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Join us for the Craft Gossip Dolly Donation Challenge!

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I’ve blogged about them several times already, but let me say it again:  I love me some Dolly Donations!!  Their mission is to provide a bit of comfort in the form of handmade cloth dolls to needy children around the world – children in poverty, children who have been orphaned, or children experiencing crisis.  Their current drive is sending dolls to orphans in Haiti.  You can read more about the current drive and the children it benefits here.

Because we believe so much in Dolly Donations, we’re issuing the Craft Gossip Dolly Donation Challenge!  How many dollies can Craft Gossip readers create in just one month?

If you’d like to participate, set a Dolly Donation goal for yourself.  It can be 1 dolly, 3 dollies, 5 dollies, or more.  Don’t worry if you’re still a beginner sewist.  The dolls are simple to make , and there are patterns available over at the Dolly Donations website.  (They also have tutorials showing how to add some fun details.)  The basic doll pattern has “clothes” stitched as part of the dolly body.  If you want to make removable clothing, I’ll be posting a tutorial/pattern for a dress for a girl doll, and a t-shirt and shorts combo for a boy doll.

Personally, I pledge to create at least 5 dollies for the Craft Gossip Dolly Donation Challenge.  How many will you make?

You can mail your completed dollies to me.  (I’m not so keen on posting my home address out here for all the world to see, so just drop me an email at [email protected] and I’ll send you my address.)  I’ll keep them safe and sound until the end of the Dolly Donation Challenge, at which point I’ll take a lovely group photo and send them on from there.

We’ll keep the Craft Gossip Dolly Donation rolling throughout the month of July.  If you have any questions about our challenge, please give me an email at [email protected].  Deadline for mailing the dollies to me is August 7, 2010.  I can’t wait to see how much we can do!!

[photos and buttons from Dolly Donations]

[tags]sewing, charity, dolly donations, doll, dolly, children, challenge, craft gossip[/tags]

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Comments

  1. Wow! I’ve never seen this group before (I’m new to craft gossip), but this post just made me cry. Weird, I know, but 14 month old has recently developed a love affair with her own dolly, and having experienced her attachment, and the comfort she gets from hugging that dolly (“dah-dee” in her words) makes me so excited to spread some of that dolly loving to kiddos who really need such a hug. Thanks for posting this! I’m headed to their website now!

    Reply

    • Kay, If you want to participate through Craft Gossip, I’ll need the dollies by September 7. However, you can also send them directly to the person who is collecting the dollies for Hope Village, and I believe that deadline is later in the fall. Thank you for your interest in the dolly drive! –Anne

      Reply

Have you read?

DIY Kids Gingerbread House Bag with Free Pattern

I am just smitten with this felt gingerbread house bag.  This would make such a sweet special Christmas accessory for a kid.  It’s a free pattern at Benzie Design, designed by Gracie from Hello Gracie Makes.  It’s packed with adorable gingerbread house details, like swirls and stripes and scallops adoring the doors and windows. 

And while all those details might seem like this would be a complicated pattern, it’s actually not.  The bag itself is made from felt, which makes finishes edges unnecessary.  (All of those scalloped edges are just cut from felt, no edge finishing required.)  The strap is super simple, made from rope with knotted ends.  And all those details are made with some basic hand embroidery stitches.  Sparkle felt makes it extra cute.

The striped scallop roof is actually the top flap of the bag. A magnetic snap makes it a secure closure.  The rope straps are attached through felt loops at the side of the bag. 

They rate this project as an intermediate level, and it should take about 6 hours to make start to finish.  That’s doable for a Saturday project or a couple of evenings.  Full color photos step you through the entire process.

The project includes a shopping list for all of your supplies.  They’ve got a shop so you can order all of them from Benzie if you like and get exactly the supplies used in the project.  I noticed it includes a pair of scallop shears, which makes cutting all the scalloped edges for the roof and around the door a breeze.  

Finished dimensions of the little felt gingerbread bag are approximately 6 ½” wide x 7 ½” tall.  That’s the perfect size to hold a small book, a small toy, or a notepad and some cute pens.

Go to Benzie Design to get the tutorial and free pattern for the felt gingerbread house bag.

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