Made4Aid Monday - Geisha Paperdoll Bookmarks for Japan

Aren't these lovely? And free shipping - what more could you possibly want? Hmm?

Pretty handmade origami geisha figure created with origami paper and tissue on a distressed finish natural kraft card base, finished off with satin ribbon for an unusual and thoughtful bookmark. This item has been specifically created by AquaAlta as a contribution to relief work for Japanese earthquake victims. Made4aid profits all go to Medécins sans Frontières/Doctors without Borders, who have been working to provide relief and medical aid in Japan since Saturday 12th, the day after the earthquake and tsunami. (photograph courtesy of Made4Aid)

ciao-meow/GG's editor

Made4Aid Monday - Put the Kettle On

Show your love of all things tea & do good at the same time. Pretty vintage teapot photography card at Made4Aid is $3.50 (with free shipping). Other cards, here. You can purchase through their Etsy shop or go to the Made4Aid blog & leave a message. (Rodney Smith photograph via Kristi Wright, Pinterest)

ciao-meow/GG

Made4Aid Monday on Friday - Chic Scarves

The days are going quickly. To wait for a few days means you might miss out on an excellent purchase for the holidays. Hence Friday-for-Monday.

Made4Aid's Etsy shop has lovely handmade/hand-loomed cashmere, wool/silk, & wool scarves for winter. The very reasonable price (from $USD 18-30) includes shipping anywhere in the world. They are long, soft, & can be wrapped in the French manner, but of course. GG's editor bought one last year for a friend's winter birthday & it was a big hit. Of course, there are other items at Made4Aid, too, & you really should check it out. (photograph by the fab Garance Doré)

ciao-chic-meow/GG's gift coordinator

Made4Aid Monday - Street Art Photography

These wonderful photographs would make a great gift for anyone (including you). Three art prints, original street art photography from Brick Lane in East London, UK - ready for framing. The photographs are printed in high resolution on archival quality matte fine art paper, 5 inches (126.5mm) square, and can be provided with or without an additional white border depending on your needs for framing. You can make your own choice of street art photos to be printed as a set from the collection here.

Almost any of these photos could be ordered as a custom set - or, as a set of blank greeting cards. Message us if you'd like to order a set or have a query. The price of this item includes shipping worldwide. Please visit the Made4Aid Etsy shop for more items. Made4Aid items are sold to support the work of Médicin sans Frontières/Doctors without Borders. (image courtesy of Made4Aid)

If you are not in the buying mood, please pass this along &/or favorite the shop on Etsy. Thanks!

ciao-cheeky-meow/GG Central

Made4Aid Monday - Winter Snow Photography Cards

Today's Made4Aid post highlights a set of greeting cards, made with prints of original photography of snowy winter scenes in London. They would make a lovely gift for someone this season (or for you). The photographs are printed in high resolution on premium glossy photographic paper and mounted on good quality white card. The cards are blank inside for your own greeting and come with matching envelopes. The size of these cards is 5 inches/12.5cm square.

If you would like to order a custom set of cards, there are 16 winter scenes and you can choose any of these to be made into cards. See the full set here.

Any of these photographs, made into cards, at the following prices:
7 cards for $19; 8 cards for $22; 12 cards for $32

All prices inclusive of shipping worldwide.

Made4Aid items are sold to support the work of Médicin sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders) and the World Food Programme. Please see other items in the made4aid shop : http://www.etsy.com/shop/made4aid

Made4Aid Monday - Blue Messenger Bag

This beauty is for sale at Made4Aid's Etsy shop. We're thinking it could accommodate a laptop, too. While this bag does require extra money for shipping (only 5.00USD within the EU), there are two pretty bags available, free shipping anywhere in the world. Made4Aid accepts payment via PayPal & 3 major credit cards. If you're not buying anything this year (or yet), understood. But visiting the site's shop & adding it to your favorites would be helpful. Thanks so much. (image property of Made4Aid/used with permission)

ciao-meow/The Mgmt.

Made4Aid Month

Made4Aid now sells items through a new Etsy shop. GG will be featuring items from the shop this month & next.

Made4Aid is a non-profit-making organisation, raising money for aid and relief work, through the generosity of creative people around the world. Handmade art or craft items - or materials - can be donated to made4aid and will be sold online to raise money for aid. All proceeds go to the relief work of Médicins sans Frontières (aka Doctors without Borders) and World Food Programme USA. You can find more information about where the money goes here.

If you have any items to donate, please read guidelines, here.

ciao-meow/GG Central

(made4aid mosaic/all rights reserved)

Made4Aid Monday - Flower Photography Cards

GG's editor did the math--not our strong suit, admittedly--but we are aces on a calculator. With free shipping world-wide (this is rare, people), each card costs $2.75 (USD). Go to any store & see if you can find lovely handmade cards for $2.75. We'll save you the trouble because we searched: you cannot. These cards make a thoughtful gift, too. GG Central has ordered from Made4Aid from nearly the beginning & can therefore highly recommend from several trouble-free experiences.

ciao-meow/GG's editor

(photograph & text below via Made4Aid's new etsy shop)

From Made4Aid:

A set of 8 original flower photography greeting cards. Made and donated to made4aid by Sally. The photographs are from a series of flower photos, printed in high resolution on glossy photographic paper and mounted on good quality card. The cards are blank inside for your own greeting and come with matching envelopes. The size of these cards is 5 inches/12.5cm square. The price of this item includes shipping worldwide. Made4aid items are sold to support the work of Médicins sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders) and the World Food Programme. For more info. about made4aid go to www.made4aid.org

Made4Aid Returns - Now on Etsy

Hoorah. Many of GG Central's favorite gifts given last year for the holidays & birthdays were from the good folks at Made4Aid in Britain. Instead of auctions (which we enjoyed), you can just go directly to Made4Aid's Etsy shop & have a look. There will be more additions in the next few weeks. Also, if you would like to donate anything, please get in touch with Made4Aid at made4aid [!at] yahoo.co.uk. They are super-friendly & talented people.

GG's editor uses her French market bag (made in England) every single week. Our friend Maria Caterina wears her Neapolitan skinny scarf proudly (& will again if it ever cools off, oh please). Our friends in Darfur use this lovely hand-embroidered tablecloth for their tea table in the Women's Cooperative. Etc. More to come, we just wanted you to know. There's more but Giulia has begun howl-meowling for her supper. Good grief, what a racket!

ciao-cheerio-meow/GG Central

(Smile card image via Made4Aid)

Made4Aid Monday - Spring Lecture Edition

Update: Monday afternoon: Photographs have disappeared from both of our blogs; we do not know what is going on but we are most irritated. We will try to upload over time. Cheers & we hope the same is not happening on your sites. The Management

Peeps! Please do not tarry--race over to Made4Aid. At least tell them how much you care about their work. Everyone needs a pat now & again. Look here at Rod, another creature by UK-based The Devil Makes Work. You could give him a home.

Also, there is a gorgeous blue, window-paned handmade bag; two beautiful hanks of hand-spun, hand-dyed yarn; & a marvellous selection of photography cards. The cards are not by auction but a set price.

It's so very easy to participate in this. GG's editor hears from nervous Nellies about bidding & paying. Stop yer whinin'. If you're in North America, you can write a check (or cheque, if thou preferest). There's PayPal. Whatever. We know very well that those who have e-mailed buy things on-line nearly every bloody week. Do we sound annoyed? We are. Well, OK, GG is asleep (presently).

Soon, there will be a break at Made4Aid & perhaps it will return in another format. Meanwhile, these items are available through 3 April 2010.

ciao-peevish-meow/GG's editor

[all images via Made4Aid/all rights reserved/used by kind permission]

Alice & the Red King Dreaming

Made4Aid's auction item this week is donated by Susan Sanford, of ArtSpark Theatre

Look what GG's editor just bid on. It's gorgeous...look at those colors. Care to make it interesting? It's less money than you think, including shipping.

From the Made4Aid blog:

Susan has for some time been delighting blogland with her photography series of Alice in Wonderland and through the Looking Glass. She's produced a calendar and just recently a book "Dreaming Alice"... and this is the photographic print she has donated to made4aid, which is entitled : Alice and The Red King Dreaming.

ciao-curious-meow/GG's editor

[image via Made4Aid/all rights reserved/used by kind permission]

Made4Aid - Adopt Alfred

Meet Alfred. He hails from the Outer Hebrides Islands; however, he is more than willing, even eager, to relocate. GG is envious of those fabulous ears.

From M4A's website: Alfred is a limited edition hand-made Creature, one of a kind - made for Made4Aid by Woo of The Devil makes Work Alfred is made of genuine Harris Tweed, which is woven by hand on the Outer Hebridean Islands North-West of Scotland. And he is stitched entirely by hand, with vintage button-eyes and a little mother-of-pearl vintage button heart. Alfred is nearly 4inches/10cm tall, excluding his ears. (Including ears: 7inches/ 17.l5cm). Alfred is not a toy, or intended for young children.

He is quite a character.

ciao-meow/GGCM

[photographs by Made4Aid/used by kind permission]

Made4Aid Week - Bags for Haiti

While GG is busy attending to her ailing editor (lap sitting), we bring good news. Now go away. OK, a little joke. Please visit Made4Aid & see a number of lovely & varied bags for sale to benefit Haiti, via Oxfam, this week. This is a bit of a detour from their Darfur WFP project & a worthy one, of course. There is a very cool stripy laptop bag that beckons. There are also gorgeous photographs available for a set price. Please do visit & perhaps make a bid. It is easier than you can possibly imagine. We can vouch for them completely, having made three transactions last summer & autumn. All these auctions end on Sunday 31st January, 9pm New York time.

ciao-meow/the management

[photographs via Made4Aid & used by kind permission]

Made4Aid Monday - (Nearly) Effortless Holiday Shopping

Made4Aid has sent £900.00 = $1483.74 to the World Food Programme so far for their work in Darfur. With a few payments on their way, this makes over £1,000.00 total raised so far by Made4Aid (about $1650.00). Wow.

We urge you to visit the site & either make a bid or buy some lovely cards for a set (low) price. They make their way quickly from the UK to the States, but we hope that our UK readers will especially be alert to this notice.

GG's editor's friends & colleagues are leaving today & tomorrow (separately) for Khartoum & then on to Darfur to meet with DPDO staff, volunteers, students, teachers, & the women's collective (among others). The World Food Programme is vital to the camps in which DPDO works (& to those we cannot reach at this time). This is an overwhelming responsibility & so we are grateful for any contributions to WFP, especially through Made4Aid & Darfur Project - Eclectic Bags.

Joyce's Darfur Project - Eclectic Bags are unique, gorgeous, made from recycled textiles Amazing Joyce served as the inspiration for Made4Aid & she has raised:

• $15,176.00 to WFP
• $5,176.00 in 2009
• $10,658.00 to WFP in 2008

That deserves another wow. More on Joyce very soon. But get on over there & take a look. Please!

ciao-rushed-meow/the Management

[GG collage from Made4Aid photographs/used with kind permission]

Made4Aid Monday - London Calling

We're reviving Made4Aid Monday...not enough people are bidding to keep us happy. These cards are not on auction but available without bidding. Below are a few details, but you'll be sorry if you don't hop over & see all 16 cards. Really beautiful. (They'd make a great gift. Ahem.)

"These cards will be on sale until around early December or so... for a minimum donation of $1.70 per card. This isn't an auction - you're not bidding against anyone else as I can make up more cards for the next person - you can simply pay and I'll mail your cards to you once your payment is received....Postage for up to 8 cards would be: UK - free; Europe - $1.90; Worldwide outside Europe - $2.40. If you want to buy more than 8 cards please email..."...

ciao-meow/GG's editor

[photo collage by Made4Aid/used with kind permission]

Made4Aid Holiday Shopping - Week's End

Start your holiday shopping this weekend by visiting the Made4Aid site. There are some beautiful items on auction now. Also the Women's Peace Collection (formerly the Amber Chand Collection) & Darfur Project - Eclectic Bags. We're in a hurry, no doubt about it. More soon...but there's plenty to investigate on GG links.

ciao-rushed-meow/GG Central

[Made4Aid photographs/all rights reserved/used with kind permission]

Neapolitan Ice Cream Skinny Scarf

This gorgeous, aptly-named long cable scarf is at Made4Aid as of this morning. A similar one was nearly ours but we dropped the ball of yarn, so to speak. This would make a great holiday gift. The bidding began at $15.00 (!). Try to beat that anywhere. Anytime. Can be used as a gelato substitute if you're on a slimming regime before the holidays. Ahem. Now scurry on over & just try to take this away from us.

Speaking of Italy (we were, sort of), check out Cacio e Pepe, a GG Central favorite at A Cup of Jo's today. Joanna went to our favorite places on her honeymoon in August. See southern Italy & Roma through Joanna & her Alex's eyes, here.

ciao-belated-congratulations-meow to Joanna & Alex!

[photographs property of Made4Aid/used with kind permission]

A Ginger Sunday

GG has a vet appointment tomorrow & that means so does her editor. GG can do many amazing things, but hailing a taxi, calculating a tip, & writing checks are not part of her portfolio. (Good Lord, we hope not. Haven't checked the bank statement lately!) If you're rambling 'round the Internet looking for some good clean fun (well, of course you are), head over to Made4Aid & bid on something for an upcoming birthday or holiday gift. There are some very pretty handmade things--the latest is about $7. Yes, really.

Have a wonderful Sunday evening. (A cheery spring Monday to our friends in the Antipodes!)

ciao-meow/GG Central

[photograph of the adorable & thoughtful Elmo (top) by tnt.dc via animalphoto; second, unknown. Let us know if you do. A croissant cat if we ever did see one.)

Cat & Parasols Tapestry Kit

Here's something fun...you can give as a gift-to-make or make-it-as-a-gift. So cute & such a deal! More information & instructions at Made4Aid. Some detail on the kit below:

"On sale we have a brand new Ehrman tapestry kit - in its original packaging, I just took it out to check the dimensions and take photos.Ehrman make really good quality tapestry kits with lovely wools and great designs - this is a bargain! Its a design called "Cat and parasols" - design by Susanna Lisle - and as well as the pink and yellow cat and parasols, there are red tulips in the backgound and a stripey/patterned border motif.

The kit comes with 100% cotton canvas, 10 stitches to the inch - and comes with needle, yarns and instructions - complete with everything you need. The sewing can be done either in half-cross stitch or continental stitch. The stitched area when finished is 14 inches / 35cm square.

The auction begins at 9am on Thursday 29th October, and will end at 9am Monday 9th November , New York time. The highest bidder before that time will win.

Can we start bids start at $18 please?"

***************
Please visit the good folks at Made4Aid & have a little fun at the same time. Thanks!

ciao-meow/GG's crafty editor

[photograph property of Made4Aid/used by kind permission]

Made4Aid Monday - Candy Colours

This is a beautiful, unique bag. There are more photographs, description, & details on the Made4Aid blog. We urge you to at least visit. There are more lovely things available for auction as well. The end-date for bidding on this particular bag is this Wednesday, 28 October 2009, New York time. Take it from GG's editor: you will forget if you don't visit now.

"This auction is for a shoulder bag, handwoven on a table top loom. Its one of a limited series woven according to a "Monks belt" weave pattern, where the weft distorts and goes wavey, making a nicely-textured weave...."

"The warp threads (the vertical ones) are soft cotton in pastel candy shades of blue, green, cream and pink. The weft yarns include chenille, soft cottons and shiny ribbon and threads in a range colours from soft mauve through to pink and red- there was a bit of using up of leftovers and remnants going on here..."

"The bag is fully lined with vintage fabric - a crisp white cotton with little pink rosebuds - and there is a little internal pocket..."


[photographs property of Made4Aid/used by kind permission]