What's It Going to Be?

Update on Dress A Girl Australia Numbers

After almost eight weeks of packing and sending parcels, the total number of dresses sent is 409 to different locations around the world. I have a second parcel of 60 dresses ready to be sent to Masaka Uganda.

Between now and September, I am aiming to send a second parcel each for Kenya and Vietnam. The community of Kontum in Vietnam has about a total of 110 children and had sent only 34 dresses in the first parcel so I hope to send maybe another one or two parcels for the remaining balance of 76. The same goes for the community of Dago Dala Hera in Kenya. I think I would need another 10 more dresses and about 45 pairs of shorts for the children living in the center. And perhaps later on for the rest of the children in the community.

This is such a great accomplishment in less than six months that everyone deserves a pat on the back for doing such a good job and a big HUG from Dress A Girl Australia. Here is my favourite digital hug for everyone -

Put your right hand on your left shoulder and the left hand on the right. Now squeeze gently. You've just received a big HUG from Dress A Girl Australia and hey, dont forget to repeat it as many times as you want. You all deserve it. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart.

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart  to everyone who made this distribution possible. Thank you so much. 

Any pictures when available will immediately be posted on this site. 

Dress A Girl Australia is now open for the next batch of sewing and collecting for the second major distribution to happen later in the year or early January 2013 for what I would call the Christmas distribution. Pillowcase dresses and pairs of britches and/or shorts are most welcome. My goal of 1500 dresses for the year 2012 still stands and based on the latest numbers I believe we are halfway to meeting that goal. My personal goal between now and end of the year is 200. My countdown is starting on the 1st of July.

Again, thank you so much to everyone for their unwavering support of this campaign, for helping make a difference in this world....one small dress at a time.

For those who would like to join in this campaign and  need more information, please feel free to send an email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com.

Where have all the dresses gone?

Yes, where have they all gone. Almost eight weeks ago when I started to sort dresses for distribution, this is how a section of the house where I live looked like.

While I was sorting I was also receiving more dresses and pairs of shorts at the same time, the area became worst I could hardly see the top of the table and only glimpses of my craft books. In fact, I ordered two books at that time and the only time I saw the books was when it arrived. The books got drowned with the dresses piled on top of one another. I used to put the dresses inside plastic bags but because I was sorting and getting ready for them to be packed I decided to just put them either on top of the coffee table or on the arm rest of the chair or on top of the bench. 

I was so impressed with what I have done one parcel after another, today I decided to take a picture of the area where the dresses were and tada...this is how it looked today. I can now see my owl and my green ceramic mexican hat. Still no sign of the new books as they are under the boxes.

Two small boxes left with about 15 rolled dresses on the side and ready-to-be rolled dresses on top of one another in the corner. These dresses are ready to be mailed off for the second parcel to Masaka Uganda. But what I havent showed you are the pre-cut fabrics waiting to be sewn and the bundles and bundles of T-shirts waiting for their skirts to be attached. Maybe next time that will be the area I will get a picture of and post here.

I haven't been surrounded with as many new and handmade dresses in my entire life until now. But I am glad I had this mess and a mountain of dresses as I know I have made hundreds of disadvantaged children around the world smile for they now own at least one dress for each one of them deserves to own one just like us and I look forward to another mountain of dresses in my house in the months to come.

Are you alive? I am!

Are you alive? Really alive?

Crafting makes me alive. Dress A Girl Around the World made and makes me more alive. Isnt it great to be alive!!

If you want to be alive as I am, then come and join me on this campaign of dressing girls around the world. Imagine a world where every girl owned at least one dress. What if that dress were made by you. Or you help make that dream come true.

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

Dont ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
                                                       ~ Howard Thurman

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #69 - 13 Dresses from G Hoggett of Victoria

Donation #69 is from G Hoggett of Hampton Victoria. A parcel containing 13 dresses which would be generating 13 smiles from any 13 lucky disadvantaged girls anywhere in the world.

To G Hoggett, I hope you are reading this blog. What a wonderful and kind gesture you just did for the less fortunate children. Thank you so much.

If you feel like generating more smiles in this world for this is what we all need, living, loving and smiling, then how about donating some pillowcase dresses for the disadvantaged children around the world. If you are not into sewing, then any material that would allow us to make more pillowcase dresses will be fine. Please send them to Dress A Girl Australia, P.O. Box 240, Casula Mall, Casula NSW 2170. 

If you need more information about this campaign, please send an email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com. Thank you in advance.

ClipArts For Sale

About six years ago I was really into papercrafting and did a lot of cardmaking, I used to buy cliparts and digital images from the original designs of Cheryl Seslar Designs to use in my cards and other projects. It was quite addicting. One day she came up with an offer to allow some of her customers to resell her images on the condition that you buy the license to resell. Being able to resell what I purchased was such a good idea that I saved up some money to afford the professional license.   

Anyway, that's how I started my cliparts and digital image business. I ended up buying more images for six resellers only and sometimes would buy images that was sold only to one person and that meant I was the only one who had it and can resell at my own price. And I think I was the only reseller from Australia then.This kept me busy promoting new images to sell and by this time I had almost given up on my cardmaking and also decided it was time to go back to the workforce, get myself another full-time job. After about three years the website I created needed a big change as processing was still done manually but I could not find the time to sit down and make the necessary changes so I decided to temporarily stop selling.   

Three weeks ago(after almost two years of doing nothing with it) while cleaning up my hard drive I saw all the files again and an idea hit me. Why dont I try to revive my cliparts business and this time whatever sales I make I save it for Dress A Girl Australia. Selling these images is not that much but earning a few dollars a month is better than nothing. Besides these images were meant to be sold.

After some research I found the right site and software needed and my cliparts business is back in action....and I have pledged that all proceeds from the sale of these images will be donated to Dress A Girl Australia's postage fund. 

So if you are wondering what that 'red' button is on the top right corner of my blog which reads ClipArts Digital Craft Store, if you click on the button it will bring you to the small shop I just updated with my clipart files. At the bottom of each page you will see the Terms of Use for all the images. Here is the link to check out the shop -

If you know of anyone who might be looking for cliparts and digital images for their personal and commercial use, please share them the link to the shop. They may find something they like and make a purchase. I am slowly uploading all the files I have so more choices are available.

Sneak Preview of an upcoming Sewing Activity in the Phils

Here is a sneak preview of an upcoming sewing activity in the Philippines using the pillowcase dress kits sent to ECPAT Phils. This workshop is intended to help some of the girls in their early teens and under their care and guidance to learn extra vocational skills such as sewing to help them find a better way to earn a living and perhaps a stepping stone to a better life.

More photos will be made available as soon as the workshop is completed.

** ECPAT Philippines' mission is to end child prostitution, child pornography and trafficking of children for sexual purposes. It is a global organization after the welfare of children. Philippines is one of the countries who is very actively involved in this mission. To know more about ECPAT Philippines, click on the link below -

                              http://www.ecpatphilippines.com/index.php/en/

Dress A Girl Australia this morning

This is what Dress A Girl Australia was thinking of at 6:51 this morning.

"I want every girl in the world to own a pretty dress!"

Imagine a world where every girl owned at least one dress. What if that dress were made by you. Come and join me on this campaign. For more information, please send an email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com

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

"Helping make a difference in this world....one small dress at a time"

Friendly Reminder to everyone

Please make your dresses as simple as possible and not too fancy or complicated that it becomes bulky to fold. As long as they are nicely made and good quality of fabric, not too flimsy. Remember that some of these dresses are sometimes handcarried by volunteers and we do not want them to be burdened with the weight or occupy too much space in their luggages.

Thanks everyone! Thank you for your support.

FY12 Dress Distribution #10 - For the children in Kontum Vietnam

Distribution #10 parcel which has 34 dresses will be sent to Kontum Vietnam. There are actually over a hundred children in this community but I have decided to send 34 pieces only this time. I want to know if there is going to be no problem in delivering this parcel to Sr Juliana of the Sisters of Saint Paul of Chartres knowing how strict their country is when it comes to clothing. Sometimes they might think you are competing against their garment industry.

These dresses will be distributed to the children of ethnic minorities who are staying in the orphanage. They are not orphans but children of poor families who I was told live in the mountains. Once I know that the parcel has arrived with no problems, then I will try to collect 76 dresses more to provide to the rest of the children who are aged between 8 to 21 years old. They could be 21 years old but small in size.

Here is the parcel -

and here are the dresses in the parcel -

Donors of the dresses are listed below -
1. Christine Stephens
2. The Sewing Library facebook group
3. Deborah Parish (Ladies of Kapundah Sewing Bee #2)
4. Loris Pullen (Ladies of Kapundah Sewing Bee #2)
5. Delilah Balmer (Ladies of Kapundah Sewing Bee #2)
6. Veronica Martin (Ladies of Kapundah Sewing Bee #2)
7. Linda Smyth
8. Leonie Harrison
9. Katherine Nott
10. Pam of Threading My Way
11. Cassandra Hodges
12. Sharyn Paull
13. Ladies of Kapundah Sewing Bee #3 (Deborah Parish, Veronica Martin, Margaret Adair and Johanna Sawyer.
14. Dress A Girl Australia

To see larger images of the full donation, please click here. Dress A Girl Australia will be targetting for a second parcel to be sent in August.

To all the donors, thank you so much for making this parcel possible. It is very much appreciated. Thank you for your support.

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #68 - Bundle of hot red fabric from Rhose

A bundle of hot red fabric good enough for 6 disadvantaged girls anywhere in the world from Rhose Cunningham a work colleague. 

 It is always nice to know that there are people out there who truly believed that this is such a very good cause to support, dont asked why am doing it and Rhose is one of them (must be the reason why she bought a red fabric) :-)

Thanks heaps Rhose! With your bundle, we are on our way to making a difference in this world! 

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #67 - Dresses and Shorts from Sharyn

This time from Sharyn Paull who is enjoying every minute she spends on sewing. 5 T-shirt dresses and 3 pairs of shorts. 

Thank you Sharyn! Much appreciated.

And to all the other donors, I am so grateful for supporting me on this campaign...for helping Dress A Girl around the world make a difference in this world...one small dress at a  time. Thank you!

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #66 - Donated fabrics now become dresses from Katherine

Well, I better complete my donation acknowledgments before I lose my momentum. I've got a couple more and that's it I guess. :-)

This time 34 dresses made from fabric donations of several kind-hearted donors who wants to help make a difference in this world....one small dress at a time! All 34 sewn by Katherine Nott! Well done, Katherine!

These dresses were made by Katherine from the fabric donations of Incy Wincy Bows, Erin from Canberra, Vintage Bubble, Sash Hinton and Lindsey Jones of Jacaranda Handmades. 

Thank you ladies and a lot of special thanks to Katherine for sewing the dresses.  Much, much appreciated.

If there is anyone out there who wants to know why we are sewing dresses, please feel free to send an email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com.

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #65 - More dresses from the ladies of Kapundah South Australia

What a hard-working group and enjoying every minute of it. Another batch of 15 dresses from the Ladies of Kapundah South Australia under the coordination of Deborah Parish. These ladies I believe meet every week to make dresses. Wow! What a great way to enjoy your day!

These batch of dresses came from Deborah herself, Veronica Martin, Margaret Adair who is Deborah's mum and Johanna Sawyer.

Ladies, what can I say except express my heartfelt thanks to everyone for your unwavering support of dressing the less fortunate girls around the world. Thank you.

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #64 - Fabric Accessories from Kelli Hogan

Rolls of bias tapes were sent to Katherine Nott by Kellie Hogan who is a member of the The Sewing Library facebook group. These bias tapes are going to be a great help in making dresses for the less fortunate girls around the world.

To Kelli, thank you so much for your donation. We always welcome any kind of donations to help us make a dress. Thank you.

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #63 - from Cassandra of casscansew

'Dress A Girl with Hopeful Threads #7. From the last but not the least contributor of the Dress A Girl with Hopeful Threads project is Cassandra Hodges from 'casscansew' bringing to 50 the total number of dresses donated to Dress A Girl Australia. What an accomplishment.  

Here are the two dresses from Cassandra and one of it is actually on its way to Vietnam to be given to one of the children from ethnic minorities who lives in an orphanage in the highlands in the area of Kontum.  

Cassandra, thank you so much for the dresses. I received it just in time when I needed one more dress to include in my parcel for Vietnam. Thank you. Much appreciated.

Thank you so much and hats off to all those who participated in the project. You should all be very proud of what you have accomplished.

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #62 - from Tash of Little Ladybird

'Dress A Girl with Hopeful Threads #6. I know am so late in acknowledging but as the saying goes 'better late than never'. Next on the list and number 6 contributor to the April 2012 Dress A Girl with Hopeful Threads global project is Tash of Little Ladybird. 

Tash is Pam of Threading My Way's daughter and this is the first dress she has ever made. And with Mum's little help here is the pretty dress she has come up with 

What a great way to spend a lovely afternoon with your Mum. And knowing that the dress you are making is going to a disadvantaged girl who probably hasnt had a chance to own a dress like this, it  makes you appreciate more the time and effort you spend in making the dress.

Thank you Tash for such a lovely dress. Much, much appreciated.

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #61 - from Pam of Threading My Way

'Dress A Girl with Hopeful Threads #5. Once again, its time for donation acknowledgements and this time from Pam of Threading My Way. These dresses were made as her contribution to the April 2012 Dress A Girl with Hopeful Threads global project. And looking at the dressses she has made below what a great job she has done. 

Pam, thank you so much for these dresses. Another 23 beaming little girls from the less fortunate locations around the world for helping them own at least one dress. Thank you so much.

If you are looking for something creative and fun to do, join Pam in her linky parties at Threading My way. 

Final Tally of Dresses Contributed from Hopeful Threads project.

I now (and I hope I have it right) have the final tally for the number of dresses contributed by the participants of the April 2012 Dress A Girl with Hopeful Threads project. The total number is 50. Woohoo!!

Here are the dresses - (some of them are already on their way to dress the less fortunate girls in several locations and some of these dresses have already found owners)

and here are the donors who participated -
1. Pam of Threading My Way
2. Tash of Little Ladybird
3. Roslyn of Sew Delicious
4. Sherry from Leda W.A.(whatsherrymadetoday)
5. Christie of JoyFoolery
6. Theresa of Sew Sister
7. Cassandra of Casscansew
8. and myself on behalf of Dress A Girl Australia

My heartfelt thanks to all the ladies who participated and a special thanks to Kristy Smith of Hopeful Threads for thinking about the less fortunate children around the world and making dresses for Dress A Girl Around the World one of her global projects for the year. Thank you! Very much appreciated!

FY12 Dress Distribution #9 - Dresses, Shorts and a ball for Dago Dala Hera Children Centre in Sare-Awendo Kenya

Distribution #9 is for the children of Dago Dala Hera Children Centre and community of Sare-Awendo, Kenya. This parcel of 54 dresses and 6 pairs of shorts will be delivered to the director of the orphanage Pamela Adoyo Odoyo. Also included in this parcel is my personal gift of a soccer ball for the children who loves to play soccer and play a lot too. As Patrick described, the ball will be received with a lot of smiles and giggling. In the next few days I will be posting pictures of the community in Dago Dala Hera so you will have an idea of how the place looks like.
Here is the parcel -

and the contents of the parcel of 54 dresses, six pairs of shorts and a flat soccer ball.

Donors of the dresses and pairs of shorts including fabric donations are listed below -

1.Lyn Crossley
2. Sandra Hart
3. Margaret Blanch
4. Gillian Cockerill
5. Theresa Kazmierczak
6. Linda Smyth
7. Sally Giles (Kapunda Ladies Sewing Bee #2)
8. Christie of Joyfoolery
9. Sarah Petrie and family
10. Miss Mollie and Friend
11. Michelle Karyn Reynders
12. Chris Redden (Kapunda Ladies Sewing Bee #2)
13. Valda Ridley (Kapunda Ladies Sewing Bee #2)
14. Sharyn Paull
15.Deborah Parish (Kapunda Ladies Sewing Bee #2)
16. Ladies of Kapunda, South Australia Sewing Bee #1
17. Jane Kelly, Marieka Ashmore and Liz Skinner of Coffs Harbour
18. Pam of Threading My Way
19. Damara Sestanovich
20. Gaylene Hermann
21. Liz D'Giacoma (Kapunda Ladies Sewing Bee #2)
22. Veronica Martin (Kapunda Ladies Sewing Bee #2)

To see larger images of the full donation, please click here. Dress A Girl Australia will be targetting for a second parcel to be sent in September.

To all the donors, thank you so much for making this parcel possible. It is very much appreciated. Thank you for your support.

FY12 Dress Distribution #8 - Pillowcase Dress Kits for Lilia

Distribution #8 is something different. They are not dresses. Not yet. They are pillowcase dress kits to be made into dresses by Lilia R. Tapia from CDO Philippines. This is the second parcel for her and has been patiently waiting for it. 20 pillowcase dress kits which includes buttons, laces, bias tapes, threads, ribbons and of course pillowcases.

Lilia just came back from a 3-day medical and dental mission in another city with CDO Lifeline Ministries which is a group of 64 doctors and nurses and she joined them as the pharmacist of the group. She looks forward to the second installment of her mission work - to make 20 more dresses for the less fortunate children in her location.

Here is the parcel -

 and here are the contents of the parcel -

and all it needs is for Lilia to sit down and start rolling her sewing machine to make 20 dresses. Also included are bitsy pieces of fabrics which she can use for pockets and ruffle embellishments. This parcel was made possible through the donations of the following supporters of Dress A Girl Australia -

1. Flor dela Cruz
2. Jane Kelly, Marieka Ashmore and Liz Skinner of Coffs Harbour
3. Ladies Cenacle and members of the Espiritu Santo Parochial School
4. Meredith Kain
5. Dress A Girl Australia

To all the donors, thank you so much for making this parcel possible. Thank you for your support.

Dolls to go with dresses

I received another email asking about why dolls were not being made here in Australia to send with the dresses as these little dolls could be made by ladies who could not sew but wanted to be involved in some way.

My reply was that dolls can be made by those who are interested to make them and I dont impose these dolls to be made by those who wanted to make dresses only.

If there is anyone who wants to include dolls in their dresses, please feel free to do so as long as they are light and not add more weight to the dresses. I would prefer to send more dresses over fewer dresses with weighty dolls but you certainly can include dolls if you want to. Or if you prefer to make small bags or small totes, you may do so.

Here is a sample of a lightweight doll (sleepy dolls) that was attached to some of the dresses I received from Jo Taunton. This is another item on my wishlist especially for Christmas distribution.

Here's more of it -

If there is anyone out there or groups of ladies who prefers to donate little dolls or little tote bags, please let me know. Send me an email at dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com or you can send them to the address below and I will attach them to the dresses. 

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

Thank you everyone for thinking about the less fortunate children around the world. Much appreciated.

FY12 Dress Distribution #7 - Dresses and shorts for the children of Masaka Uganda

Distribution No 7 is for the children of the Home Sweet Home orphanage and community of Masaka Uganda. This parcel of 64 dresses and 6 pairs of shorts will be delivered to Robert Luwalira, Director of Family Rescue Foundation in the Masaka District of Uganda. 
Here is the parcel -

and the contents of the parcel of 64 dresses and 6 pairs of shorts -

Donors of the dresses and pairs of shorts including fabric donations are listed below -
1. The Sewing Library Facebook group
2. Deborah Parish (Sewing Bee #2)
3. Ladies of Kapunda South Australia (Sewing Bee #1) 
4. Lyn Crossley for the 6 pairs of shorts for the boys
5. Leonie Harrison
6. Theresa Kazmierczak
7. Gillian Cockerill
8. Ruby Schalk
9. Sandra Price
10. Sandra Price' mum
11. Linda Smyth
12. Sarah Petrie
13. Sharyn Paull
14. Katherine Nott
15. Jane Kelly, Marieka Ashmore and Liz Skinner of Coffs Harbour
16. Sandra Hart
17. Dress A Girl Australia

To see larger images of the full donation, please click here. Dress A Girl Australia will be targetting for a second parcel to be sent in September. 

To all the donors, thank you so much for making this parcel possible. Thank you for your support.

FY12 Dress Distribution #6 - Second Batch of Dresses/Shorts for the children of Katuuso Uganda

Distribution No 6 for the year and the second parcel allocated to the children of Katuuso Uganda. This time the parcel includes 50 pairs of shorts for the boys and 30 dresses for the girls. This parcel will be delivered to Annabelle Chauncy of the School for Life Foundation and hopefully to be handcarried by her co-founder of the organization.
Here is the parcel-

 and the contents of the parcel - 50 pairs of shorts -

and the 30 dresses for the girls.

Donors of the dresses and pairs of shorts including fabric donations and sewn by Dress A Girl Australia are listed below -
1. Joan Lui
2. Christine Stephens
3. Sharyn Paull
4. Gillian Cockerill
5. Sandra Price and her mum
6. Katherine Nott
7. Erin of Canberra
8. Becs Bags
9. Margaret Blanch
10. Jo Taunton
11. Karen Interlandi
12. Leonie Harrison
13. Amanda Sampson
14. Pam of Threading My Way
15. Amanda Regan
16. The Sewing Library FB group
17. Dress A Girl Australia

To see larger images of the full donation, please click here. To all the donors, thank you so much for making this parcel possible. Thank you for your support.

FY12 Dress Distribution #5 - Dresses for the children under temporary shelter with ECPAT Phils

For the next few days I will be focusing my articles on the dress distributions and what dresses were included in the parcels I have sent and who the donors of the dresses were. It took more time to do the matching as this is the first time that I have to allocate/packed and send more than one parcel in one go and not just one but 3 had already left, 1 is about to be dispatched, 2 about to be packed and 1 being readied for possible handcarry. There is not much dresses in one parcel the most is about 50 since I wanted to distribute in more locations and not focused in just one location. Hopefully all these parcels will reached its destinations without any problems in the next 2 months or so.

Ok, after months of waiting these pack of dresses finally left today for the girls under temporary shelter with ECPAT Phils. 22 dresses for 22 girls between the ages of 9 to 16. Some of these girls are currently undergoing some vocational training to help them develop skills that will help them towards having a better life, some are under temporary shelter with the organization. I also included in the parcel a dozen light headbands which I received in one of the anonymous donations and which some of the girls with possibly long hair can wear.

These dresses were supposed to be included in the first parcel of pillowcase dress kits I sent about 6 weeks ago but at that time I needed about 3 more large dresses and also the box wasnt big enough to accommodate all 22 dresses. Anyway, here they are and have finally left my humble abode and the dresses were donations from the following donors :
1. Gaylene Hermann
2, Ladies from Kapunda South Australia Sewing Bee I and II)
3. Margaret Blanch
4. Linda Smyth
5. The Sewing Library FB group
6. Fabric Cuts
7. Pillowcase donations from Anonymous donors and sewn by DAG
Most of these pillowcase dresses were made late last year(around November 2011) as part of the 'Me and my Sewing Machine Marathon II. To see larger images of the dresses, click here. Thank you so much to the donors of this parcel and hopefully soon we shall see who has become the owners of the dresses. Thank you.

** ECPAT Philippines is a member of the ECPAT global organization who is involved in ending child prostitution, pornography and trafficking. To know more about their work, click here.

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #60 - 6 dresses with special gifts from Jo Taunton

This is the parcel that had 6 dresses with very special gifts attached to each dress as mentioned in one of my earlier blogs. Jo Taunton is Leonie Harrison's mum and she put her on to Dress A Girl Around the World. Leonie earlier donated 13 dresses.

Here the 6 six dresses that Jo donated and look very closely at the dresses and see if you can find anything or something special. You can find it on the left corner of each dress.

If the special gifts are not that clear to you, here they are. They are little dolls and temporarily attached to each dress to make sure that they do not fall off or get lost. Whoever receives these dresses will own the little dolls, something they can hold or keep close to their hearts. Isnt that cute?

Jo, thank you so much for the dresses and your creativity. The dolls are such a wonderful idea and very special gifts to the girls who will be receiving them. Thanks a lot! They are very much appreciated.

To those who want to make special gifts to give please feel free to do so. Please make sure that they are light and can be easily put inside the pocket of the dress if required.

To those who want to join us on this campaign of dressing girls around the world especially the less fortunate children, please send your donations to Dress A Girl Australia P.O Box 240 Casula Mall Casula NSW 2170. If you need more information about this campaign, please send an email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com. 

Please help Dress A Girl Australia spread the word around.

It must be the cold weather !

These pre-cut fabrics for sixteen(16) pairs of shorts have remained untouched for almost 5 days now. Usually I can make at least 2 pairs after dinner but this time they still are pre-cuts and no sign of at least one pair done nor a sign that they will be done. It must be the cold weather here in Sydney. Where I live it is at least 2 degrees colder compared to the city temp. 

The weather is not being helpful. Am targeting to make these pre-cuts plus 24 t-shirt dresses from the 24 t-shirts donated before we leave for PNG. I think am going to finish the week not making any new pairs and look for something else to do. And I hope by Monday things will change for the best. Monday by the way is a public holiday to celebrate the Queen's birthday.

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #59 - Dozen pairs of shorts from Lyn of Adelaide

These are brand new pairs of shorts all twelve of them donated by Lyn Crossley of Adelaide sent to Dress A Girl Australia by Deborah Parish.

Lyn, thank you so much for your thoughtfulness. Twelve disadvantaged boys, twelve loving and smiling faces for twelve pairs of shorts. Thank you. Much appreciated.

Thank you all for your kindness

Its been three months since the last time I said thank you to everyone for your continued support to the cause of Dress A Girl Australia. You have all been very kind and without everyone's support and donations, the dream of providing dresses to the less fortunate girls around the world would 'nt  have happened. So I thank each and everyone for your kindness and for joining Dress A Girl Australia in its journey to make a difference in this world one small dress at a time. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #58 - Girls T-shirts from an anonymous donor

This is one of the parcels I received last week where I could not read the return address. The parcel contained 24 girls t-shirts (12 navy blue and 12 whites in various sizes). Seeing the contents of the parcel made me very happy as this would mean I could make an additional 24 T-shirt dresses in different sizes but a little bit sad for I could not read the name on the return address.

Whoever and wherever you are, I am very sure you are reading my blog, thank you so much for the t-shirts. It is very much appreciated. Please visit my site regularly for these t-shirts will soon become t-shirt dresses and my sister and I hope to bring them with us in our coming trip to PNG. Thank you.

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #57 - Bundles of Fabrics from Ruth

Still from Tasmania are these bundles of fabrics kindly donated by Ruth Thomas.

Thank you so much, Ruth, for your fabric donations. These fabrics when made into dresses will create more smiles not only from the less fortunate girls but also from the 'proud mamas' for finally their girls get to own at least one dress. Thank you. Much appreciated.

Best Dress Ever in PDF Format

Lately I have been getting request for instructions on how to make pillowcase dresses in print format, sew-along on pillowcase dresses especially from ladies who do not have internet access. 

To make it easier on my part to comply with this request, I have decided to create a .pdf format document of the tutorial. With Karen Mills-Thomas' permission I created a .pdf file of her blog article on  the Best Dress Ever tutorial. Thank you Karen.

Here is the link to get a copy of the .pdf format
                                      Best Dress Ever pdf format

Click on the link above and at the bottom of the page are the instructions on how to download the file, open and save the file in your local hard drive.

If you encounter problems or need more help on how to download the file, please feel free to send me an email at dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com.

** Karen Mills-Thomas who wrote the step-by-step tutorial is the Dress A Girl Around the World representative for Virginia in the US.

Dreamers Markets...see you there!

One of Dress A Girl Australia's major sponsor, 
the Dreamers Markets will have their very 
first markets on the 1st of September 2012
from 10am to 3pm at Riverside Theatres 
Courtyard at Parramatta. 

I will have a stall to promote Dress A Girl 
Around the World so to all handmade market
lovers, hope to see you all there! Thanks!

No Used Children's Clothing please.

I received an email a few days ago whether i accept used children's clothing or hand-me-downs. Unfortunately i do not accept used ones. There are strict regulations regarding used clothing before they can be posted overseas. Some countries requires document that i can send used clothing and recipients have to be registered charitable organizations, some require these clothings to be sprayed before they go out of Australia and i need to pay around $75 per box. 

So please no used childrens clothing. I know everyone has good intentions but sometimes these good intentions have limitations when it comes to regulations. I want to avoid incurring additional expenses aside from postage and the additional errand of dropping off these used clothing in samaritans bins as my time is very, very important to me. 

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding. Thank you for your continued support. I appreciate it very much. Thanks a lot!

*** This message was posted earlier in my facebook page for those who rely on facebook for Dress A Girl Australia updates.***

My Teddy Bear

This is a repost from another blog which I write about my creative handmade life with slight modifications from the original article and is about my teddy bear.

This is a teddy bear which I made about 4 years ago when I was doing a lot of fabric memory items to sell. I only wanted a simple teddy bear and one that is easy to make so I designed one and came up with this. I actually prefer a teddy bear over a doll. This teddy bear is only 15cms wide and about 20cms tall.

The first fatty teddy bear has an appliqued heart and the smaller bear has my nephew's picture which I printed on fabric instead of the heart. Now I remember I made this about two weeks before Valentine's Day. At that time I also went crazy with button-making which I still am by the way thus the Valentines button on the bear. The button is a picture of a teddy bear holding a heart with the message "On this Valentines day will you be mine?". 

Now I am thinking of reviving my teddy bear making and make a limited edition of this bear and instead of the heart and Liam's picture I put the Dress A Girl Around the world logo on it. I am looking for other ways to raise funds for Dress  A Girl Australia in addition to sponsorships as I know I will be sending more parcels in the many, many months to come and I think this will be a great idea (well that is what I think!) ....and if I have the time to make them. But sometimes I find myself not into sewing in some days(my mood doesnt want me to do sewing) so when this happens maybe I start making teddy bears instead. I think I will try making one this week and see how it looks like and whether it would be a viable project so I better start looking for the template I created. 

Also am starting to think of giving something to cuddle or something to hold or wear in addition to a dress and this teddy bear is so easy to make and very light. 

I received a pack of six dresses more than a week ago which I have not had a chance yet to acknowledge. The six dresses came with special gifts attached to it. You should see what those gifts  are. They are so pretty and cute I keep on looking at them with a big smile on my face. :-) If I can't take my eyes and hands off it can you imagine the girl who would be receiving that dress? These dresses are next in line to be acknowledged so you should all see what came with the dresses very soon.

If you think the teddy bear is a wonderful idea, please feel free to comment on this article. Thank you.

Donation Acknowledgements FY2012 #56 - Dresses and Shorts from Christine

From Tasmania this time, 4 dresses and 2 pairs of shorts from Christine Stephens.

In this picture is Christine herself busy sewing a dress.

To Christine, the parcel has finally arrived. Thank you so much for the beautiful dresses and appreciate very much the 2 pairs of shorts. Thank you.

If you want to know why Christine is making dresses and shorts, please send an email to dressagirlaustralia@gmail.com. We would love to have you join in our campaign to dress girls around the world.

Final number is 63 for sp'egg'tacular easter charity drive

The final tally for the pairs of shorts I have received from the sp'egg'tacular easter charity drive is 63. The drive was for 55 pairs and I received eight more than expected. Thank you so much to everyone who made it possible and a special thanks to Katherine Nott. It is very much appreciated. 

Although some of these pairs have already been given away to the children of the Anugrah home for Children at Ambarnath Maharashtra in Mumbai, India, please click here to check out the full collection received.

Thank you so much.