Hidden Treasures Auction FINAL CHANCE!

It's the final day of bidding at the Hidden Treasures Auction. Don't miss your chance to bid on all the amazing items! Click the image to take you straight to the auction! :)

Thanks for making a difference in the lives of others!

Sewing Elastic

When sewing garments, you'll find that using elastic becomes very common, especially in children's designs. Here are a couple of simple tips that I have found to be helpful and thought you might too. 

 I like to start by making small marks all along one side of the cut elastic I plan to use. In this instance it is for a waistband. This helps me keep the same side of the elastic up as I thread it through, preventing it from being twisted within the waistband.

Once through, it's time to stitch the 2 ends together.

I always, always, always use a 3-step zig zag stitch here and stitch it back and forth several times. This gives me the peace of mind that it will hold well regardless of being stretched over and over. The zig zag stitch also seems to pull the narrow elastic through my machine easier, where a straight stitch will often bunch up. 

Finish your garment per instructions.

Now you're ready to admire your finished item!

Happy Sewing!

Fundraising Family - Meet the Peduzzis!

Today I want to introduce you to a very special family on a very special journey. Please say "Hello!" to the Peduzzis!

This precious couple is on their way to their son in Russia! As a matter of fact, they will be in Russia starting tomorrow through February 12th fulfilling all of the in country court requirements for completing their adoption and then flying back February 19th to bring their son home! So exciting that they are in the final stage of uniting their family! This gives us a unique opportunity to support them in these final days. They have a couple of final fundraisers going on right now to help tie up those last expenses, which only totals about $3000 right now. Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing for them to return home to find all those expenses were fully covered due to the generosity of strangers?

They aren't allowed to share pics of sweet Hudson yet, but here's a glimpse of the bond that's already being built...

Make sure to take a minute to visit their blog, Numbering Our Days leave some encouraging words and see how you can be a part of welcoming precious Hudson home!

When I asked Melissa to share her story with us, she was very excited to do so and this is what she had to say....

Before Ryan and I were even engaged, I spent a summer working in the orphanages of Romania, and my heart was broken and burdened for each and every child there.  More than this, my heart was broken for all children who are never given the chance to experience the love of a mother and father in a stable home; for all children who are beyond any hunger we have ever felt and are not guaranteed another meal; for all children who long to hear about the love of Christ, but have no one to tell them.  God spoke to me here, and put His plan in my heart. In His timing, and in His way, I would be a mother to children such as these.  Through my experiences and stories, as well as his own journeys, God created a very similar heart in Ryan concerning adoption, and we both agreed that it was the time to begin the process in May 2010.  

From the moment we have thought about children, we have pursued adoption. We didn't stumble here happenstance or after another way to begin our family failed, but we are here because God has called us. This is our journey. We don't understand it all, or have it all together. We are sometimes excited and other times scared. But we know we are following God's plan for our life. This is the way He set out for us. So, we follow, knowing that He is the one directing our steps.  He has been teaching us a lot as we follow Him down this bumpy, curvy, exciting path. 

We were matched with our son, Hudson, in July of 2011.  Par for the course in our crazy lives as Student Ministers, we received the call about our son while we were at Summer Camp with a group of students.  It was a wild, crazy, overwhelming, unbelievable experience to see the face of our child for the first time while he was still thousands of miles away.  The plan was to travel to meet him in August, and have him home no later than Thanksgiving.   We felt like we were on top of the world. 

But, nothing is certain in adoption, and after one unfortunate circumstance after another, we were in danger of losing our son with no travel dates in site.  We fought hard to trust God and seek His face, knowing He was up to something good, even though it felt like our world was crumbling around us.  I learned to be joy-filled in Him, not in my circumstances, and more about faith and trust than I ever would have experienced otherwise. 

We finally traveled to meet Hudson in November, and we love this little boy more than I can express already.  We are still fighting to bring him home, trusting God in the details!  We have a court date set for February, and we will bring him home in March (if all goes according to plan! :))!  We have watched all throughout the journey as God has multiplied what we had (very little) with all that He is (EVERYTHING!) and each step has been provided for as we needed to take it.  As we are down to the wire, we are lacking about $3000 to be completely funded.  God has been so faithful!

If you would like to join us in the journey to bring Hudson home, we have several ways you can be a part!  AND, by helping him home, you will be entered in a GIVEAWAY to win a BRAND NEW digital camera, printer, and accessories!

1.  For each dollar donated through the ChipIn, your name will be entered once!  $5=5 times, and so on!

2.  When you make a Thirty-One Purchase through our fundraiser (Peduzzi Family Adoption Fundraiser under "My Events", your name will be entered FIFTEEN times!

3.  For each $50 Restaurant.com gift card purchased through our fundraiser, your name will be entered TEN times!

4.  Share, share, share!  For each day you share this page, your name will be entered an additional time!  You can enter this way once a day for the entire giveaway.  Simply post a comment on this post with the link of where you shared! 

The giveaway ends February 17 at midnight EST.  Giveaway details here.

 Thank you Ryan & Melissa for sharing your journey and your hearts with us!

Looking forward to seeing your family united and HOME!

Just Love Coffee - Coffee With Heart!

Throughout the month I'll be sharing about businesses that you may not be familiar with that give back in big ways! Many of these are businesses you can support simply by changing where you buy products you already shop for. Just Love Coffee Roasters is one I am very excited to share about!

I first learned of Just Love Coffee when a dear friend of mine was adopting and they provided a fundraising opportunity for her. Not only is this amazing, high-quality coffee, but this is a company run by people with a much bigger focus, a company with a heart to make a difference with what they do!

Take a minute to watch this video...

Just Love Coffee Roasters-Mission-Fast Load from Just Love Coffee Roasters on Vimeo.

Makes you want to be a part doesn't it!?!?!

Spend some time getting to know more on their website here.
You can check out their shop of amazing coffees here.
And you can also follow along on facebook here.

Welcome Fishsticks Designs! + Giveaway!!!

Not that our newest sponsor, Fishsticks Designs, needs any introduction! 

 Bonnie's creative, knit and kid-friendly designs are very well known! She's one of the first designers I think of when I want to sew for my boys, as she offers some of the most versatile and truly wearable boy patterns, which we all know are harder to find.

 In addition to offering a great selection of sewing patterns in both PDF and paper format, she's also a super nice and super generous person! 

She is one of the contributing designers at Create H.O.P.E. Designs and her Watered With Love Layette Set is the perfect go to pattern for welcoming a new baby!

Her blog offers loads of great sewing advice, inspiration and many free sewing tutorials. You'll certainly want to add it to your reading list if it's not already there!

As a new Hopeful Threads sponsor, she's also providing an awesome giveaway! THREE of you could win your choice of 2 Fishsticks Designs patterns in your preference of paper or PDF format!!!

That's right, there will be THREE WINNERS!!!

To get entered...COMMENTS CLOSED! THANKS FOR ENTERING!
Visit Fishsticks Designs and leave a comment here with which 2 patterns you will chose if you win. I'm personally looking forward to sewing the Which Way Out Jacket for my little fella soon!

 We've been having sooooo much rain around here lately and I think it will make the perfect lined raincoat!

***BONUS ENTRIES***
Once you've done the above, if you'd like additional entries you can do any of the following...
BONUS ENTRY 1 - Become a fan of Fishsticks Designs Facebook page and leave a comment here saying you have.
BONUS ENTRY 2 - Be a follower of Hopeful Threads blog, facebook or pinterest and leave a comment her saying you are.
BONUS ENTRY 3 - Share about the giveaway! Blog, facebook, tweet, pin....and leave a comment here saying how you've shared.


That's UP TO 4 possible entries!!!
COMMENTS CLOSED
Winners will be randomly selected and announced Friday, February 10th.
****Please make sure and read the new GIVEAWAYS page at the top of the blog for details regarding giveaways at Hopeful Threads.****

Take a moment to offer a warm welcome to Fishsticks Designs and tell her "Thanks!" for supporting Hopeful Threads and for offering a great giveaway!

COMMENTS CLOSED

Hidden Treasure Auction OPEN!!!!

First opportunity to support a fundraiser this month is at Hidden Treasures! 

This ongoing fundraiser was developed by an adoptive mom to support others adopting! Along with some other very beautiful and passionate people, they decided to do what they could to make a difference. LOVE IT!!! You can read more about them here.

A quick overview of what they do is hold regular auctions to help raise funds for adopting families. A new auction just opened yesterday, so make sure to pop over and check it out! I got some great patterns (at a great price!) during the last auction. This auction is FULL of loads of goodies too!

Supporting Hidden Treasures can happen in several ways....
1. Donate items of worth to be auctioned. The auctions happen every couple of months, so even if you didn't get in on this one....though I don't think they'd turn you away if you still wanted to contribute....there will be upcoming opportunities to contribute. Find out how the auction works and how you can get involved here.

2. SHOP!!! Easy as that. You can bid on the great items provided for the auctions, help an awesome family and get yourself some nice gifts all at the same time!
Hidden Treasures also now has a CafePress shop where you can purchase all kinds of merchandise with their lovely logo.

3. Spread the word! Grab their beautiful button for your blog! Share about their efforts with your friends on facebook. Tweet the auction link! This option will of course not cost a dime and can potentially have the greatest impact!

Hidden Treasures...what a beautiful image!

February 2012 - Monthly Project Announcement

Here we are! 

Beginning of the month and time for our Monthly Project Announcement for February.

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not. ~Dr. Suess

February we will be focusing on Supporting Fundraisers.

There are SO many ways to use your gifts and talents to help those fundraising! This can help in ways ranging from your child's Scout, sports or school groups, family's who are raising medical or adoption funds, groups traveling for a special service or mission trip, organizations that support others ongoing....you get the idea. This is a significant need! And a need that can be fulfilled by you using your gift of creating. It's going to be a very exciting month!

"What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." ~Theodore Roosevelt

 

Personally, I've found that $ for $ I'm able to help in a far greater and more regular way by providing handmade items than I could if only donating financially. Point being, you don't have to have a lot of $ to be a big help! I've plans to sew/create for several special reasons this month and will share each along the way. You are of course invited, and even encouraged to jump in at anytime you'd like! I'll also be sharing different fundraisers you can support with your purchases or donations. This will allow those who perhaps would rather help in a different way to have that opportunity. And from working with many different organizations and families that rely on such, EVERY SINGLE $ really does matter! Please don't ever have the idea if you can't give "big" it isn't of value. IT IS!!!! :) 

"Give what you have, for you never know - to someone else it may be better than you can even dare to think." ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

If you have individuals or organizations you know of that are fundraising for a specific need, feel free to leave a comment on this post with a link. Additionally, if you know of people using their gifts and talents to give back, I'd love to hear about them and be encouraged by their efforts! This can include businesses that give back a portion of their proceeds. I'll be happy to check out each one and do my best to share about them on the Hopeful Threads facebook page throughout the month!

"When we do the best that we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another." ~ Helen Keller

The month will of course be sprinkled with inspiration and giveaways, but please remember the greater purpose of Hopeful Threads. We can have fun while making a difference at the same time!

So, look around. What do you have that you can use today to help another?