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 - 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

Basket Seconds Sale at Darfur Peace & Development - Week's End

Second isn't always a bad thing. You have to learn & then you can move to first, right? Please consider buying some baskets. (They work well in work & play & kitchen spaces.) Please pass on this message. Thanks so much!

ciao-meow/GG's editor

From the DPDO website:

The May shipment of baskets contained a number of baskets that are less than perfect. The imperfections include dye bleeding from designs, loose weaves, broken weaves, and inexpert craftswomanship.

Our quality control standards have been fully implemented at Kassab camp, but we have some work to do with the weavers at our new center in Abu Shouk camp. Some women who are less skilled in the craft join the Center to earn regular income. These are women looking for a second chance and we do not turn them away.

Going forward, we are maintaining a high level of quality control. We encourage all the new weavers to learn from the masters in the group.We have a few hundred SECONDS. They represent a lot of work by women in desperate circumstances.

The baskets are serviceable and structurally sound – but not decorative in a “gifty” way. These SECONDS could be used for storage of supplies – crayons, pens, etc — in schools, community centers and homes.

We are selling the SECONDS at cost. This way we preserve the income lifeline of all the weavers.

Cost per item: $7-10. We will accept any reasonable offer for quantities over 25. Please contact Susan Burgess-Lent 202-393-8150

(French market by Eistenstaedt for LIFE/basket collage via DPDO photographs)

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)

Giulia Geranium Turns Two!

Giulia seems unaware of this turning point because her to-do list consists of two items: causing trouble, being cute. However, her editor must search for photographs, beg for money for various causes, & generally make a pest of herself. Caught up short (again) this year, we turn to Hazel at The Clever Pup who created this marvellous multi-media geranium for GG's last birthday. We love it & are happy to show it today.

By the by, The Clever Pup has a terrific etsy shop, The Plum Plum (points if you can guess the name's provenance) with accompanying blog, here. We've purchased several things & are very pleased with them. Go for it--lovely work, excellent prices, made by an non-enslaved worker. What's not to like? (Really, if you think of a good reason, contact GG's editor on her blog.)

A donation to Darfur Peace & Development's Women's Center (the new baskets have arrived!) on behalf of Giulia's birthday would also be a fabulous tribute to the Royal Redhead.

ciao-mille-grazie-meow/GG Central

[image by Hazel Smith/all rights reserved/used with permission]

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 - An English Spin on a French Twist

Made4Aid Monday begins...Sunday. GG's editor bid on this darling bag but we're featuring it--to be fair. (Care to make it interesting?) This bag reminds us of our days in France. But we never carried a vintage-fabric lined string bag...with a little inner purse, yet. From those stylish artists at Made4Aid:

"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."

For more information (such as dimensions, bidding info, etc), please see here. Bidding ends 9am (New York time) on Wednesday, 21 October. You might also like to bid on other items up for auction, here.

ciao-meow/GG's personal shopper

[photo collage/Made4Aid photographs used by kind permission]

Made4Aid Monday - Origami Patchwork Pincushion

This is so pretty, by a British artisan, for a starting bid of merely USD$12. It would make a great gift for anyone who sews (or has a vintage hat pin collection...it's been known to happen!).

From the Made4Aid description:

"The technique here is like a combination of origami and patchwork, and the red, green and patterned fabrics really contrast and complement each other well. Lovely evergreen and red berry colours....

Olga is an expert textile artist, whether its weaving, spinning, knitting or sewing - this is beautifully made and will be practical and long-lasting and can be sponged clean. The pincushion measures approximately: 3.5 inches/9cm square.

The auction begins at 9 am on Saturday 10th October and will end at 9am Monday October 19th New York time. The highest bidder before that time will win.

Bids start at $12 (US) please.

Postage would be: UK & Europe - $2.00; Worldwide outside Europe - $2.60."

GG will race you there!


[photographs property of Made4Aid/used by kind permission]

Scarf Chic, partie neuf - Made4Aid

People, people...why are you shopping at cookie-cutter establishments? Surely you would like something ( for yourself or for a gift) unique. Well, if so, please go to Made4Aid & have a look at the lovely items up for auction. (Made4Aid also welcomes comments on their posts, not just bids.) It is NOT an annoying create-a-profile-password-thing. You do not have to be a blogger. Leave a comment with your bid on an item post. If you have the highest bid, you can pay via Paypal or send a check with a good old postage stamp on it. You're making us look bad! That's the real truth...we admit it. Oh woe....

This beautiful & handmade scarf is up for auction until Wednesday, 14 October, 9am New York time. There is no bid yet & it's a mere $US25 to start. We saw something quite like this at not-to-be-named "cool" retailer downtown....for $35! It most definitely was not gorgeous wool & silk, nor was it made by hand. We won't start on where the profits will go.

ciao-meow/GG's accessories editor

[photographs courtesy of Made4Aid]

Made4Aid Monday - Feelgood Photography Cards

At Made4Aid today there are a few items up for bid. This item is a favorite--surely you need some cards (or you could put them into little frames & hang them together or separately...we're thinking about doing it). If you don't need any cards, they would make a lovely gift. The description & information from the Made4Aid blog:

"This item for sale is a set of hand-made greeting cards with original photographs. They are feel-good photos or pictures (hopefully) to make you smile.

You can buy a set of all 8 cards, for a minimum donation of $16.00, or a set of 6 cards for a minimum donation of $13.00. Please leave your name, the amount you will donate, and the numbers/names of the cards you have chosen. You can buy multiple copies of one particular photo, or a set all the same - mix and match them in any way, just let us know what you would like!

The photographs are:

1. teapot

2. Worcesters (apples)

3. Fiddlesticks

4. discopar

5. balloons

6. quintuplets

7. bouncy

8. Rosie watching TV

and you can click on each of these in the list to see the photograph enlarged.

The photographs are printed in high resolution onto premium glossy photographic paper, and mounted on good quality white card with matching envelopes. The cards are blank inside for your own greeting, and they are approximately 5 inches/12.5cm by 5 inches/12.5cm. There is more than one set of these cards available - so,you're not bidding against anyone else.

Postage would be: UK - free; Europe - $1.90; Rest of the world - $2.40.
The sale of these cards begins at 9am on Friday October 2nd, and will end at 9am, Monday October 12th New York time. The highest bidder before that time will win."

Please go to the Made4Aid blog (there's also a link in the upper-right sidebar) for more detailed instructions, to bid, or to make a donation if you don't want cards (but why not?). It's soooooo easy.

ciao-meow/GG's sittings editor

[photographs property of Made4Aid/used by kind permission]

The House of Mouse

No need to guess which mouse is GG's new favorite. Yes, of course, it's Terry Mouse...dressed up just like GG the Redheaded (Opinionated) Cat. It's so difficult to choose, so we selected the four above: (clockwise from top left) Alice in Wonderland, James Bond, Bharat the Bollywood star, & Hermione of Hogwart's. Another big favorite is Lulu the Bellydancer...perhaps we'll feature her in a dance post because Lulu deserves the spotlight to herself.

These adorable creatures are created by Anna Greaves, a British native who has lived in the Netherlands since 2003. Here is her profile, & here is a quote from Anna:

"10% of my profits go to the British animal welfare charity The Blue Cross where I adopted my beautiful rescue cat Nicki. In order to protect my customers with allergies all my creations are made and packed for shipping in a studio that Nicki does not have access to."

Here are photos of zee artiste in her studio...Anna is crazy busy at this time of the year but if you've not ordered in time for Christmas (there's still time in Europe for holiday delivery), Anna's mice are timeless & there's a mouse for every occasion, career, holiday, & cultural interest (take a look & you'll see what we mean). Custom mice are also a delightful option that Anna particularly looks forward to.

Happy looking...if these do not make you laugh out loud, it may be hopeless!

ciao-meow,
GG's editor

Journey of the Darfur Basket

The Amber Chand Collection partners with Darfur Peace & Development Organization to develop the widest possible market for baskets made by IDP women. The Darfur Women's Center serves as home for the Kutum Women's Association of skilled basket weavers. Their cooperative venture is designed to produce sustainable income and a viable business enterprise for the benefit of all members.

Our friend Susan Burgess-Lent, Program Director for DPDO, travelled to Darfur in May & June. This short video is from that trip.