Freeform Friday: Girl's Bead night

Welcome to Girl's Bead Night! 

Razz is one of the girls; door greeter, carrot eater.

When Kim's email hits my inbox, I get that feeling of optimistic excitement.  "M has travel, lets have a Bead night..." What started out as convenience - to meet at Kim's when her husband was traveling for work,  has gone from habit to tradition. (We DO entertain the idea of meeting at each other's houses as well. But Kim is a fantastic hostess, and our tradition stands for now.)

Then the emails circulate as to time and food. Girl's Bead Night is on!

We are, in no particular order, a chemical engineer, an accountant, an entomologist/ceramicist, an artist/photographer, and an artist/educator. Between us we also garden, sew, scrapbook, tackle home renovations, travel the world, ride elephants....

Sangria. Stir fry. veggies. Life is good. 

We start with dinner, and a beverage and a chance to get caught up. Tales of travel, updates on family members - old and new! Anecdotes of crazy dog antics - there are 5 dogs between us all, and Razz in residence... and then we settle in - taking over the dining room as Kim's teen boys ignore us in favor of TV and sports. (an appropriate reaction.)

Kim - bracelets started AND finished. 

Bonnie - peyote with 11's & cubes, conquered the diagrams! 

Marsha - creating clasps, work time and leisure time. 

Me - seed beads with my focals, the new obsession. And they travel well! 

Lisa was working on her laptop, always has her eye on a cool composition. 

That face! 

I of course, ran this post by these women, and post with their approval. We discussed GBN as it was the first time all 5 of us had been together in months. It's a chance to share ideas and have fun, naturally. It's a respite from accounting, or teenager drama at home. A chance to talk to adults, not cats and small children. GBN provides a reason why you have to pack up that languishing project to work on and finish, or make time to bead, amidst the busy day-to-day! It can be a welcome "respite from reality" where all the stresses and concerns are left at home, and we can relax, unwind, and feel infinitely refreshed and restored the next day.

We swap, and trade, and share; to have a group of friends dear enough to share the bead hoard! You see my point... There is often good old fashioned "show & tell". We teach each other new techniques, and share resources. Problem solving, business advice, encouragement in many forms. Between us we bring so many interests to the table - from wire wrap to bead loom... there's never a dull moment!
I am grateful to have been welcomed into this group of women, now good friends. And I treasure GBN whenever, wherever it occurs. There is an environment, an atmosphere created when like minded creative people gather that is hard to put into words. It's welcoming, and invigorating. It's safe, and comfortable, yet exciting. It's familiar, yet always new. I wish each and every one of you finds a creative community to be apart of...  To me, AJE is one such network, but there is a different magic created in person. So thank you Marsha, for inviting me. And thank you Kim, Lisa and Bonnie for making GBN what it is today! 

Until next time... 

Jenny

www.jdaviesreazor.com

Links: 

Kim's Etsy

Lisa's Etsy

Marsha's website