I'm in Seattle for a few days for meetings, borrowing a friend's condo on Lake Washington (bless her heart for hosting me). Last night, she and I went to the Space Needle and listened to the founders of eHarmony Marriage, Les and Leslie Parrot, speak on relationships and business. There were a few great take-aways that I can't wait to share with you. But that will have to wait for another day because I'm leaving the Starbucks (thank you Starbucks for the wi-fi!) to go meet with Wyatt from the Whitney & Wyatt Show. Until tomorrow ... (or the next Starbucks wi-fi spot).