Reindeer Cheer

Sunday Update (5 Dec 2010) - It's been that kind of week. I hope to be back by mid-week. Meanwhile, please check out Made4Aid, IKEA Soft Toy Aid, & Tina Tarnoff's Etsy shop (here's a Giulia G. post about a beautiful pin Tina sent me this past summer). And of course, check out all my comrades here in the right sidebar & on my profile page. And yes, I have a thing for reindeer. This cute dude is by John the Finn, here. xo/Susan

London Light

Two of 16 photographs by Sally (aka Letty) at Made4Aid. More information is on Giulia Geranium blog. The cards are gorgeous, well priced, & they ship free anywhere in the world. (Here's the full set; you can choose which ones you'd like.) Hope to be back before too long. Cheers.

Made4Aid Month

A bit of cross-pollination with Giulia Geranium & Made4Aid's new Etsy shop. I hope whether you buy anything or not, you'll check out the shop, the website, & also Sally's personal photography blog, Lettuce-Eating, from London. Many of her most popular photographs are available as cards. There's a nice badge that you can scoop up for your blogs & websites, too.

It's enough to prop up my faith in some humans (humanity? I don't know about that...) for the next several hours. This beautiful messenger bag is but one of many hand-made bags for sale. That color. (As always, I don't recommend anything that I have not already checked out. I purchased several things from Made4Aid last year via their auctions. Everything went smoothly. No drama. At all.)

Important: if you have something that you want to donate to Made4Aid, please read this guideline list from the Made4Aid organization site. Any questions after that, please contact them. (Of course, they take cash donations, too.)

(photograph via Made4Aid)

Reflections in the Water

Sally of Lettuce-eating posted these abstracts last January (2009) & there was much justified enthusiasm. She bowed to the will of the people: Voilà, they are cards. Yours are at Made4Aid's new Etsy shop. No shipping fee, no kidding. Even if you can't buy right now, it would do no small amount of good to "favorite" the shop (or some items you like). I loved Made4Aid auctions last year, but this will be easier for those who did not. (Wusses!)

I'm meandering about & muttering to the cat. About to go say hello to Hazel, who is back from Paris. Thinking about the Mad Men season finale (& whole series) & wondering why people use the term 'soap opera' about it. I had to bite my tongue overhearing people on the Metro. Apparently they grew up in a utopia starring Glinda the Good Witch as Queen. Many of these naifs have discovered Basket of Kisses (my preferred MM blog) recently. Man, I hope I didn't send them over there.

I'll take the "no comments" off of yesterday's post in case anyone wants to spill their guts about exciting exits. Extra points if you think it's funny now. You will receive much empathy if you do not think it funny--ever. (photograph by liquid sunny sky via deviantArt; collage made from Made4Aid images)

French Twist, English Style

I'm busy with a cat who is having/causing a wild rumpus (seriously) & I'm hugely disappointed that more people aren't bidding over at Made4Aid. Hence same general post as at Giulia Geranium -- at least until the rebellion is put down (non-violently). I placed a bid on this great French-style string bag made by wonderful Sally aka Lettuce. The bag has an elegant twist--a vintage-fabric lining with a little inner purse. I'd love to have it--but if someone cares to make this interesting, you have until Wednesday, 9am, NYC time. The price is low, the cause is great.

There are also several other items up for auction & I would tell you more about that but a cat is climbing onto my head. (Oh please, let our adoption application be approved.) Below is part of Letty's description. Owwwwww. Must go

Please have a look....xo/svs


Update: Reader, I won/bought it. (The bag, silly.)

From Made4Aid blog:

"This auction is for a hand-knitted string bag, with a twist - the twist being the lining. The bag is lined with vintage lemon/gold satin fabric, in a textured and two-tone leaf design....

"The string bag itself is knitted in black mercerised cotton, using two strands together - this is strong yarn and shouldn't stretch too much, although the knit pattern has some stretch in it, as string bags normally do. This is a really nice pattern, fun to knit - and you can find it here."

[photo collage/Made4Aid photographs used by kind permission]

Flowers from England

"This is such a charming item - it's a little table-cloth hand embroidered with a scattering of bright flowers....The cloth itself is a fairly fine cotton ...and the embroidery is done in a mixture of embroidery cottons and some wool in stem stitch, satin stitch, french knots, blanket stitch, chain stitch - possibly some others I don't know - and a bit of couching in the middle..."-from Made4Aid.

A few weeks ago, I successfully bid for this lovely tablecloth at Made4Aid. Sally of the Lettuce-eating blog & other like-minded souls had a great idea. Artisans & artists around the world contribute items for auction & proceeds are donated to the World Food Programme in Darfur (for their first project). Many items are made from recycled materials &/or use vintage textiles. It could not be easier to bid & complete the transaction. The starting bids on the most wonderful items are very reasonable; the shipping is also quite low. I recommend a visit -- something is sure to pique your interest. (Today, there are beautiful cards for sale to anyone. No bidding necessary.) Of course, you can donate any amount without purchasing a thing.

I'm so very grateful to Mme Lettuce & her compatriots for their efforts & for linking to Darfur Peace & Development Organization (DPDO) in their recent update.

Thank you Made4Aid!

[The photographs are via Made4Aid/used with permission; Made4Aid is a registered member of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, membership number 11190. For more information, please visit their website.]