First Shipment to Little Dresses for Africa

Today I am mailing 3 dress to Little Dresses for Africa thanks to Irene, Katherine and Britteny of Garden of Beaden and a fourth that I made.  My goal is to double the number of dresses (and add shorts for boys) in our next mailing. 

If you would like to become a part of our effort to assist Little Dress for Africa in bringing hope to the orphans of Africa contact me by leaving a comment here or at dgunn43[at]aol.com or go directly to the Little Dresses for Africa website for more informtaion.  And you don't have to be a seamstress to help you can provide material, supplies or money for shipping.

I can't wait to see the next batch of dresses and shorts!

What are your favorite charities and how do you participate?

Catching Up!

It has been a hectic ten days.  Village Venture has come and gone.  It was a great success.  I sold several pieces of jewelry and a purse, met a lot of nice people and gave out a bunch of business cards.  The day was cool, perfect for an outdoor art faire. 

I took this picture of my booth with my cellphone so the quality is lacking; maybe someday I will move up to an IPhone.

A special thanks to Denise, my sister-in-law, who came from San Diego to help me at Village Venture.  She is a great saleswoman and just plain fun to spend the day with.

The next day I packed the camper and headed to LV to run a well capacity test for one of my water company clients. 

I spent the week...

Running tests.

Camping out.

Taking water level measurements every half hour.

Taking water level measurements every hour.

Taking water level measurements every 4 hours.

Reading.

Playing with wire.

Watching movies (aren't mini-DVD players wonderful).

Getting up at 1 a.m (Yuck, such an ungodly hour).

and

Talking to Jazzy (she thinks I am a great conversationalist).

It was fun to be away and working. 

However, as Dorothy said "There's no place like home."

More Handbags and Toads

I made three more purses and that will be it for this art fair.  I hope they sell because I want...need...to buy lots of wonderful, quirky, retro, vintage material.  And buttons.  And ribbon.

Check out the button (double click on the picture to enlarge) on the red handbag.  It is the weirdest old button and it was made for this retro mid-century atomic tiki barkcloth. 

Out of no where we have toads. Cute tiny toads. Unexpected.  I wish I could get a picture of them but they  hide out behind cans and rocks and things.  And they are driving Jazzy crazy; she is obsessed.





Earrings, Earrings, Earrings

In case you are wondering whether I followed my schedule and made earrings or deviated and made purses, I followed the schedule.

And here they are.......

This week's project is purses, purses, purses.  One down, five to go!

What is your project for this week?

Donna Gunn Handbags

I spent last week making handbags; I'm very excited about them.  You can see them in person at Village Venture.

Hobo Bags from Donna Gunn Handbags


The purse on the left and in the center is made from upholstery material and the one on the right is upcycled from a jacket (I used the material that was left from the first purse I made). 

Each bag has coordinating cotton lining with a large pocket, a D-ring for hanging your keys and is embellished with MOP or metal buttons from my collection.

Remember the handbag that I entered in the LA County fair?

(Here's a picture of it. )

It received a blue ribbon! I'm excited about that too.

Are you thinking "I have the perfect piece of material for this handbag; I want to make it myself"?  You can get the pattern from JCaroline Creatives. 

And, of course you can always buy one from me at Village Venture or contact me at dgunn43 at aol.com.

The cowgirl material has arrived and my intention is to make hoop earrings this week but I can't get that material out of my head. 

Will I give in and make the cowgirl handbag or will I follow my schedule and make earrings?

What would you do?