Japan Disaster Relief

I’ve received two emails this week asking me to donate to various funds or auctions for Japan.  I really want to help, and I had been researching ways to donate through the LDS church, of which I am a member of.   I had wanted to post a link on Sunday that would direct anyone who wanted to donate directly to aid Japan, but couldn’t find one just for that.  So I did nothing, which wasn’t right!

One of the people I’ve never met, but have really enjoyed getting to know better through email, is Sachiko of Tea Rose Home.  She is from one of the areas that was hit hard, and has great worries and concerns for her friends, family, and everyone affected!  It is heartbreaking to watch even without knowing anyone there, so I cannot imagine how hard this is for her. 

After reading Sachiko’s post, I have to agree with her attitude, that although there isn’t a specific fund just for Japan, I have no doubt that the LDS church will help those affected by the earthquake and tsunami, and give as much humanitarian aid as possible.  100% of your donation will go to help those in need!  That is what we want, right?!

Sachiko has a button you can post on your blog to spread the word.  (click on image to be directed to her post)

I know that there are a lot of other great organizations out there that are helping those affected as well.  So let’s all join together and help out as much as we can, wherever we can.

Shabby Apple Dress Review

I think most of you have probably heard of Shabby Apple.  They have the most beautiful, vintage inspired women’s dresses, along with swim suits, aprons, fitness clothes, and even little girls dresses. 

After browsing their website, the hubs helped me decide on the Bali Ha ‘i'.  It’s from their new line called South Pacific.  It was hard to narrow it down, but like I said, my husband liked this one.  (P.S.  Forgive my horrible bangs, as they are still recovering from the incident.)

And though I don’t have long beautiful locks, nor any resemblance of a tan, nor a beautiful sandy beach to frolic upon barefoot, I really like the dress.  Especially the neckline!

The dress is kind of like a blank slate to play around with.  You can wear it as is:

Add a belt:

Or even wear with a cardigan.  Wear with heels…

Or boots!  Really, that is the best part of the dress to me.  It’s so versatile and so many things can be worn to change it up if you wanted.  But it also looks great as is!

And it doesn’t hurt that they packaged the dress beautifully.

You can like them on facebook for exclusive discounts and special promotions. 

AND, A Lemon Squeezy Home readers can receive 10% off their order by using the code lemonsqueezy10off.  Yea!

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Please click here to read about two families who need help.  Here is just a bit about them. 

*Anna is only 2 and has cancer. She lives in Russia and needs to be receiving treatment in Israel.  Her family needs help paying for her treatment! 

*Dani and her family are adopting a sibling set and are trying to raise money by having an adoption auction online.  Please consider donating to their sweet family!

Team Chase Adoption Auction Starts Today!

Make sure to stop by the auction and check out the wonderful goodness that can be yours!  There really are some wonderful items and it’s for such a wonderful cause!  Best of luck to the Chase family!  Bidding is open until February 5th.

 

On her blog, Jennifer shares, “…every last penny that you spend will go directly into our adoption fund. Our overall expense is around $30,000. So far we've raised/had donated close to $2,800.  Almost 10%!  We are excited to see where this auction will place us on the financial portion of our adoption road!!”

Check the auction out here!

You can see more pictures of this dress here.  I used Dana from MADE’s tutorial here.  Bid here.

Made with imported Japanese fabric.  More pictures (and tutorial) found here.  Bid here.

 

A sweet scalloped skirt with sash that I made when I was doing the Sew Through the Decades Challenge on my blog. More pictures can be found here.  Bid here. 

Great Opportunity for Service

I received the following email a couple weeks ago from Jennifer Chase, and she said she would love if we could help spread the word!

“My name is Jennifer Chase and my husband, Trevor, and I are in the process of adopting a sibling set of two from Ethiopia.  We just completed all the paperwork and received word that we are a "waiting family" today!  So, basically, we are officially waiting for our referral.  This waiting could be two days, or it could be two years!  Anyway, as you may know, international adoption is a pretty expensive process (the whole process will end up being around $30,000).  To offset some of these costs, we are working on some fundraisers.  We have done a few that have been total flops and a couple that have been more successful, but the most successful fundraiser we have done so far is an adoption auction that someone did for several adoptive families on her blog.  This got me thinking that maybe I should do my own adoption auction.  This is where you come in! :)
 
So, here is what I'm asking of you...Please be a part of my on-line adoption auction to help us raise money to bring our babies home!  It is as simple as this:
 
1. Identify one or more of your projects that you would be willing to donate.
2. E-mail me to let me know what you would like to send.
3. I will E-mail you my mailing address.
4. Send either the items or a picture of the items (a picture would be best if your item is something custom like an article of clothing).
5. Help me by promoting my auction on your blog.
 
…..Honestly, the items can just be things that you have made that you didn't find a use for or you can create something new, whichever you'd like!
 
I will run the auction January 29th to February 5th, so I would like to have the items/pictures by January 15th.  Thank you so much for considering giving to help us raise the necessary funds for our adoption.
 
Jen Chase

teamchase4andcounting.blogspot.com  

What an easy way to help!   I will be donating the following three items, just in case you were interested and wanted to bid on them during her auction.

This dress only was worn by Little Miss B twice for a couple hours.  It looks brand new.  You can see more pictures here.  I used Dana from MADE’s tutorial here.

This mushroom lunch sack was never used.  So it’s brand new and made with imported Japanese fabric.  More pictures (and tutorial) found here.

A sweet scalloped skirt with sash that I made when I was doing the Sew Through the Decades Challenge on my blog.  I kind of forgot about the skirt after she wore it once, because I was making her so many clothes at the time!  More pictures can be found here.
So go ahead and spread the word/donate to help out this sweet family and their sibling set from Ethiopia! 
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The Pepperberry Accessories giveaway ends today at 6:00 pm MST.  Click HERE if you haven’t entered and would like to!

Help Others

This post will be updated regularly with great opportunities to help others.

ADOPTIONS:

 

 

*Merrill and Mary are hoping to adopt a second child!  They are wonderful people and I know a second child would be greatly loved! 

 

*Tiffany and her husband are in the process of adopting a baby girl from Taiwan.  They are needing help raising money for it!  You can contact her directly at tiffjett@hotmail.com and ask what you can do to help, or stop by her blog.

*Kelley and her family are adopting a six year old boy from Ethiopia.  To contact her on how to help, email her directly at kelley_crance@yahoo.com, or stop by her blog.