Everyday is a day to smile

I'm so pleased to be one of over 120 bloggers participating in this amazing blog hop for Operation Julie’s Smile.  If you came here from the The Craft's Meow Blog, then you are in the right spot.  If not, you may want to start from the beginning at the Sweet Stamp Shop’s blog and take your time.   You have ALL WEEKEND to hop with us and win prizes!

Nicole Rixon, of the Sweet Stamp Shop, came up with the plan for this blog hop when she heard of Julie's plight (you can read Julie's story here, or over at the Sweet Stamp Shop), and has gathered numerous prizes from both a wide range of companies, and from individuals, which are available to win by leaving comments, contributing to the fund, and/or hosting within the hop.  Julie has spent many hours putting this hop together as her contribution to the event.  And today is the day it all kicks off!!

If you've not visited me here before, welcome!  I love to make all sorts of things, sometimes from paper, sometimes from fabric.  Today I'm sharing a fabric creation that I made whilst on holiday in Cornwall this summer.   I loved making these hand felted necklaces; the little tiny shells are ones I found on the beach near to where we were staying.  This is my small contribution to the huge collection of over £1,500 worth of prizes available during this blog hop.   

After needle felting merino wool and snippets of wool, ribbon and lace to a piece of acrylic felt I added tiny beads, a little stitching and the local shells.  I'm definitely a 'snippets' girl, even in my work with paper I'm always using little tiny bits n pieces :)

Julie and I go waaaaaaaaaaaay back, meeting on the internet over ten years ago now, and I'm honoured to be able to help out my fabulous friend in getting her smile back.  The above envelope is the result of one of the little packets of goodies Julie sent me last year (we exchange things when we have a pile of lovely stuff to share!).  Julie sent me a punched shoe shape which I cut round to create a corrugated version, then layered it onto some collaged paper.  This is featured in this month's ' the stamper's sampler', again due to Julie :) :) :)  I still can't believe they gave me such a good spread, I even dreamt about it last night lol.

My British reserve means I hate asking for money, but I also know that if we all lived nearby we'd be helping out our friend in numerous ways, including financial, so if you'd like to make a contribution, click on the link in the sidebar.

To be eligible to win a prize, don't forget to leave a comment before hopping over to 

 Made by Fee

Good luck!

Operation Julie's Smile

It's a big thing to accept help in a time of need, and I'm so proud of Julie for saying 'yes' when Nicole Rixon, her colleague over at the Sweet Stamp Shop, decided she'd like to raise money for our friend to have the dental surgery she so desperately needs.  Although dental bills are rising here in the UK, they are nothing like those people face in the US, and part of me wishes that Julie had grown up here and had the resources available that I've enjoyed all my life.  Julie shares her story over on her blog, Julie's Open Window     

"Many of you may have heard that I recently

had to have emergency oral surgery which resulted

in the removal of my front teeth.

As a child, I struggled with brittle teeth due to

some health concerns and my parents did all

they could to ensure that I went into adult-hood

with the best teeth possible.  Unfortunately with age,

the brittle teeth became a problem again and well,

long story short, the dentist recommended that

I bite the bullet and have them all replaced.

I made the appointment, had the consultation

and was handed a piece of paper that said to

bring $4,000 with me to have the rest of the teeth 

taken out.  I was in shock because the dentist made

reference to the idea that 'it could all be worked out' ; )

Well, here I am today, missing front teeth (and a few others)

and being frustrated because I believed that this was

a procedure that would be taken care of quickly.

The unfortunate thing, is that THAT amount was JUST for the

removal of the rest of my teeth...it does not account

for the 'permanent teeth' that would need to be put in place."

I was so thrilled for Julie when Nicole contacted me about this fundraiser.  There will be a benefit blog hop called 'Operation Julie's Smile' taking place 7th-9th October with a variety of individuals, companies and design team members participating in order to help raise these funds.  To date, about £300 worth of prizes have been made available, and with such a great collection of blogs it should be a great weekend.  Which reminds me, I'd better get off the laptop and go and get my prize made, it's got to get to the US so Nicole can co-ordinate the prizes on the blog hop.  

If you are interested
in getting involved in this creative fundraising event, 

please contact Nicole Rixon at nicolehrixon@gmail.com   

The deadline to be
a part of the hop is Wednesday, Sept 28th.  

Participants will be notified of the blog hop order 

between Oct 3rd-5th.
This blog hop is an opportunity to have fun, 

feature your blog and raise money for a friend in need.  

A donation button
will be made available to all who participate.

Operation Julie's Smile