Baskets full of Etsy, goodwill say Happy 150th, Canada!

Transcription

1 Crop Newsletter MAY 2017 Baskets full of Etsy, goodwill say Happy 150th, Canada! By Jan Hoddinott I have been procuring donations for the Making Wishes Come True crop for three years now. Generous folks from inside (and sometimes o u t s i d e ) t h e p a p e rc ra f t i n g industry always come through with fabulous offerings we are able to provide to you in the form of raf le prizes, door prizes, grand prizes and auction items. The companies range from the smaller scrapbooking/stamping retailers to the larger manufacturers and wholesalers. This year, I wanted to do something new and patriotic: to sew celebration of Canada's 150th birthday into this annual fundraising event we put on in support of The Children s Wish Foundation of Canada, Ontario chapter. A Canadathemed silent auction item was the bright idea that occurred to me. I started with someone I knew: my aunt s mother-in-law in Newfoundland. Yvonne sews, quilts, hooks rugs, knits and crochets with outstanding lair and incredible passion. You name it, she can do it. I asked if she would be willing, if I sent her the fabric, to make a themed placemat set for the Canada basket I was visualizing. Continued on page 3 Going once, going twice... going... The sixth annual Making Wishes Come True fundraising crop on June 3 at the Waterloo Rod & Gun Club will, for the irst time, feature a Live Auction. Four fabulous prizes a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle motorized jeep, a Canada 150th Patriotic Hostess Basket, a pair of premium Blue Jays tickets and a hand-made snuggly couch blanket are up for bids. John, from Jantzi Auctions, will be onsite just before dinner to call the bidding. A separate Silent Auction will have 12 items up for bid. Scrapbooking-related fare, chocolate, jewellery and two more patriotic-themed baskets are among items sure to entice. You can use Visa, Mastercard, cash or cheque to pay for Live and Silent auction purchases. For information, visit

2 VIPs in the house A special bonus was added to the Making Wishes Come True registration process this year: the irst 12 croppers to register when our online form went live at noon on March 17 instantly became VIPs! As such, these Very Important Papercrafters are entitled to some special TLC on June 3. They get early arrival privileges, front of the line treatment for snacks and meals, a special tote bag to haul their loot home in, and other goodies. The ladies who were quick on the click are: Stacey Hanniff, Sue Langdon, Andrea Lawton, Sue Litke, Keri Postma, Lynn Reinhart, Heather Roberts, Jas Sandu, Margaret Stares, Theresa Sweet, Tammy White and Krista Wilson. Loud cheers for AC! The threat of sweltering in unseasonal heat won t be a concern for croppers registered for the sixth annual Making Wishes Come True fundraising event on June 3. Our new venue, the Waterloo Rod & Gun Club, is air conditioned. Whew! In addition to the bliss of air conditioning, we re excited to note that 68 registrants is the highest participation we have reached in our six-year history of supporting The Children s Wish Foundation of Canada, Ontario chapter. (The event sold out in one day a record!) Since the purpose of the event is to raise funds to help make a dream come true for kids with life-threatening illnesses, we have gathered a wide range of donations from generous papercraftingrelated manufacturers and designers for you to bid on in a Live Auction event or on the Silent Auction tables. Some items will be presented as prizes to be won in games, puzzles and other fundraising activities such as a Make- n -Take and Tarot Card readings throughout the day. Come prepared to participate! While your crop fee is already a generous donation, we re sure you ll want to dig into your purses for a great chance to win (or get a price break on) some amazing items and to give a little extra toward making a wish come true! Beautiful giving leaves lots to win Most of the donated items we received are designated as items for raf le or bid. They ve been beautifully packaged and presented by Pat Krueger, and will be on display when you enter the Waterloo Rod & Gun Club on Saturday morning. Some have found their way into the build-your- own goodie bag bucket you ll ind waiting on your table. Other contributions came in the form of donations of time and expertise by volunteers, on-site massage therapists, food donors and the people who will keep us fed: Relish Cooking Studio (lunch caterers) and the Ladies' Auxiliary of the Waterloo Rod & Gun Club (dinner providers). You can also win some fabulous prizes. The two grand prizes a weekend crafting getaway at Memories Manor and a $200 shopping spree with Scrapbook Nerd will be drawn for at the end of the day. Two rounds of raf le prize draws will be held during the day. Then there are prizes to be won in a Numbers Game and a Donor Recognition Crossword puzzle. And, of course, there s the door prizes.

3 ALL FOR A GOOD CAUSE: There will be lots of action to get in on and lots of chances to win fabulous prizes at our fundraising crop. Get caught up in the bidding frenzy in our Live and Silent auctions, and try your luck in games and other fun prize-yielding activities. Kind hearts filled our patriotic baskets Of course! was her ready reply. I would love to! With the basket now of icially started, I turned my attention to inding other Canadian items with which to ill it up. Enter Etsy, a growing website where people around the world connect to make, sell and buy unique goods. A simple search for Canadian lag items resulted in a treasure trove of intriguing fare that I thought would look beautiful in our basket. My irst response was from a lady in Nova Scotia, whose son had been a Children's Wish Kid while he was going through chemotherapy. He is now a healthy 19-year-old. She wanted in! In the coming days and weeks the responses to my pitch kept coming in and my mailbox illing up! The responses like the one from retired pediatric nurse Barbara, who couldn t wait to support this great cause were personal and unique, just as were the items arriving in my mailbox. I enjoyed each and every Etsy conversation. Another memorable response was from Darzee Women, an organization in Toronto that employs newly arrived Syrian refugee women, who use their sewing/quilting skills to create blankets, throws, scarves and other items. (Darzee means seamstress in Arabic.) The women have recently been focusing on Canada 150 celebration items. We received a Canada 150 throw. As the packages continued to Continued from page 1 arrive in the mail, I quickly realized this was going to be similar to the Bible story of the loaves and the ishes: this Canada basket was going to be illed to over lowing! We ended up with not one but three fabulous patriotic baskets for the Making Wishes Come True auctions. The larger Patriotic Hostess basket, with an Etsy retail value of $425, will be featured in our Live Auction. It includes Yvonne s set of six placemats and a table runner, the Darzee throw and a wine bag and wine bottle stopper, among other party-oriented items. The other two baskets the Patriotic Traveller and Patriotic Family will be on the Silent Auction table.

4 Some you time... Just ahh-magine 6th Annual Making Wishes Come True Fundraising Crop In support of The Children s Wish Foundation, Ontario Chapter TICKETS 5/ 20 $ each $ 5 or TICKETS Prize: A free scrapbooking weekend at Memories Manor in St. Clair MI Draw to be held at the crop on Saturday, June 3 6th Annual Making Wishes Come True Fundraising Crop Name Phone MM We are excited to offer you a little you time during the Making Wishes Come True fundraising crop on Saturday, June 3. Kindred Spirits owner Inge De Cleermaecker and her friend, Debbie Robinson, will be offering four different spa treatments, between 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on the stage at the Waterloo Rod & Gun Club. All funds are being donated to the Making Wishes Come True fundraising effort. Inge is a Certi ied Indian Champissage Therapist, Reiki Master and a Certi ied Professional Aromatherapist. The four treatments, available in 15- or 30- minute intervals, include: Ÿ Foot massage Ÿ Facial massage Ÿ Indian head massage (Champissage) Ÿ Back massage Suggested minimum donations are $5 for a 15- minute treatment or $15 for 30 minutes. A sign-up sheet will be available on-site (managed by Linda Baksh), or you can lmbaksh@hotmail.com to book. Be sure to mention in your message which treatment you would like to indulge in and at what time. Last year we had a great response to the massages and the ladies worked super hard to make sure we all got a few minutes of relaxation. TOO MUCH STUFF IN YOUR CRAFT ROOM? Bring your gently-used extras to our on-site Tickets...! Who wants tickets? A weekend away to craft in the lap of luxury? Or a $200 shopping spree for some great papercrafting wares? You could be the winner of one of two grand prizes at the Making Wishes Come True crop. The two top prizes, provided by Memories Manor and Scrapbook Nerd, will be drawn for at 7 p.m. Tickets will be on sale throughout the day. Jan Zimmer, lady of the manor at Memories Manor, has donated a full weekend of papercrafting delight at her luxurious mansion in St. Clair, Michigan. The prize is valued at $275 US. Scrapbook Nerd co-owners Joy Atkinson and Barb Clayton have donated a $200 shopping spree for use at the online store, or in person at their on-site store at the crop. Tickets for both draws are available at $5 each or ive for $20. You do not have to be present to win the grand prizes. Croppers are able to buy tickets on behalf of friends who did not attend the crop. 2 chances to win Included in your registration is a ticket for the door prize draw, which is set for 7 p.m. There are two door prizes to be won this year: a large assortment of adhesives, donated by 3M, and a Graphic 45 basket, donated by Creative Crafting Retreats.

5 Things to note about the event and venue Ÿ There are zero steps leading from the Waterloo Rod & Gun Club entrance to the cropping room. A small ramp will let you roll on in with ease. Ÿ Venturer Scouts valets will be available from 8 a.m. (for early-arriving VIPs) to 9:30 a.m. (Tipping is allowed.) Note: they will not be there to help you to your car at the end of the day. Ÿ Seating is pre-assigned. A greeter will meet you upon arrival at the Waterloo Rod & Gun Club and will provide table information. Ÿ There are only a few electrical outlets in the crop room. If your heart is set on using an electric tool or light, please bring an extension cord and power bar and we will try our very best to get you up and running. Ÿ There is no Wi-Fi available on-site. Ÿ A garage sale has been set Ÿ up for the day. Donations are welcome! All leftover items will be donated to local charities in the Guelph area. If you are donating larger items to the garage sale, feel free to attach a price tag identifying a suggested minimum donation by the purchaser. (Helpful in cases where retail value is not known.) Joy and Barb from Scrapbook Nerd will operate an on-site store. Silent Auction items Item # Item Retail Value Suggested Star ng Bid 1 Patrio c Traveller basket Delta Hotel; ScrapFest pass; Uptown dollars Patrio c Family basket Chameleon pen set + colouring book/cards Tarot Card reading party Younique Country Retreat gi cer ficate Reid's Chocolate basket of goodness Schmincke Horadam Aquarell Ar st watercolors in metal container EuroCleaning Housecleaning gi cer ficate ScorPal Ul mate Backpack Drayton Entertainment - Live Theatre for Origami Owl necklace and earrings A word about our Canada 150th baskets... The Patriotic Traveller (Etsy retail value $235) includes a passport cover, luggage tag, camera lens caps, t-shirt, hat and other items geared toward the travelling (and patriotic!) Canadian. The Patriotic Family (Etsy retail value $200) includes fashion statements for the entire family: a bowtie and suspenders set for baby, sterling silver maple leaf earrings for mom, a bowtie for dad, a knitted hat, set of six placemats and more. The generosity of the Etsy community artists was heartwarming and they deserve our support when we are looking for that perfect something for the special occasions in our life. Please visit their Etsy stores and make sure you tell them you appreciate their support of Making Wishes Come True.

6 PREMIUM SPONSORS ETSY PARTNERS Patriotic Hostess: Patriotic Family: Patriotic Traveller: S P O N S O R I N G PA R T N E R S P E R S O N A L D O N O R S Andrea Barclay Margaret Barrie Regan D Agostino Denise West-D orazio Faye Fendley Bertha Madott Pat Krueger Tara Parachuk Helen Tempelmann Tammie White