Favorite Celebrity

Showing posts with label charity of the month. Show all posts

~Tunes for your Tuesday . . . Dave Matthews Band!~

Happy Tuesday to you!

I so love this song.

When my hubby and I first started dating he would play this song for me . . . and we put it on our wedding dvd a year later:-) It has a special place in my heart.

The words are so cute.

I know not everyone is a Dave fan, but we like his music:-)

So much . . . in fact that tonight we are going to see him with

Tim Reynolds at McCaw Hall in Seattle for a benefit concert!!!

From an article on the benefit concert:

"Musician Dave Matthews is testing a new idea in Seattle that he hopes will inspire more giving across the country.

In unique partnership with the website JustGive, Matthews is letting fans direct the proceeds of two upcoming Seattle shows to the charities of their choice. Every ticket is matched with an equal donation to philanthropy.

"The point is the act of giving and making the process available," he said in an interview. "I think it may make people feel a certain amount of power to see the ease of how you can give."

For each ticket sold, the buyer will receive a credit back for the full $150 ticket and handling price to apply to any of the 1.5 million charities in JustGive's database.

Matthews, who has performed benefits for causes ranging from Hurricane Katrina and Haiti earthquake relief, family farmers and Tibet, estimates the events will raise a million dollars over two nights."

What a fabulous concept right?! Sold out!

Yup each ticket ($150) goes completely to a charity of your choice.

Since my hubby was so sweet during all the craziness of my big holiday show in Oct, I am taking him! Dave Matthews Band is his fave.

We both decided after everything with adopting LuLu and her sad story . . . we wanted to donate our $300 to the Oregon Dog Rescue. To pay them back for what they did for us. They saved our little princess

and brought her to us. We ADORE her, and I just saw a bumper sticker that totally describes the situation:

(here)

I think she adds more to our life than we do to hers:-)

Soooooo excited!

In the meantime I am relaxing (ok for at least 20 mins lol).

With working full time, blogging, and my Etsy shop, a social life, a hubby, 3 dogs and a huge family life can get nuts.

I probably "work" like 60 or more hours a week . . . craziness!

So I thought I deserved a

little indulgence

A trip to Nordies for some MAC!

and a lil trip to Belle Pastry . . . mmmmm for the best caramel latte I've ever had, along with a creme brulee

Ok resting time is up!

Time to list some new items in the shop, and get ready for Dave Matthews Benefit Concert!

Happy Tuesday to you all, and

remember to find some way to give back this holiday season!

City of Dionne Giveaway ends Thurs night, don't miss out!

~September's Charity Spotlight: UNICEF~

Happy Wednesday you all!!!

Ok so . . . it's my once a month serious talk . . . (back to fun and cute tomorrow:-)

August's Charity Spotlight was Oceanic Preservation Organization and "The Cove"

(if you missed it chk it out here)

Now that August has come and gone (wow!)

I JUST donated my 5% of Memory Bean Design's August sales to "The Cove" cause,

and wanted to say a BIG thank you to the ladies who told me they donated last month, you rock and thank you!

Now on to a new cause:

This one is near and dear to my heart.

~Children~

Children are not able to fend for themselves.

They are just born into the situation they are in and don't know any different.

~About UNICEF~

"UNICEF has saved more children's lives than any other humanitarian organization in the world. Working in over 150 countries, UNICEF provides children with health care, clean water, nutrition, education, emergency relief, and more. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports UNICEF's work through fundraising, advocacy, and education in the United States."

"UNICEF is at the forefront of efforts to reduce child mortality worldwide. There has been substantial progress the annual number of under-five deaths dropped from 13 million in 1990 to 8.8 million in 2008. But still, 24,000 children die each day from preventable causes. Our mission is to do whatever it takes to make that number zero by giving children the essentials for a safe and healthy childhood. For more information, visit www.unicefusa.org."

(source)

Unicef is currently helping out a ton in Pakistan:

(I know you have all seen the flooding devastation of Pakistan on the news)

"More than 8.5 million children have been left vulnerable by the unprecedented flooding in Pakistan.

Homes, schools and crops are destroyed as 1/5 of the country has been inundated. UNICEF is providing clean water, immunizations and therapeutic food to stave off malnutrition, but there are millions of women and children still in need.

(source)

Help us provide urgently needed:

150,000 hygiene kits;

1.5 million vaccinations for children under 5;

3 million packets of ORS salts; and

support for 1 million school children."

(source)

"You must be the change you want to see in the world."

~Mahatma Gandhi

Ok I tear up just writing this!

So what can we do to help:

1) Donate: click here to find the donation form. We all know anything helps right?!

2) Text "FLOOD" to 27722 from your mobile phone to donate $10.

(this is found on CBS news and is legit-chk article here)

~Just did this to make sure it works~

3) Raise awareness: Maybe do a blog post (all you lovely bloggers)?

Twitter, FB, what have you . . . just spread the word and help save lives:-)

4) Volunteer: ok I know we all have our lives and aren't going to fly there to help, BUT through Unicef there are many many ways you can volunteer your time to help.

Chk it all out here

So for the month of September I will continue to donate 5% of my sales to Unicef, although it may not be a huge amount anything helps right?!

Thank you all for hanging in there for this!

Sometimes in life all we want to see are happy things . . . butterflies and rainbows . . .

we are so blessed and with that we should show soem gratitude by helping those who can't help themselves:-)

Ok I'm done, promise!

For tomorrow:

European Vaca 2010 Day 4!

Come chk back for a ton of pics from our last day in Rome on our vaca

. . . then finally off to other European destinations!

Hope you all have a lovely day!!!

~Fabulously Free Giveaway~ & ~Mosiac Monday~

Happy Monday!!!
So a little *Mosaic Monday* to prepare for our giveaway

1. orange and blue ... i love you, 2. Not a E-mail, 3. Sweet preparations ♥, 4. a few of my fav. tools..., 5. Lady Writes the Blues, 6. Free vintage black and white postcard texture for layers, 7. And now ... I have to find the words, 8. for marie, 9. AIR MAIL, 10. approved by the postmaster general, 11. Valentines Card 2009, 12. 388 and 392, 13. Would You mind getting the mail?14. Not available15. Not available16. Not available

Don't you just love good ole mail?!

I do! Way back here I posted "Operation Snail Mail".

Go chk it out and join in! I have a few pen pals I gained from this, and love it!

Ok so speaking of love letters and mail . . .

***Another hand picked Fabulously Free Giveaway***

Hosted by TJ from the adorable Etsy shop

Ink and Iron

(LOVE letterpress card)

Me:"What influenced you opening your Etsy shop?"

TJ: "I opened my Etsy shop just to test the waters with my products to see if anyone would buy them. So far, so good!"

(you're hot-letterpress birthday card)

Me: "Where do you gather inspiration from?"

TJ: "Gosh, inspiration comes from everywhere. A car driving down the road, a photo online, clothing, a phrase or expression of speech, music, basically from anything I see or hear. You never know when inspiration will hit you, so when it does write it down!"

(we're a great match-letterpress anniversary card)

Me:"Give us 2 words to describe your personal style"

(Ring Box-letterpress engagement card)

TJ:"contemporary and classic"

Me: "What are your top 3 favorite shops/online stores?"

TJ:"j crew, theory, piperlime (I know, not super original, but it's the truth!)"

(happy face-letterpress birthday card)

Me: "What was the BEST handmade gift that anyone has ever given you?"

TJ: "I don't think I've ever gotten a handmade gift!"

Me: "Tell us a little bit about your creative process."

(XOXO infinity letterpress card)

TJ: "My creative process starts with an inspiration. I run a lot of my ideas by one of my besties to see what she thinks. If she thinks the idea is worth pursuing, then I move onto brainstorming ways to execute the idea. Once I've decided on the best solution, I usually got through quite a few revisions before I get to the final design or illustration."

Me: "What is your favorite item in your shop, or your top-seller?"

(letterpress birthday card-great sentiment)

TJ: "My favorite product is the birthday dots card. It has such a special message."

Me: "Besides your wonderful items in your shop, what are some of your other creative outlets/hobbies?"

TJ: "Some of my hobbies are running, working out, and recently I'm getting into photography (although I have no idea what I'm doing yet!). I also love horseback riding and flying, but I haven't been able to indulge in these pastimes lately."

Me: "What do you want others to get out of your items/shop?"

(when adam was lonely-letterpress marriage card)

TJ: "You know, it's a lot easier to buy a greeting card from a store front, so I really appreciate when someone makes the effort to order a card on Etsy. Since they took the time, I really want my customers to be happy with the product; I just want them to be happy."

Me: "Is there anything else that you would like to share with us about you or your fabulous creations?"

TJ: "Just that they're all handmade with love!"

The Giveaway:

~Win $25 worth of her lovely product!!!~

To enter:

(please use a seperate comment per entry!)

*Go visit Ink and Iron and tell me your fave item (1 entry)*

*Tell us what kind of card you would like to see in her shop (1 entry)*

*Be a fab follower of my blog (1 entry)*

*Be a fan of Memory Bean Designs on Facebook (1 entry)*

*Favorite Ink and Iron on Etsy (1 entry)*

*BLOG about this giveaway (2 entries!)*

So many ways to win!!!

***Giveaway ends midnight PST Monday Aug 8th***

Winner will be picked randomly:-)

Ready, set, win!!!

P.S. if you haven't read it yet, chk out my "August Charity Spotlight"

***MWAH***

~August Charity Spotlight~

***Ok ladies I'm going to take a break from cute-ness***
just for a sec
. . . time to get serious for a sec . . . bear with me!
Still there?! K . . .
I've been thinking long and hard lately . . .

I work my "day job"

I blog

I craft

I enjoy life

I love it all . . .

BUT I'm not really helping or benefitting anyone else but myself.

I feel like something has been pulling on my heart.

I've always felt like I've been meant to do more, to stand up and help people in some way

Sure we donate to charities here and there, but I need to do more!

Sooo after thinking and praying, etc. I've decided to spotlight a charity each month on my blog, and allow people to donate through here, raise awareness for the charities and their causes . . .

and even give a percentage (5%) of my Etsy shop sales toward my charity of the month.

So today being the 1st of August . . . my

charity of the month

inspired by the amazing and eye opening documentary

"The Cove"

OMG!

If you haven't seen this I highly recommend it, but it's not for the faint of heart.

It's heartbreaking what they do in Taiji, Japan to the lovely dolphins!!!

I was in tears several times.

They corner and hunt dolphins to sell all around the world, and then push the unwanted ones into "The Cove" to brutally kill and sell their meat. They do this knowing that the meat is super high in mercury, and even try to sell it as nicer more expensive meats. So sad!

Watch it!!!

About The Cove:

"The Cove is a 2009 American documentary film that describes the annual killing of dolphins in a National Park at Taiji, Wakayama, in Japan from an anti–dolphin-hunting campaigner's point of view.[3][4] The film highlights the fact that the number of dolphins killed in the Taiji dolphin hunting drive is several times greater than the number of whales killed in the Antarctic, and reports that 23,000 dolphins and porpoises are killed in Japan every year in the country's whaling industry. The migrating dolphins are herded into a hidden cove where they are netted and killed by means of spears and knives over the side of small fishing boats."

(via Wikipedia)

Anyone remember hearing about Hayden Panetettierre being arrested with others in Japan for protesting against the slaughter of thousands of dolphins annually in Taiji?!

(source)

Hayden's support for "The Cove" project in Self Magazine

Hayden: “When we did the protest in The Cove, I thought I’d be scared, but when I saw what was going on, I had no fear at all. I was deeply angry. I left knowing I’m not going to let those dolphins die in vain. Their deaths will help show the world the big picture. I’ve also taken a lot of trips to D.C. and met with senators about the issue. I even met with Barack Obama, when he was campaigning. He said he grew up in Hawaii so dolphins and whales are very close to him. I knew I had two minutes to reel off what I wanted to get across. He was larger than live and so nice. Laws and politics—that’s where things change.”

Join Hayden and others by helping them stop this brutality!