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.

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.

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