Crafting for Charity

Since I need to keep my hands busy at all times, along with making beads and jewelry I also do MANY crafts. One of the things I love to do is crochet put together with my addiction to yarn, this can be a huge problem. soooo...... about 2 years ago I joined a group called All Crafts for Charity. Each month, this group takes on a different project that we knit, crochet and sew for. It's an amazing group. I am amazed month after month at the amount of items that this group provides for those in need.

AC4C's mission statement:

This list promotes sewing, crocheting, knitting, quilting, tatting, smocking and other fabric arts for the good of charities all over the world! We have free patterns, free advice and lists of agencies in need of your hand made donations. We mostly specialize in helping premature (preemie) infants and but also promote other charities that may need our help. Please join us in a positive and loving atmosphere that thrives on helping others. All we ask from you are loving hands and a kind heart.

Some of the charities that we work with are:

• Bundles of Love
• Small Home for Elders
• Center for Grieving Children
• Woven Lotis
• Balboa Children's Hospital
• WRC Pregnancy Center
• Oasis for Hope
• Knit Your Bit
• Ships Project

and many others.

So far this month, I have sent in a few sweater sets and some squares for our amazing joiners to make into afghans.

So...to all crafters out there. If you want to join a great group and put your crafting to great use, please think about joining. The reward is unimaginable.

More New Stuff - Earrings

I'm doing Little Black Box this coming month. I'm really excited to participate in this program. It's a great opportunity to get a bunch of my stuff out to a niche market...people who love handcrafted goods.

Sooooo, I have been working on getting samples ready, I decided to do cell phone charms/zipper pulls and earrings for the boxes. I am also including a business card with a free offer on it. If you order a bracelet, I'll throw in a free pair of matching earrings. I have been getting all the little sample packs ready, making the beads, assembling the charms and earrings and was getting bored. I decided to do a few new earrings from my bead collection. So here are the new earrings:

Here is the new logo that I'm using on the website








And....DRUM ROLL PLEASE.... the new earrings which are available on my website, Ebay, and my Etsy shop.

Pepperoni Pizza Earrings








Designer Style Cherry Earrings









Pony Earrings









Apple Earrings


Tuna Maguro Sushi Earrings



Tuna Roll Maguro Maki Earrings




Wish me luck!

MUCH New stuff!

I was inspired by an old High School friend to make a few more rosaries. He asked if I would make one for him (out of Lapis) and one for his daughter (with a Noah's Ark theme). He liked them and I was motivated to make a few more and offer them up for sale.

Here they are:

NOAH'S ARK Child's Rosary










Lapis and Lampwork Rosary











Aqua Crystal Rosary











Sea Opal Chaplet










Lourdes Chaplet











I have also done a new bead - this means there are new Stitch Markers and Wine Charms!

Charity Crafting

I need to talk about a group that I belong to:

All Crafts for Charity consists of over 1000 members. An amazing group of giving, caring and generous woman (and some men) who month after month give their time, money and talent to people in need all over the world.

This is from the group's Home Page:

This list promotes sewing, crocheting, knitting, quilting, tatting, smocking and other fabric arts for the good of charities all over the world! We have free patterns, free advice and lists of agencies in need of your hand made donations. We mostly specialize in helping premature (preemie) infants and but also promote other charities that may need our help. Please join us in a positive and loving atmosphere that thrives on helping others. All we ask from you are loving hands and a kind heart.

Each month, we have one or two projects for different charities. We knit, Sew and Crochet for those in need. Here are a few of the projects from the past and some of the items I have contributed.

Bonnie's Babies




















Pine Ridge Reservation


















For a small elder care facility in Virginia










Balboa Children's Hospital























WRC Project






















If anyone is interested in more information on this group, please contact me.

Edible Jewelry?

Yup...that's right! Edible Jewelry. Wendy Mahr has come up with this combo...chocolate on jewelry.

How about something that just looks edible and won't melt?

Why Buy Handmade?

Buying Handmade makes for better gift-giving.

The giver of a handmade gift has avoided the parking lots and long lines of the big chain stores in favor of something more meaningful. If the giver has purchased the gift, s/he feels the satisfaction of supporting an artist or crafter directly. The recipient of the handmade gift receives something that is one-of-a-kind, and made with care and attention that can
be seen and touched. It is the result of skill and craftsmanship that is absent in the world of large-scale manufacturing.

Buying handmade is better for people.

The ascendancy of chain store culture and global manufacturing has left us dressing, furnishing, and decorating alike. We are encouraged to be consumers, not producers, of our own culture. Our ties to the local and human sources of our goods have been lost. Buying handmade helps us reconnect.

Buying handmade is better for the environment.

The accumulating environmental effects of mass production are a major cause of global warming and the poisoning of our air, water and soil. Every item you make or purchase from a small-scale independent artist or crafter strikes a small blow to the forces of mass production

01:16:08

The Handmade Pledge collected over ten thousand signatures in its 2 short months of existence this holiday season. That's ten thousand people who stayed out of the malls and gave meaningful, one-of-a-kind, handmade gifts to thier friends and families. And that's countless thousands more who were lucky enough to receive those gifts!

01:16:08

Etsy's online magazine, The Storque, is making a video documentary in conjunction with the Handmade Pledge. Your videos are welcome! Read all about it here.

What do I want to accomplish here?

Well, I guess a whole bunch of different things! Here are a few for starters:

• Keep everyone updated on my latest creations
• Post some tutorials
• Let you see what I'm working on
• Get feedback on my stuff
• Share ideas with other crafters

I don't think that's asking a lot!

Let me know if there is anything you would like to see here and I'll see what I can do.