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September 2, 2010 2 Comments

Ever heard of a dress made from a pillowcase? Me neither. At first I thought this was some kind of ruffly thing to put on my pillow in my bed. Until I read about them from Kristen of We Are THAT Family. She had heard about the non-profit group Little Dresses for Africa, which provides pillowcase dresses for girls in orphanages in Central Africa, and inspired her readers to pitch in and help provide.

As Catz and I love to make things AND have a heart for orphans, this project was right up our alley. You can find the directions through both links above, but I’ll give you a brief description ’cause it’s super easy. And ’cause I’m nice that way.

Basically, you take a pillowcase and cut the seam end off leaving the hem at the other end intact. {If you cut off the hemmed end then you might as well sit down and weep over the extra work you just made for yourself. Pay attention, now.} Then you cut a little quarter moon on either side for the arms. At the cut seam end you sew a channel and slip in some elastic. Next, you sew some bias tape along the arm holes leaving them open at the top to tie. Mmm, I think that’s it.

And voila! You have pillowcase dresses. Aren’t they cute? Catz and I just adore them so much we might make one for a little cutie we know. {Shhh! It’s a secret!} This time around we made 6 of various sizes, and we plan to contribute more dresses to LDFA. Our goal is to each make 2-3 per month. I know, that might sound low to some of you, but we actually need to continue a few important things around here…like cooking, homeschooling, photography classes, laundry, sleeping, eating, etc. So I think our goal will work. By the time summer rolls around again we should have a sizable number to send.

In case you’re interested in doing a project like this, you can use your own gently used pillowcases, buy them at thrift stores, or purchase them new. As most of our linens have been either packed up in storage or given away in preparation for our upcoming year-long RV trip, and our local thrift store doesn’t carry linens, we went shopping. Catz and I found the most reasonable prices and cutest designs at Walmart {no, I do not get compensation for mentioning this company}. The cases we purchased came in little pouches, so we attached bias tape to those and made little purses/belly bags to go along with the dresses. Don’t you love ‘em? So what projects have you been working on? I’d love to hear about them!

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Relevant – The Plan

Have you ever wanted something so much, but then you couldn’t have it? In 2010, I planned for it but didn’t get to go to the Relevant Conference in Harrisburg, PA, partly due to health reasons. Not going was a complete bummer but ended up being okay with me as I knew it was part of God’s timing for me to wait and heal. {Which I did, thank you Jesus!} Waiting can be a drag sometimes but so worth it in the end, especially when good things follow close behind. Like the Relevant ’11 Conference.

This year Relevant’11 is already on my horizon. Even though my inner ear is better, I still cannot fly so I’ll be driving. But I won’t be going alone…my daughter, Catz, is coming along! We already have our tickets to the conference and now we have lots of planning ahead for sponsors, blogging, and traveling there and back.

So why am I bringing my daughter? Well, for two reasons: first, she fits the description of who this conference is meant for, a “blogging Christian woman,” quite well and is possibly the youngest one who will be attending…who can type. {grin} Going to the conference will give her the golden opportunity to meet and hear from other women about how they juggle blogging, raising a family, and serving Jesus Christ. What a benefit this will be for her now before life gets busier. She’ll also get to make connections with those women who focus on niches she loves {handmade, photography} to give her an idea on how to best handle her future Etsy shop.

And the other reason? Catz is a lot of fun! The relationship she and I share has developed because of intentional parenting. I know, the word “intentional” has been hugely popular over the past few years, but I’m not jumping on any pop-culture bandwagon here. Being deliberate as a mom has made a vast difference in my family, and this trip is one way for Catz and I to celebrate that mother-daughter bond. And are we excited!!

So far our brainstorming sessions have made for great ideas and awesome snack opportunities. {Psst! Cue the dancing cupcake.} While we munched on these incredible chocolate bits of heaven, my girl and I came up with an enormous list of projects we’d like to do in prep for our trip. Here’s a handful:

sew some necessary accessories {makeup bags, iPad case, iPhone pouches, giveaway bags, pj’s}
have stationary goods made {business cards, labels, etc.}
plan out roadtrip visits on our drive from Orlando to Harrisburg and back {burger shacks, bakeries, fun family spots, Chik-Fil-A, Cracker Barrel, Washington D.C., etc.)
plan suggest someone else plan a get-together with any early arrivals at the hotel {Something chocolate related sounds fun!}
complete redesign of our blogs and move to WordPress {by June 1^st, hopefully}
find and woo sponsors {C’mon, you know you’re out there!}
secure a car for the trip {Ford? Chevy? Any takers?}
craft a surprise for each attendee

Yes, we have quite a list here, but there are 23 weeks left before Relevant ’11…and I love a challenge! But I’d also like to know what my sister-conference-goersare doing to prepare for their trip. Will you be flying or driving? What are your plans before you leave? Will anyone be traveling with you? Are you selling any handmade items to raise travel funds? Who are your roomies? How are you biblically preparing your heart for this event?I can think of a zillion more questions, but what I’d love more is to read what you ladies are up to! Wouldn’t it be fun to share our plans? I think so. So starting today and over the next 23 weeks I’ll be hosting a Relevant link-up every Thursday!! {This is not sponsored by the the hosts of the Relevant Conference.} Just attach the url of your Relevant-related post to the linky at the bottom of my post. You can link up as often or as little as you like. And please be sure to visit some of the other girls’ links and leave some comment love.