A Better Christmas…….

We were so excited last fall to start a charitable donation fund. After deciding to give 10% right off the top of our sales, we began thinking about who our recipients would be.

I began thinking about how much I loved my dolls, as a little girl. I had several and each one was special to me. I remember lining them up in bed with me, at night. I could never have chosen a favorite to sleep with me. I remember one Christmas night very well.

We had been to my grandparent’s for a traditional Christmas dinner and celebration with all our relations, as my grandmother called them. Returning home, to my horror, I had left my new Miss Revlon doll at Grandma’s. My parents assured me Grandma would take good care of her till morning, but I would have nothing to do with THAT. Tender-heartedly, my dad returned to Grandma’s, in the late hours of the night, so he could once again gift me with Miss Revlon.

As I was reminiscing , I thought of the little girls who don’t even have one doll, and they won’t  get one this Christmas, either. So many things prevent us from giving our children all we wish we could. Loss of jobs, injuries, illness, a death in the family.  I can’t imagine how disappointing it would be to wish for a doll and not get one. I remember 15 years ago, as a single mom, saving all year to buy my daughter an American Girl Doll for Christmas. This year, there will be many disheartened parents who just can’t  pull this off.

So, with your help, we will be making wishes come true. With your help, we will able be buy dolls for very deserving little girls. We are going to go back to our first sales, so everyone who has already purchased something from us will have opportunity to be part of putting a smile on these little girl’s hearts and faces.  In addition to the dolls, It’s Sew Susan will give outfits to go with the dolls. As I am sewing, I will make extra outfits, just for this purpose.

We will be donating the dolls to Keaton Raphael Memorial in Roseville, California (www.childcancer.org/chapters/roseville) via the Rocklin South MOMS Club. To date, we have $180..00 (updated 12/08/2011) to buy dolls. We found a fantastic price on some dolls. We’ve purchased 10!!! Yay!!!. As the sales continue, we will keep adding dolls. We started a box of clothes for the dolls several months ago. I am also adding gently used clothes from my collection, so these dolls will have a nice wardrobe. We will take some pictures so we can all enjoy this together.

I want to thank all of YOU for YOUR part in this. It has been very exciting to see the funds grow.

So here’s to a better Christmas for as many little girls as we can bless!

More updates very soon.

Published by It's Sew Susan

I am having the time of my life! Six years ago, I bought an 18" doll for my granddaughter. Skylar lives with me and I spent much time trying to get her interested in dolls and sewing. It just wasn't her thing, so, I said, "Phewy!" and went out and bought myself a doll. Well, one doll turned into many, and the clothes for many dolls soon turned into way too many. I loved creating these petite fashions and didn't want to stop. To keep from being buried alive, I decided to sell a few on Etsy. I was surprised and thrilled with the overwhelming reception, but once again, I was looking at being buried alive. This time in orders. My husband and granddaughter came to my rescue. Robert started out doing all of our photography, but soon took over shipping, too. Later, he started airbrushing our extremely popular fairy wings. He does a lot of running around for me, too. At the fabric stores, they know him better than they know me! Oh, guess what Robert, an avid football fan (Go Chiefs!) did during the 2013 Super Bowl. He learned to sew snaps! My granddaughter, the one not interested in dolls, has decided she does like making tutus for them. In addition, she sews all the snaps for us, except the few Robert did on Super Bowl Sunday. She is the wardrobe manager for the photo sessions and she gathers all the items to be packaged for shipping. At 13, she is really a great help and has contributed some fantastic ideas. In the two years we have been in business, we have been overwhelmed by your loyalty and support! We have pictures of your little girls with their dolls, in our studio. They inspire us every day. With your help, we have donated tons dolls and doll clothes to little girls each Christmas (see the related posts.) It has been the highlight of our business. Thank you so much for all you love and support and giving us they joy of making your little girls smile!

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