Collaborate For A Cause

Have you heard about Collaborate For A Cause? I didn't know anything about it until last year when I saw heaps of gorgeous handmade goodies being auctioned off on Facebook and went to suss it out a little more.
The aim of Collaborate for a Cause is to promote friendship, understanding & fun throughout the facebook handmade community, while raising money for causes you are passionate about.

This year I wanted to be a part of it for sure - soooo along with some of my online handmade buddies we have a bundle of matching goodies all ready.

There is a Universal Pram liner made by A Lillie Bug, pram snuggle quilt by Boondie Baby, 11 flag bunting by yours truly :) and quilted wipes case and dummy pod holder made by Puddin's Reteat. They all match each other and are a super cute red, white and black Little Red Riding Hood theme.

Be sure to Like the Collaborate For A Cause Facebook page where all the auction action will be taking place from 8pm July 27th - July 29th.
There will be items added to the Auction Album all this month ready with goodies of all kinds up for grabs so keep checking back. All money raised in the auctions will donated to different causes too so you may just find the perfect cause to support.

I did it!!!!

WooHoo!! I did it! I ran the 14km City2Surf!!


It was a rainy morning but it didn't dampen the spirits of the 85,000 entrants I was surrounded by at the start line. I was pumped and when I crossed the start line I was so excited to finally be running in the official race after so many weeks of training.


I wish I could have had the energy and ability to take photos along the way because there is so many people in dress up, bands playing music on the side streets, little kids in their front yards waving to the crowd and generally lots and lots of people having fun!
Heartbreak Hill was tough but I got up it eventually and when I finally started the VERY welcome downhill home stretch into Bondi Beach I was rather proud of myself for getting there.
I finished the race in 1:32 and am pretty chuffed with that result as a first time entrant! I'll be back again next year to try and beat it though ;)

Most importantly I have to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to everyone who was behind me for this run. Family, friends and so, so, so many of you gorgeous people (most of you I have never actually met face to face) who donated, sent well wishes, spread the word about why I was running and pushed me along the way - you all ROCK!!!!!
We managed to get our fundraising tally to $3708 for Felicity's Son-Rise Program so a HUGE *high 5* to all of you, THANK YOU!!!

Snazzy Shirts!

Remember how I told you HERE how I'm training to run the City 2 Surf on August 14th for my step daughter Felicity? Well let me tell you I will be running in style!!


A HUMONGOUS thank you goes to Christina of Billy Mac Clothing for designing some awesome shirts for us to wear on race day - seriously how cool are these!?! They match our Running The Marathon Of Autism website perfectly and will help us stand out a little more in the huge crowd on the day of the run.


If you don't know about Billy Mac Clothing then you should! Their funky designs on quality tshirts for kids (and adults) are too cool to cope! I have shopped at Billy Mac a few times for birthday and Xmas gifts and couldn't resist the super cool Easter bunny design they had this year... I bought one for each of my little kids and one each for my nieces we spent Easter with!!


Be sure to check out all the Billy Mac Clothing goodies through their website HERE and stay tuned to see happy snaps of me running in our new fancy schmancy shirts - Thanks Christina!!

4 sleeps to go...

The timer is ticking away... at the time of publishing this post there is only 3 days, 20 hours, 21 minutes and 42 seconds until the 2010 City2Surf!
3 of the Running the Marathon of Autism runners: Ian, Carley & Jocelyn, will be taking on the 14kms in Felicity's name - AWESOME!!

This is your chance to sponsor these wonderful people for their marathon efforts and in the same action you will be supporting Felicity through her own marathon journey recovering from autism.



We have been overwhelmed with all the support so far and are thrilled that our donation counters are currently at $4506.
How awesome would it be to crack the $5000 mark before the starting gun trigger is pulled at the City2Surf this weekend??

With 3 ways to donate it's quick and easy to further support Felicity in her Son-Rise Program.

PAYPAL:
Donation via credit card can be made by clicking the below yellow button (you do not need a paypal account to do this)

DIRECT DEPOSIT:
Account Name: T J Costin
BSB Number: 944 300
Account Number: 012 598 461

NOTE: If you would like a receipt, for tax purposes, please send your email address, postal address and a copy of the direct deposit transaction to - tanya@intellectualdisability.org

CHEQUE:
Cheques are to be made out to: T J Costin
Please post them to:
Running the Marathon of Autism
T J Costin
P.O. Box 304
Church Point
NSW, 2105

NOTE: If you would like a receipt, for tax purposes, please include a note with your email address & postal address

THANK YOU< THANK YOU< THANK YOU in advance for all your support!!

Sugar & Spice plans for the weekend!

This Sunday, June 20th, will see the very first Sugar & Spice Children's Market in Woodend Victoria.


Click HERE to see the yummy list of stall holders who have been hand picked and are ready to go with all their gorgeous. mostly handmade, goodies!!
The hall has central heating, there will be cupcakes and coffee, face painting for the kids, live music, and goodie bags for the 1st 100 shoppers to arrive on the day! Sounds like the perfect Sunday morning to me!


To sweeten the Sugar & Spice experience even more - all the profits that are made through running the June (and September) markets will be donated to Felicity to fund her Son-Rise Program for her Autism.

Arrrr, more loot in the Pirate Party Auction Pack!

A HUGE thanks to Details, details and Red Letter Studio for contacting me to offer some very groovy pirate goodies to add to the Pirate Party Pack that is up for auction HERE.


Details, details is a gorgeous online store with a mission 'to share our passion for hosting beautiful, memorable celebrations with you and to make it easy for you to coordinate and execute a stylish, modern soiree by sourcing and gathering everything you need into one gorgeous online boutique!'

Red Letter Studio is 'an exclusive boutique design studio based in Melbourne, specialising in unique stationery and invites. We provide a personalised service to create custom graphic design in a variety of mediums to suit your requirements.'


So now added to the awesome Pirate Party Pack are:

* 1 pack of red and white cupcake wrappers
* 1 Palm Tree cookie cutter
* 1 Skull cookie cutter
* 1 Treasure chest cookie cutter
* 12 black, red & white cupcake flags
* 20 Pirate Party Invites with matching red envelopes


This great pack, that will have you completely organised for a Swashbuckling celebration, is now valued at over $270!! The best bit is every single cent raised from this auction will be donated directly to Running the Marathon of Autism to help Felicity with her Son-Rise Program for Autism - Yay!!


Bidding has started and the auction will be open until 9pm Sunday the 16th of May - you've got to be in it to win it!
Click HERE to be taken straight to the auction and happy bidding!

Arrrrr We Be Fundraisin'

Do you have a little pirate? does your little pirate have a birthday party coming up? would your little pirate like some bunting to hang in their bedroom or play area? Would you like to help Giggleberry support a great cause?
If you answered yes to even one of the above questions then look no further - we can help!


Firstly let me tell you about the great cause you will be helping - Running the Marathon of Autism for Felicity



Felicity is a 9 year old bundle of joy who has the warmest hugs and an incredibly cheeky giggle. Felicity is currently in her 4th year of her full time Son-Rise Program™ for her Autism, that has been nothing short of miraculous.
Get to know Felicity and read more of her story so far HERE
In 2006 a close family friend of Felicity's ran the Melbourne Marathon for the first time ever - Maryke, mother of 2, who claimed "it was tougher than giving birth". Maryke did the mammoth 42km run and was sponsored along the way to raise some of the necessary funds needed to keep Felicity's Son-Rise Program going. This year, Maryke and 4 other amazing women Carley, Jocelyn, Sammy and Nicole, are all currently training for a variety of major events including the 14 km Sydney City 2 Surf, the 21km Sydney 1/2 Marathon and the 42km Melbourne Marathon. These inspirational runners are not professional athletes, nor are they seasoned runners. They are women who are mums, work full time jobs and have children of their own but they all have one common passion - Felicity.
All money raised goes directly to:
- Providing training in the form of an Outreach where a Son-Rise Program™ teacher travels from the Autism Treatment Center of America™ to work specifically with Felicity and her family one on one in their home.
- Providing funding towards sending Felicity's mum to the United States for the 5 day 'Wide Awake' training course (in November of 2010) held at the Autism Treatment Center of America™ to further enhance the effectiveness of Felicity's Son-Rise Program™
- Providing on going bio-medical treatments for Felicity.

So how does your little pirate fit into all of this? I hear you ask...

You may remember HERE my little boy had a pirate party for his first birthday a few months ago. I made pirate themed bunting to decorate the party that was in a local park so the banners hung from a big tree... after the party was finished the banners were folded up and have been sitting untouched and unused ever since. These fun banners are in excellent condition and have years of life in them!

Sooooo up for auction via the Giggleberry Creations facebook page HERE is the 3 bunting banners, a total of 12 metres of red, white and black pirate flags that can be used for a pirate party and when the festivities are all over can be used to decorate your pirates bedroom!


These banners also come with a small pirate package that will have you well on your way for a pirate party including pirate serviettes, pirate sprinkles, pirate eye patches & pirate party hats all staying in the red, black and white theme!


HOW TO BID:
As of today (Wednesday 12th May) until 9pm on Sunday (16th of May) you have the chance to bid on this pirate package by placing your bid in the comments section under the package photo HERE. At 9pm on Sunday night I will 'close' the auction and whomever is the auctions highest bidder is our auction winner!

WHAT YOU'RE BIDDING ON:
* 3 pirate bunting banners - 11 flag/approx 2.5metres, 23 flags/approx 5metres, 22 flags/approx 5metres - all with extra ribbon at each end for hanging
* pack of 16 pirate serviettes
* 12 black plastic pirate eye patches
* 12 cardboard pirate party hats
* 1 pack of pirate sprinkles

NEWS FLASH: we have just been donated more pirate party items to be included in the auction pack!
* Pack of 12 red and white cupcake wrappers
* 12 red, black & white cupcake flags
* 1 Palm Tree cookie cutter
* 1 Skull cookie cutter
* 1 Treasure chest cookie cutter
* 20 Pirate Party Invites with matching red envelopes

AUCTION RULES:
* Only bids placed in the comments section under the photo found HERE will be counted
* The winning bid is the amount to be paid - no extra for postage/packaging
* The winning bid must to be paid via paypal or direct deposit within 3 days of the auction closing - we will contact you with details
* All the items will be posted to the winning bidder as soon as payment clears
* A receipt will be sent with the items for tax purposes as the winning bid is a donation
* Please ask any questions you may have prior to bidding


Happy bidding and a HUGE thank you for helping us Support Felicity and Running the Marathon of Autism
If you don't have use for these pirate goodies but would still like to support Felicity please take a look HERE for details.

The closest I'll come to being a 'Cover Model'

I have been meaning to say a HUGE thank you to the amazing women behind the great online magazine Connect2Mums for asking me to be the Connect2Mums 'Cover Mum' for April - What a massive compliment!
Connect2Mums is somewhere as a mum you will find all kinds of great things - support, ideas, advice, friends, fellow WAHM's, inspiration.... and lots more!


I was asked to write a little bit about being a mum, Giggleberry Creations and (as April is Autism Awareness month) I was asked to tell all the Connect2Mum members about our Running the Marathon of Autism campaign for Felicity - if you'd like to see what this 'Cover Mum' has to say check it out HERE.
Again I say THANK YOU to Connect2Mums for the honor of being a 'Cover Mum' - the closet thing I'll get to being a cover model :)

On a side note:
If you have five minutes to spare and have always wanted to be on the cover of a magazine you just have to check out this fun website I found and make your cover shot dreams come true! www.magmypic.com or like me just have a little fun!

Are you Aware?

As some of my long time regular readers would know, Autism is a cause very close to me and my family as our eldest daughter, Felicity, has a severe form of the condition. Felicity is one very happy little girl who seems to have an effect on all those who meet her - people just want to help her in some way. So without further ado I announce to you all our exciting new fundraising efforts Running The Marathon Of Autism. 5 individual and amazing women have separately pledged to run either the Sydney City 2 Surf, the Sydney 1/2 Marathon or the Melbourne full Marathon all in aid of raising funds to helps us sustain and increasing the effectiveness of Felicity’s intensive full time Son-Rise Program™ that day by day takes us closer to curing her Autism.
We are just blown away at the generosity and determination of these awesome women and are madly setting up a website HERE to help us in our bid to get this cause noticed so we can start the sponsorship donations rolling in.
There are many, many exciting things in the works for this campaign so be sure to follow us on Twitter at HERE at www.twitter.com/Marathon4Autsim and join our Facebook fan page HERE to stay up to date with everything.

April is Autism Awareness Month. In an effort to spread the message of awareness about this still unexplainable condition that effect 1 in every 150 children, on the night of April 1, prominent buildings across the world including the Empire State Building in New York City and the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada will be lit up blue to raise awareness for autism and to commemorate World Autism Awareness Day on Friday, April 2.


In Australia Federation Square, Melbourne, King George Square, Brisbane and The Bell Tower, Perth will all be turning on their lights blue to show their support of world Autism Awareness Day.
The aim is "to light the world blue – city by city, town by town – by taking action to raise awareness about autism in our communities" for more information on the Light It Up Blue campaign check out www.lightitupblue.org

Other things you can do to Light It Up Blue:
* Change your Facebook profile picture to the Light It Up Blue logo and tag at least 10 of your friends.
* Post on your blog about Light It Up Blue to raise autism awareness. You could feature items that are blue you make &/or sell.
* Have an etsy shop? choose any blue items to be your shops 'Featured items' with a little blurb about Light It Up Blue or make a treasury of all blue items with a link back to Light It Up Blue
* Add the Light It Up Blue logo to your e-mail signature … and type your e-mails in blue.
* On April 2 wear blue clothing and ask your co-workers, schools and friends to wear blue too. Take pictures and add them to the Light It Up Blue Flickr gallery HERE.
* Bake puzzle piece shaped cookies and frost them with blue icing, then bring them to your school, work or place of worship to raise autism awareness.


Stay tuned for all the exciting news in regards to Running The Marathon Of Autism.

Buy handmade - Support Bush fire victims!

As I posted only a few day ago HERE Australia, in particular Victoria, is experiencing the worst bush fires in our country's history taking with them over 920 properties, numerous livestock and, tragically, at last count, 181 lives. There are still, at least, 50 people unaccounted for.

One of the beautiful thing about Aussies is our ability to band together in times of need like these and help each other in anyway possible... this is once again been proven by the Etsy Down Under Street Team - DUST. The members of this team have opened a shop on etsy HERE. This shop has been set up in response to the Australian Bushfire Tragedy. Australian and other Etsians have donated items for sale with all profits going to the Australia Red Cross.
All items have free International Shipping and new items are listed almost around the clock right now, thanks to the generosity of Etsians from around the globe. So far the shop has had 72 sales and raised around $800 AU!! Truly Fantastic!


If you wish to donate an item for sale check out the details HERE otherwise why not head over to the shop Oz Bushfire Appeal and take a wander through the great handmade items on offer like art work, toys, jewelry, clothing cards and more and spoil yourself while helping such a worthy cause!

No more sleeps!!! WHAT A NIGHT!!!

THE ENTRY TABLE

Well after months and months and months of planning, organizing, rallying, emailing, phone calls, knocking on doors and so much more our masquerade dinner fundraising event Behind The Mask of Autism is all over!!
Last night went off without a hitch! what a great night and a fabulous success. Our day started early at Mona Vale Golf Course, setting up the room with our auction item tables, decorations, posters, centre pieces etc and as it came together we all began to get more and more excited about the night ahead.....


BEGINNINGS OF THE CENTRE PIECES


ROOM ALL READY

then before we knew it the time had arrived to start welcoming the guests! just like a wedding the night flew past but everything went to plan and all feedback so far has been 100% positive - we've been asked to make in an annual event.... we'll see!! We are all VERY tired but it was so worth all our work.


JUST SOME OF OUR GUESTS LOOKING FABULOUS!

All our 120+ guests looked fantastic in their formal attire and masks and everyone got into the spirit of the night, had a dance, a great dinner and lots of bids on both our loud and silent auctions - all 77 items went!!


THE SILENT AUCTION ITEMS BEING SUSSED OUT BY GUESTS


THE ROOM BEGINS TO FILL WITH GUESTS

We are only just starting to get a tally together of the generosity of the amazing guests from the night and so far with just ticket sales and auction items we are at $25,000!!! AMAZING!! with donations and other bits and pieces not yet included we are just overwhelmed at the outcome for our three amazing children, Blake, Hannah and my daughter Felicity, who were the stars of the night!!

I will be sure to fill you all in on the final amount raised toward our amazing children's Son-Rise Programs that day by day takes us closer to recovering them from Autism, and I'll post more photos as I receive them from the many people who took some of the night.
Thank you to all especially those who donated towards our auction items (see side bar for list of shop names), without you our night would have been nowhere near as fantastic!!! THANK YOU!!

Tim Sharp - 'Laser Beak Man' - 1 SLEEP TO GO!!!

Some of our readers may know that I'm one day away from a fundraiser Masquerade Dinner called Behind The Mask of Autism. We are raising funds for three severely autistic children, one of them being my daughter. The night is shaping up to be a fabulous one with a scrumptious three course meal, live band, celebrity MC's and a fun silent and loud auction with heaps of wonderful items that have been donated to us from all kids of people and places like restaurant vouchers, jewelry, sports memorabilia, home wares, limited edition books, art works and even a years supply of chocolates!!
This is the bit I wanted to share with you - one of our kind donors is a very talented and internationally known, award winning artist diagnosed with Autism, Tim Sharp.


This is Tim's Story:
"At only 20 years of age, Tim Sharp has not allowed Autism to prevent him from achieving so much in his young life. Tim’s inspiring story has been documented on the ABC’s Australian Story and immortalised in the Eternity exhibition at The National Museum of Australia, his art has been exhibited at the Sydney Opera House, Washington DC and New York, and his work is sold to collectors throughout Australia and around the world, including London, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, New York, Washington DC and Hong Kong. Tim has twice been nominated as a Queensland finalist for Young Australian of the Year, and incredibly has overcome an initial prognosis at age 4 that the best thing that could be done would be to “put him away and forget about him”. That he would never talk, go to school or have any quality of life.
At age 16, Tim was the only Australian selected by jury in the young adult drawing category for the VSA (Very Special Arts) Festival in Washington DC. Australian Story (ABC) told the story of Tim’s trip to Washington DC and won awards for that story. At the festival Tim carried the Australian Flag into the opening ceremony at the John F Kennedy Performing Arts Centre and later met with John F. Kennedy’s sister Jean Kennedy-Smith who founded VSA arts 30 years ago.


Tim’s art features the adventures of the colourful super hero Laser Beak Man, who he invented when he was 11 years old. Fans include Wayne Bennett, Ms Quentin Bryce the Governor General, Ken Done, Alex Perry, Alan Jones, The Wiggles and his latest exhibition in Brisbane was opened by Ms Anna Bligh Premier of Queensland. Now in its third year Tim has a touring exhibition with the Queensland Arts Council, he is the youngest person they have ever toured and also the first with a disability. He also has his own range of Laser Beak Man t shirts and a book.

Tim is a delightful, polite young man who is an inspiration to many. Art allows him to enjoy some of the things he wants most in life, a happy smile and friendship. The future is quite limited for Tim, he will always require full time care and support but Laser Beak Man is helping him to build a brighter future for himself and step outside the loneliness of Autism".

On the night of our fundraiser both the pictured pieces of Tim's art are up for auction. Half the takings of the winning bid will to the three children the night is in aid of and the other half will go to Tim. Thank you Tim!!
You can read more about Tim and see much more of his great artworks on his website www.laserbeakman.com

Movember!!!

As any readers of this blog would know I am in the midst of fundraising efforts for my daughter and two other Autistic children so I know first hand how HUGE it is when those around you pitch in their bit no matter how small. So when I was asked to donate to a good friend, Matty's, Movember efforts I jumped at the chance!


What is Movember?? I can hear you all asking...
Movember (the month formerly known as November) is an annual charity event held during November in Australia.
At the start of Movember guys register with a clean shaven face. The Movember participants, known as Mo Bros, have the remainder of the month to grow and groom their Mo (Moustache), raising money along the way to benefit men's health - specifically prostate cancer and male depression.
Movember culminates at the end of the month at official Gala Partés, Mo-Office and Mo-Town parties where Tom Selleck and Borat look-a-likes battle it out for their chance to be the Man of Movember.
While growing a Mo is left to the guys, Mo Sistas (ladies who support their guys or just love Mo's!) form an important part of Movember by recruiting Mo Bros, helping to raise funds and attending the highly anticipated Gala Partés.

This is Matty so far - 12 days in


What a fun way to support a great cause - even if there will be plenty of strange looking men walking the streets of Australia until December 1st.
And I get this fun badge for my blog just for donating


Click HERE if you too want to donate to Matty's Mo - you can even do it easily with paypal!!

They look fabulous!!.......11 Sleeps to go!!!!

Busy, busy, busy!!! Now only 11 sleeps until our big fundraiser for my daughter and two other Autistic children. Every time we cross something off the 'To Do' list two or three more things seem to appear at the bottom of the list!!

The job I was able to cross off the list today was a fun one - Make the kids Hampers from the wonderful shop owners who donated hand made items. It has been a blast having the postman deliver all the packages of different shapes, sizes and weights for the past few months but it was even more fun today getting all the kids items out and putting them together as planned.



The boys hamper has:
2 Mini canvas wall arts from Bedknobs N Broomsticks
4 brightly colored plastic kids sized coat hangers
A Dine'n'Doodle chalk mat from Lil B Designs
2 packets of glitter glue pens
1 sun catcher activity pack
A set of trucks themed fabric flags from Giggleberry (me)
A Popsicle Iron On Applique Patch from Little Bird Creations
3 hand towel/burp clothes from The Sewing Chic



The girls hamper has:
2 Mini wall art canvas' from Bedknobs N Broomsticks
A Dine'n'Doodle crayon roll with crayons from Lil B Designs
A set of Girly Lady Beetles fabric flags from Giggleberry (me)
A Popsicle Iron On Applique Patch from Little Bird Creations
3 sets of hair clips from Vanilla Pixie
4 sets of hair clips from So Bella Creations
A hair clip and a key fob chain from Precious Angel Originals
A girls tie dyed shirt from The Tie Dye Girl