First, no worries, I'm still alive. I realize it's been almost three weeks since I blogged. I really don't know where the time went, but it's been a very busy time in my life. Nothing specific, just much going on---mind, body, and spirit. Meanwhile, I made some projects last week and I have to tell you, it was pure bliss (with a bit of occasional cursing). I'll share them in the coming days, starting with this post.

I used to work on a magazine called Make It Mine, and a wonderful and creative woman, Andrea Loss from Milwaukee, shared this project in the first issue. Andrea did a lot of work with her local high school, helping them with plays, which meant she ended up with lots of theater t-shirts. And she found a way to turn two t-shirts into a very cute tote. For the step-by-step shots for the magazine, we used t-shirts from one of my favorite places--Camp Shaw-waw-nas-see. It was a 4-H camp when I was a kid; it's a non-profit camp now.


The last few years have been tough for fundraising for a camp (and for similar non-profits), given the economic conditions of the country. So the board at Camp Shaw decided that a more personal fundraiser was in order. The First Ever Have a Heart, Send a Kid to Camp! Camp Shaw fundraiser was held Feb. 13 in Kankakee, Illinois. I was delighted and honored when my sister Deb (Board Treasurer) asked me if I would donate some handmade items to the silent auction. We started talking, and we decided that a tote bag made out of Camp Shaw t-shirts would be perfect. She had secured two large adult t-shirts (white and orange) and two medium child-size tee's in pink and aqua. So I followed our directions and turned the orange and white shirts into a tote (shown here--click on the photo to see it larger).

Tomorrow, I'll show you what I did with the pink shirt. And Friday, the aqua shirt.

And yes, for the record, all three of them did get bids, so I feel good about that! And I got a few things at the silent auction as well and got to catch up with some old friends, so it was a great event!