WaterCan Fundraiser

If you are in the Toronto area, there's a great event this Saturday (April 14, 2012), starting at 7:00 pm.

Lauren of Her Pretty Bird on Etsy and Civello Rosedale, an Aveda Salon/Spa in Toronto, is part of the organizing team holding their 2nd annual fundraiser at The Spoke Club in downtown Toronto. All of the money raised will be donated to WaterCan, a Canadian charity focusing on providing access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene education to the world's poor.

There will be a silent auction (items up for bid include 1 night at The Cosmopolitan Hotel with a couples spa package, a one-year membership to Florida Jack's Gym, a Civello makeover, and much more).

If you aren't the bidding type, they will be raffling off many more great prizes, including a month of unlimited yoga at 889 Yoga, a Tickle Your Tummy cookie basket, a Neil brothers gift basket, Her Pretty Bird jewelry, a Dark Cycle t-shirt - something for everyone.

Last year's inaugural event was a great success, raising both money and awareness.  Why not take in the entertainment, learn more about WaterCan and the great work that they do, and maybe pick up a great prize while you're at it?

For more information about this great event, you can check the website at http://givewatergivelife.weebly.com/ or contact the organizers by email at everydropmatters@live.ca.

"Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all."  - Nelson Mandela

Guest Post - Safety Net

Here's a post from Sheila, one of the great people behind Safety Net, an Etsy shop raising money to open the Cottonwood Commons Transition Home so domestic violence survivors won't have to leave all their friends and family to seek refuge.

" Hi folks. This is Sheila from over at Cottonwood Commons Transition Home in Deer Lodge, MT. You probably haven’t heard of us. Or our little town. But I can tell that you’re the kind of person who cares about the lives of others, even those you don’t know. You just have that vibe. 


Put on your walking shoes and get ready because I’m about to take you on a tour of our little slice of heaven, in Deer Lodge Valley between the Flint Creek Mountains and the Continental Divide. Here, I’ll show you:

Not too shabby.

But amidst the beauty of nature and the quiet style of rural life lurks a big ugly scar: domestic violence. The abuse rates in our area are horrendous. Any violence is unacceptable, but especially that which is directed at those intended to be cherished above all others. Unfortunately, our small population of just over 3,000 people cannot attract the services available to domestic violence sufferers in larger cities. We have one victim advocate who works tirelessly to serve all crime victims in the county. It was she who first noticed the need for more services and led the initiative to establish a transition home. 

Put your walking shoes aside and put on your sympathetic glasses. Let’s pretend for a moment that you are here in Deer Lodge and have found yourself in a physically and emotionally abusive relationship. You want to leave, but there is nowhere to go in town that can separate you from your abuser. They know your where best friend lives, your parents, even your pastor. Your children are school aged.  You will not leave without them. You’ve thoroughly researched your options and it seems like the only safe place you can go is 40 miles away. That means leaving that best friend. Leaving your parents. Leaving what support you might have in your religious community. That means relocating to a strange place you’re unfamiliar with and don’t know many people. What about your children? Are they better off being taken from their friends and enrolling in a new school? Deer Lodge is the only life you’ve ever known. You don’t want to leave, but you can’t stay. It seems like there is no way out. You begin to wonder if it’s even worth it… Slowly but surely, you convince yourself that it would be better for you to stay where you are than to take such a major risk. 

As you might imagine, the lack of services makes leaving a dangerous relationship all the more daunting. A transition home in Deer Lodge would mean a safe, secure place that allowed survivors the comfort of being “home.” We are currently doing anything we can think of to raise funds towards our non-profit status (which is an $800 application fee) and startup costs. We were donated a private home in town to use, which is a huge head start. Our Etsy shop, Safety Net,  sells handmade goods from community members who have donated their time, materials, and talents to help us make this dream a reality. Right now, most of our items are crocheted, like this laptop sleeve:

Purple Flower Laptop Sleeve - $18.00 USD

Or this arm-knitted scarf:

Chunky Arm Knit Scarf - $18.00 USD

We are working on gaining awareness and support for our project at our blog.  The plan is not only to provide a safe, comfortable place to live for up to two years rent free while a survivor is moving on, but also to improve quality of life. We are seeking our volunteer teachers for classes like cooking, basic hygiene, sewing, financial management, and other life skills. We are building relationships with local businesses to provide on the job training. We are working to transform lives from hell to hope. We hope that someday we can help other little towns with similar problems, and perhaps more importantly similar hearts, to make a difference in their communities. If you are interested in helping us meet our goals, or keeping an eye on our progress, feel free to stop by any of our links. 

See, I knew you were a person who cares. That’s a good vibe to give. "

"This is not love.  It is a crime,...You can't look the other way just because you have not experienced domestic violence with your own flesh."  - Salma Hayek

Everything Old...

Take an ancient technique like chainmaille and add a craft from the 1960s and here's what you might get...





...a cracked marble pendant caged in chain...















...or, a caged cracked marble keychain.

Guest Post - We Are Bound Together

Here's another new humanitarian shop - We Are Bound Together.  Read, in her own words, how Andrea has combined her bookbinding skills with her desire to help others.

" My journey into bookbinding started when my husband and I began thinking seriously about where our stuff came from .  We started making an effort to buy products where the workers were being treated the way we would want to be treated - ethically and fairly.


This was before I knew much about Etsy.  I had the hardest time finding photo albums.  So I decided to look into making one myself.  I had always been artsy, so I figured that there must be some way.  Hence my adventure of bookbinding began.


I found that I really enjoyed the craft of creating hand bound books.  I love working with the pretty fabric and the different styles available to bookbinding.  At this point all of my books were gifts to people I knew.  But I felt that this was something I could really get into.


Parallel to all this, the desire to help others was something my husband and I both possessed.  We didn't always do it right, but we learn through our experiences.  At one point I really wished I could do more, especially for persecuted Christians around the world.  They are our brothers and sisters in Christ, and as a family we should support them.  We donated bits of money here and there, but the desire to help remained a passion of mine.

One day the idea came to me of the possibility of making hand bound books to sell and the proceeds going toward those who are suffering.  I had heard of Etsy by that time and that seemed like the perfect market.  I was unable to fulfill that idea at that time, but it remained a dream of mine.


A few months ago, the opportunity came where I could go through with my dream.  My husband greatly encouraged me, and now I have a store on Etsy, opened only just very recently.  Currently it features my "duct tape" books.  The covers are recycled book covers, covered with duct tape.  People like duct tape wallets so why not books too?  I will be producing my fabric covered books soon.


My store, "We Are Bound Together" combines my work of bookbinding with my desire to help persecuted Christians.  The name has a double meaning.  We are bound together as believers, and by binding books I hope to serve.  I do no donate to a single organization, but rather through a few.  Currently the three that I focus on are "Voice of the Martyrs", "Open Doors" and "International Christian Concern".


My store is still in its infancy, so I don't have any great advice for those considering something like what I'm doing.  Only take it one day at a time and try not to get too overwhelmed.  Getting started is more work than it looks, but I believe it's worth it in the end.


You can find me at:
my website, www.weareboundtogether.com
my etsy store, www.weareboundtogether.etsy.com
my facebook, http//www.facebook.com/pages/We-Are-Bound-Together/377723042240600 "

"If we cannot now end our differences,

at least we can help make the world safe for diversity."

- John F. Kennedy

From Paper to Metal

I start with this...

And, end with these...

What do you think?

Fish Creek Finery

Lucy at work.

Sometimes craftiness and humanitarianism take root young.

Lucy is a 10-year-old with a big heart.  She decided that she wanted to help less fortunate children and started making woven potholders and braided & breaded bookmarks to raise money for Child Fund International.  Instead of sponsoring another child (the family already sponsors a Haitian teen through World Vision), Lucy donates to specific projects.  So far, she has helped buy blankets for babies in Mozambique, mosquito netting in Africa, and school supplies and a school uniform for an orphaned girl in India.  Another $100 donation (that has turned into $1694 through matching grants) is helping to build Hospital Huts in Senegal villages that don't have doctor clinics.

The potholders are available in many different designs.

The next project Lucy is planning to fund is a fruit orchard for a farming family in a developing country.  Once she makes that donation (the target is $79), a family will be able to grow fruit for their own use and sell any extra in a market - helping both the family's health and financial well-being.

You can find Lucy's potholders and bookmarks in the Etsy shop she shares with both her mother and her aunt - Fish Creek Finery.

While you're there, check out the necklaces, bracelets, beaded dog & cat collars, dog coats, and dog collars made from vintage belts made by the other two-thirds of this shop.  20% of the proceeds from all the pet items are donated to pet rescue organizations.  Put that with the 100% Lucy donates from her items, and you have a whole lot of giving from 3 talented ladies.  What a family!

"No one has yet fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child.  The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure." - Emma Goldman

Organizing.

One of my goals for 2012 is to de-clutter and organize our house.  Two month in, and the going is slow.

So far, the downstairs bathroom has been done, my chainmaille supplies & tools are organized, and there is a box nearly full of items to donate.  But, I could use a few more hours in the day.  Finding time to work on this house-overhaul is not easy.  Dealing with the little one's naps and a husband who works nights and sleeps in the day complicate things.

And, the toys.  Oh my, the toys.  Every couple of weeks, I've been going through the toys in the living-room, pulling those that are broken or missing pieces and the ones that no one has been playing with.  Either the toys are reproducing when the lights go out or they are migrating from the boys' bedroom.  sigh.

Oh well.  It's only March, right?

"Don't agonize. Organize."  - Florence Kennedy