WELCOME and HAPPY NEW YEAR

With all of the special activities associated with our Fifth Anniversary from August through October and all of the Challenges going on at the same time, there didn't seem to be enough time to keep the blog updated as it should have been.  I am working on getting everything here updated with all of the Challenges we have completed (and there have been LOTS of them, including Helping Hands and Cozies for Pets challenges) in the last several months!

The current challenge for a repeat shelter in Alaska has just been completed and we will be posting another new challenge before too long and it will be posted here on the blog, too.  While our Challenges are posted and most of the pledges are received through our Facebook page, you can always make a pledge through the blog by posting it as a comment in the Challenge post and we will receive it.  Same with any questions you may have.

I apologize for our blog being out of date for a little while and hope to be back up to speed very shortly!

Rachel and I would like to welcome all of our new members who have joined the Pink Slipper Project recently and we wish everyone a very HAPPY NEW YEAR in 2015!!

JUDY

IT’S GIVEAWAY TIME AGAIN!

Our Fifth Anniversary Month continues with our SECOND GIVEAWAY.  Entries for this giveaway are being accepted ONLY on our Facebook page.

Please check out our Facebook page at the following link for the rules for entering this giveaway:    https://www.facebook.com/ThePinkSlipperProject

WEEK TWO - 5th ANNIVERSARY MONTH

Our history and story of the first five years of The Pink Slipper Project continues.

In 2010, I joined AC4C (All Crafts 4 Charity) on Yahoo. The "List Mom" of AC4C prepares an annual calendar with one or two charities listed per month. I contacted her and asked if The Pink Slipper Project could be on the 2011 calendar. PSP was added and, in the spirit of AC4C, their members responded with over 400 pairs of slippers (PSP wasn't doing washcloths then). Everything was sent to Joyce and she sent them to shelters. Once each year since then, the members of AC4C have sent hundreds of pairs of slippers to us. There have been many shelters that received not only slippers, but everything that AC4C sent us, including hats, toys, baby hats, baby sweaters, scarves, and baby blankets.

Several weeks ago, I took a trunk load of AC4C goodies to a shelter near me. They were delighted with what I had brought and wanted everything! During the last few years, we also received washcloths and lots of soap. I still have a great many slippers, washcloths, hats and baby clothes that will be distributed in the next few months.

On August 18, 2011, PSP celebrated its’ 2nd birthday and, by September, had 2,300 friends. It was during 2011 that Joyce had her first spinal surgery. The Pink Slipper Project Signature Knit Slipper was published in 2010.

Revisiting the 2011 Facebook posts has been like a trip down memory lane. Joyce loved to put up pictures of all the slippers that arrived in her studio. I’ve seen the pictures and read the names of so many people. There are members who joined early and are still participating in our challenges or are still following our journey.

Joyce posted a lot of challenges during 2011. She “visited” Iowa, held a local Stitch-A-Thon with a group in New Orleans, “visited” the Hope Coalition in Red Wing, MN, and, in conjunction with the Compassion Fashion Project, warmed toes and hearts in seven shelters in Arkansas with our slippers!

In February, 2011, Joyce posted her “Hospital Doll”. The pattern for the cloth doll is here on the blog.  The Pink Slipper Signature Crochet Slipper designed by Judy Warehime was published in March, 2011.

In April of that year, the “Knit Teddy Bear”, designed by our friend, Carol Levesque, made its debut. Carol’s teddy has warmed so many hearts and made many friends as they were distributed to the children in our shelters. Carol has given this pattern to Pink Slipper and it is also listed on our blog.

You will notice that from time to time I refer to the shelters that have received slippers from us as “our shelters”. We send our love and, I believe, a piece of ourselves via our handmade slippers and washcloths…..and so, we call the shelters “ours”.

Next Monday, the story continues. Stay tuned.

Rachel

GIVEAWAY - WEEK ONE - UPDATE - NEW WINNER!

****IT'S OFFICIAL......WE HAVE A WINNER THIS TIME!****

The deadline passed and the winner for the first giveaway of Anniversary Month did not contact us.   Therefore, we had to pick a new winner.

OUR NEW WINNER OF THE 1ST FIFTH ANNIVERSARY GIVEAWAY IS:  PEGGY GROW

Peggy contacted us right away and her prize will be on its way to her on Tuesday.

CONGRATULATIONS, PEGGY! 

Information on our next giveaway will be posted on our Facebook page (only) on Monday, August 11, 2014.  Hope you will come join in!

.AND THE WINNER IS...........

The first 5th Anniversary Giveaway is now officially CLOSED and 

(drum roll, please....)
THE WINNER IS..........NANCY BERG

CONGRATULATIONS, NANCY! You have until 6:00 PM (EST) on Saturday, August 9, 2014, to contact us by Facebook message or by email at thepinkslipperproject@gmail.com.  We will need your mailing address in order to ship out your goodies!

The next giveaway in our Anniversary Celebration will be listed the beginning of next week.......so please check back in often!

Rachel and Judy

GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE! Rachel is taking a much-needed day off to enjoy with her family and will be back on tomorrow. In the meantime, I have two reminders:

(1) The deadline for entering our first 5th Anniversary Giveaway is 10:00 PM (EST) TONIGHT (August 7, 2014). Check out our post and picture below for all of the goodies included. Remember, you can now enter by sending us a Facebook Message with the words, "GIVEAWAY WEEK ONE" and include your email address or by signing into the Guest Book here on the blog with the same information!

(2) Current Challenge for the Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Services shelter - We still need pledges for the following:

  3 preteen boys   (UPDATE:  ALL SLIPPERS & WASHCLOTHS HAVE BEEN PLEDGED!)

The mailing deadline for this challenge is September 3rd, I hope you will consider making a pledge now if you already haven't done so. Please put your pledge in a comment box in the post with the challenge information. Thanks!! 

Judy

**** NEW CHALLENGE ****

CHRISTINE ANN DOMESTIC ABUSE SERVICES
Oshkosh, Wisconsin   (Updated @ 4:32 pm, 8/7/14)

   ***** CHALLENGE IS NOW COMPLETED ****

The Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Services originally opened in 1984 with 13 beds.  By 1991 they moved to their current location and dedicated the 35 bed shelter in memory of Christine Ann Clark who had been murdered by her husband while her baby slept just yards away.

Through their emergency Help Line, they have responded to 11,000 emergency calls and requests for information. The Christine Ann Center now serves Winnebago and Green Lake Counties in Wisconsin.

For Christine Ann Center we will need:

38 women   -   DONE!

 5 teen girls   -   DONE!

 2 teen boys   -   DONE!

 5 preteen girls   -   DONE!

 5 preteen boys   -   DONE!

 5 youth girls   -   DONE!

 5 youth boys   -   DONE!

 5 toddler girls   -  DONE!

 5 toddler boys   -   DONE!

 5 infants – gender neutral colors  -  DONE!

80 washcloths  -  DONE!


MAILING DEADLINE:   SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

 MAIL TO:

Jeanne Klawitter
1416 South Commercial Street
Neenah, WI  54956

 We will have a Happy Hands Challenge for Christine Ann Center when all slippers and
 washcloths are fully pledged.

As always, this Challenge is being run on our Facebook page as well.  Numbers still needed will be updated here as quickly as possible.   If you wish to take part in this challenge, please put your pledge in a comment below and we will receive it.    Thank you.   WHEN A CATEGORY HAS BEEN FULLY PLEDGED, IT WILL BE MARKED "DONE".

WE'RE CELEBRATING - IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME!

Now that Rachel has told you about our founder, Joyce Lucas, and the beginnings of The Pink Slipper Project, it is time to kick off our Fifth Anniversary Month with our FIRST GIVEAWAY!

As you can see in the picture, our first giveaway package is a Large Breast Cancer Awareness insulated tote full of all kinds of goodies that we hope the winner will enjoy! It contains another small tote (perfect for small takealong projects), two skeins of Red Heart With Love yarn, 2 skeins of Caron Simply Soft yarn, 3 skeins of Sugar‘n Cream cotton yarn, one pair of Susan Bates Size 8 knitting needles, two Susan Bates Lucite crochet hooks (not pictured), a Chibi (case with metal yarn needles), a pair of Ardennes small embroidery scissors (perfect for carrying in your purse), three magnetic note pads, a small notebook, a roll of ribbon (4 patterns), and a tube of “Wild Jasmine” hand lotion…with an approximate total retail value of more than $50.

Now for the little nitty-gritty details on how to enter to win this bag of goodies!

For this week’s giveaway, you will need to sign our Guest Book (top right corner) here on the blog. You will need to enter your name, your email address, and in the Comment area, type “GIVEAWAY WEEK ONE”. Easy peasy. (Your email addresses will not be given out to anyone else or sold.)

You will have until 11:59 pm (EST) on Wednesday, August 6, 2014, to enter this giveaway. We will draw a winner on Thursday morning (8/7) and announce the winner both here and on our blog. We will also send an email to the winner (so be sure to check your Junk mail folder just in case). The winner will have until 5:00 pm (EST) on Saturday, August 9, 2014, to contact us or another winner will be drawn.

 GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE! 
 Rachel and Judy

CELEBRATING FIVE YEARS!

As part of our 5th Anniversary celebration, each Monday there will be an ongoing journey from August 18, 2009 to Today. You'll learn more about the history of the past 5 years. As we've made a journey to many states around the country as we 'visited' shelters, you'll make the journey with us starting right now. 

 THE HISTORY OF THE PINK SLIPPER PROJECT

 Week 1 – Monday, August 4:

 During the entire month of August, the Pink Slipper Project will be celebrating its 5-YEAR ANNIVERSARY with a little bit of history each week, new challenges, and weekly giveaways. 

Joyce Lucas, Founder

 The Pink Slipper Project was founded on August 18, 2009, by Joyce Lucas of Virginia. She was inspired by Terry Grahl of Enchanted Makeovers, who was using her generous spirit and talents as an interior designer to perform makeovers at domestic abuse/homeless shelters for women and children. With the help of volunteers from all across the country, these shelters were madeover to feel more like “home” with many handmade personal touches. If you are not familiar with Enchanted Makeovers, we hope that you will check out the website to see pictures of some of her “transformations”.

At the time of forming the PSP, Joyce had her own online web businesses. She was both a Web designer, creating website designs for women’s online businesses, and running an online shopping site where women could list their shops (in a very “pink” environment) and have their businesses marketed to the public with special sales, etc. 

 At the start of PSP, many of Joyce’s clients joined in on this new venture. On August 24, 2009, Joyce published her pattern for the “Signature Sewn Pink Slipper” and she was off and running! If you look in the Photos section, you will see many pictures of slippers made using her pattern.

 Within one week of starting PSP, there had been a request from Newhouse Shelter in Missouri and 125 pairs of wonderful handmade slippers came pouring into Joyce’s office to be unpacked, photographed, individually bagged and tagged, and shipped off to the shelter! What a wonderful beginning! As Joyce had a challenge for Newhouse on August 24, 2009, we will again have a challenge for them on August 24, 2014. 

 Within one month on Facebook, the Pink Slipper Project had 500 friends.

 In August, 2010, the Pink Slipper Project was featured in The Weekly Newsletter published by the Lion Brand Yarn Company. This was quite a compliment for the then-year-old PSP. The e-newsletter was sent out in the late afternoon. Joyce and I (Rachel) were at our computers waiting for visitors to arrive….and arrive they did by the thousands. There was a steady stream of visitors from late afternoon and on into the evening as the e-newsletter was received across several time zones and around the world. Joyce and I greeted every person who liked the PSP for hours. By 1 a.m., things had slowed down and I went to bed; Joyce later told me that she was up until 3 a.m.

 By August 14, 2010, the PSP had 1,800 friends, a gain of about 250 from the publicity received through the Lion Brand newsletter. We were just one year old and had already received national attention by a major yarn company!

 There will be more of our history coming in the next few weeks. We hope that you will enjoy hearing about our beginnings and where we are now. We have more new challenges coming up this month, including a few “specials”, and a GIVEAWAY each week ….. so we hope that you will stay tuned and join in on all of the activities we have planned!

Congratulations, Terry Grahl, of Enchanted Makeovers!
http://hopeforwomenmag.com/featured/women-who-inspire/terry-grahl-decorating-homes-into-transformative-terraces

"HAPPY HANDS #1 - Monika's House

     We will be sending "Happy Hands" gifts to Monika's House.  They will receive not only our slippers and our Cozies for Pets, but also, these items will give them "Happy Hands". 

     Happy Hands will work this way.  There are items that Monika's House would like but not in huge amounts.  If you would like to help out, please make a pledge.  Then, as we do with slippers, when we reach the stated amount, we'll be done.  You may send used knitting needles.  If you send plastic ones, please do not send those that are bent and bowed.  Plastic needles tend to bow if they are heavily used.  Preferences for sizes will be 7, 8, 9, 10, 10-1/2, and 11.  

For Happy Hands #1 @ Monika's House - we would like the following:

  8  skeins of yarn.  Worsted or bulky preferred.  No partial skeins or balls.  -  DONE!

  8 knitting looms of various sizes.  Make sure the instructions are included.  -  DONE!

  8  knitting needles 8", 10".  Single or double point.  Circulars are fine too.  Please do       not send 14" needles.  -  DONE!

15 crochet hooks of various sizes.  Preferred sizes G, H, I, J, K.   -  DONE!

12 prs. of scissors.  I've found children's blunt tipped scissors are sharp enough for          yarn and then the children can use them too.  -  DONE!

15 Gift Cards from Joann's would make a truly wonderful gift for the shelters.  Then        they could buy crafts supplies they need.  Joann's was chosen as there is one              where the shelter is located.  Joann's gift cards are available at many of the gift          card kiosks at Walmart, supermarkets, etc. or online.

         Share your joy of knitting and crocheting by sending the women at Monika's House a gift that will keep on giving.  Pass It On!  

Mailing Deadline:  August  15, 2014.

Send to:

Valerie Bundy
Director of Shelter Services
P.O. Box 91550
Portland, Oregon 97291

*** SPECIAL #2 *** 

    A week or so ago, Judy posted a question to all of our members on Facebook about what your craft (sewing, knitting, crocheting) meant to you.  What does it do for YOU?  We received many responses, but there was a main theme running through all of them......"relaxation", "stress reliever", "adds joy to my cup", "inner peace", "warm fuzzies", "creative outlet", "feeling of accomplishment". 

     "When I made prayer afghans, each stitch resembled a prayer, so I am using mine now in the same way for myself and my family." - Linda Darby Adams

     "I may not be able to solve world hunger, cure cancer, give every child, every homeless person, every battered woman a home, a meal, a hug, but I sure can make a pair of slippers!  Or a wash cloth, a scarf, a hat, a blanket.  And that one person who receives something I stitched will know at least for a little while someone was thinking about them.  Someone was thinking OF them.  Someone cares." - Karen Baisley

     A common thread - making something with our hands for someone else helps US almost as much as we hope that it will bring joy to the other person.  It brings us an inner peace.

     In that light, The Pink Slipper Project is adding another new "special" project for the DV shelters that we reach out to.....the "Happy Hands" Project.   Many shelters are adding sewing rooms, having a group activity for knitters/crocheters, knitting/crocheting classes at their shelters for the women and children, etc.  Many times their "wish lists" include supplies, such as, yarn (new), knitting needles, crochet hooks, and knitting looms.   These programs give the women and children a chance to learn a new and useful "hobby" to help them relax and be productive, too!   By helping to provide supplies to them, we, in turn, will have the wonderful opportunity to "PASS IT ON" to someone else.  As they learn and create, hopefully, they will "pass it on", too, by making items for other women and children coming into the shelters.

     We hope that you will want to join with us in this new endeavor.  As with the "Cozies for Pets", we will not generally be asking for large quantities of the various items and the challenge will only be done in conjunction with a shelter challenge for slippers and/or washcloths.

When the 5th Anniversary Celebration was announced, we said there would be some "special" shelters. One of the "specials" you've already seen with the "Cozies for Pets". Our next "Special" shelter will be coming up tomorrow!! I hope you will be as excited over this one as you have been with Cozies for Pets. 

 I do want to stress that these specials will not be with every shelter we do. I have noticed an increase in the number of shelters that either house pets or make arrangement for housing offsite. This prompted Judy and I to discuss adding special projects from time to time. Judy will handle the Cozies and I'll do the next one. 

 Our next Special is a way for all our members to participate. We have hundreds of friends that haven't taken part in our challenges. This new project will be one in which you can help even from the comfort of your own home. 

 Until tomorrow when our new project "Special" will be unveiled. 

 Rachel