My friend, Chris, wasn’t a big bead fan. She bought beads, decided she didn’t want to do anything with them and then gave them away. Every once in a while she would repeat the process.

With this in mind she wasn’t exactly overjoyed to be part of mine and Billie’s Beading Play Date. She came with an open mind but she wasn’t expecting much. She definitely wasn’t expecting to acquire a new addiction, but that is exactly what happened.

Billie got Chris started with a beading tray and showed her how easy it is to mix and match the beads before you string them. Most importantly, Billie pointed out that there is no right or wrong and a random assortment can be very striking. I think Chris was actually having fun moving the beads around and playing with different color combinations. There were lots of ooh and ahhs as each new combination looked better than the one before it. She was getting interested, that was clear. Before long she was the proud owner of a beautiful new eyeglass necklace and from that moment on she was hooked.

Suddenly there was talk of going back to the bead store, and of giving beaded items as gifts. I love watching people become as addicted as I am so I was just thrilled. Chris was a little less thrilled with us for getting her hooked. She doesn’t seem to buy into my theory that you can never have too many addictions. Poor Chris, she just hasn’t been around me long enough. She will learn that resistance is futile.

The story isn’t quite over yet. On the way home the necklace broke and beads went flying all over the car interior. Thank goodness she was in the car and almost all the beads were able to be recovered! She stopped by today to use my crimping pliers and  was able to put the necklace back together. It is good as new and she is good and hooked!