Beading Birthday Party

Today I worked my first beading birthday party.  It was at the home of a student in my class.  She had five other girls, aged from seven to thirteen, plus herself at the party.  I'll describe my setup and equipment.  Each girl had a beading board (found at a local bead and jewellery store for $1.00 each!) a beading mat, and tools.  Since there were only a few girls, each could have her own round-nose pliers, chain-nose pliers, and flush cutters.  A few days ago I went through my bead inventory, and organized them into beads for my use, and beads for beading parties.  All the beads designated for parties were kept in clear round plastic stacking containers, and the findings and silver accent beads were in a flat, compartmentalized container.  The beads and findings were in the middle of the table, where everyone could reach them.  Each girl could make two items, necklace, bracelet or earrings.  I had pre-strung some bracelet-length and necklace-length beading wires with either a toggle clasp or a lobster clasp.  I talked briefly about using different textures, contrast, and accent beads, then let them loose on the bead supplies.  The girls made some beautiful things, and when they were done, I put each girl's creations in a beautiful organza bag, into which I had slipped a business card and a flyer.  With cleanup, I was there for a total of 85 minutes, which was about 15 minutes longer than I was supposed to be there, but that's because I let them make two things instead of one.  I did that because the girl is a student in my class, and I wanted to offer her some kind of bonus gift.  I also gave her a pair of earrings that I'd made, as a birthday gift.  I think the party was a big success, and I hope that there'll be more parties.  Here are some pics of the party.