Dress A Girl Around the World - Dress A Girl-Sydney & Australia

Craft for a cause this craft month of March

2012-03-03T09:00:00.001+11:00

For most countries around the world this month is National 'Craft' Month! Let us all celebrate by crafting at least one item for a worthy cause.

Let us all make a pillowcase dress to support Dress A Girl Around the World.

Let us all imagine a world where every little girl owned at least one dress and what if that dress were made by you.

Let us all make a difference in this world...one craft item at a time....one pillowcase dress at a time....one day at a time.

*** Dress A Girl Australia will be posting on this site all items made this month for a worthy cause. Watch for it!

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #23 - From Sarah Petrie and her 2 girls Charlotte and Claudia

2012-03-01T21:45:00.000+11:00

'share the ♥♥♥ #12'. Last but not the least are 9 dresses from Sarah Petrie and her 2 daughters Charlotte and Claudia. Sarah wrote that she has been meaning to make a dress for a while and was inspired by the Valentines Day drive. She did one dress and got a bit carried away and made 6 more. Her daughter Charlotte has been wanting to learn to sew. 2 of the dresses were sewn by her in one weekend. She did it all by herself with her mum guiding her with instructions. Isnt that such an inspiring thought and a great mum-daughter activity.

Here are the dresses made by Sarah and Charlotte with Charlotte wearing one of her creations.

Chalotte and Claudia.

To Sarah, Charlotte and Claudia, thank you so much for the dresses and to Charlotte, thank you so much for doing a great job inspiring other girls to follow in your footsteps in helping the less fortunate children around the world. Thank you.

Wow! What a great 2-week event for Dress A Girl Australia. What a month! What a great February month of loving and sharing by everyone for all the less fortunate children around the world. What lucky children they will be when they get to wear all these pretty dresses.

If you feel inspired and want to follow the footsteps of all those who supported the 'share the love' this 2012 Valentines day, please send donations to Dress A Girl Australia, P.O. Box 240 Casula Mall Casula NSW 2170.

I now declare the 'share the love' drive officially closed and ....until the next event.

If you need more information, please feel free to send an email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #22 - Another workshop and 24 kits from Ladies Cenacle

2012-02-29T22:52:00.000+11:00

'share the ♥♥♥ #11'. The Ladies Cenacle have been busy again with their second workshop making pillowcase dress kits. This time they were able to make 24 kits which is going to be a big help to continue and hopefully expand one of Dress A Girl Australia's 2012 children and youth empowerment program.

On the job creating the kits are Judy and Bea Avila, Marivic and Tess Halili and Erlyn Ballesta Sanchez who organized the workshop.

Isnt it nice to see them happily making the dress kits knowing that these kits are going to help the less fortunate children around the world.

To the ladies Cenacle, thank you for contributing your time in making these dress kits and thank you for the kits. Each kit is going to help a child and/or a youth develop their sewing skills to possibly help them earn a living.

To Erlyn, thank you so much for your continued support to a wonderful cause.

If you think you cannot sew a dress but still would like to contribute to a great cause for children, please feel free to send an email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com.

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #21 from Gaylene

2012-02-29T20:30:00.000+11:00

'share the ♥♥♥ #10'. The third parcel from Gaylene Hermann containing 21 dresses for 21 deserving little girls around the world. 21 happy and smiling faces lighting up our world proudly wearing dresses they can call their own and possibly the only dresses they will own for quite some time.

Gaylene, thank you so very, very much for your unwavering support of Dress A Girl Australia. What a great job you are doing making dresses for the less fortunate girls around the world and inspiring other people to do the same. Thank you so much.

If you feel inspired to support a wonderful cause and want to know more details about Dress A Girl Australia, please feel free to send an email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com.

Food for thoughts

2012-02-27T21:36:00.000+11:00

Once in a while I come up with a list of 'food for thoughts' and this time what I have is very close to what Dress A Girl Australia is all about.

1) We make a living by what we get but we make a life by what we give.

2) Busy hands make happy hearts.

3) The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be touched or seen...but are felt with the heart.

4) There is no joy in life as much like the joy of sharing.

5) A loving heart brings joy to all.

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #20 from hartyboys

2012-02-27T20:44:00.001+11:00

'share the ♥♥♥ #9'. From Willyung WA, Sandra sent me 16 dresses to share with the less fortunate children around the world. Liked the combination of pillowcase and T-Shirt dresses.

Thank you Sandra for sharing love to a very wonderful cause. There is no joy in life as much like the joy of sharing. Your dresses are very much appreciated. Thank you.

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #19 - Claudine Long

2012-02-24T23:11:00.000+11:00

'share the ♥♥♥ #8'. Another great bundles of fabrics from Claudine Long of Sydney who felt so inspired to donate fabrics to a very worthy cause after reading my article on 'share the love' on valentines day.

Am so glad that the effort and time I spend on Dress A Girl Australia is so much appreciated through the donations I am receiving for the children around the world who deserves to own at least one dress each.

Claudine, my heartfelt thanks.

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #18 - Joan Wood

2012-02-24T22:57:00.000+11:00

'share the ♥♥♥ #7'. Another 2 bundles of fabrics from Joanne Wood from Sydney. What a great way to share the love and in such a special way to the less fortunate children around the world.

To Joanne, thanks a whole lot for the bunch! What a busy and inspiring year it will be for Dress A Girl Australia. Thank you.

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #17 - Anonymous Donor

2012-02-22T23:49:00.000+11:00

'share the ♥♥♥ #6'. 'share the love' donation to Dress A Girl Australia. These 3 dresses were given to a friend of mine. I guess she didnt want to be identified and my friend was not really sure which lady gave it to her. They both go to the same church.

Whoever you are, my heartfelt thanks to your donations. In case you decide to identify yourself, please feel free to contact me or send email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com.

Dresses from donated fabrics FY12 #7 - Katherine's and Katz Kreations

2012-02-22T22:31:00.000+11:00

Last but not the least are Katz Kreations and Katherine's contribution to Dress A Girl Australia. Six dresses and a pair of shorts.

To Katherine and her Katz Kreations, thank you so much for everything. Everything you are doing for Dress A Girl Australia is very much appreciated.

Click here to see all dress donations under the Katz Kreations banner.

Click here to see all dresses and pairs of shorts' donations by Katherine.

Dresses from donated fabrics FY12 #6 - Amanda Sampson

2012-02-22T22:00:00.001+11:00

Ok, you better believe this as I still have 2 more donors to thank for. In addition to the 7 dresses I received last December 2011, Katherine has made 10 more pillowcase dresses from Amanda Sampson's fabric donations.

To Amanda, thank you so much for your belief in this very worthwhile cause.

To Katherine, thank you for your unwavering support and patience in making these dresses.

To see all of Amanda Sampson's dress donations, click here.

Dresses from donated fabrics FY12 #5 - Renae Hambrock

2012-02-22T21:04:00.002+11:00

Still on Katherine's list is number 4 donor Renae Hambrock for three pillowcase dresses. These dresses are in addition to what I have received in Dec 2011.

Arent these little girls so lucky to be wearing all these wonderful pillowcase dresses?

To Renae, again, thank you very much for the fabric donations and to Katherine, thanks heaps! Your contributions to Dress A Girl Australia are very much appreciated.

To see more of Renae Hambrocks' donations, please click here!

Dresses from donated fabrics FY12 #4 - Becs Bags

2012-02-22T20:48:00.001+11:00

Next on the list in Katherine's parcel #3 are pairs of shorts from Becs Bags. Next month to celebrate Dress A Girl Australia's one year anniversary of sewing and collecting pillowcase dresses for the less fortunate girls around the world, an official announcement will be made regarding a new campaign for the boys. Just like the girls they also deserve to own new pairs of shorts.

Becs Bags' pair of shorts will definitely be part of that campaign and the first on the list to be distributed to the less fortunate boys around the world.

To Becs Bags, thank you so much for your fabric donations and to Katherine, thank you for making those fabrics into pairs of shorts.

Click here to see all donations of Becs Bags.

Dresses from donated fabrics FY12 #3 - Chicken Ink Creative

2012-02-22T00:58:00.000+11:00

Still on parcel #3 from Katherine is another dress from the fabric donations of Chicken Ink Creative. This dress is in addition to the first 3 dresses received in December 2011.

Thank you to Chicken Ink Creative for the fabric and to Katherine for making the dress.

To see all dresses from Chicken Ink Creative, click here.

Dresses from donated fabrics FY12 #2 - em and femme designs

2012-02-22T00:42:00.000+11:00

Last week I received parcel #3 from Katherine containing 21 pillowcase dresses and 4 pairs of shorts. In case you havent known yet, Katherine has been patiently sewing dresses from donated fabrics sent to her and as of today she has completed 60 dresses and 26 pairs of shorts.

In this parcel is another dress from a fabric donated by em and femme designs.

To em and femme designs, thank you for your fabric donations and to dear Katherine, thank you for making them into dresses.

To see all dresses from em and femme designs, click here.

Dresses from Donated Fabrics FY12 #1 - Christmas Donated Materials

2012-02-20T22:14:00.000+11:00

With the number of bundles I am receiving, I better start prioritizing the things I have in my to-do list and re-ignite my love for sewing and make dresses as quickly as I can. I think I need another sewing marathon if I have to clear up all these bundles. The month of March would be a good time to hold one as by that time I have sorted and prepped up all the remaining dresses ready for packing and distribution.

At the start of 2012 I made a promise to myself that I would make at least a dress and a pair of shorts every week and so far I have made only 6 dresses (after almost 8 weeks) and these are 3 of them from the Christmas pack. Nowhere are the shorts for the boys to be found.

Fabric materials from the Christmas pack

As of today, I have a backlog of 2 dresses and 8 pairs of shorts so I better start catching up.

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #16 - Anonymous Donors

2012-02-20T21:37:00.000+11:00

'share the ♥♥♥ #5'. Still a lot more to acknowledge. Next on the list (Donor #5) are bundles of fabrics from anonymous donors. Two of the parcels I found it difficult to decipher the return addresses and another parcel didnt have a return address. There are about 10 metres of fabrics on these parcels and I wished I knew what their names were but every fibre of these bundles are very, very much appreciated. Thank you so much.

Whoever you are, thank you from the little girls who will be wearing dresses out of your bundles. Please come back often on this site and check out the dresses I will be making out of your bundles.

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #15 - from Dress A Girl Australia

2012-02-19T02:05:00.000+11:00

'share the ♥♥♥ #4'. I bought this fabric two weeks ago on a sale to use as a border for a quilt I am making for my niece. I thought I only bought a metre of the fabric but when I got home it turned out I had 2 metres. I checked the docket and confirmed that I actually paid for 2 metres and really I only need half-a-metre for the quilt. Lucky me it was on sale and paid only half the price. Since I dont need the rest of the fabric I might as well donate it to Dress A Girl Australia and add another 2 dresses for 2 little girls around the world.

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #14 - Red Homespun Fabric from Rachel of Sydney

2012-02-19T01:43:00.000+11:00

'share the ♥♥♥ #3'. Now that the 'share the love' charity drive has ended, it is time to continue on acknowledging each and every item I have received from all the wonderful people who opened their hearts to make this drive a success.

Third on the list is Rachel Leung from Sydney who sent 5 metres of red homespun fabric. A parcel so full of love as symbolized by the colour red.

Rachel, your bundle will surely make a lot of girls happy knowing that they own the dress that will be given to them to wear. Thanks a whole lot for your donation.

A present for Dress A Girl Australia?

2012-02-19T01:16:00.000+11:00

I just had a very good 3-hr sleep this afternoon(which I think I really deserved one) and better when someone tweeted that soon Dress A Girl Australia will be receiving this 'lil-bro' sewing machine. A very good start to my planned vocational training/livelihood program I hope to launch in a couple of selected locations in Asia in 2012. Wooohoooo!! Wonderful people in such a wonderful world!

Once I have finalized all the distributions as planned in the first quarter of 2012, I think it will then be a good time to start thinking of the details of the rest of Dress A Girl Australia's plans for 2012, which is priority and what strategy to consider to make each project a success.

What an Inspiration to all the young girls out there

2012-02-19T00:51:00.001+11:00

‎Today I picked up 3 parcels from the Australia Post which packaged 50 dresses. I am overwhelmed with joy especially to this young lady in the picture.

Charlotte sewed 2 dresses in one weekend and what an excellent job she did. What an inspiration to all the young girls out there... with her willingness to spare her time to make a dress or 2 for the less fortunate girls (probably of same age as her) and make a difference in this world. It inspires me to keep on working and spreading the word what a wonderful cause Dress A Girl Around the World is.

This picture is going to remind me that I have a task to do in 2012...and that is to spread the word about Dress A Girl Around the World to all the young girls in Australia and perhaps to the rest of the world...that there are children out there who needs our help...one dress at a time.

Thank You Very Much for 'Sharing the Love' this 2012 Valentines Day

2012-02-18T01:11:00.000+11:00

'Share the Love' ended today. Thank you very much to everyone who made this drive successful. Individual acknowledgements will continue as soon as I have sorted each and everyone of the donations I have received. All donations are very,very much appreciated. Thank you.

'Share the love' charity drive may have ended today but sharing love goes on...moves on...continues on each and everyday to all the less fortunate children around the world. Thank you for all the smiles and happy faces we will be seeing in this happy world of ours.

There is nothing I can think of right now that says love like a handmade gift. Love like a pillowcase dress. Love that comes from the heart for the less fortunate children around the world. Thank you.

Major sponsor Kikay Designs featured in Homespun magazine

2012-02-18T00:36:00.000+11:00

Congratulations to Kikay Designs for being featured as a bagmaking newcomer in the Australian Homespun Magazine February 2012.

Dress A Girl Australia depends on financial support from family, a few special friends and small business owners to maintain its ability to dress the less fortunate girls around the world. Since I started this campaign here in Sydney and Australia ten months ago, Kikay Designs has been there to fully support this project.

Congratulations, thank you and more power to you!

Click here to know more about Kikay Designs and her handmade bags.

Little Fabric Houses for Tsunami survivors

2012-02-14T01:22:00.001+11:00

Almost every bedroom door in my house you will find plastic bags hanging in the doorknob. These are my fabric scraps which I never throw away. Am not only a fabric hoarder but a fabric scrap hoarder as well and since I started to make dresses they have been increasing in quantity.

I also follow a lot of blogs which I read on the train going to work. Then 3 days ago I found the best way to make use of the scraps. A lady in Japan blogged about collecting little houses for the survivors of the Great Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami disaster which devastated much of the coastline and surrounding areas of Northern Japan. She wanted to collect 100 handmade little houses with letters so she can share them with the people in the community. I thought it was such a nice gesture and a good way to put my fabric scraps into good use. I also thought the little houses made from her pattern were so cute I needed to make one myself.

Here are the five houses I made since Friday night. I was thinking of making only one house to send but after completing the little house, I decided to make another one until I ended up with 5 little houses. It was so much fun making them that I am going to make one more for my collection.

To know more about the little houses project, click here. But hurry if you want to donate as the deadline for all houses is on the 21st of Feb. Or copy and paste the URL below in your internet browser.

http://jojoebi.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/little-houses-project.html

I hope with the little fabric houses I made, it will give hope to the japanese people who survived the tragedy that happened 10 months ago.

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #13 - 3 Dresses from the Sunshine Coast

2012-02-13T23:25:00.001+11:00

'share the ♥♥♥ # 2'. WooHoo! This is going to keep me busy for the rest of the week acknowledging fabric materials and pillowcase dresses donated as part of the 'Share the Love' this Valentines Day Charity drive. I am very, very grateful and so inspired that a lot of people including young children are making Valentines day this year something different, finding a way to make a difference in this world and making our 'earth' a better place to live in.

Next on the list are three dresses from Damara Sestanovich of the Sunshine Coast.

Damara, it does not matter if you are not a sewer but an artist. What is important is that you made three girls happy with the three dresses you have donated to Dress A Girl Around the World - Dress A Girl Sydney & Australia. Thank you so much for these 3 lovely dresses. It is very much appreciated. And thank you too for spreading the word around.

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #12 - Bundles of Fabrics from Erin from Canberra

2012-02-13T22:48:00.000+11:00

'share the ♥♥♥ #1'. Hi Everyone, hope everyone had a good weekend in spite of the unfriendly weather here in Sydney. With the 'share the love' this Valentine's Day Charity drive about to end this coming Friday, 17th of Feb. this week will be filled with 'share the love' acknowledgments from the wonderful people of Sydney and Australia who like Dress A Girl Australia is imagining a world where every little girl owned at least one dress.

First on the list is a lady from Canberra. Her name is Erin. Last week, she sent a large box to Katherine Nott which contained bundles of fabrics, zips, webbing straps and threads.

Thank you Erin for your donation. Thank you for helping us in making sure all the girls around the world especially from the less fortunate locations own at least one dress.

Thank you Katherine for doing such a wonderful job making these bundles of fabrics into dresses. You are an amazing lady. Thank you.

The job isnt done yet. We still need your help. We still want a lot of children around the world to be happy and smiling that the dresses they are wearing are their own. The journey has just started and with your help we can keep on going, keep on dressing the less fortunate girls around the world. With such a positive feedback from everyone who is made aware of this campaign, it makes Dress A Girl Australia more inspired to keep on working and doing its best to make this campaign a success.

To those who want to donate or needs more information, please feel free to send an email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com.

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #11 - Fabric Collection from a Perth Lady

2012-02-13T22:46:00.001+11:00

A couple of weeks ago I received an email from a Terry Medley who had a friend whose passion was sewing but was dying. She asked Terry to try to find a home for her collection of materials. It would have been great to receive them and make them into dresses but the collection was just too many and too much to send to Sydney but Terry was happy to drop off the materials to someone/some group in Perth who could use it to sew dresses.

Then I thought about the coming Sewing Bee event going to be held in Perth in March and contacted the organizers if they were interested in the fabric collection of which they were.

Here are the bundles and bundles of collection from the lady whose sewing days are over delivered by Terry to Karin Maltby in Perth. It has found a home in Dress A Girl Around the World - Dress A Girl Sydney and Australia through the Perth group. What a wonderful legacy she will be leaving behind to the less fortunate children around the world and the number of smiles we will be seeing from the hundreds of children who will be dressed by this collection. Thank you Terry.

Random Acts of Kindness Week Feb 13-19, 2012

2012-02-13T21:37:00.000+11:00

Look out for those simple things you can do to inspire another this week.

For more information, check out the random acts of kindness foundation website -

http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/

One more Week to 'share the ♥♥♥♥'

2012-02-10T23:30:00.002+11:00

Today is exactly seven days away from the end of 'Share the Love' this Valentines Day with the less fortunate children around the world.

You still have time to make a difference in this world by sharing your love. You still have enough time to change a life one dress at a time.

Think about the happy faces wearing dresses that we make. Think and share the ♥♥♥. Think and tell a friend.

Think and help spread the word around. Thank you!

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #10 - 2 Dresses from Fabric from Threading My Way

2012-02-08T00:09:00.000+11:00

It is acknowledgement time once again. If I have not been responding promptly to your emails, I've been busy in the evening sewing dresses again.

This time 2 dresses from a fabric donated by Pam from Threading My Way. A size 7 and a size 5. Wouldnt it be great if it will end up worn by a pair of twins or sisters.

Pam, thank you so much for the fabric donation. It is much appreciated.

I also was able to finish one dress from my Christmas pack.

Dress A Girl Australia has been busy the past couple of nights and for the next few nights/weeks. I need to make more dresses to clear up some of the bundles of fabrics donated. These bundles need to be converted to pillowcase dresses for deserving children around the world.

It's Not too late yet!

2012-02-05T00:11:00.000+11:00

Yes, 13 days more to go for the 'Share the Love' this Valentines Day charity drive. It is not too late yet to send in those unwanted stashes of fabrics you may have to share with the less fortunate children around the world.

13 days more to go for those red pillowcases to send to Dress A Girl Australia to dress children around the world who deserves to own at least one dress.

♪♪♪ 'love is in the air...everytime i look around'.♪♪♪
♪♪♪ 'love is in the air....do you wanna share'.♪♪♪

it is not too late yet. Have a think and 'share the ♥♥♥' this valentines day with a pillowcase or a pillowcase dress or a pillowcase fabric.

♪♪♪♥♥♥♪♪♪

Please send all donations to -

Dress A Girl Australia
P.O. Box 240

Casula Mall Casula

NSW 2170

Australia

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #9 - 3 dresses from Holly

2012-02-02T21:31:00.000+11:00

Am I slacking again? Its Thursday already and I havent done my acknowledgement for the week yet.

It is time and here it is. 3 beautiful dresses from Holly Landman. With these dresses came a short note from Holly letting me know that she just started sewing and that these 3 dresses are the first dresses she has ever made so far and that she hopes they are ok. She is looking forward to sending more to continue supporting such a wonderful cause.

Holly, these dresses are very pretty and very well done. Thank you for supporting Dress A Girl Around the world through Dress A Girl Australia. Thank you for making these pretty dresses for the less fortunate girls around the world.

What is so inspiring about Dress A Girl Around the World is that it gives all of us a chance to help the less fortunate children around the world own at least one dress by making dresses for them. It also makes us discover some of our hidden talents, our hidden sewing skills. It brings out the best in all of us and what better way to share our newly discovered hidden skills .... by helping these children own at least one dress for they all deserve to own at least one.

Three more dresses....three more happy faces. Thank you!

Brainstorming for new ideas

2012-02-02T20:41:00.001+11:00

Me, my sewing machine, my journal, pen and paper.

All 5 of us will be busy again in the next few days brainstorming.....activating creative thinking and ideas for the next best way to raise funds, next charity drive and lots of other interesting events for Dress A Girl Sydney and Australia to help the less fortunate children around the world. Help and have fun!

Watch out for the big events coming your way....very soon!

It's February!

2012-02-01T20:22:00.000+11:00

Today is the 1st day of February - 17 days to go on 'Share the Love' this Valentines Day with the less fortunate children around the world. !

Please tell a friend....help spread the word around! Thanks!

'Share the Love' this Valentines Day, Tell a Friend!

2012-01-29T08:41:00.000+11:00

We need to see more happy faces in this world especially from little girls around the world who deserves to own at least one dress. Have you thought of 'sharing the love' this valentines day with a pillowcase dress?

Please send any donations of pillowcases, fabrics and/or pillowcase dresses to -
Dress A Girl Australia
P.O. Box 240
Casula NSW 2170
Australia

Looking forward to receiving those valentine parcels on behalf of all the girls around the world who deserves to own one. Thanks!

Dress A Girl Australia is growing...thanks to you!

2012-01-29T08:28:00.000+11:00

Lately, I have been quite busy at work helping out on a project and at home with my niece invites I could not find enough time to take more pictures of dresses but have been diligently responding to emails (as prompt as I can be) to general enquiries about Dress A Girl Australia campaign.

Am very happy that this project is starting to grow and starting to make it big time across Australia. Thank you to all the readers out there who are sewing (or have already sewn) for the less fortunate girls around the world. Thank you to those who are already aware of this campaign for helping spread the word, for telling a friend about it.

Dress A Girl Sydney and Australia appreciates every effort and time everyone spends in making this project a success.

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #8 - 19 Dresses/5 Pillowcases/Bag of Threads from Coffs Harbour Ladies

2012-01-24T23:38:00.000+11:00

Received another bunch of dresses all 19 of them, 5 pillowcases and a bag full of threads from 3 ladies from Coffs Harbour. The bag of threads will help a very long way in sewing dresses for girls around the world.

Here are the 19 pillowcase dresses -

the 5 pillowcases -

and the bag of assorted threads.

To Jane Kelly, Marieka Ashmore and Liz Skinner of Coffs Harbour, thank you for believing in this campaign. Thank you for supporting Dress A Girl Australia with your donations to dress the less fortunate girls around the world. Thank you for making a difference in this world...one dress at a time. Thank you.

If you want to help Dress A Girl Australia achieve its goal of 1500 dresses for 1500 girls around the world this 2012, please donate pillowcase dresses and/or pillowcases and/or fabrics to make into dresses and send them to -

Dress A Girl Australia
P.O. Box 240
Casula NSW 2170
Australia

Any kind of donation to help the less fortunate children in this world are highly appreciated. Thank you.

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #7 - 25 Dresses/4 Shorts from donated fabrics from Katherine

2012-01-24T01:16:00.000+11:00

Its been a busy past few weeks for Katherine again with parcel #2. 25 pillowcase dresses and 4 pairs of shorts for the boys. Woohoo! Shorts for the boys collection is growing I think I need to officially launch this drive very soon.

Most of the dresses, if not all, were made from fabrics donated by Becs Bag, Amanda Sampson, The Fabric Bug, Renae Hambrock, Em and Femme and from Katz Creations. These are fabrics from earlier donations.

Here are the 25 pillowcase dresses and 4 pairs of shorts.

With the help of Katherine, each of the items above, I tried my best to identify who the fabric donors are and have their own individual albums containing all the dresses that have been made from the fabrics each donor have donated. The links to the albums can be found on the left navigation pane under the subsection heading 'Dresses/Shorts/Kits Received by Dress A Girl Australia'.

Again, thank you for the fabric donations that made these dresses possible and to Katherine for patiently sewing these dresses. Thank you so much.

If you want to join in the fun of making pillowcase dresses for the less fortunate girls around the world, please send email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com.

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #6 - Bundles of Fabrics from Katherine's Mum, Vintage Bubble and Wrapped in Fabric

2012-01-23T20:51:00.000+11:00

Forget about being busy... it is donation acknowledgement time once again! Bundles and bundles of fabrics have been sent to Katherine to make into dresses. Just imagine how many girls around the world will be wearing the dresses made out of these fabrics and perhaps for some girls the only dresses they will own in their lifetime. They just keep on coming and thank you so much for making the donations. Dress A Girl Australia fully appreciates every fabric that Katherine receives.

From Katherine's Mum -

From Vintage Bubble -

and from Wrapped in Fabric of Mount Compass, South Australia

https://www.facebook.com/wrappedinfabric

To Katherine's Mum, Vintage Bubble and Wrapped in Fabric, my wholehearted thanks for making the donations. It is very much appreciated.

And to Katherine, what can I say. You've been such a strong and consistent supporter of this campaign. I thank you so much for everything you are doing for Dress A Girl Australia. Thank you!

2012 CD Calendars

2012-01-23T00:15:00.001+11:00

WooHoo! Finally my 2012 CD Dress A Girl Australia Calendars are finished. WooHoo! I made 2 sizes since I have 2 sizes of empty CD calendar cases available - the CD calendar size and the floppy calendar size. The images below are not clear because it is a bit late to take pictures but I will take better pictures tomorrow.
I was also able to make a replenishment of my fabric calendar wallhanging for 2012.

Images on these calendars have been printed with permission from Hope-4-Women International. At least I still have about 49 weeks to be able to make use of my calendars. :-)

Anything handmade for personal reconnection

2012-01-22T22:46:00.000+11:00

In today's technology where everything seems to be communicated electronically, we are losing a personal connection that is so important to the human spirit. When you make something handmade for that someone special in your family and/or a friend you reconnect because you give that person your time, skill, care and love.

Show how much you care not only with your family and friends by donating a pillowcase or a piece of fabric or a pillowcases dress to the 'Share the Love' this Valentines Day Charity Drive by Dress A Girl Australia and share that love and care you have in your heart also to the less fortunate children in this world this Valentines Day. Thanks!

For donations, please post them to -
Dress A Girl Australia
P.O. Box 240
Casula NSW 2170
Australia

Please keep those pillowcases and/or fabrics and/or pillowcase dresses coming. For more information about this campaign, please send email to dressagirlaustrali@gmail.com.

Featured in 'Threading My Way'

2012-01-22T22:32:00.001+11:00

WooHoo! The pillowcase dress I made for another niece of mine last Christmas has been featured in Threading my Way's Threading your way - Dresses for Girls Link Party.

Never in my life did I imagine that I would be making dresses although I love handmades. I do a lot of quilting (mostly small ones) and landscape wallhangings. Sewing a dress was the farthest thing in my mind until I started Dress A Girl Around the World - Dress A Girl Sydney & Australia in April 2011. I had to learn how to make a pillowcase dress. Lucky me it was only for a pillowcase dress to dress the less fortunate girls around the world. But lately I have been getting bolder in my sewing projects and soon I may make my own party skirt to wear to another niece of mine who is celebrating her 21st birthday in March but this would all depend on whether I have the time or not. But we will never know.

Here is the dress I made that was featured. It seems like a dwarf when it is displayed side by side with the other really good dresses sewn by the other crafters....but I made it with my own hands and am proud of it and my niece is walking tall wearing it. :-)

Thank you so much to Pam of Threading my Way for featuring my dress.

How to Make the "Best Dress Ever" - A Tutorial from Dress A Girl Around the World - VA

2012-01-22T21:36:00.000+11:00

There is a tutorial on how to make the best dress ever by Dress A Girl Around the World representative Karen Mills-Thomas from Virginia. The tutorial includes step-by-step instructions on how to make a standard pillowcase dress with ties on the shoulders. It also includes images showing how some steps can be done and size measurements vs lengths of the dress.

Here is the link to the tutorial - click on the link below or copy and paste to your internet browser if the link does not work -

http://dressagirlaroundtheworld-va.blogspot.com/2012/01/how-to-make-best-dress-ever-tutorial.html?spref=bl

The instructions also is asking for you to print the armhole templates from the Dress A Girl Around the World website. I have made the template available below and all you have to do is print the different templates for different sizes of dresses you intend to make.

To print the template, do a right-click on your mouse, locate 'save image as' and save the template on your local drive. Once it is saved, you can then do a right-click on your mouse again and locate 'print' to print the file.

Link to the tutorial and the armhole templates are also available on the left navigation pane of this site under 'Dress A Girl Best Dress Ever' How-to. You have the choice to check out the step-by-step instructions or the armhole patterns.

If you have any questions regarding this tutorial, please send an email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com and I will try my best to help you.

Have Fun!

Ready-to-sew Kits for Vocational workshops

2012-01-22T20:56:00.000+11:00

My niece who is on a year-long volunteer assignment in the Philippines sponsored by the Aus Red Cross reposted and shared my 'Share the Love' this Valentines Day Charity Drive among her 430+ facebook friends hoping that the drive would be able to collect lots of pillowcases and fabrics. She asked if I could send ready-to-sew kits for an ayad friend who is working with an agency that deals with girls who have been rescued from trafficking and the sex industry. They will use the ready to sew kits to run vocational sewing workshops with the older girls who usually can't get into college after high school so they develop a skill.

Yes, dress kits on their way!

If you are wondering what an 'ayad' is ayad is an acronym for Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development. It provides skilled young Australians the opportunity to volunteer overseas in Asia, the Pacific and Africa.

If you want to help me make more kits for vocational sewing workshops to help the less fortunate earn a living, please donate fabrics and/or pillowcases to Dress A Girl Australia.

For more information about this campaign, please send email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com.

Love and Dress A Girl Australia

2012-01-22T20:10:00.000+11:00

Love is beautiful. Love is a pillowcase dress for the less fortunate girls around the world. Love does conquers all.

Feel the love....Give love....Share the love with the less fortunate girls around the world with a pillowcase dress on Valentines Day!

Please donate to Dress A Girl Australia's first charity drive for the year. 'Share the Love' this Valentine's Day.

Please post donations to -

Dress A Girl Australia

P.O. Box 240

Casula NSW 2170

Australia

Thank you in advance!

"Share the Love" this Valentines Day Charity Drive

2012-01-18T22:37:00.000+11:00

Dress A Girl Australia is holding a "Share the Love" this Valentines Day Charity Drive starting tomorrow, Jan 19 until Feb 17, 2011.

Dress A Girl Australia is calling for Red Pillowcase
dresses or Red Pillowcases or Red Fabric donations to make into red pillowcase dresses.

Give love...share the love and make a red difference to the lives of the less fortunate children around the world this Valentines Day. Make your Valentines Day this year different by imagining a world where every little girl owned at least one dress.

Please send any dress, pillowcase and/or fabric donations to :
Dress A Girl Australia
P.O. Box 240
Casula NSW 2170

Looking forward to receiving something red in my postbox for the next 30 days. Thanks HEAPS and Happy Valentines Day!

For any questions or if you need more information, please send email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com.

Dress Measurements for Fabrics

2012-01-18T22:07:00.003+11:00

Here is a good guide on measurements especially for some of you who are sewing dresses or pillowcase dresses out of fabrics. The measurements are good for sizes from 6 mos to size 10. Good sizes we would love to see the girls grow up on the dresses especially if it is the only dress they will possibly own and be wearing for many years to come.

If you have any questions, please feel free to write to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com

Dress A Girl Australia Numbers for 2011

2012-01-17T21:09:00.000+11:00

It is time to close off the numbers achieved in 2011 and focused on the new year 2012.

To summarize, in 2011, from April to Dec, I was able to collect 459 dresses which included 337 dresses raised from the Christmas Drive, 28 pairs of shorts for the boys, 124 ready-to-sew kits and also received 66 pillowcases.

Of this collection, 122 dresses were distributed to 122 girls around the world 119 of which were mainly in the Philippines who deserved to own at least one dress and 3 pairs of shorts. Pillowcases and bundles of fabrics were donated to Dress A Girl Around the World – Dress A Girl Philippines.

On hand , I have 275 dresses ready for distribution this first quarter of 2012, 25 pairs of shorts for the boys, 60 pillowcases and 114 ready-to-sew kits.

I also have on-hand bundles of fabrics received during the year especially during the Christmas Drive period which I believe will make between 60-75 dresses more, bias tapes, ribbons, buttons, elastics and laces great for embellishments.

This first quarter of 2012, my focus would be on distributing these great collections as planned. Not included in the 275 on-hand count, 12 dresses and 10 ready-to-sew kits are in the process of distribution. 50 dresses have been sorted, labelled, packed and ready for dispatch for the schoolchildren of the United Future Foundation in Uganda.

Updates and notifications will be provided on this site once feedback is available from these distributions.

Woohoo!! What a great year Dress A Girl Australia had. It seems so much has been achieved in such a short period of time.

None of these numbers, these great collections would have been possible without your support and believing on this campaign. My heartfelt thanks to all who made the dresses, to all who contributed in the making of the dresses. To reiterate, every fabric, pillowcase, button, spool of thread, lace, elastic and most especially your time and effort spent on the making of these dresses are very much appreciated. Thank you for joining me on this journey of making a difference in this world in 2011 and I hope the word would be spread around for a better 2012. Thank you.

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #5 - 13 Fabric Kits & 2 Pillowcase Kits

2012-01-15T23:40:00.000+11:00

From the members of the Cenacle, Servants of the Lord and Espiritu Santo Parochial School under the coordination of Erlyn Ballesta Sanchez, Dress A Girl Australia received 13 Fabric Kits and 2 Pillowcase Dress Kits. Each kit included bias tapes, ribbons, buttons and a lace for one of the pillowcase kit.

This is the second contribution of the group. First contribution of 25 kits were received in late Nov 2011. 10 of those kits have been sent to the Philippines c/o Lilia Tapia on the 7th of Dec 2011 and today I got an email confirmation from Lilia that last January 9, 2012, she has received the parcel containing 10kits. When things are a little bit back to normal and hopefully in the very near future, we will get some pictures of the dresses she will be making out of those 10 kits and 10 girls wearing her creations. Lilia comes from Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines which was hit by Typhoon Sendong (International Code Washi) which claimed the lives of more than a thousand.

To Erlyn and the members of the Cenacle, Servants of the Lord and Espiritu Santo Parochial School, thank you for your unwavering support of Dress A Girl Australia's campaign to dress the less fortunate girls around the world. I hope to see all kits you have contributed made into dresses for children to wear in the very near future. Thank you.

Donation Acknowledgement FY2012 #4 - Dresses & Shorts from Deidre Parker

2012-01-14T13:06:00.000+11:00

From South Australia, Deidre has sent me again another parcel of 11 dresses and 2 pairs of shorts. Woohoo!!

In case you missed out earlier articles in my blog, Deidre is one of the earliest supporters of Dress A Girl Australia. Her first donation was for 11 dresses which was then included in the first dress distribution last year. When she read my article on dress distribution dated 30-Sep-2011, she wrote to me saying that she was delighted to see from the photos in the article that a tiny yellow dress she made from a scrap of fabric and lace has found a happy owner. This is the picture of the little girl who now owns the tiny yellow dress -

To Deidre, thank you so much for your consistent support of dressing the less fortunate children around the world. It is people like you who makes this campaign really happen and I thank you for your help.

If you want to help provide dresses to children around the world, please send email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com for more information.

The power of Craft

2012-01-13T18:28:00.001+11:00

What is not to like about crafting....especially when it makes a difference to the lives of the less fortunate children of our beloved 'earth'.

Ahh...the power of craft!

Donation Acknowledgement FY2012 #3 - Dozen Pillowcases

2012-01-12T00:02:00.002+11:00

These dozen pillowcases were donated by one of my BFFs (cool acronym for best friends forever) who lives in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. I wanted to donate a couple of packs of undies to Dress A Girl around the World - West Texas for the children in Nicaragua but I could not purchase any pack online from Walmart because they would not accept cards issued outside of the USA nor payment via paypal.

So I contacted Flordeliza and ask her if she could purchase the packs on my behalf and I will just send her the payment via postal mail. Instead of me sending her the payment she asked that I buy fabrics for her and make them into dresses and these dresses will be her contribution to Dress A Girl Australia. I did not buy her fabrics instead I bought 6 packs of 2 pillowcases per pack since it was on sale in one of the shops close to where I live.

Here are the pillowcases that I bought. They are all in plain colours but I can always add some printed matching fabrics and laces to make the dresses more lively.

To Flor, thank you for such a wonderful swap. Now I just need to find the time to make 12 dresses for you. :-)

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #2 - Fabrics from em&femme designs

2012-01-11T22:43:00.002+11:00

Good Day Everyone! It is time for donation acknowledgements once again. These bundles of donated fabrics were sent to Katherine Nott who will sew them into dresses for Dress A Girl Australia.

From em&femme Designs.

https://www.facebook.com/emandfemmedesigns

To em&femme Designs, thank you so much for the bundles of fabrics and the bias tapes. Thank you for making this world a better place for the less fortunate girls around the world.

To Katherine, a big, big thank you for the wonderful help and support you are providing to Dress A Girl Australia. It is very much appreciated.

Also I'd like to post better images of the complete bundles of fabrics donated by Incy Wincy Bows with a contribution from Tash-ly Creations which Katherine received. Again, thank you so much for believing in this campaign.

For those who are inspired with all these donations to be made into dresses for Dress A Girl - Sydney and Australia, if you have any fabrics that you no longer need and want to contribute to this campaign, please send email for posting details to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com.

A special note inside pockets

2012-01-08T11:41:00.000+11:00

Yesterday was a full day. In the morning I went to mail and pick up a couple of parcels from the postoffice and was on my way to purchase printer ink cartridges (which I have run out of) when I realized that I was supposed to enquire from the counter if I still had by any chance a parcel with them but did not have the card left by their delivery people so I went back. I remembered I bought a few items (for myself this time) early Dec and have not received yet but was advised on the email that it has been sent. As usual, needed to prove who I was and it did turn out that they had the parcel since the 19th of Dec and I never got notified. To think that I go to pick up parcels almost every Saturday! What can I do...at least I had my parcel.

The rest of the day I spent sorting dresses by sizes, attached labels and folded them up. In the beginning I would count everytime I finished putting a Dress A Girl(Hope 4 Women logo) label but every now and then I would lose track of the last number I just did so I decided to stop counting.

I should have mentioned this in one of my late Dec 2011 acknowledgments when I first found them inside the pockets of 5 dresses I labelled earlier for early distribution as it is very worth mentioning. Tucked inside the pockets of a total of 18 dresses were folded notes and guess what was printed on each note? Printed was a picture of the students of Bridgetown High School from Western Australia with a message "With Love from Bridgetown High School Western Australia".

Note inside pockets of 18 dresses made by the students of Bridgetown High
School under the guidance of Victoria Meyer who is a member of 'The Sewing
Library Group.

Such a very thoughtful gesture from these students who are making a difference in this world one dress at a time. Thank you so much for the lovely notes. I am sure whoever receives the dresses you made will treasure those notes. And I also will make sure that whoever is going to distribute those dresses on my behalf will be advised of the notes inside the pockets and to make sure that recipients of those dresses are shown those notes.

I hope what these kids from Bridgetown High did will inspire and motivate other people to make a difference and help children from the less fortunate locations around the world to own at least one dress and that dress is made by you.

For anyone who wants to make a dress for Dress A Girl Around the World - Dress A Girl Sydney & Australia, if you feel like including a note (or a light, small doll or anything light a little girl would treasure) on the dresses that you make, please feel free to do so.

For more information on this Dress A Girl Around the World campaign, please send email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com.

Sewing Event in Sydney?

2012-01-07T08:29:00.000+11:00

I have been looking around for halls or spaces for rent in Sydney and even outside the Sydney area for at least half a day so I can hold a sewing event but the hourly rates are quite expensive more so if you hold the event on a weekend or on a public holiday. Holding sewing events on a weekday is out of the question as I work full-time. To make the renting worthwhile I reckon an event should have at least a minimum number of 50 attendees to be able to make at least between 100-150 dresses. The other alternative would be to hold sewing marathons or sew-alongs and anyone can join in from home.

Hmmmm....maybe I should come up with a survey first and see if I can get a good feedback on the number of people who would like to join in a sewing event here in Sydney and take it from there. I was thinking of a sewing event sometime in June or at least before 2012 ends and I believe this would require a lot of planning and organizing.

If there is anyone out there who live in the Sydney area who would be interested to join or help in making dresses for girls around the world for at least 4 hours one Saturday, please send an email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com. I would love to see you join and have fun making dresses.

More fabric bundles for Dress A Girl Australia

2012-01-04T21:37:00.000+11:00

Last week my sister and I went to Lincraft to purchase some cotton knits for her crochet project and my t-shirt project. Since I started sewing pillowcase dresses, I have become more daring in my sewing projects. I plan to make myself a t-shirt. :-)

Since the materials were on sale at $5.56 a metre and had a width of 150cms instead of buying only a metre for my tshirt, I ended up buying 3 metres of the blue cotton knit. A metre for my t-shirt(in case I make a mistake at least I have some spare) and 2mts to make into pairs of shorts for Dress A Girl Australia's 'shorts for the boys' campaign which am officially launching in March.

Last Monday, we decided to go to Spotlight to see if they had cotton knits of the same quality we bought at Lincraft but they only had two color choices and didnt really convince us to buy as I think they were more expensive. We were about to leave when I noticed a sign that says a dollar per metre. I had a look at the fabrics and it had a width of 150cms. For $6.00 (yes $6.00 I paid at the counter) I was able to buy a total of 7.5 metres of the red and black squares and polka dots which I considered shorts-quality kind of fabrics. And I think they will also make good pillowcase dresses.

So here is another haul of fabrics ready to make into pairs of shorts this time for Dress A Girl Australia.

Donation Acknowledgements for the year 2012 #1 - Fabrics from Incy Wincy Destash

2012-01-04T19:33:00.001+11:00

What a good way to start the year 2012 with these bundles of fabrics from Incy Wincy Destash with a donation from Tashly Creations too. These fabrics will be sent to Katherine who has committed to making pillowcase dresses out of these fabrics.

To Simone and Natasha, thank you so much for the goodies. Every fabric donated from these bundles is very much appreciated. Every dress created by Katherine from these bundles will make a difference to the lives of the girls around the world who will own any of these dresses. Thank you.

New Year's resolutions for 2012

2012-01-02T08:38:00.002+11:00

So what is it going to be for 2012? Would it be 'work smarter' and get less stressed at work? Or if you love handcraft work find a way to finish up all projects, reduce stash or acquire more stash? Or would you like to do more work for charity? Would it be a lifestyle change? Weight loss or walk 10,000 steps a day?

Whatever it is that you have decided or still has to decide on what to do in 2012, I hope you will enjoy and have fun achieving them and get yourself rewarded with the biggest tick marks on the list at the end of the year. Remember resolutions you list down on a piece of paper or write in a journal are not wishes but goals you set to achieve.

Dress A Girl Australia will be striving for more dresses and also have lots of exciting plans in store for 2012 so if you are looking for ways to be able to help especially the less fortunate children around the world, then come and join Dress A Girl Around the World - Dress A Girl Australia in its journey to make a difference in a small but surely way. Share whatever craft skills you've got to help and make this world a better place.

For more information about Dress A Girl Around the World - Dress A Girl Australia, please send email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com.

Happy New and Great 2012!

2011-12-31T16:17:00.001+11:00

Let us all sing and dance and SEW and make good cheer, let us all make it last throughout the year. Happy New Year!

Happy making a difference in this world...one dress at a time in 2012!

Donation Acknowledgements for the Week #4 - Anonymous Donor

2011-12-31T11:20:00.000+11:00

The other item I picked up from the post office yesterday was a parcel full of fabrics. Unfortunately, there was nothing in the parcel that would help me identify where it came from and just from the number of fabrics I think it could generate about 10 pillowcase dresses.

Whoever you are, my heartfelt thanks to your donation to Dress A Girl Australia. I wish you included your name in the parcel or even initials but thank you so much. I am sure you are a reader of this blog so come and visit this site often as once your donated fabrics have been sewn into dresses, they will be posted here. Again, thank you.

Donation Acknowledgements for the Week #3 - Katherine's Collection

2011-12-31T11:15:00.000+11:00

Luckily we were made to leave work early (1pm) yesterday and from there made a last-minute drive to our local post office to pick up a couple of parcels and one of them came from Katherine Nott. Inside the parcel were 14 pillowcase dresses and 18 pairs of shorts. Woohoo!!
Below is a picture of some of the goodies -

A few weeks earlier, I did an acknowledgement of donated fabrics given and sent to her by small business shops and crafty mums at home. These are some of the dresses she has made so far out of those donated fabrics. The 18 pairs of shorts came from Katherine's Katz Creations.

Katherine, thank you so much for your unwavering support of dressing girls and boys around the world. Thank you for your perseverance in converting these fabrics into dresses. Your time and effort spent on helping Dress A Girl Australia become more successful in achieving its goal of dressing the less fortunate children around the world is very, very much appreciated. Thank you!

To see all the dresses, click on the image above or copy and paste the URL below in your browser :

https://picasaweb.google.com/dressagirlaustralia/KatherineSCollection?authuser=0&feat=directlink

My 'Dress A Girl Australia' Journal

2011-12-31T10:54:00.000+11:00

One of the presents I received on Christmas Day is this beautiful fabric journal which my sister made. I labelled it my 'Dress A Girl Australia' journal and soon will be filled with everything I do on Dress A Girl Australia. And I mean literally everything including dress measurements, pictures, pattern doodling and even postage calculations.

Another one of those items you will find inside my bag which will make my bag more heavy to carry. If you want to know more about me and what is going on in my life, just look inside my bag. :-)

Dress A Girl Australia's Christmas Drive Update

2011-12-30T09:37:00.000+11:00

This really amazes me. To see is to believe and I have always believed that I will be able to do it but everytime I see the piles of dresses and unopened parcels I cannot believe what am seeing. I get speechless! The response I had with Dress A Girl Australia's Christmas Drive of 500 dresses for girls around the world is overwhelming. Thank you.

As of last night's count I have on-hand 317 dresses. I have 2 AusPost parcels for pick up and several emails letting me know in advance that they have posted dresses or will be posting dresses after the holidays. It will take awhile to take pictures of all the dresses but they will be taken.

My heartfelt thanks to everyone who made this Christmas Drive for girls around the world a success! Thank you for believing and supporting this very worthwhile campaign. Every pillowcase, fabric, lace, button, thread, ribbon, elastic and most specially the time and effort you spent on making these dresses to give to the less fortunate girls around the world is very much appreciated. I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Reflection Time

2011-12-30T09:00:00.000+11:00

It is time to reflect on what Dress a Girl Australia has accomplished in year 2011 and what it has in store for the new year 2012! Dress A Girl Australia has lots of exciting things planned for 2012. Come and join me on this journey!

For general enquiries, please send email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com.

Dress Distribution - Dress A Girl Australia's First Dress Recipients of the Year 2012

2011-12-30T00:31:00.006+11:00

The past three days I have been sorting the dresses by sizes and attaching Hope 4 Women Intl Dress A Girl labels and today am happy and proud to say that the first parcel for the year 2012 Distribution # 3 has been mailed to a good friend of mine who works at SEARCA College, Los Banos Laguna. This is actually a Christmas present for Edna Lisa. Instead of buying something from a shop I told her I will be giving her 12 pillowcase dresses. These dresses she then will be giving to the Children's Joy Foundation in Laguna, Philippines. She has been asking for the dresses for over a month now (I last saw her in Sept) and finally it was sent today.

This orphanage I believe houses 12 orphans between the age of 4 and 5. It is unfortunate that inspite of the number of dresses I handcarried with me to distribute almost 3 months ago I could not share it with these children so now they are priority and number 1 on my list.

These dresses will be a delayed Christmas present for each of the 12 orphans and am keeping my fingers crossed that the parcel will arrive in its intended destination. More details about this orphanage will be posted on this site once available.

For the 12 dresses that were included in the parcel to be given to the girls in the orphanage, click here. Dresses were from i-craft i-sew and from the Bridgetown High School students.

Donation Acknowledgements for the Week #2 - Family Affair

2011-12-29T21:51:00.004+11:00

From my sister Joan. Fabrics are all cut-up and ready to be sewn into 9 dresses including for the pocket, armholes and straps. All it needs is a sewing machine and the time to make them into dresses to bring smiles to 9 lucky girls around the world. Thank you Joan!

Last but not the least, I happen to pass by a small fabric shop last week and saw these 2 bundles of fabrics and 2 new pillowcases. I know I do not have to buy anything but since it is Christmas the $10 dollar purchase was justified. My Christmas present to Dress A Girl Australia, these bundles will make between 8-10 pillowcase dresses not right now but when the time is right. Thanks heaps, Gigi!

For those readers out there who wants to donate fabrics they no longer need, please send email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com. Dress A Girl Australia will put those bundles into very good use for you.

Donation Acknowledgements for the Week #1 - Dresses from The Sewing Library

2011-12-29T21:29:00.000+11:00

First acknowledgement for the week is for 173 dresses from The Sewing Library facebook group. Yes, you read it right. 173 dresses. The Sew for Charity drive was organized and coordinated by Renee Webb during the months of Sept/Oct 2011. The dresses you see in the picture represents only a quarter of the dresses received by Dress A Girl Australia. Each dress all 173 of them will be pictured as they are allocated or distributed to girls around the world.

My sincerest and heartfelt thanks to all the members of The Sewing Library facebook group for the 173 dresses for 173 girls around the world and my special thanks to Renee for organizing the drive. 173 dresses is just amazing. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

If you want to join in this very worthwhile campaign or want to hold sewing bees or sew-alongs for Dress A Girl Around the World - Dress A Girl Australia, please feel free to do so. If you need more information or assistance, send an email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com

** The Sewing Library is a facebook group created with the hope of a community coming together to share their sewing know-how including great tutorials, tips, hints and advices. For those ladies out there who wants to know more and perhaps would like to join the group, click here or copy and paste the URL below in your browser - http://www.facebook.com/groups/210023235698596/

Sewing TV Reality Shows

2011-12-29T11:37:00.005+11:00

This week with Mon, Dec 26 and Tues, Dec 27 being public holidays, we only needed to go to work from Wed till Friday and possibly just a half-day on the last day. Most of the people at work are on leave or were forced to go on leave but I opted to come to work as I didn’t want to end up with a negative 3 days in my vacation leave credits on a new year. As much as possible I want to save up my vacation days just in case I would decide to go to another country somewhere in Asia in 2012 and do another dress distribution myself. Besides you tend to finish more work when there are less people around.

There weren’t that many people on the train and I was seated next to a lady who was reading a magazine featuring the top and worst TV shows of the year 2011. Looking at what she was reading, something snap inside my brain. Am so used to scribbling or listing things to do (a list that keeps on getting longer and never shorter) and could be for work or at home or lately for Dress A Girl Australia…for a change, why don’t I create a list of possible sewing reality shows based on the reality shows available on TV? Hahaha!! Check this out. Although I don’t really watch most of them, here is what I came up with (on possibly the most productive 30-minute train ride I ever had. :-) ). There might be more but these were the only ones I could think of . I have thrown in one TV ad too:

TV Ad –

i cant believe it is butter i cant believe it is sewing

TV Reality Shows

so you think you can dance so you think you can sew

the x factor the sewing factor

the 'celebrity' apprentice the 'sewing' apprentice

Survivor : celebrities Survivor : Sewers

the australian idol the sewing idol

I'm a celebrity...get me out of here! I'm a sewer...get me out of

here!

Big Brother Big Sewer

The Simple Life The Sewing Life

Dog Whisperer Sewing Whisperer

Dancing with the Stars Sewing with the Stars

The Biggest Loser The Biggest Sewer

Farmer wants a wife Farmer wants a sewer

Deal or no Deal Sew or No Sew

The Price is Right The Sewing is Right

Celebrity Duets Celebrity Sewing

Have fun! Click here to check out the complete list I made.

No, am not insane. Am just trying to enjoy life to the fullest and be the happiest on the last 60 hours of the year 2011.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

2011-12-24T17:01:00.001+11:00

Dress A Girl Australia wishes everyone a very happy Christmas!

Happy, happy Christmas!

Last-minute Handmade Presents

2011-12-24T16:59:00.000+11:00

It is an expensive hobby but sometimes it pays to be a fabric hoarder. This morning while trying to pack my christmas presents for our family christmas dinner tonight, I noticed I was missing two presents but could not figure out for which member of the family. I sat down and listed the names and ticked each name when I found a present and that was how I discovered that I was missing one for my 8-yr old niece and another for my 6-yr old nephew. No way was I going to drive to the mall and join hundreds of last minute shoppers.

Thanks to my being a fabric hoarder, I decided to make a couple of items to give and this is what I came up with - a pillowcase dress for my niece and a pair of shorts for my nephew.

I hope they will like my last-minute handmade presents. Their names would definitely be called out to receive a present from their aunt.

Two Pairs of Shorts for Ujamaa Children Ally and Kevin

2011-12-22T23:21:00.005+11:00

I always thought I have already written about the Ujamaa Children of Tanzania but I could not find it anywhere in the posting log and the items have already been sent over to the Crafty Ladies Movement facebook group who organized the drive weeks ago. These two boys Ally and Kevin from the Ujamaa Childrens Home of Tanzania will be the lucky recipients of 2 pairs of shorts made by me.

Ally is 5 years old and has a twin sister Halima and Kevin is 9.

They both live in the Ujamaa Childrens Home in Tanzania which was founded by Carley Andrews. To make the pair of shorts more interesting as Christmas presents, I had each pair wrapped in a fabric pouch with the pictures of both Ally and Kelvin printed on it. I also included a handmade Christmas fabric picture card and greeted each boy a merry christmas to make this gift-giving more memorable.

If you want to know more about Ally, click here. To know more about Kevin, click here. To know more about the Ujamaa Childrens Home, click here.

I hope these two boys would love the pair of shorts I made for them. If and when pictures would be available I will be posting them immediately on this site. Making these shorts was a good way to prepare myself to make more pairs for Dress A Girl Australia's 'shorts for the boys' campaign. Although I am starting to get enquiries on whether they can make shorts as well as dresses, the official launch of this 'shorts for the boys' campaign will be in March 2012.

If you are keen in joining me on this campaign, please feel free to email dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com.

Angels for the Forgotten Charity Drive Update

2011-12-22T21:54:00.001+11:00

The Christmas Stockings has now made its way to the Angels for the Forgotten charity organization. I could just imagine the glow of happiness on each child's face when they receive it.

Operation Christmas Shoebox Update

2011-12-22T21:41:00.000+11:00

Three weeks ago I donated 2 Christmas Shoeboxes in Samaritan's Purse Australia and New Zealand's Operation Christmas Shoebox. A week after that I received an acknowledgement letter informing me that the shoeboxes have been received by their warehouse and that they will be emailing me again when they know in which country the shoeboxes will be opened.

Today I received that email advising me that the shoeboxes I donated are on its way to Thailand aboard the vessel OOCL New Zealand V056 which is due to arrive in Bangkok on the 8th of January 2012.

I feel very excited knowing that a boy and a girl between the ages of 5 to 9 years old will soon be receiving the special box I prepared and I hope these children will like what they see inside the box.

Fundraising Update

2011-12-22T00:07:00.000+11:00

No more orders. I am no longer taking orders for the personalised Christmas stockings. The final count of Christmas Stockings I have sold is 27. It was a double effort on my part to make them as I didnt have that much time in between taking the order during the day and actually making them in the evening after work. But I had fun making them.

Out of the 27 stockings sold, I decided to donate the sale proceeds from 10 of the Christmas stockings to the victims of the flash flooding in the Philippines (CDO). The rest of the sale proceeds will go to the postage fund of Dress A Girl Australia.

Dress A Girl Australia....until the next drive!

Donation Acknowledgements for the Week #2

2011-12-21T23:52:00.001+11:00

I am not sure where this lady gets her energy to be able to make dresses and take care of her boys at the same time but she has been busy. Katherine has about 60 dresses and 30 pairs of shorts about to be completed using materials from her personal fabric collection which she has donated to Dress A Girl Australia and other supporters' fabric donations. I am excited on the shorts she has started to make for Dress A Girl Australia. In the next distribution, we will not only be making little girls happy but also the little boys.

Here are the latest fabric donations she has received and making them into dresses for little girls around the world.

From Renae Hambrook

and from TheFabricBug

http://www.facebook.com/#!/TheFabricBUG

and from Katherine's personal collection

Here are the dresses and the shorts made by Katherine so far. Amazing work.

To Renae and the Fabric Bug, thank you so much for your fabric donations and a special thanks to Katherine for making these fabrics into dresses. All your efforts are very well appreciated. Thank you so much.

Donation Acknowledgements for the Week #1

2011-12-20T22:52:00.004+11:00

5 very cute dresses and a metre of 'Paper Dolls' fabric from Pam of 'Threading my Way'.

Pam, thank you for your continued support of Dress A Girl Australia. It is very much appreciated. The metre of fabric is very cute with the paper dolls print. Pretty fabric to make into a dress with its print for girls around the world. I hope to make 2 dresses out of this bundle.

Dress A Girl Australia was actually featured by Pam in her 'Threading my Way' blog. Click here to check out her blog. Her articles are very interesting and something different. I cant think of anyone who wouldnt find her blog helpful and interesting. Check out how she transformed a wedding dress to a smart day dress. Very resourceful.

Again, thank you from Dress A Girl Australia.

Dreaming On

2011-12-18T15:48:00.001+11:00

Only a week away from Christmas and am still dreaming on that I will meet my Christmas target of collecting 500 dresses for distribution to girls around the world early next year. Imagine a world where every little girl owned at least one dress and what if that dress were made by you. What better time to share with the less fortunate girls around the world, share the spirit of Christmas with a pillowcase dress.

Dress A Girl Australia...keep on dreaming!

Heart, thoughts and Prayers to the people of Cagayan De Oro City Philippines

2011-12-18T12:24:00.000+11:00

My heart, thoughts and prayers goes to the victims/casualties of the flash flooding in yesterday's Typhoon Sendong (International code Washi) in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines . This place is very close and holds a very special place in my heart as this is where I was born and spent the first 16 years of my life. Very special that I chose this place as the first recipient of the dresses I have made and collected in the Dress A Girl Around the World campaign. A lot of victims were children who were asleep when it happened.

5 dresses in exchange for vacuuming

2011-12-17T20:03:00.003+11:00

Some people think that I am a very organize person but really am not. I probably am when it comes to work or to other tasks I commit myself to but not when it comes to personal things. Am a very good procrastinator when it comes to doing chores at home. Sometimes I know I have to clean the house and start taking out the vacuum cleaner etc early in the morning only to end up for these cleaning tools in the same position same place I had them in at the end of the day. But sometimes I do end up with a new handmade card or a new image printed on a fabric sheet or finally magazines fully closed on top of the dining table which has been left opened on a particular page for almost a week.

I found another excuse for not cleaning so much so that images like the ones below are common to see in the house these days. You find a pair of scissors, a needle and spool of thread on top of a bench, piles and piles of fabric materials, folded pillowcases, laces and accessories in one corner of an unused bed or pillowcases on top of a coffee table. (Mind you these are materials needed to make pillowcase dresses or waiting to be made.)

But it is because of these areas that are messy that I can find the time to make pillowcase dresses and this week I made 5 of them.

5 dresses, 5 big smiles for 5 girls around the world. And am happy with what I have accomplished for the day.

Another Donation Acknowledgements

2011-12-12T23:08:00.001+11:00

Dress A Girl Australia has found another friend and campaigner in Katherine Nott. With her willingness to help make dresses for girls around the world, she was able to organize donations of fabrics from willing supporters as well. More fabrics means more dresses. More dresses means more smiles from more girls around the world.

On behalf of Dress A Girl Australia and all the girls who will be wearing the dresses made out of these fabric materials, I would like to say thank you very much to Amanda Sampson, Becs Bags and Chicken Ink Creative for the fabrics. Your donations are very much appreciated. It is people like you who inspires Dress A Girl Australia to strive more for the good of all the girls around the world. And to Katherine for making the dresses possible. My heartfelt thanks!

from Amanda Sampson

from Becs Bags

http://www.facebook.com/#!/BecsBags

and Chicken Ink Creative

http://www.facebook.com/#!/ChickenInkCreative

Thank you and more power to you all.

What does Dress A Girl Australia do?

2011-12-12T19:06:00.000+11:00

Offer to help Dress A Girl Australia

2011-12-12T16:30:00.000+11:00

I do have a list of things to write about but I inadvertently missed this one. This lady actually wrote to me a couple of weeks ago letting me know about her intention to help in Dress A Girl Around the world Dress A Girl Australia’s campaign to make dresses for girls around the world. Lynda Smyth has been sending dresses to orphanages in Zambia thru her contacts with the Catholic Mission and this time she wants to help Dress A Girl Australia. She is thinking of helping or assisting along the lines of contacting and coordinating schools and see if the students could get involved with this campaign of which I thought is such a great idea.

One of my plans in 2012 (which is about 20 days away mind you) is to get in touch with schools and organize some sort of involvement from their students. Or schools that offer sewing as a subject or as an elective to propose to include making pillowcase dresses as a project and Lynda’s offer to help is such a good timing. Any kind of help to make Dress A Girl Australia’s campaign a success is very welcomed. Any effort, time you can spare and resources you can contribute to this campaign is very much appreciated.

Photograph of a dress using the smocking/shirring
technique by Lynda Smith

Lynda has also offered to help anyone who wants to learn how to do the smocking/shirring technique which she learned from watching tutorials in youtube.

If you are one of those crafters who wants to learn something new, this would be a very good opportunity for you to learn from someone who has actually done it.

Sew for those readers out there who wants to learn smocking/shirring, please feel free to get in touch with Lynda by filling up the form with your details below and will make sure that she gets it . Or click on the form located on the left navigation bar. Dont waste time.

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Help spread the word of making pillowcase dresses

2011-12-12T16:15:00.004+11:00

One of my favourite songs is ‘Imagine’ written and sang by the famous John Lennon. In this song, he imagined the world as one and where all the people were living life in peace. Dress a Girl Australia daydreams. Dress A Girl Australia is a daydream believer. We all daydream about a world where every little girl most specially the less fortunate little girls around the world owned at least one dress for each one of them deserves to own one and that dress are made by each one of us.

This daydream is starting to become a reality. Dress A Girl Australia is starting to have a little following. If it were a rock band, a little groupie is starting to get formed. Hahah! (Imagine me with a very big grin on my face writing this.)

It is starting to gain, slowly but surely, a lot of support in its campaign to make dresses for little girls around the world. Several of us are starting to imagine a world where every little girl owned at least one dress and are happy and proud and very much willing to making that dress. Woohoo!!

But we need more help as we need more dresses. If you are a daydream believer like Dress A Girl Australia, come and join us on this very worthwhile campaign. Together you and I can make a difference in this world ….one dress at a time. And in the very near future for all the little boys…one pair of shorts at a time.

Please help spread the word around. Help us put big smiles on those little girls’ faces by making pillowcase dresses. See them wear these dresses and standing proudly knowing that they own the dress they wear. Send us those unwanted fabrics so we can make more dresses and to make them more pretty, if you have any buttons, elastics, threads and ribbons just lying around or gathering dust inside a box perhaps in your garage, please send them to Dress A Girl Australia. One button you send can make a big difference to a little girl’s life. For more details on this campaign, please send an email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com

Please help spread the word around !! You will not regret it.

More Donation Acknowledgements

2011-12-11T01:51:00.001+11:00

I'd like to acknowledge two more items donated by HeyBoom shop to sell for fundraising for postage. All two items are designed, handprinted and handmade by HeyBoom.

Canvas bag and made of pre-washed, distressed cotton canvas tarp.

And a screenprinted bar apron made of linen cloth.

Thank you from Dress A Girl Australia!

If you are interested in more handmade and handprinted items designed by HeyBoom, please check out her online shop at madeit by just one-click on the link below -

HeyBoom

If you are interested in joining this campaign of imagining a world where every little girl owned at least one dress and what if that dress were made by you just like HeyBoom, please send an email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com.

Looking forward to hearing from anyone of you wishing to join me on this great campaign.

Dress A Girl Australia's On-line shop is now open

2011-12-10T08:56:00.007+11:00

Finally, Dress A Girl Australia's on-line shop is now open! Although not everything I wanted to make the page look great has been done at least I have finally made it running before Christmas is over!

For those who are interested and wants to check out all the donated items that are for sale, please click on the image below -

or do a 'copy and paste' of the URL below on your internet browser -

http://www.dressagirlaustralia.com.au

(Note: For those who are enquiring about the blue clutch purse they saw from the album 'Items for Sale' in Dress A Girl Australia's facebook page, that item is now sold and no longer available.)

This online shop will be selling all items donated to Dress A Girl Australia for fundraising to help shoulder the cost to send dresses to various locations. With the increasing number of dresses I am distributing, the parcel becomes more heavy and the postage more expensive but I am determined to keep on going and proceeds from the sale of the items in this shop will at least help Dress A Girl Australia along the way.

Also, this shop will be selling some of the items I have handcrafted all these years and which I believe is about time to be sold off without feeling guilty about it especially that it is for a good cause. I usually just keep these items either in my cabinets or display cabinets or for some quilts they are hanging on the walls.

All proceeds from the sale of the items I have made and from the donated items will go to Dress A Girl Australia's postage fund. Please help Dress A Girl Australia continue on her dream of dressing little girls around the world for we all deserve to have at least one dress by purchasing an item you like on this shop. Please help spread the word around.

All the items are 100% handmade, excellent quality materials and the craftmanship of the donated items are almost perfect. I like beautiful things so I always look at the way they are made and these donated items more than passes my quality control. And that is why I love handmades! Each handmade item is unique in its own way. If you are not happy with your purchase, you can always send back the item you purchased in its original packaging and you will be given a refund less the amount you paid for the postage just like any item you purchase from shops.

Donation Acknowledgements

2011-12-10T07:55:00.005+11:00

It is time to acknowledge and appreciate donations to Dress A Girl Australia from special people who believe and support this campaign. Thank you to Joan Wolf of HeyBoom Shop for donating these packs of laces. Each pack contains about 7mtrs each of these beautiful 3 and 4 inch wide of laces which will be used to embellish pillowcase dresses for little girls around the world. And these laces are very expensive in the shops. Thank you.

From Penny Grey and Fabric Cutouts, these donations will go a long way with the number of dresses Dress A Girl Australia can make.

Pillowcases from Penny Grey

Fabrics and linen sheets from Fabric Cutouts

Laces, spools of threads, elastics from Erlyn Ballesta Sanchez. I didnt realize how many it was until I actually took them out from a plastic bag and arranged the items to take a picture.

And a metre of lacy fabric which will make a great add-on to some of the plain pillowcases.

On my way to buy lunch two weeks ago, I happen to pass by a department store near my place of work who had a big 'Sale going on' banner posted on the front window and saw girls' tshirts of different sizes for a dollar each or 5 for $3.00. I thought they were a good buy and real value for money so I bought 10 of them which I would make into T-shirt dresses.

And 3 shops farther was a small thrift store and bought rolls of ribbons for a dollar each. A work colleague of mine actually saw me come out of the bargain shop and asked what I bought as the shop was a little bit rundown and a mixture of everything that if you want to buy something specific you had to find it. Well, the rolls were still sealed in plastic but were kind of dusty but really a good buy. I always enjoy going inside thrift and dollar shops as you never know what to expect and can buy for a dollar or two. These kind of shops are always a big help especially when you want to spend on items as cheap as possible so you get to purchase more.

And with all the purchases I did the past two weeks, Dress A Girl Australia's moneytin is about to go dry but will keep me busy in the coming months.

Again, my heartfelt thanks to the donors. These donated items will go a long way in Dress A Girl Australia's imagination of a world where every little girl owned at least one dress. Each item received is very much appreciated.

Fundraising Items for Sale

2011-12-07T23:42:00.003+11:00

Christmas is really the time for giving. To help Dress A Girl Australia in its fundraising campaign for the cost of posting dresses to various locations, HeyBoom Shop and Kikay Designs again each donated to Dress A Girl Australia an item that I can sell. I still have not decided on whether to put it up for auction or just sell it outright(and I have to decide before close of business today) but the clutch purse from HeyBoom Shop and the handmade bag from Kikay Designs are really beautiful and of top-notch quality.

Also available for sale is a 'Be Green' 3D Fabric Wallhanging. This 48cms x 33cms 3D Fabric Wallhanging came about when I was making a 24"x24" quilt block for the Dream Rocket 'Dare to Dream project.

If you still have not done your christmas card shopping, then why not consider these Christmas Fabric picturecards. Pictures and/or images are fitted inside window cutouts like the bauble cutout or the Christmas Tree or the double mini hearts cutouts. Thin wadding is used to produce a raised effect of the images inside the window cutouts. Inside panel is blank for personalised messages. Comes with a matching white envelope.

And dont forget our Christmas stockings about 40cm long and fully lined.
All these items I hope will sell. The proceeds from the sale of these items will go to the postage fund of Dress A Girl Australia. The more funds I have for postage, the more dresses I can send to the less fortunate little girls around the world.

Thank you very much to HeyBoom Shop and Kikay Designs for the wonderful clutch purse and handmade bag. With your donations, you are making a difference to the little girls around the world...one dress at a time. Thank you.

Check out these items being sold for a worthy cause. Any questions you may have on any of these items, please send an email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com.

The Round Tin that made me think

2011-12-07T22:49:00.001+11:00

This round tin has been sitting on my benchtop for as long as I can remember. Inside are coins that I remove from my wallet because it makes my bag heavy. Sometimes I could raise as much as $10.00 worth of coins from the tin. Whenever I need coins to buy something or I needed some cash to pay for lunch on a Friday at work (we usually go out for lunch on Fridays) or if I want to post a letter I would dig in to this tin. When I won the NRL tipping competition 2 months ago at work I placed all my winnings on this tin and took out some money only when I needed to post Dress A Girl labels. If I find pillowcases on sale, I would get the money to buy the pillowcases from this tin.

The first dress distribution I did in Sept-Oct 2011 was such a very inspirational and touching experience seeing those little girls being given dresses to wear that I decided that I have to find ways and means to keep on doing this campaign and keep on distributing dresses to the less fortunate people in this world.

Every now and then I would be thinking where or how to raise money to fund my postage of the dresses. Then I thought why not start to gather and sort items I have handcrafted which I can dispose of without feeling guilty about it or items that I can find in the house which I no longer need or dont really need at all, sell them and put the proceeds from the sale of the items on this tin. This could be my lucky tin. Dress A Girl Australia's moneybank for postage.

So now am back to making my fabric picturecards. I still have some blank cards leftover from the days when I used to make handmade cards to sell and donated a dollar for every card that I sold to a breast cancer research foundation. I might even go back to making fabric postcards. I also used to make buttons or pins to sell so now I have decided to make them again and put all proceeds from the sale of the cards and buttons to this tin. Any proceeds from selling handcrafts this Christmas will go straight to this tin for postage fund. A lot of little girls around the world will have big smiles on their faces wearing the dresses that Dress A Girl Australia will be able to send wherever they are located because of this round tin.

Please check out the handmade items that are up for sale. Proceeds from the sale of these items will go straight to my lucky postage tin. Proceeds from your purchase is going to a good cause.
Items for Sale

Any questions on any of the items for sale, send an email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com.

Please help Dress A Girl Australia realize her imagination of a world where every little girl owned at least one dress. If you want to know more about this dream, send an email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com.

Christmas Stockings for the Angels for the Forgotten Christmas Appeal

2011-12-07T18:46:00.001+11:00

Dress A Girl Australia joined in the 'Sew for Charity Drive' of The Sewing Library facebook group. The drive is to collect as many Christmas Stockings one can make from the members of the group. These stockings are then donated to the Angels for the Forgotten Inc Christmas Appeal "Stockings Full of Joy" where they are aiming to distribute at least 3000 'Stockings full of joy' to Aussie children who will be in Foster care or crisis accommodation this festive season.

Dress A Girl Australia donated 3 Christmas stockings one each from the designs which are available for sale at $10.00 for fund raising purposes. Each stocking is about 40cm long and is fully lined with a top fold where one can write the name of the little boy or girl recipient.

Dress A Girl Australia wishes these little Aussie kids a happy Christmas and hope will give joy to each of them who receives the Christmas stockings, bring a smile and sparkle to their faces.

Christmas Stockings for Sale @10.00 each

2011-12-06T00:19:00.001+11:00

I needed to be very creative and take advantage of the Christmas season to fund my campaign so most of my time for the last two weekends were spent making these Christmas stockings.

Simple christmas stockings for special people about 40cms long and fully lined with a special fold at the top for you to write that special boy or girl's name and 3 mighty mini bells hanging at the edge of the fold at a very special price of $10.00 each. Made of 100% quilting cotton fabric, you have 3 designs to choose from. Proceeds will help Dress A Girl Australia fund its postage cost for the next planned distribution of dresses currently scheduled for christmas(Dec-Jan 2012 timeframe).

Interested parties please email me at dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com. Online purchase will be available starting Wednesday, 7th of December, 2011. For purchases within Australia, postage cost for one stocking is $2.00.

Please help Dress A Girl Australia continue sending dresses to the less fortunate little girls around the world by purchasing this handmade Christmas Stockings.

Pillowcase Dress Kits for Dress A Girl Australia

2011-12-05T22:19:00.001+11:00

Through the coordination of Erlyn Ballesta Sanchez, Dress A Girl Australia received 25 Pillowcase Dress Kits. Each kit included either a standard pillowcase or a piece of fabric the size of a standard pillowcase, bias tape, ribbon and buttons and/or lace for embellishments. Members of the Cenacle, Servants of the Lord and Espiritu Santo Parochial School each contributed to cover the cost of materials to make the 25 kits and members of the Espiritu Santo Parochial School were responsible for the actual preparation, creation and packaging of the kits.

To complete the kit, Dress A Girl Australia provided each kit with a thread and a Hope 4 Women International dress label and will also be providing instructions on how to make the dress especially for those who are new to making dresses.

On behalf of Dress A Girl Australia, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the members of the Cenacle, Servants of the Lord and Espiritu Santo Parochial School for their contribution and a special thanks to Erlyn Ballesta Sanches for organizing and coordinating these activities. Your support to this campaign makes a big difference to this world and to the lives of each of the 25 little girls who will be receiving the dresses made from these kits. These kits would bring hope to the little girls around the world who deserves to own at least one dress. 25 big smiles on 25 little girls' faces proudly wearing a dress that each one of you made possible. Thank you from Dress A Girl Australia. Every effort spent on making these kits possible is very well appreciated. Thank you.

Here are some samples of the kits -

And here are the members of the Espiritu Santo Parochial School responsible for making the 25 kits possible. The organizer and coordinator of the group Erlyn Ballesta Sanchez, Ruth Oreas, Elma Oreas, Dena Robel, Glory Dickinson and Wenonah Azarcon.

Ten of the kits will be sent to Lilia Ramos Tapia of CDO, Philippines who wants to help make dresses and once it is done, she will also distribute the dresses to the less fortunate girls in her location. Pictures from her creation and distribution will be posted on this site once available.

Again, thank you for everything. It is people like you who makes Dress A Girl Australia's dream of helping the less fortunate little girls around the world possible.

To see all the kits donated - click here.

If you like what these ladies are doing and feel inspired and motivated to help, please help by spreading the word around. Send an email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com for more information.

Dressed by Dress A Girl Australia in honor of Jane's memory

2011-12-04T14:43:00.001+11:00

A couple of months back, I wrote about this wonderful lady from Virginia by the name of Jane who died at age 55 last September but wanted her mom to continue making dresses for girls around the world. In honor of her memory I donated two dresses on behalf of Dress A Girl Australia. These dresses were to be sent and distributed in Belize.

Well, the dresses have been given to the girls in Belize who deserves to own at least one dress in their lifetime by volunteers from the US last month and here is the picture of the lucky little girl who is the recipient of one of the dresses I donated. The feeling is awesome! I never imagined it would happen that I would be making a dress to be worn by a little girl living more than 8,000 miles away from where I live...but it has happened. Amazing!

Thank you to the volunteers who went to Belize and made this dream possible for the little girl to own at least one dress and to Dress A Girl Virginia for giving me the opportunity to help on this campaign in honor of Jane's memory. Thank you.

If you like to feel the way I feel so proud whenever I see girls wearing dresses that I make, please come and join me on this campaign or help spread the word around.

For more information, please send an email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com.

Here is the link to the original article on Dresses in honor of Jane's memory -

3 more dresses for Dress A Girl Australia

2011-12-03T12:13:00.002+11:00

We will be seeing another three(3) big smiles from three(3) little girls around the world for owning at least one dress with Gillian Cockerill of Victoria's donation of three(3) pillowcases dresses to Dress A Girl Australia which I picked up from the post office this morning. My heartfelt thanks, Gillian! Dress A Girl Australia appreciates very much all the dresses you have sent.

If you like what you read and would like to make dresses for little girls around the world to own and wear, please join us on this campaign. Please send email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com if you have any questions or need more information.

Please help spread the word around. It is a very worthwhile and fulfilling cause to support. Imagine a world where every little girl owned at least one dress. What if that dress were made by you.....or you helped make that dream of owning at least one dress come true. Wouldnt that make you feel happy and proud?

Where does it come from?

2011-12-02T00:23:00.002+11:00

Sometimes I wonder where I get all this energy, time and resources I spend on Dress A Girl Australia activities and working full time at the same time. I guess when you love and enjoy what you are doing, that is whats important and counts the most.

I live....I love....and I laugh. Woohoo!

Dress Distribution Part 2 - October 2011

2011-12-01T00:41:00.001+11:00

Finally I received pictures of dresses distributed in the Philippines as part of the planned distribution of dresses last September. The distribution was made on behalf of Dress A Girl Australia by Mr Fred and Vergie Florendo. The distribution was held in two locations. In the frontyard of their house and in a reclaimed area in Marikina, Metro Manila where victims of Typhon Ondoy last year were relocated. Some of the relocated families I have been told have not really fully recovered yet from what they have experienced from the typhoon.

I feel very proud and want to extend my sincerest thanks to Fred and Vergie for finding the time to take these photos and distributing at the same time. I know it is not easy to be doing two things at the same time but they both tried their best to come up with great pictures of little girls wearing their new dresses and with their mamas standing proudly next to them.

Dresses were donated by Deidre Parker, Crafty Mamas coordinated by Gaylene Hermann, Heyboom Shop, Kikay Designs, Gallerie Marie, family and friends. These were the very first donors who made Dress A Girl Australia and its attempt to help the less fortunate girls around the world possible. Thank you from Dress A Girl Australia. It is very much appreciated. Your support and providing the dresses and the assistance made by Fred and Vergie in making sure the dresses gets to the girls is very inspiring and makes me more motivated to do more for Dress A Girl Australia.

Thank you so much!

Some of the donated dresses have already been posted earlier in the Distribution in CDO Part 1 and are available permanently on the right navigation bar. These pictures and a few more will be posted permanently on the right navigation bar tomorrow. If you like what you see and would like to join Dress A Girl Australia's campaign to dress girls around the world, please send an email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com.

31 more dresses for Dress A Girl Australia

2011-11-30T22:39:00.010+11:00

Slack is the word to describe me these days as I have not even updated Dress A Girl Australia's numbers. I havent updated how many dresses I've got and where I stand in my campaign for 500 dresses for Christmas. For sure I will have to do it very, very soon.

Anyway, last Saturday I picked up a parcel from Australia Post and received 31 dresses from Gaylene Hermann. Thank you very much from Dress A Girl Australia. Your support on this campaign is very much appreciated and very inspiring. It motivates me to do more for Dress A Girl Australia knowing that there are people in this world who are willing to help and support what Dress A Girl Australia is all about and for all the little girls around the world, to help put a smile on their faces and let them proudly say to the world that they own at least one dress. Imagine how that would make you feel happy and proud to be a part of that little girl's happiness. Thank you Gaylene!

I may not have mentioned this previously but Gaylene was responsible for coordinating the dresses donated by the ladies from Crafty Mamas. One of the very first dresses I received and helped made possible Dress A Girl Australia's first attempt to provide dresses to the less fortunate little girls in the Philippines last September. The first of the dresses that I hope helped and in a small way improved the confidence of the less fortunate little girls who received them.

Am inviting anyone to join and support Dress A Girl Australia on this very worthwhile cause. Each dress that you make and give makes a whole lot of difference to the life of the little girl who receives that dress, makes this world a better place to live in.

All 31 dresses are posted or will be posted (when I find the time to take pictures) on the left navigation bar under B & G Hermann. These will help me identify where dresses came from when it is time for distribution. Three of the dresses will be included in the 'Dresses for Uganda' collection.

Christmas Shoeboxes

2011-11-29T20:51:00.005+11:00

Wow, its been almost 11 days since my last blog. I can't believe I have been so slack in blogging about Dress A Girl Australia's activities. It has been a very busy 11 days especially that the season of Christmas has finally arrived and here to stay for the next 4 weeks.

First Christmas activity for Dress A Girl Australia was the Christmas shoebox. I donated two shoeboxes for a boy and a girl in the 5-9 age category. Of course included in the shoebox was a pillowcase dress for a girl and a pair of shorts for a boy made by me.

Each box also contained school supplies (6 pencils each, erasers and a sharpener), box of crayons, car toys for the boy, scrunchies and a handmade bracelet for the girl, playdoughs, mini pillows, teddy bear pouch with a mini photoframe inside the little pouch, pair of socks, water bottle, mini coloring book which I created and printed, a toothbrush and toothpaste and a handmade card.

The handmade card is actually a picture card which I thought about and started to make about 5 years ago and for every picture card that I sold I donated a dollar to the Breast Cancer Foundation. When I went back to work after taking a break for more than a year, I only made them when someone ordered in packs. I fitted pictures and/or images inside window cutouts like the heart cutout on this card. If I could not find a fitting image on fabric, I would print the images on my old inkjet printer using 100% cotton fabrics. To produce a raised effect of the images inside window cutouts, I used thin wadding.

Anyway, I have posted my Christmas shoeboxes and two days ago I received an acknowledgement email from Samaritans's Purse Australia and New Zealand.

Hopefully soon, I will get another email advising me which country in South East Asia and South Pacific the shoeboxes will be opened and whoever is going to receive the shoeboxes, I hope they will like what they see inside the box.

Last of the Bandannas for 2 dresses and a pair of shorts

2011-11-19T15:24:00.000+11:00

This week was quite a busy week at work and in between work, house chores and watching The Big Bang Theory on TV at night I finally managed to finish making a couple of T-shirt dresses and a pair of shorts from the last 6 bandannas I had.

Dress A Girl Australia hopes to see 2 little girls and a little boy with big smiles on their faces with these 3 creations. Am glad that these bandannas will not be occupying a space in my cabinet but will be happily worn when the time to make another dress distribution comes.

This is why I love handmades

2011-11-12T20:31:00.002+11:00

A bit late in blogging about my sewing marathon 2 project but I have actually started making pillowcase dresses for a couple of days now. These are the first 5 dresses I have sewn so far (45 to go) and this is why I love handmades. I can be very creative and use my imagination to the best I can. They may look the same but each dress is unique and I believe that is what handmade is all about. No two items can be the same. The concept, yes they may be the same but not the actual result. (And note I seem to like the idea of making my images float.)
The idea of putting a pocket across the width of the dress is now starting to become a trademark design for Dress A Girl Australia and am loving the idea.

Come visit Dress A Girl Australia regularly for the next two weeks and keep track of where I am in my 'Me and my Sewing Machine marathon project #2 for the children of Uganda. Here is the link to the album where all pillowcases dresses made so far will be saved.
Pillowcase Dresses for the children of Uganda
A link is also available on the left side navigation bar under Dresses for Uganda.

If you feel like joining me on this sewing marathon or want to contribute to this campaign of making dresses around the world for the less fortunate , feel free to send an email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com.

Me and My Sewing Machine Marathon 2

2011-11-12T19:56:00.005+11:00

A few months ago my niece and I talked about Dress A Girl Australia and the pillowcase dresses I make and collect and she asked if I could spare some for the children in Uganda. Apparently she has a couple of friends who have an organization that helps children in Uganda. She loves volunteering and is now in the Philippines for a year to work as a Youth Development Officer volunteer for the Australian Red Cross.

She left Sydney three weeks ago and I made a commitment to her to collect 50 pillowcase dresses for these children. I still dont have a clue as to how these dresses will get there but dresses will be reserved for them I told her. From the dresses I have collected so far I can actually spare the 50 now but I thought I wanted it to be really special and be directly involved in the making so I have decided to re-allocate the 50 dresses I have to other 50 children and to make 50 pillowcase dresses myself for these Ugandan children...thus another sewing marathon is about to start.

For the next three weeks and in whatever spare time I could provide(hopefully until the end of November) I will be making dresses for the children in Uganda. 50 pillowcases from the pillowcases I have collected the past few months will be allocated to this sewing marathon project #2.

Since all pillowcases are plain in colors, I have found some fat quarters from my collection which would really look great for matching. Actually these fat quarters are one of the earliest fat quarters I bought when I was just starting to experiment on making quilts more than 10 years ago and one of the earliest lessons I learned about quilting or fabric crafting in general. I never got the chance to use these fat quarters because I actually damaged the whole pack. When I got home after buying the pack, I threw them into the washing machine for washing without thinking about the colors and realized the mistake I made only when I started to hang them to dry. What to do but I hanged on to the pack not knowing that time will come when I can put them to good use and for a very special event of making dresses for little girls around the world. I finally will be able to clear a small space in my cabinet occupied by these fatquarters and start using them for a very worthy cause....imagining a world where every little girl owned at least one dress and what if that dress was made by me!

My niece would be back in Sydney for the Christmas holidays and I hope to show her all the dresses I made for the Ugandan children.