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

'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

'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

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

'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

'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

'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

'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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

'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

'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

'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?

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

‎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

'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

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

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

'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

'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

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

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 ♥♥♥♥'

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

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!

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

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

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!

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!