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.