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!

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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. :-)