Sisterhood of the Traveling Beads Winners!

Sorry for the wait for those who wanted to know the winner for the Sisterhood of the Traveling Beads.  I had to work hard this weekend and took a few days of an "internet vacation" so I could catch up. 

This was so much fun.  For those who missed the original post, it's here.

The winner is Mikki!

Mikki will receive her box in just a few days and she has 2 weeks to go through the stash and take what she'd like and replace them with items from her stash.  To keep it interesting, let's have a two week deadline for everyone who participates.  She'll post on her blog when she ready for the beads to travel and I'll post here too. 

All I ask is that each time it passes hands, the winner will email me when the next giveaway starts so I can enjoy the traveling and help promote your giveaway!

Kella is the international winner of a sweet little grab bag from my etsy shop.

Here were some fun comments from the contest that I thought I'd share:

"How about if contributors post pix of the contents when they get it and what they add? It would be very interesting to see how it changes." - Deerwoman

"I'd love to play. Is it possible to share your turn? Because I know my bead society would love to join in but most of them don't blog or have sites." - Mikki

"A friend of mine started something like this a little while ago - on a much smaller scale of course - only $15 worth of beads - and we have 4 beaders who are participate currently. When the pkgs contain beads we originally put into the stash, we take them out and replace them and just keep the traveling bead circle going. :) It's a really fun way to destash/share and receive/discover new goodies!" - Kismet1990

Some questions that I was asked:
How do we know the value to replace the beads?  I only ask that you think generously of the next winner and replace the beads with what you think is a fair trade.

Did I lose my mind giving away this stash?  Honestly these are things I will never use.  They were stuffed in boxes or piled in corners.  I'm not giving up anything precious.  I also happen to be a big believer that only open hands can receive new gifts! (Or beads in this case.)

Can I do this on my blog?  By all means, de-stash and do your own traveling bead box!  I didn't make this up, gardeners trade seeds, readers trade books, there are crafty swaps going on all the time.  Have fun, I'm happy to inspire such beady goodness.

I smell a good theme for a bead party too!  Why not host a bead swap in your home?  Serve something delicious, invite a few beady friends and ask them to bring beads they want to swap.  You may have to set up some kind of rules or it could get ugly! 

Thanks to everyone who played along.  It was a great way to celebrate my clean studio - which is still clean!

Stop back tomorrow for BIG news and lots of new beads!