"Josephine's Children" Charitable Project --- an update!

Thank you ~
to the many of you who have contributed to this amazing charitable project for the children of Uganda.  Without a doubt, my blog readers are some of the most kind and generous people in the world~

to date--

 you have donated almost $1400

in a combination of cash and

Walmart gift cards~

 Even the smallest of donations

is such a HUGE gift 

for these needy children~

I've been collecting all the 

one dollar bills that you have sent--

your donations towards the purchase 

of supplies for the children,

and also to help offset the shipping charges

to Uganda~

~~

today I deposited over $250

one dollar bills into my

"Africa account"

 I am so touched by the

beautiful heartfelt messages

that you have sent

along with your gifts.

your amazing donations of craft supplies 

for the children

are taking up all the space

in my bedroom floor!

Craft supplies from your very own

 personal stash--

true gifts of the heart!

these photos represent

"just a small part"

  of your generous crafting donations!

Honestly, I grabbed the supplies 

that were on the top 

of the stash

for these photos~

in addition to beautiful beads and threads~

you've sent embroidery hoops,

cross stitch supplies,

knitting needles,

pattern booklets,

and yarn--

gorgeous yarns!!

 you've sent 

wool threads for crewel embroidery, 

notions for jewelry making,

strings, lace, ribbons~

you've sent

colorful beads in assorted designs~

(amazing treasures from your own stashes!!)

crafting treasures 

that will make the children

dance with delight!

Can you even imagine

the smiles on their faces when they

unwrap all of these

treasures? 

some of you have written

asking me to extend the deadline

so that you can send gifts for the children~

I have done so.

~~

The deadline for donations to the

"Josephine's Children"

charitable project

has been extended to

 December 15.

 You can find the original post

with all of the information for the

"Josephine's Children"

charitable project

here

the goal of this project

is to send supplies-

(clothing, school supplies, health related items)

to desperately needy children

 in Uganda  

the children help to support

their needs by making craft items

that are sold in markets in nearby cities~

~~
your donations of assorted

craft supplies--

(from your own stash)

will provide the children with a world

 of new crafting opportunities

to help support their

 needs. 

 You may mail your

$5 Walmart gift card donations to me.

Additionally, if you wish, you may include a $1

bill to be used for shipping charges.

~

 Please mail the above donations to

"Josephine's Children"

311 West Main Street

Grayson, Ky

41143

 Please mail your craft supplies 

to my dear friend Sue -- in Texas.

She is gathering all the craft supplies,

 as well as doing the shopping

 with the Walmart gift cards~~

~

(I absolutely could NOT do this project without her help--

and without all of you!)

~~

she will fill a huge crate with all the items

and see that it is delivered to the shipping 

port for the long journey to

Uganda. 

~~

You may mail your craft items to:

Sue Kosec

2525 Hwy 360

Apt#1532

Euless, Tx.

76039 

(originally the craft items were sent here to me-- but I never expected such an amazing participation amongst my wonderful blog readers and supporters!  Since, I  will be mailing the craft items to Sue -- it just makes more sense for you to mail them there instead of to me. )

 We hope to be shipping the items to the children

shortly after the first of the year.  The journey will

take several weeks--

later next year, I will post photos 

of the children opening their supplies

and seeing for the first time

all of the amazing crafting treasures 

that you have donated,

as well as the supplies for their school

and clothing needs. 

~~

You can find info about the prizes

(Kindle Fire,Vera Bradley purses, artisan crafted jewelry,...)

 that will be given away as thanks

for your contributions --

by clicking the link 

that will take you to

 the original post

~~

Please remember that your donations

must be to their destinations

(to me or Sue) 

by December 15.

~

If you have any questions about the project or donations -- you may email me at

vboster1@windstream.net

~~

My heartfelt thanks to those of you

who have found a little place in your own hearts

for these special children.

xoxo

Vicki 

Some updates~~

coming up in just a few weeks -- THE OFFICIAL sign up post for the next "Grow Your Blog" party!! Be watching for that!! The date will be next January 25.  You will need to sign up on the OFFICIAL post~~

and -- coming up next -- the last of Autumn's tender blooms,-- in typical Vicki fashion~ (it's beautiful!)

xoxo

"GROW YOUR BLOG" -- the 2015 party!!! THIS IS THE OFFICIAL SIGN UP POST

 January 17, 2015----- Please note that the deadline to sign up for participation

 in this year's GYB party  has now passed. 

Thank you so much for your amazing interest in the party --

 it's going to be a great one!!

To date -- over 400 blogs have signed up to

join us all at the party.

What a wonderful opportunity

to meet new friends and 

Grow Our Blogs!

See you there--

January 25, 2015

xoxo

Vicki

~~~~~~ 

Do you want to "GROW YOUR BLOG" -- make new friends-- increase your blog readership? The opportunity do do all of those things is just around the corner~

 

    

My "GROW YOUR BLOG" event is designed to bring more readers and FOLLOWERS to your blogs. The premise is simple-- just visit as many blogs as you wish and sign up to follow those that interest you. In turn, all the other folks will be doing the same thing~ we will all be growing our blogs!

We need some guidelines for everyone to follow

so here they are~

(the really, really important stuff is highlighted in red!!)

1.Everyone who has a blog is invited -- 

this is an international event.  

Wherever you live~you are invited to party with us. 

Please note -- the deadline for entry is January 17.  This is THE official sign up post -- if you wish to participate - please leave a comment here on this post.  (I can't go back and forth between multiple posts for all the entries -- so please consider that this is the official sign up post.)

In your entry comment -- please tell me how many followers you have.  I will be grouping the participants according to their number of followers.  While you can certainly visit as many blogs as you wish -- those of you with only a few followers may wish to begin your visits by going to those blogs who, like you, only have a few followers -- that way you can support each other and more easily add to your follower lists!

***** in addition to your number of followers - please leave me a live link to your blog in your comment.  Copy the URL of your blog and paste it into your comment.  This will make it easier for me to go directly to your blog when I add you into the blog lists.  If I can't find your blog ---- I won't be able to add it in. 

and---- new this year-----
if you have a particular craft or hobby that your blog is primarily associated with ---
eg.. quilting, embroidery, knitting, cross stitch, photography, painting,... -- leave me a comment about that as well.
if you have multiple hobbies--- you may list up to 3

I'll list your craft choice out from your blog name on the party list -- that may help to bring more folks to your blog who have similar interests.
(if you don't have a hobby, that's fine--)

2.  Please share the beautiful party badge 

(created by my friend Karen Valentine)

with your own blogging friends. 

 Post it on your sidebar and encourage your friends to do the same.  The more blogs that participate - the more chances we all have of growing our blogs.  SPREAD THE WORD!  Perhaps even consider doing a post about this on your own blog. The more people who participate -- the more chances you have to "Grow Your BLOG!!"

3. Prizes --- 

the choice is yours

 to give away prizes or not. 

 Last year it was about half and half.   In the many comments that I received relating to last year's event -- folks seemed to really enjoy the prizes that they won and appreciated the efforts by those who gave them away.  But - the choice is yours and there is no requirement to do so.  If  you do chose to give away a prize - it can be anything you want.  The rules need to be the same for everyone~ anybody can enter, anybody can win.  

PLEASE do not make it a requirement to follow your blog in order to enter. In fact -- you do not have to have a blog to be entered to win a prize.  Blogging has NO boundaries so you need to be willing to ship your prize any where in the world.  Everyone can enter - regardless of where they live.  

**Let's all do the same thing and give the prizes away on February 15.  You can announce the winner of your give away on your blog on that date. **

4.  Please publish your blog post 

late on the evening of January 24 --

 that way it will be ready for those on the other side of the world

 who wake up before us.

As the host blog, I will publish my post with the list on participants

 just after midnight 

on January 25. 

  Please take a moment and read the following

suggestions for making this a great and fun 

experience for us all~

1. Please title your blog post "GROW YOUR BLOG".  Introduce yourself, tell us who you are and why your love to blog.  If your blog pertains to a specific interest or area - tell us all about that. In short - we would all like to know what drives you create your blog. 

2. There is nothing more dreaded than the "no reply blogger" status.  Simply go to your blogger profile page and add your email address. This will allow folks to reply directly back to you from your comment on their blog. We all want to be able to reply directly back to our visitors - especially if they ask a question-- it's so frustrating when that cant be done.

3.  Comment moderation spam filter -- ugh.  Most of us hate it!  Please consider turning it off for this event. This is NOT a requirement - but it will definitely make your visitors more likely to stay longer and leave a comment if they don't have to play with the robot.

4.  VERY IMPORTANT-- if you want more followers - be sure to add your FOLLOWER gadget to your sidebar! Please have it positioned prominently where we can all see it.  (you can find the Follower button in the gadget section of your design page.  Just click on it and position it on your sidebar.)

5.  You might want to consider adding your email address to your public profile and also somewhere on your sidebar.  Mine is listed in 2 places on my sidebar -- I want my readers to easily be able  to reach me. I also often list my email address directly in my post so that folks can find it more easily.

6. Consider telling us your name.  Seriously. Folks want to be able to call you by name and to connect with you when they leave a comment.You might want to also consider posting a photo of yourself somewhere on your blog- that helps your readers to connect with you also.  My name is Vicki. (see photo at bottom of this post) .  See -- that was painless!  

7.  I know that many of you are artists (like me) and that your blogs are often about the things that you create. If your craft is genuinely a part of who you are -- then by all means share with us what you make!  BUT -- this event is not about selling our wares-- this event is to meet people and grow our blogs. Just have your website or ETSY shop listed on your blog sidebar-- if your visitors are interested in making a purchase -- they will go to the trouble to find your shop on the sidebar or to email you. 

8.  Sometimes when you go to a party -- you just feel like getting a new dress or outfit.  So-- if you would like to update the appearance of your blog -- a new blog header --or a whole new layout-- you might want to contact my friend Karen Valentine.  Karen has dedicated her entire blogging career to helping us all with our blogging concerns,questions, and also helping us create beautiful blogs.    Karen is my very own "go to person" when it comes to anything that I need help with relating to my blog. She has practically "adopted" me.  I know that she would be thrilled to help you with updating your blogs in preparation for all the company you will be receiving at this event!  

 SO -- please mark your calendars.  Make a poster - put it in your datebook-- place a reminder on your phone -- a sticky note on your computer--write the date on your bathroom mirror~~~ if you are a reader or follower of my blog, I won't let your forget! 

As I add blogs to the lists, I won't be sending emails to each of you this year telling you that you have been added in.  I just can't-- that takes hours and hours of extra work.  So please, if participating in this event is important to you - please save the date, mark the date -- and refer to this post for all the info that  you need. 

*** please note~
After the party begins, I will wait 24 hours and then begin to delete those blogs that do not have a specific "GROW YOUR BLOG" post.  (I'm so sorry-- but I want this to be fair to everyone.)  So please do remember the date.

~~~~~

Volunteers needed!!!

those who volunteer to help with the party will be listed at the very TOP of the party page (before the regular lists begin)

 -- you will also be listed in your blog grouping based on your number of followers -- so you will have 2 opportunities to have visits from folks at the party!! 

***I'm looking for about 20 volunteers to help me visit the blogs who are participating. If you are someone who is comfortable with the "how-to's" of blogging, and consider that you could answer questions from novice bloggers regarding blogging issues --- then please consider being one of my VALUED volunteers for this year's party.  In addition -- on the day of the party you will visit the short list of blogs that I assign to you and report back to me which ones forgot to do a "Grow Your Blog" post.   If you are available to help me -- just send me an email-- vboster1@windstream.net. 

 This is me --- photo taken on our recent trip to the Gaspe Penninsula, Quebec, Canada.  (I'll be posting this entire trip beginning in January -- taking my readers on an incredible adventure!!)

I want to personally invite you to be a part of my third annual "Grow Your Blog" party for January 2015---  it is truly  a wonderful opportunity for folks to meet new friends.  Last year, the  party started with almost 600 participants.  Because I leave the party post up all year long --- the opportunity is still there even after the party closes -- for folks to continue to visit you -- and for you to visit all the other participants.  My blog continues to get almost 200 visits per week on that party post--- so it lives on, and on, and on!!  I hope to see you there~

If you have questions, please dont hesitate to email me --- vboster1@windstream.net.

Love,

Vicki 

ps --- I want to leave this post up for several weeks so that the info about the party will be easily available to everyone.  I'll be back with my regular posts sometime in mid-December.  xoxo