Recycled / upcycled jewellery

Just a quick post about some fab new donations - made and donated by Laura, who is a high school student in the US.

Laura makes jewellery from recycled paper beads made from junkmail, pop cans, bits of old jewellery...

have a look, they are over in the made4aid Etsy shop:

The shop will be on hold for a week from Thursday May 1st until Friday 9th - so there is a small window to buy in the next couple of days - or you can snap up on some of Laura's jewellery from 9th.

where does the money go?

This is an extract from one of the thank you letters we are sent by Medécins sans Frontières / Doctors without Borders.  As well as getting information about current areas of work - the last was about their work in Syria at the moment - we get letters like this from individual workers as a thank you for made4aid donations and to give us insight into personal stories of people who benefit from MSF's work.

This letter arrived in January, from an MSF nurse called Rebecca Cuthbert, and it talks about her work in Liben in Ethiopia, in a transit camp for refugees.   On her arrival there around 50 children a day were being admitted to the camp, with severe malnutrition. The photo above is a picture of Hakima, one of these children, after a few days' treatment.

Every little bit of money we can send contributes to work like this - individual families like this are helped.

The totals of money raised by made4aid have just been updated on the sidebar. The made4aid shop has been fairly busy lately - and we really need donations of items to sell. If you make things yourself, or know someone who does who might be interested - there's information about how to donate items on the made4aid website.  And our email for any queries is: made4aid@yahoo.co.uk.

All proceeds to straight to Medécins sans Frontières / Doctors without Borders.

O Magazine!

made4aid has a mention in Oprah magazine!

We're in their directory of Decluttering : Where to get rid of anything

Quite a few people have been in touch as a result, enquiring about making donations to made4aid - so big thanks to O Magazine!   we appreciate the support.

made4aid welcomes donations of art and craft supplies, as well as finished items - we sell these in the made4aid Etsy shop, and all proceeds go to Medécins sans Frontières / Doctors without Borders.

Donations are usually via email - donors send details and photos of the item/s they are giving, we list on Etsy, the donor ships once the item sells.  There's more information about donations on our website.

At the moment we're not in the position to take 'physical' donations of items in the USA - big thanks  to our m4a contact there, Anne, who has processed donations in the past.
This means that though we can sometimes accept posted donations if you are able to ship to London, UK,   otherwise donations need to be via email, as above.  Do email us if you have any queries or want to donate or help in any other way : made4aid@yahoo.co.uk


And please have a look at the great items currently for sale!   Some of these would be great Mothers Day gifts....

Gretel Parker is a talented artist, illustrator and needle felter.





You may know Gretel or know of her work as she has a huge online presence with both her blog
Middle of Nowhere and her shop.


You may also know that on January 21st of this year she lost her partner of 20 years. Gretel has already had a lot of struggle in her life and as Andy died without leaving a will, she is in a precarious financial situation.

The art and craft community in the UK are raising funds to help give Gretel some financial support at this difficult time.

People in the handmade and artistic online community have donated work to raise funds through a prize draw.  The draw will take place through a fundraising page - Funds for Gretel - where you can learn a little more about Gretel, find more information about the fundraising, plus details of the prizes donated so far - and most importantly - how to buy your ticket!  £1 donation on the Indiegogo fundraising page will give you one entry to the draw, £2 gives two chances to win, etc.


It would be great if you would 'like' Funds for Gretel on facebook  and help spread the word any way you are able to.

Christmas

Soon to be listed, some ribbon-and-lace "paper chain" garlands - I made some of these a few years back, for our home, from bits and bobs of old ribbon and lace, including some bits of lovely vintage / antique lace which came from a great-aunt.

And now I'm making more for made4aid:

The ribbon and lace is a mix of vintage and new - and some pieces from great-auntie Queen.  The garlands are listed as 60 inches long - but I can make longer.

Have a look on Etsy, and send an Etsy message if you'd like a particular length.



Stocking Fillers
There are also quite a few small items, under £5 - once I've listed the ribbon-and-lace garland, I'll put these into a stocking-fillers shop section.  There are some pin cushions;  little padded hearts; earrings and bracelets.... come and take a look!


All proceeds from made4aid sales go to Medécins sans Frontières / Doctors without Borders - currently MSF are working in Queens, New York, as part of the Sandy relief effort - as well as in Syria, Zimbabwe, Haiti, Pakistan - and elsewhere worldwide.  (totals raised and donations made have just been updated here on the sidebar)


And my Christmas cards have just arrived - from Sreepur village in Bangladesh.

Still time to order for Christmas mailing - these are so lovely. Each one is hand-made, with hand-cut designs in coloured straw,  card and envelopes from handmade paper.  And all the proceeds go straight to the village, which is home for abandoned children and destitute women.

You can order cards here


I sometimes think about cutting down on Christmas cards and sending e-cards instead - but, I love writing and receiving cards, and when all the proceeds to go such a good cause - thats another reason to go on buying and sending them!

Halloween!

There are three unique halloween creations over at made4aid Etsy - donated by Elise McWilliams.



A hand-made skeleton sculpture (height 12 inches, 30.5 cms)  made of white enameled metal - this is a one-off creation, very Tim Burton-esque.
Its a great decorative item (not suitable as a toy or for children).


You can see all the details here.






There is also a hand-crocheted spider's web, with 9 spiders - crocheted from metallic and plastic threads.  This would look great as part of a halloween display.  The full details are here.

 

And finally, an original hand-painted metallic tile (5x5 inches square), with a portrait of a witch - with holes ready for hanging!  Pop over and have a look here.



All the items can be shipped worldwide, from Philadelphia.


Happy Halloween!







Please note - the links here will take you to items listed in our Etsy shop at the time of this blog post (October 2012).  If the items sell, or the listing expires, the items may not be available at a later date.

 To see what is currently for sale over at made4aid Etsy, have a look at our current listings here.

News - updating!

Back here after rather a break....  due to life.  Family, work etc.etc....

But there has still been some time for made4aid, and theres some great stuff in the made4aid shop over on Etsy.

We have some new donors!

Thanks so much to Tangerine Blossom,  here on Etsy, for her great handmade recycled paper flowers.

Thanks so much also to Simone Shin, who has donated two lovely vintage style prints, both sewing-themed.   Simone's Etsy shop is here, and her website is at: www.simoneshin.com

 We have a little ACEO painting from Adrianna, of EarthyGirl originals 

We also have some halloween-themed donations from  Elise McWilliams, thanks so much to her too.

And finally - a new series of retro boho bags have just been listed - fully reversible, and made from vintage fabrics.

And, with some sales at a craft fair and at a community college in South London, there will soon be another donation on its way from made4aid to Médecins sans Frontières/Doctors without Borders, who receive all proceeds from made4aid sales.


So - if you're thinking about birthdays, Halloween, even Christmas..... - come over to our Etsy shop and have a look!  Click here!