It's baaaaaaack

Go HERE 

Halleluja!  My old blog is back, up & running!!!!

Thanks to some VERY helpful people on the Blogger Support Team at Google!  I LOVE them.  I really do.  They went out of their way to help little 'ol me.  And for that I am so thankful.  

The best part is, I was able to import all the new posts (& comments) from the new blog into the old blog.  I'm working on a little clean up now since I had started to manually move stuff over to the new blog when I thought my old blog was gone forever.  So there might be some double posts for a little while.  Just until I have a chance to go through it all.  

What does this mean for you?  

You get to change your bookmark back to the old blog address =)

Or you can just keep coming here, then clicking on the link in this post which will take you to the other blog.  

Also, if you plan to bid on the bag, make sure you do it at the OTHER blog.  

Was all this confusing?  Just remember, in this case - OLD blog = good blog.  

I will no longer be posting at this blog.  To see all current posts go HERE

Thanks for your patience and understanding!!!!!

Auction #6

This blog is no longer active!  If you would like to bid, please go to my old blog  that has been resurrected!

Up for auction is a custom bag/purse, hand-made by yours-truly.  I knew I wanted to make a bag, but I wasn't sure on the design.  As I was standing in line to get my fabric cut, I noticed the girl in front of me had a really cute purse.  I asked her if I could take a closer look, and I even snapped a photo with my phone.  So this is my rendition of "girl from the fabric store's purse".

It is made with a heavy decorators fabric, with contrasting prints.

Inside you get 4 pockets for phone, keys, pacifiers, pens, etc.

On the opposite side of the pockets I stitched a little Africa with a heart for Uganda, to remind you of your sweet donation that helped give 2 precious children a family.

Me holding the purse so you can see it to scale =)

Auction Rules/Details

The auction begins NOW, and ends Thursday 9:00 pm PST.

YES! THIS IS ANOTHER A 2-DAY AUCTION!!!!

You place your bid by posting a comment in THIS POST with your bid amount. Please bid in increments of $5 - and higher. Let's start it out slow and give everyone a chance to bid. I LOVE my high-roller bidders, but I don't want people to start thinking it's not worth it to try! Whoever is the highest bid at the time the auction ends (9:00pm - thursday) is the winner.

Shipping costs are covered to anywhere in the 50 states.

The entire amount of the winning bid will go directly to the

Berry Family Adoption Fund. 

(If you're just tuning in to this blog, the Berry's have been friends of ours for many many MANY years.  I so believe in what they are doing, that I can't help myself from helping them - even though they never asked!)

The winning bidder can give the donation via the "donate" button on the right side of the blog (if you don't care about a tax deduction).  Otherwise I will give you details of where to send the check.

Let's start the bidding at $15

Let the bidding begin!

Give- Away!!!!!! Drawing!!!! Freebie!!!!

This is long over-due!  I promised a give-away quite a while ago, and have had good intentions....

but, well, I got a little side-tracked with 2 adorable Ugandan kiddos, and working on bringing them home =)

What you see here are some fancy-schmancy dish-washing gloves.  If you gotta do the dishes, might as well look pretty while you're doin them!

These are hand-made by me (although they are not an original idea by me).  They are Mr Clean Nyplex Hypo-Allergenic gloves with vinyl covered cotton fabric on top.  The gloves are size medium.  I have pretty big hands and they fit me great with some room to spare.  

To enter the drawing all you have to do is leave a comment in THIS post.  Here's the cool part.  You can enter more than once.  You can enter once a day until Friday.  Just leave a new comment each time.  You don't need to say anything more than your name and hometown.  Preferably your first name and last initial.  If the hometown thing freaks you out too much, just leave your name.   I will put all entries in a basket, and on Friday 1:00 pm PST I will draw the winner.  If I can, I will even video the drawing and post it on here.  

Just to clarify...

these are free.  A gift.  For anyone reading this blog.  Whether  you check in daily or it's your first time here.  Everyone can enter! (And guys don't be shy.  You can always give them as a gift to your wife, mom, sister).  

Shipping is covered to anywhere in the U.S.

Any questions?

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

WooHoo!

The Winner is Monica at $75!

So exciting.  So so exciting.

THIS was a fun auction to watch.  

I am completely humbled and in awe, that so many of you GET IT.  

Thanks to all who watched and bid on this auction.   Because of you I am SO motivated to keep on going with this.  

Well you, and them =) 

You might have noticed that I have a new little "donate" button on the right.  That is just to make it easier for you to make a donation to the Berry Adoption at the end of the auctions IF, and only IF you don't care about receiving a tax deduction for your donation.  If you want your tax deduction, you need to send your donation via check to 

Calvary Life Fellowship

· Mission: Berry Adoption

· PO Box 1161,

· Brea CA 92822

DO NOT write in the memo of the check who/what the donation is for.  Just a little sticky note will suffice.

Thank You again =)

More to come, so keep checking back!  

Blog Auction #5 - The First Noel...

Here it is folks!

A handmade "Noel" banner that would be really nice hanging from a fireplace mantle. Not only is it handmade, it is hand-SEWN - my poor little raw fingers will attest!

It is made from layers of quality felt with cotton applique, embroidery & ribbons. Each of the "flags" on the banner is approximately 10" tall and the length of the banner is approximately 4.5 ft (from "N" to "L") with lot's of extra ribbon on the ends to make it longer.

I can't find my camera (lost in the Halloween madness!) so my poor iphone pictures will have to suffice until I can get some real pictures. The colors are a bit off - these photos make the green look a bit darker than it is.

Once again, the entire winning bid will go to the Berry Adoption Fund. If you are just now visiting this blog for the first time, check out this post for an explanation of the BlackBerrys =)

Auction Rules/Details

The auction begins NOW, and ends Friday 9:00 pm PST. 

The auction has been extended in light of my  google/blogger disaster!!!!

You place your bid by posting a comment in THIS POST with your bid amount. Please bid in increments of $5 - and higher. Let's start it out slow and give everyone a chance to bid. I LOVE my high-roller bidders, but I don't want people to start thinking it's not worth it to try! Whoever is the highest bid at the time the auction ends (9:00pm - thursday) is the winner.

Shipping costs are covered to anywhere in the 50 states.

The entire amount of the winning bid will go directly to the Berry Family Adoption Fund. I will give you details of where to send the check.

Let's start the bidding at $15

Let the bidding begin!

Huge blog snaphoo!

Well if you're here, you obviously found me! 

Yesterday I made a fatal mistake when I accidentally deleted my Google Account.  I lost all access to my 2 blogs.  I spent literally like 10 hours online trying to fix the problem.  It's not fixable.  Not unless someone inside Google decides to undelete my account out of the goodness of their heart. They don't restore accounts.  It's possible, but they don't.  (I was so desperate persistent, that I actually contacted like 60 google employees through facebook asking for assistance.  Unfortunately, of the 4 that got back to me, none were any help).  So if you're reading this, and you know a Google employee, feel free to plead my case.  

So here we are.  New blog address.  And no one can find me!  Unless of course you are on my e-mail distribution list.  But anyone who found the blog through the web, and who had book-marked it, it has just vanished.  So here's my plea to you.  If you have a blog, would you do a little post with a link to this new blog?  Maybe some of my old readers will find me that way.  

Above is the latest auction item.  I don't know the best way to handle the auction since the blog disappeared mid-auction, and had about 5 bids.  I guess the only fair thing to do is start the auction over.  

Oh this has been a sad 24 hours.  I have a lot to do to restore this blog.  And it's going to take a loooong time.  Insert sad face.  

Anyhow, scroll down and check out the latest auction.  Again, any help on getting the word out about the auctions would be greatly appreciated.  It's hard to have a blog auction with no readers.  Thanks in advance.

Water For Christmas

The auction is coming up in the morning.

In the meantime, go check out this post over at jodyrlanders blog. It's something to think about if you are looking to simply your Christmas, and make a big impact in LIFE for others.

I love this gal's blog. I love her heart. And she does things that make a difference.

Sneak Peak - auction 5...Project BlackBerry

I used my iphone to take a picture so I wouldn't have to make the scary trek to the office in the dark. So, please excuse the horrible quality!


The big reveal will be Monday morning....or maybe Sunday night, as I like to keep y'all on your toes!

Any ideas as to what it could be? Feel free to post your guesses. Maybe there will be a prize if someone guesses right. Maybe. =)


And here's some food for thought.

As we start thinking about the holidays, I can't help but think about all the MONEY that people will be spending. All the thoughtless buying (okay some of it is thoughtfull, but lets face it, there is always an awful lot of "I don't know what to get Aunt Fanny, so I guess I can get her some more smelly bath salts...." type thinking, right? Right?) The obligatory gift giving, and the crazy, insane SPENDING just doesn't sit well with me anymore. Not when I think about all the people who are dying of hunger and curable diseases, being enslaved, and being abused. Not when I think about how far our money can go to save a LIFE, can I mindless buy over-priced smelly bath salts.

So here's a couple ideas floating around this empty head of mine.

*I'm going to do my very best to make home-made gifts, or buy only from companies who give their profits to causes I believe in. You've seen the TinyRockStar.com label on the right of the blog. You buy a shirt and feed an orphan for a month at the same time. Well there are lot's of other companies doing this. I'm going to be compiling a list and will start sharing them on here periodically.

**Our extended family does a gift exchange every year. You know the drill - you place everyones name in a hat, draw a name and buy them something off...THE LIST THEY GIVE YOU. Ha! Think about how ridiculous that is. Next people are going to start registering for Christmas presents.

Well this year another family member and I are suggesting we each make a list of 3 charities/organizations/causes that we are passionate about. Then the person who draws your name picks from the list to donate what they would have spent on the gift to that org. Not ONLY will we be able to give some money to some great charities, we will all be able to learn about these charities, and what each person in our family is touched by.

Please post a comment if you and or your family have any ideas on how to boycott the usual commercial holiday season, to make it a more meaningful time, and avoid frivilous spending.

Yay Suzie!!!!!!

The WINNER is Suzie for $70!!!!!!!!!

(although the true winners are Becky & Billy right? Or maybe the true winners are the Berry's who get to bring these adorable kids into their family).

Thank you everyone! This was such a fun auction to watch with a bunch of new bidders, some from people I'm sure I've never met. And action right up until the last minute! So fun.

I am almost done with the next BlackBerry auction item, so stay tuned in the next few days....

And Suzie, please introduce yourself! How did you find the blog and do you know the Berry's?

Also, please contact me via e-mail so I can get a shipping address from you, and let you know where to send a check to for the Berry adoption fund. My e-mail is in my profile on the blog.

Auction #4 - Project BlackBerrys Apron

Here it is!!!!

Here's the deal.

The Berry Family (of 5 currently) are adopting 5.5 year old

 Ugandan twins - Becky & Billy!

They are such a wonderful family, the twins are going to be sooooo blessed. Here's the irony. It costs a lot of money to adopt orphans. Fees for the agency, fees for the government, fees for background checks, fingerprints, home studies, and travel fees to go get the kids. The good news is, God will provide. Hopefully through the generosity of the people that know and love them, and through perfect strangers who believe giving 2 orphans a home is worthy of some of their latte money.

Here's my latest project. I already mentioned in my last post how much I love this apron. Is that tacky? I don't normally toot my own horn, but I love this fabric. And I bought the last of it from the fabric store - where there wasn't much left. The apron has long ties to wrap around to the front. It is made with quality fabric, and is lined and top-stitched. 

I think this would make a great Christmas present for a wife, mom, aunt, niece, grandma, daughter, daughter-in-law, cousin, sister...you get my point. Or buy it for yourself! Who doesn't need a cute new apron, that helped bring 2 orphans home to their forever family?

I'm posting my lame photo of myself in the mirror until I get a picture of my neighbor wearing it. Bear with me. Or is it bare with me?

Now the boring albeit necessary auction details....

Auction Rules/Details

The auction begins NOW, and ends Thursday 9:00 pm PST. You place your bid by posting a comment in THIS POST with your bid amount. Please bid in increments of $5 - and higher. Let's start it out slow and give everyone a chance to bid. I LOVE my high-roller bidders, but I don't want people to start thinking it's not worth it to try! Whoever is the highest bid at the time the auction ends (9:00pm - thursday) is the winner.

Shipping costs are covered to anywhere in the 50 states.

The entire amount of the winning bid will go directly to the Berry Family Adoption Fund. I will give you details of where to send the check.

Let's start the bidding at $10

Let the bidding begin!

*****If anyone wants to post a link from their blog to my blog, I would be ever so grateful.

This is my kick-off project....there will be more items to come!

Auction #4 is almost here

I finished it tonight (I guess technically it's early morning) and I'm so excited to post this new item. This could be, my most favorite item I've ever made. And I've made a lot of things. I love love love this fabric. And this thing, it can appeal to anybody, or everybody. If you're starting to think at all about Christmas, you will definitely have somebody you can buy this for. 

Where is it, you ask? Well, I need a model. I'm tempted to upload the cruddy pictures of myself in the mirror, but then I have to make the creepy walk out to the office in the dark to upload the pics from my camera to my computer, and well, I'd rather not. So in the morning, I'm thinking 9-10am~ish I will get them up! 

Remember ~ This is the first of my "Project BlackBerrys" stuff I'm working on. Let's bring those beautiful children home!!!!!

Mary, it was all you baby!

2 ADORABLE stockings for $50!

That's $50 that will help rescue a victim.

Thanks everyone for watching the auction.

Please come back, because there will be LOT'S of stuff coming in the next few days. You won't want to miss something super-dee-duper spectacular!

Auction #3 is HERE

Just in time for Christmas!

My sister-in-law (Luke's sister) Lisa, made these darling stockings. They are beautifully made, and lined inside. She has such an eye for fabrics (I love the polka dot contrast!).

The auction is for both stockings - they come as a set. (They would make a great gift for newlyweds!)

Auction Rules/Details

The auction begins NOW, and ends Thursday 9:00 pm PST. You place your bid by posting a comment in THIS POST with your bid amount. Please bid in increments of $5 - and higher. Whoever is the highest bid at the time the auction ends (9:00pm - thursday) is the winner.

Shipping costs are covered to anywhere in the 50 states.

The entire amount of the winning bid will go directly to International Justice Mission (IJM) who does an awesome job at rescuing oppressed peoples - child prostitutes, slaves, widows whose land is stolen, and the list goes on.

Let's start the bidding at $10

Let the bidding begin!

Don't forget to tell others about the auction. You can send out an e-mail to EVERYONE you know, post about it on Facebook, myspace, or YOUR BLOG (my favorite way to communicate!)

For those of you new to this blog and auction business, my purpose is to try to DO SOMETHING in the fight against the MILLIONS of oppressed people. Right now in 2008, there are people being physically bound in slavery. Some are labor slaves. Some are sex slaves. Some are held in chains. Some held at gunpoint. Some held psychologically with threats to harm them or their family members. And others are held physiologically as their captors have gotten them addicted to drugs like meth, so even though they want to escape, the addiction keeps them bound to their owners.

All that's horrible right? 

Now picture it happening to kids. Young kids. 7, 6, 5....as young as 3 year olds! Yes, there is a premium price for virgins. The younger they can find, the better guarantee of the "purity". 

It is absolutely SICK. 

The problem is SO HUGE, it's easy to get paralyzed into INaction. 

This is my attempt to at least wiggle my pinky toe. I refuse to sit back and do nothing. And while this isn't much right now, it's motion, and builds momentum, and HOPEFULLY will inspire a few more to not be paralyzed too. 

So the 

goal right now is to raise money for the people who can actually go to these places and rescue these people. These kids. And to PUNISH the perpetrators. And to bring JUSTICE to those who are being imprisoned in a life of shame, humility, and physical abuse.

Please keep checking back on the blog. I am going to be giving tangible ideas on how you can DO SOMETHING too. 

Thanks for stopping by.