2nd Annual Crops of Luv Yard Sale!

Just a big THANK YOU VERY MUCH to all the folks who came out for our 2nd Annual Crops of Luv Yard Sale.  The sale was a huge success and the funds raised will really help our Crops of Luv mission.  We truly appreciate all of our Crops of Luv supporters--you're all AWESOME!

Crops of Luv to Be Featured on Local News Channel 12

We're sooo excited!  This Thursday the local Channel 12 News is coming to Crops of Luv to film a segment about COL, our mission, etc.  We aren't exactly sure when the segment will actually air, but we're very excited for the opportunity to spread the word about Crops of Luv.  Keep an eye on your Channel 12 news to see our segment!

Heads Up--Coming Soon: Princess Layout Contest

All the details aren't finalized yet, but Crops of Luv is partnering with our friends at Provo Craft for a nationwide contest.  Details will be posted as soon as we have them....Everyone will want to be a part of this event!  Keep checking back here at the blogspot for details.

Lots of New Ways to Donate (Painlessly!) to Crops of Luv

In August we posted a blog with several different ways to donate to Crops of Luv (check our blog archives for that info).  Here's another--easy and fun--way to donate:  go to www.goodsearch.com !  It's similar to GiveBack.org, but does have some differences, such as:  if you sign in with Crops of Luv as your charity, and load Good Search onto your toolbar, every time you search the web for anything, it will rack up $$ toward Crops of Luv!  You can also achieve donations by clicking onto Good Shop and do your online shopping through this site and a percentage of your shopping total will be donated to Crops of Luv.  It's really easy and so much fun and doesn't cost you anything extra, but will help Crops of Luv with extra donations.  Be sure to go in and check it out for yourself.  Have fun searching and shopping! 

Another way you can help Crops of Luv is by downloading and printing stickers.  There is a great website (http://www.disneyclips.com/ ) where you can save the images to a file and then printout the file onto 8 1/2 x 11 inch sticker paper (Walmart carries both white and clear packages of sticker sheets).  Printer ink is costly (as we all know), but if all of our Crops of Luv supporters downloaded and printed out even one sheet of stickers it would be a tremendous help to us.  I downloaded about 12 images onto one sheet and added a border around each individual image.  Then, all you need to do is cutout the individual "stickers" from the pre-printed sheet and add to your layouts.  

Speaking of layouts, that's another way you can help Crops of Luv--by making pre-made layout sheets and mats.  We always need Disney pages, Sea World pages, Jungle (Animal Kingdom) pages, etc.  If you have the time and want to do some pre-made layouts (then we can just add the photos and journaling), we would greatly appreciate anything you can donate.

NEEDED--Newer Disney Character Products

If you have any scrapping products (stickers, papers, embellishments, etc.) for Disney's "Tangled" (Rapunzel); Princess and the Frog (Pincess Tiana); The Incredibles; Little Einsteins; or Scoopy Doo that you would be willing to donate to Crops of Luv, please send them to us at: 11424 S. Pawnee Circle, Phoenix, AZ  85044.  We desperately need these characters for books we're working on.  Thanks in advance for your amazing support, we appreciate anything you can do!

The Green Spot - How to Recycle/Repurpose Those Bread Ties!



Image 1



Ever wonder what to do with all of these???:  Read on!...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Image 2



 



Image 3



Images 2 and 3 are the titles/headers I created on a 2-page layout documenting my infant son's journey into the world of eating solid foods.  I used baby yarn and miniature safety pins for the string "hanger" to attach the bread ties.

Image 4



Image5



 



Image 6



Image 7



Image 8



 

The remaining images 4 through 8 are close-ups of the individually decorated bread ties.  Some have letters, some stickers, etc.  You can cover them with paper, paint them, color them with sharpies, etc., to match your layouts. 

Another cute idea:  have a teacup with a string and the teabag "tag" dangling outside the cup.  The "tag" can be one of the smaller bread ties and you can customize it for a scrapbook layout, get well card, or even a tea party invitation.  There are hundreds of uses for these little gems, so start saving and repurposing those bread ties!  Have fun!

SEPTEMBER 2011 -- Crops of Luv Neighborhood News--About Our Volunteers

Crops of Luv has so many faithful volunteers who work tirelessly to support our cause, we wanted to regularly highlight our volunteer stories.  The Crops of Luv Neighborhood News will be a regular blog to let our volunteers know how very much we appreciate their hard work and support. 

September 2011: Our (hopefully) monthly "shout out" and BIG OL' THANK YOU to the "Crops of Luv Crop Nights" group and all of THEIR suppliers and supporters in our "northern sister" land of Canada!  Rochelle and Tracy just held their second crop night with the help of amazing donations from Scrapmuch?, Dell's Pharmacy, Victoria Keith, Brenda Follington, Alex Humphrey, Renia Humphrey, Julie Neil, the Salvation Army Church.  We are SO VERY GRATEFUL for your hard work and dedication on behalf of the COL mission.

NEEDED:  VOLUNTEERS TO SEW PILLOWCASES FOR THE GIVE KIDS THE WORLD (GKTW) PILLOW TREE.  Crops of Luv is very proud to partner with Give Kids the World (GKTW) in Kissimmee, Florida.  GKTW provides every criticallty-ill child and their siblings who visit with a special "dreams and wishes" pillow made especially for them.  GKTW sees thousands of children a year and has an on-going need for pillowcases.  So, if you're a seamstress (or know one) and would really like to make a difference in a child's world, please join the effort and help make pillowcases for this worthy GKTW project.

GIVE KIDS THE WORLD PILLOWCASE PROJECT.  This project will make four finished pillowcases.  You do not have to provide a pillow foam insert.  Both boy and girl novelty fabrics are needed, as well as prints for younger children and teens.
WHERE TO SEND COMPLETED PILLOWCASES: Please be sure to include a letter with every shipment to include the following information--name, address, phone number, e-mail, quantity of cases enclosed, and approximate value.  This information will allow GKTW to properly thank you and let you know your contribution has arrived at GKTW Village, as well as let GKTW to record your donation as required by law.  Mail your completed cases and letter to:

Phillip E. Torres, Support Services Manager
Give Kids the World
210 S. Bass Road
Kissimmee, FL  34746

STEP-BY-STEP TUTORIAL WITH PHOTOS.  Following is a step-by-step tutorial generously shared by Ellen Benny, who also has this information on her own blogsite:  http://ellenbenny.blogspot.com/2011/04/give-kids-the-world-pillow-program-info-i.html .  Much thanks to Ellen for sharing her pictures and instructions. 

First:  cut a 1 yard (36 inches) length of 44-45-inch wide cozy flannel (solid color)

Next:  cut 1/3 yard (12 inches) length of 44-45-inch wide cozy flannel or soft cotton (coordinating children's novelty print; novelty prints for older teens are also needed and welcomed)

Hem a narrow hem along one cut edge of the novelty print and along both cut edges of the solid flannel.

With the hemmed edges aligned and right sides of fabrics together, sew the two fabrics together along the cut edge of the novelty print fabric.

With the two fabrics sewn together, lay out the fabrics with the novelty print on top

Fold the novelty fabric along the seam so the wrong side of the novelty fabric is against the right side of the flannel.

Measure 15 inches from the seam:

Fold the flannel back over the novelty print at the 15-inch mark you just made:

Fold the other end of the flannel back at the seam where it meets the novelty print:

Now you should have right sides together, wrong sides out, and the hemmed edges of the flannel overlapping about 2 inches over each other (this will become the back opening of the finished pillows where you can insert the pillow form):

Cut your folded "package" of fabrics into fourths (approximately 11 inches wide)

Take one of the folded pieces and sew seam along both edges, then surge or zigzag the edges of the seams to finish and prevent fraying.  Do this for all four folded pieces.

Turn right sides out:

You should have an now have an overlapping opening at the back of the flannel and a pocket on the novelty side of each of the four fabric "packages" which have now been transformed into pocketed pillowcases:

Your finished pillowcases should measure approximately 9-3/4 to 10 inches wide and 15 inches long with a pocket approximately 9-3/4 to 10 inches wide and 11 inches long.

Thanks to everyone who joins this effort and another special thanks to Ellen Benny. :D

LOTS OF WAYS TO DONATE TO CROPS OF LUV

Great news for all our supporters:  There are many ways you can donate funds to help support the Crops of Luv mission: 
(1) Donate directly through the link on this blogsite located on the righthand side of the page;
(2) Mail your donations to Crops of Luv at 11424 S. Pawnee Circle, Phoenix, AZ  85044;
(3) Donate through the Give Back Foundation website (founded by Oprah Winfrey and Steve Paletta).  It's a secure website where you can make charitable donations to your favorite charities, including CROPS OF LUV!  You can donate funds, but you can also donate by shopping online through the http://www.giveback.org/ site.  There are hundreds of popular online shopping sites working with the GiveBack organization, and if you access the shopping sites through the giveback.org site, then make your purchases, the online site will donate a portion of the sale to the charity you indicate on giveback (Crops of Luv is a great choice to contribute to!)  It's painless giving!  You get to shop and buy the items you would have already purchased anyway, and the store donates money to Crops of Luv on your behalf.  Easy-cheesy.  It's a secure and reputable site to use, so please check it out:  Go to http://www.giveback.org/, click on "Find a Charity" and type in Crops of Luv.  It will bring up a link for Crops of Luv.  Click on the link and it will give you donation/shopping options.....fun, fun, and a feel-good experience.
(4) Donate at your workplace through the United Way Campaign!  This is a new option available to all our wonderful supporters.  All you need to do is designate Crops of Luv as the recipent and then your donation amount; Crops of Luv will be added to the United Way registry.  You will need our Crops of Luv address to donate through United Way.  The address is:  11424 S. Pawnee Circle, Phoenix, AZ  85044.

If you have any questions regarding donations, please contact us.  Thanks in advance from everyone at COL for your big hearts and continued support.

AUGUST 2011 -- Crops of Luv Neighborhood News--About Our Volunteers

Crops of Luv has so many faithful volunteers who work tirelessly to support our cause, we wanted to regularly highlight our volunteer stories.  The Crops of Luv Neighborhood News will be a regular blog to let our volunteers know how very much we appreciate their hard work and support. 

Crops of Luv sends a big ol' "THANK YOU!" to Rita P. in Roseville, California.  We met Rita through Cricut Circle.  Rita organized an event with over 60 participants (WOW!).  They sent Crops of Luv a huge box full of beautiful layouts, Cricut embellishments, and much more.  Amazing effort and COL is so grateful! 

Crops of Luv would like to again thank Rochelle and Tracy in Canada for hosting their upcoming second "Crops of Luv" Crop Night in Canada.  It will be on Wednesday, 31 August from 6 pm to 10 pm at the Salvation Army Church.
Also, a huge shout out to Anita Trowbridge from ScrapMuch in Brantford, Ontario Canada, for offering to donate supplies to this Crops of Luv" Crop Night event.  ScrapMuch--A Scrapbook Paradise, is a wonderful online shopping site (https://www.shopscrapmuch.ca/ ) and they also have a terrific blogsite (http://shopscrapmuch.blogspot.com/ ).  Be sure to check ScrapMuch out; they have all the latest scrapbooking products and carry lots of name brand products.  Crops of Luv is so very grateful to all the fantastically talented and caring supporters we have in Canada.

WINNING WEBSITES

From time-to-time we'll be highlighting websites we love to visit and recommend to our Crops of Luv friends.  Once such website is Fontifier (http://www.fontifier.com/ ).  It's a really cool site where you can create a font in your own handwriting.  Having a customized handwriting font will do wonders for your layouts, especially if you do digital scrapping.  It makes it personal and you don't get writer's cramp.  There are easy step-by-step instructions to follow on the site and you get to preview your font prior to purchasing it.  The personalized Fontifier fonts currently sell for $9.00 and are worth every penny if you do lots of journaling like I do.  You can download and use the finished font like any other font in your library.  I personally think my "printing" handwriting works better as a font than my "cursive" handwriting, only because of the connecting of the letters to one another...printing looks more finished and cohesive.  Anyway, go to the site and try it out for yourself, experiment with different writing, and most of all--Enjoy!   

The Green Spot

Summertime...lots of popsicles, ice cream bars, fruit bars, and leftover popsicle sticks.  Don't throw them away!  Repurpose them on your scrapbook layouts.  First, wash and thoroughly air dry the sticks to remove any sticky treat residue.  Then you can do a million things with them.  You can paint them, color them with permanent markers, write captions on them, put rub-on's or letter stickers on the sticks and use them to highlight a photo, use them to create an instant photo frame, cover them with scraps of scrapbooking papers to match your layouts and give it added dimension.  I've done all of these things and more.  One layout I created was a layout documenting my son's employment at Home Depot.  I used some popsicle sticks to create a work sawhorse.  I "stained" them with brown marker and cut them to fit into the shape of a sawhorse (see photo).  The layout turned out so cute and the popsicle sticks were free!  Can't beat that for the price of an embellishment!  Hope you like these ideas and will try some of them.  (p.s. If you didn't save any popsicle sticks from your summer fun, Halloween is just around the corner and the sticks come with the caramels to make candy apples.  Save them and go to town on your layouts!)   Have fun!  --L :D

Popsicle stem for flower embellishment  



 


 

Popsicle Stick with rub-on decoration

 

Sawhorse workbench made from repurposed popsicle sticks



  



Popsicle stick with handwritten journaling

Crops of Luv Neighborhood News--About Our Volunteers

July 2011:  We'd like to extend a HUGE Crops of Luv "THANK YOU!" to Rochelle Kelly-Winter and her good friend Tracy Follington Humphrey, volunteers in Canada . They have organized a Facebook group called "Crops of Luv" Crop Nights. They had their first event on July 18th and everyone made embellishments. We can't wait to get them to use on upcoming scrapbooks. If you're interested in joining their Facebook group just type "Crops of Luv" Crop Nights in your facebook search and hit enter.  Their site with our Crops of Luv logo will come up and you can just click onto their site. Oh, CANADA, you ROCK!

Spotlight Organization--Give Kids the World

Crops of Luv (COL) works with myriad organizations in order to reach our mission of providing memory scrapbooks for families facing critical illness. COL scrapbooks the families' experiences provided by these charitable organizations.
This week's COL spotlight is on the Give Kids The World (GKTW) organization in Kissimmee, Florida.  It a non-profit organization that has been around for many years doing selfless work fulfilling the wishes of all children with life-threatening illnesses.  Through organizations like GKTW, these children and their families can experience a memorable, joyful, cost-free visit to many Florida attractions and enjoy the magic of GKTW Village for as long as there is a need.  Over 100,000 children have had their dream come true at Give Kids The World. No child in need has or ever will be turned away from GKTW.  Check out the wonderful organization, Give Kids The World at their website:  http://www.gktw.org/ .  Crops of Luv is proud to partner with Give Kids the World.

The Green Spot

Introducing "The Green Spot" a blog for sharing scrapping/craft ideas that "recycle/reuse/repurpose" items into usable items.  I'll be posting regular projects and hope that our COL friends will be willing to share their ideas and post them.  First up: Ever wonder what to do with all those empty CD holder containers that blank CDs come in?   (besides throwing them in the recycle bin, that is!)--Turn it into a ribbon holder.  It's pretty easy to make and it's free!  First of all, take the clear plastic "lid" of the CD container and poke holes in the top (I did about 8 holes). The CD container lid is hard plastic and might crack unless you use the "heated" method of poking the holes:  it's not hard to do, just take a phillips-head screwdriver and "warm" the tip of it over a candle or gas stove burner.  Once it's heated "poke" it into the plastic lid to make a hole about the size of a dime or nickel, depending on the width of your ribbons. "Wiggle" the screwdriver a little to enlarge the hole to your desired size. The heated screwdriver will "melt a hole" where you place it in the container lid.  The finished holes will be where your ribbons are threaded through, so make sure you make them big enough for the ribbon to pull through easily.   Repeat this about 8 times in a circle around the top of the plastic container lid.  Once you've made the holes, smooth the rough edges of the holes with an emery board, old nail file, some sand paper, or trim off rough edges with an X-acto blade.    Next, cover the outside of the lid with your favorite scrapbook paper.  This will not only hide the ribbon spools, but will match your decor.  To finish, stack your eight ribbon spools onto the CD container spool base and thread the ends of your ribbons up into the lid holes you made.  Secure the lid to the spool base and voila! you have a customized ribbon holder.  Hope you like this idea; share your results if you decide to make this "Green Spot" project.  --Lana :D

Hello Crops of Luv friends!

Hi, my name is Lana and I am honored that Jody and Roberta have asked me to be a part of Crops of Luv as the newly appointed "Chief Blog Correspondent" (as Jody put it).  I'm hoping to bring some fun and interesting blogs to the site, as well as informative COL calendar event updates, crafting how-to's, etc.  We want this to be an interactive site where you'll look forward to coming back often and tell all your friends about it too.  You can also keep up with COL on facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Crops-of-Luv/112138497486

Looking forward to chatting and sharing with you all.  Take care!  --Lana :D

WELCOME BACK! Crops of Luv has some exciting things coming up!

Due to issues related to our giveaway.  We are no longer offering this option on our blog.  If you are interested in participating in the Great Escape Fundraiser, please contact us @ cropsofluv@cox.net.  We will happily assist you in forwarding your donations.

CHA is AMAZING!

We've scoured the floors fo CHA to meet some of the most AMAZING people.  I can't believe all of the great feedback and offers of support that poured in today.  I think we've really found some create connections to help us get the word out about what we do. 

This morning we attended a keynote address by Nick Bilton of the New York Times.  He spoke about the impact of social media on how we communicate and interact with information.  One of the things he said that struck me was that marketing isn't so much about putting up billboards or buying ad space.  It is about creating a conversation with your community.  So... here is the challenge... how do we create that community so that people CARE about what we have to say... not just here but in every form of social media we use? 

I have also gotten the sense that crafting is changing in very important ways.  We as crafters want our crafting to MEAN something so that when we create something it has a purpose.  That means we don't just craft to pass the time or because it's fun... we make things to be used for something.  I think that is an important realization for today. 

SO beginning today, I invite you to join the conversation.  What is it about crafting that creates purpose for you?  How do we begin to create a Crops of Luv community? 

CHA LIVE!

A group of us are going to CHA at the end of the month and we're so excited to go!  For those of you not familiar with CHA, this is the Craft and Hobby Association trade show.  They have it twice a year and this is where ALL of the newest scrapbooking goodies are unveiled.  Most of us won't see them in the stores until late spring or early summer. 

We are so excited because Scrapbook Royalty has organized an opportunity for our supporters to have a chance to get some of the latest and greatest products BEFORE they hit the stores AND the proceeds will benefit Crops of LUV!  HOW totally COOL IS THAT!!!!!

There will be goody bags, sneek peeks via the web, and EXCLUSIVE access to new products in an online silent auction during CHA (January 28th through 31st).  All you have to do is visit the link below to purchase your ticket and get your goody bag and pass this on to anyone you can think of that might like the chance to play with the new stuff before anyone can buy it!

https://www.scrapbookroyalty.org/cms/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=75&category_id=3&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=100013

Help with fundraising....

For those of you raising money for Super Crop for a Cause, you can request a custom donation button to send to your friends and family.  Then all they have to do to help us raise money is to click that button and use their trusty ATM or Credit card to make a donation to Crops of Luv on your behalf.

To get a donate button, just email info@charitywings.org and give your name, a short bio or statement about why you are raising money for Crops of Luv, and a picture. You do not have to include a bio or picture but it makes it more personal. It does not have to be a picture of you either... It can be of whatever you want! 

WELCOME to our first post for SUPER CROP for a CAUSE

We are SOOOoooo excited for our first ever Super Crop for a Cause. 
Registration is NOW OPEN!!!!  Click here to register.

You can help us raise money and make the most albums we've ever made in one day. Here are some of the fun way to win prizes while you help us out and Become Scrapbook Royalty!

There are four ways to do this:

1) The Queen of Philanthropy

Bring in the most donations and be crowned "Queen of Philanthropy".

2) Queen of Silent Auctions

At this time all the silent auctions will be for handmade as well as non-scrapbooking related items. Bring your own handmade creation to donate and together we can raise money to make albums for the families we help. The participant that donates the most money through silent auction will be crowned "Queen of Silent Auctions".

3) Queen of Crafts

Win a tiara and fabulous prizes. Bring a handmade item for the Silent Auction. If your item fetches the most money will be crowned "Queen of Crafts".

4) Queen of Sweets

Bring a handmade dessert to share with your fellow croppers and compete for the title "Queen of Sweets"! We will serve your homemade treats during tea time and participants will vote on their favorite dessert! Make BITE SIZED pieces for 40 people. The winner will be crowned during the festivities.