New ideas for 2009

I've recently come across two new sites that I wanted to share with my readers.

Reality Sandwich is a fresh and interactive web magazine that encompasses a huge range of interests and perspectives. I feel it has some very exciting and groundbreaking stuff! Here's a little bit about the site:

We hope to spark debate and engagement by offering a forum for voices ranging from the ecologically pragmatic to the wildly visionary (which, to our delight, sometimes turn out to be the one and the same). Counteracting the doom-and-gloom of the daily news, Reality Sandwich is a platform for voices conveying a different vision of the transformations we face. Our goal is to inspire psychic evolution and a kind of earth alchemy.

Wish Upon A Hero is a very addictive site for anyone like me who wants to help everyone! This is a site where anyone can be a hero. Anyone can make a wish and anyone can grant a wish. There are all kinds of wishes - great and small. Here's a little blurb from that site:

Wish Upon A Hero was first conceived by founder Dave Girgenti shortly after the September 11th attacks on New York City. From his home in NJ, Girgenti watched as thousands of people posted pictures of missing loved ones throughout the city. He thought there had to be a faster, more organized way to connect people in need. That was the moment in which the idea was born.

Less than five years later, Hurricane Katrina created a similar catastrophic event in New Orleans where hundreds of thousands of people needed immediate help. This time it wasn't just about locating loved ones. Hurricane victims needed everything from healthcare services, food, fresh water, clothing and shelter.

It became clear that Wish Upon a Hero needed to become more than an idea. Over the next two years, Girgenti exhausted every resource at his disposal to create an online community that offered a platform for people to help people. Working under the mantra of “No wish too large and no hero too small,” Girgenti created www.wishuponahero.com, which launched in September 2007. This is a one of a kind service designed to connect those in need with people that can truly change their lives.

Both of these sites leave me feeling a little better about our future. People are looking to make positive change in the world. This makes me smile. :)

Donate While You Shop: Helping Others Street Team (HOST)

Preface: About Etsy

Before starting into this post I want to make sure you understand the players. For those of you who don't know, www.Etsy.com is a an online community for people to buy and sell handmade items. Since Etsy's launch in June 2005, over 100,000 sellers have opened up shops. A real sense of community has grown among this international group and continues to grow.

HOST

To continue along this theme of donating while you shop I want to introduce you to the Etsy Helping Others Street Team (HOST). I won't paraphrase their mission, but let you read it for yourself:

"Our goal is to give unconditional support to any fellow Estian in their time of need. Support being prayers, thoughts, hugs; a shoulder to cry and lean on; money; sales. We only care about the person, not their race, religion, or nationality... We are a community here of caring hand made artisans who just want to extend a helping hand all year long."

I am a new member of this group but I've found the people very friendly and willing to help, often even when they're experiencing emotional or financial difficulties themselves. This is a generous and dedicated group, and worthy of our support!

HOST helps out financially through some individual contribution of team members and also through their team shop that you can find at http://HOST.etsy.com This shop is made up of items donated by HOST members. When the items are sold, 100% of the proceeds go to helping Etsy members in need.

Online Trunk Show tomorrow!!

But wait there's more! Some of the members of the HOST group (including myself) are having an online trunk show tomorrow October 16th at 7 p.m. EST. This is a way for people to chat a little about their shops and their craft in a real time interactive environment. Come join us! Just come to Etsy and then Community tab and then Virtual Labs and you'll see us there.

Here are just a few of the great items in the HOST team shop:

Donate while you shop: Miss Emma's Closet

This is a shout out to Alison from Etsy shop Miss Emma's Closet. At Miss Emma's Closet you'll find great handmade children's items, home decor, and gorgeous ring bearer pillows.

By supporting this shop you can help give back to the community. Alison donates 10% of all her sales to her daughter's hospital (St. Peter's University Hospital) "to give thanks to the good docs and nurses for saving my little miss's life!"

Here's something from Alison about her crafts and her inspiration:

"I am a mom to 2 fabulous kids! My son is 7, and my daughter is 2. I have been crafting ever since I can remember. I used to sell my wares at local schools when I was young and then I graduated to craft fairs. It has always been my dream to own a shop, this is my jumping off point. I create one of a kind shabby chic items. I love to incorporate old reclaimed treasures into my work to create a fabulous design. But enough about me and my shop!

"Miss Emma's Closet is dedicated to my daughter, Emma. She is my motivation and the strongest person I know. She is the only child in the world with her genetic abnormality and along with that a laundry list of problems, including a rare seizure disorder. The doctors and nurses on her team are fabulous, and I wanted to be able to do something give back to them for saving her life. Miss Emma's Closet will donate 10% of it's profits every year to her hospital. My goal is to be able to help other families feel safe and not have to worry, just like we did."

Here are a few of the great items in Miss Emma's Closet.


Pumpkin Decor


Scalloped Edge Treasure Box


Burp Cloths or Changing Pads

Cancer Research Donation

My partner Sarah and I both currently have mothers fighting cancer. I had been thinking for a while that I would like to make regular donations to a charity that was important to us. There are many that we've considered but for now we're going with cancer research.

From now until January 2009 we'll be donating 10% of ALL sales (internet and craft show) to the Cancer Research Foundation. In January we'll decide if we can afford to continue with 10% and we'll decide if we're going to stay with the Cancer Research Foundation or change to another charity.

I'll post updates here to let you know how much we've been able to donate. I'll also do some poking around and see if I can find other Etsy shops donating to charities. I'll be sure to let you all know what I find.

There's little we can do right now to help our mothers - other than offering our emotional and sometimes financial support while we wait to see what happens. But it feels good to be able to contribute even a little towards finding a cure. Hopefully we can help save people in future generations from having to go through what our families are going through.

Feel Good Friday!

Happiness is living in accordance with your beliefs and ideals.

What did you do this week that you feel especially good about? Did you ride your bike to work? Did you make an eco-friendly change in your household routine? Did you do something extra nice for someone where you expected nothing in return? Did you donate money or items to a cause you believe in?

The idea behind Feel Good Fridays is that here we can show off what we did that makes us feel good - something we believe in, some little thing to make the world a better place. Here we can also see how others are doing these things too. It's nice to see people who want a better world and are willing to do things to make it happen.

So how does it work? Just leave a comment here about the "feel good" thing you did this week. This is a great way to promote your cause! Feel free to post links so readers can get more information. Then after you've posted the comment, then add yourself to the map. I'm really looking forward to seeing how much we can fill up this map!

So have fun with this! Feel Good Fridays are going to become a regular feature here.

***

This week I've been rebatching some soap balls so I wouldn't have to throw out the soap. I had made the soap balls because I used to sell a lot of them but haven't been lately. I didn't want to have them sit and gather dust and couldn't bear to throw them out. So here's what I've made with them so far ...


Layered Mint Soap


Cinnamon Mocha Soap

Feel Good Friday!

Happiness is living in accordance with your beliefs and ideals.

What did you do this week that you feel especially good about? Did you ride your bike to work? Did you make an eco-friendly change in your household routine? Did you do something extra nice for someone where you expected nothing in return? Did you donate money or items to a cause you believe in?

The idea behind Feel Good Fridays is that here we can show off what we did that makes us feel good - something we believe in, some little thing to make the world a better place. Here we can also see how others are doing these things too. It's nice to see people who want a better world and are willing to do things to make it happen.

So how does it work? Just leave a comment here about the "feel good" thing you did this week. This is a great way to promote your cause! Feel free to post links so readers can get more information. Then after you've posted the comment, then add yourself to the map. I'm really looking forward to seeing how much we can fill up this map!

So have fun with this! Feel Good Fridays are going to become a regular feature here.

This week I started re-using the iced coffee cups I get at Dunkin' Donuts. I wash out the glass/cup and bring it next time to be refilled. I know it's a little thing but it makes me feel better. :)