TP= Trading Post.
Let's see-- the June '04 ddc did bracelets and beads; I was the volunteer for that. There were about 20 of us (maybe fewer?). Everyone sent me a) a bead and b) a bit of money for supplies for the bracelets and postage back and/or c) a SASE (padded). They all sent what they could manage, so while a few people sent, say, a SASE and $5, some others could only manage $1 or the SASE. I made friendship bracelets in deep reds and purples, the "Chinese Staircase" pattern, if you're familiar with such things; this was to represent an umbilical cord. The beads didn't fit on the braclets themselves, so I ended up stringing the beads separately on florist's wire and then wrapping the ends around the bracelets. They were adorable, if I do say so myself; I'll see if anyone from that group has pictures posted somewhere.
The April '06 group, we all sent beads to a central organizer who strung them on bracelets and sent them back to us in our SASEs (or maybe we PayPaled her?
). We also sent birth blessings/thoughts with our beads, which were then printed out some 18 times by the organizer and sent to all of us.
There are a few April '06 mamas in this group who probably participated and have or can take pictures of them.
But yes, that's basically how it works-- we find an organizer, decide what we want to do, the organizer keeps a list and sets a final date for being added. At that point she tells us how many beads to send (one for each person on the list, including the organizer) and send her a SASE and/or money for postage and supplies (she'll need some kind of string to put the beads on, for example). It helps for the organizer to decide on what sort of string she'll be using, so we know how big the holes in the beads need to be (if you're not the sort who spends much time in art supply stores, you'll be astonished at the variety of sizes available
.
I totally can't do it this time; I've got three little kids and barely have time to shower.
I'm all in favor of helping in my own limited way... but the main roles will have to be played by another.
ETA: One more thing. I'm in agreement that this should probably wait until the late second trimester to begin, at the earliest. We want time to send and receive our bracelets before we're in labor, but at the same time... well, that's three or four more months for something to get lost , in my world.
: I have tons of beading supplies, but not sure what I would need for this project.
I was going to ask if anyone was up for a second trimester swap, but for obvious reasons I can't do a birth bead one.
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