October Charity of the Month: Cancer Research Institute

It's the Holiday season again... which means its time to turn up the giving-charm.

Every year, here at greenstarstudio, we practice putting the heart in art, by partnering with a charity for an entire month, in order to raise awareness and money for people & animals & places in need.

Choosing this month's charity was, sadly, not difficult at all. I, like so many others, unfortunately know way too many people who have been directly affected by Cancer. It's taken mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, & from far too many friends.

I wish my list of people who've done battle or have been affected by this terrible disease was shorter (if not completely non-existent), but its not. Its way too long and has been so for too long a time. My dear friend Ali, has invested so much of her young & vibrant life recently to supporting BOTH of her parents through their fight (read her brilliantly written letter to Cancer here). Ali's birthday is Oct. 15th, and I decided last month that as my birthday gift to her, I would like to help her raise money for her favorite charity. So, with that, I'm proud to announce that The Cancer Research Institute is the October Charity of the Month.

From today through October 31st, 5% of ALL my etsy sales will go directly to the Cancer Research Institute! And on OCT 15th, i'll donate 15% of the sales! So shop and know you're supporting a good cause. You don't need to include a code or do anything but fill your cart and enjoy the benefits. Now's a great time to stock up on birthday & holiday gifts, and let your purchase do double duty.



Just a few weeks ago, I learned that my good friend, Megan had Lymphoma... she's only just started grad school and today, she also starts Chemo. I made her the OoAKie pictured above, as a "voodoo doll" of sorts. She says "totes" (instead of Totally) a lot, so i figured her Cancer VooDoo doll would too.

And, keep an eye on the shop for plenty of brand new OoAKies just waiting to be customized into Cancer VooDoo dolls, like Megan's. They make wonderful, life affirming, giggle-worthy, clutchable, reminders of love, for anyone you know who could use a little boost of "I'm thinking of you", while they fight for their lives. The dolls are customizable too--- I can include a special message just from you--- just include a note in the Message to Seller section as Check out!

Thanks for helping Ali & I support such a worthy cause.
Love & Health,
danamarie

... ooh, more on Apron Gate

some googling just provided me with these nuggets of info:

"Celebrities who are donating their designed aprons include Ms. O’Brien herself, Camille
and Bill Cosby, John Waters, syndicated comic strip artist, Rick Detorie (“One Big Happy”), Mayor Sheila
Dixon, Congressman Elijah Cummings and others"

(which means i out sold all of THEM too!)

I got this sweet shout out, thanks to the watchful eye of the lovely Whitney Sherman.

"Why an Apron", many have asked... well, here's why.

Here's the program from the Auction, in case you have ever wondered what goes down at a big ticket party.

the best laid plans...

so, THIS is what my day was supposed to look like. On Friday i was FINALLY able to procure book 7 from the library (i know, i know, but when it came out last year i was teaching summer camp and all the kids were reading it--- i needed some distance from some of the spoilers i over heard. And of course there's that pesky expense of hardcovers... i thought for sure it would be out in paperback by now) and i came home with the plan of using my "week off" (HA HA HA HA HA) doing nothing but lying about reading Harry Potter in the air conditioned splendor of my living room. I'd only take breaks to rest my eyes and knit a few stitches on this lovely, pale colored knitimal i've been dreaming of. and my whole day would be fueled by multi-grain cheerios™, blueberries and skim milk. these are trader joe's blueberries and they are SO big and so sweet, a sleepier me might confuse them for candy.

this plan of harry and yarn and blueberries lasted all of 20 minutes and then something, some small, stupid thing, toppled from heights unknown and landed with a crash behind me.




might it have fallen from THIS? this tragic mess i've created over the course of i dont even KNOW how many months. it's primarily stuff i've filed into the "already dealt with but needs to be sorted and filed" category, which btw, is my most loathed category. plus, sorting it (which i DO like, because its like a trip down memory lane... oh, remember when so and so bought that knitimal? oh and remember when i participated in THAT show?) would ultimately lead to putting it somewhere, and in this case, somewhere is a stuffed to the seams filing drawer, just brimming with other stuff that needs to be sorted and filed and worst yet, recycled or shredded. i'm not into shredding. and when i make a to do list, those kinds of tasks always fall way at the bottom (far below reading for pleasure, which happens like... never, or even cleaning the dog's teeth, which i am proud to say, happens at least twice a week).

so, of course, having an 8 month old puppy, i had to leap to my feet to find whatever fell and put it back right... not "put it away", but shove it back into the pile again.


and doing THAT only made me look around and realize that THIS was a problem too.


what's even going ON here? i'm almost positive that there are 3 rolls of cling wrap in there because i just kept buying more, rather than actually look for where i had put the first one. or the second. baggies, paper towels, opened tubes of paint, tissue paper, padded envelopes, customs forms, sculpey... insanity. this is what crazy people's houses look like. yeah, i can use the whole "i'm an artist" thing, for a little bit, but eventually, i'm just a crazy person.

i spent some time near the desk, which meant looking at my planner, which lay open (i had MEANT to hide it this week) and reminded me cruelly that i had several phone calls to make, at least 2 bills to pay, and a whopping 5 different "places i am supposed to be, if only they are actually confirmed" events, classes, workshops, and such that i needed to reconcile. thus, i spent the next 3 hours making calls, moving piles around, checking email, sorting papers, erasing-rewriting-erasing-rewriting-cursing-erasing-and rewriting dates and events in my calendar as various pieces of half information floated in and out of my inbox. and after hours of rediscovering things i'd saved for various projects (like, oh, knitimal halloween masks, for example), i ended up with this:


lovely, but only a start.

and of course, as i am just reaching the boiling point of frustration, i hear the familiar sounds of mason literally racing up and down the hallway, slamming into walls and charging through doors. he does this sometimes. like a weird solo man relay race. he just goes nuts.

and then i realize i'd left the bedroom door open...

ok, so last week we finally retired the 10 year old mattress that has been destroying my spine for years. look how sad and bare springed and uneven it is. poor sad old mattress. here it is awaiting is death in the hallway.




and HERE is the B-E-A-U-t-i-F-u-L new mattress (a sealy posturepedic parker grove pillow top, if you must know, and you must, because it's glorious). this "limbo" place i'm in with planning my autumn has been making it hard for me to fall asleep, but ooooh, once i'm out... i am O U T.




the only trick is... mason.


this bed is much taller than the last one, and even though he has "his steps" to get up to the bed, even with his steps he's still inches off without leaping... which, as i'm sure you know, is not the best idea for dachshunds (and is, naturally, his most favorite thing to do in the whole entire world). so, we have to watch him around the bed now... because he's a dachshund (nature's perpetual teenagers) and he just loves being stubborn, headstrong and physically daring.

when i go into the bedroom, i find this:


also known as EVERY SINGLE TOY THE DOG OWNS; the quilt in a bundle, the pillows on the floor, his steps pushed perfectly up to the side of the bed and bits of kibble hidden beneath the sheets. the dog has spent the last (let's see... when WAS the last time i saw him? when i unearthed that 4th roll of cling wrap, was it?) 2 hours, running each and every one of his toys, ropes, dolls and bones up the steps and has made a little nest of craziness on our beautiful bed.

of course, every time i throw one off the bed, he runs down the steps and grabs it and runs back up.
i gave up after 3 tries.
he looked so happy.

i broke two frames.
ate way too many strawberries.
nearly choked on a lemon seed that had been hanging out in the bottom of my water bottle (darn you squeeze of lemon in my water!)
and then spent 2 hours curled up in a ball on the couch nursing a headache.

even still. i managed to read through nearly 200 pages today and wow. (DON'T SAY ANYTHING), but wow. harsh.
**********


regarding the rest of the week: i DID have a plan to unveil both a new project and a related new charity for the month (notice my monthly causes tend to start 2 weeks into the month? what the hey, it's still 4 weeks, right? but i am just BEAT. i NEED to take the next couple days for myself (i won't even get into how long its been since i've had anything close to a vacation, and with the cost of gas and whatnot, i'm thinking a 3 day siesta on my couch is really very little to ask for). SO, i will be away from email & blogging until Saturday at the earliest, but don't worry... i'll come back with great news to share; an updated etsy shop, a wonderful new charity to support; refreshed, re-energized and renewed... like a phoenix.

speaking of phoenixes... mr. potter awaits me.
xoxo, danamarie

May Charity of the Month: Relay for Life

are you feeling generous?


i am.



i don't know exactly when it happened, but i can't recall a time in my life when my art and my personal beliefs have not been intrinsically connected.




i've always wanted (and still have every intention of doing so) to run my own non-profit; a special place for creative people to give back and get a little acknowledgment and success of their own, in return. i love teaching. i love watching kids get involved, get motivated and "get it" (and adults too, for that matter).


any opportunity i have to GIVE always feels right to me.


i can't help but acknowledge how fortunate i am, how much i have and how much i've been able to make of what i have...



... and i've reached a point where it feels right to actively contribute to meaningful causes as often as possible.






last month, i made a wonderful decision to donate a percentage of my etsy profits to the maryland society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, and in that month, with the help of some very generous and aware patrons, i was able to raise $100 for the cause!

giving feels good.


and the better i feel, the more productive i am.

the more productive i am, the more i have to give...

...infinity.


SO, i've decided that greenstarstudio is OFFICIALLY sponsoring a different charity each month and donating 5% of the profits from all etsy sales to said cause. The charities will be listed along the side bar, with opportunities for people to donate anytime they want, directly to the cause, long after the designated month ends.


and its with that, that i introduce the May cause of the month: the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. i'm not sure i know ANYONE who hasn't lost a loved one to cancer; who hasn't helped a friend with their own battle; who hasn't been affected, in some way, by this disease. I am choosing to support this cause, and this relay team in particular, because my brother-in-law lost his mother, Connie, to ovarian cancer when he was in high school. and because the first funeral i ever attended was during my 7th grade year; my best friend called my house in tears in the middle of the night because her mother had lost her battle with breast cancer. and because, however small it may seem in the grand scheme of things, i still can't believe that earlier this year, i had to say goodbye to my best four-legged friend, who's body had turned against her. and because it's the only way i know how to help the survivors and those struggling and fighting their own battle--- i can't cure it, but i can sure as heck help raise money for the those who might and those who need them to.

from now until June 1st, 5% of ALL etsy sales etsy will donated to Carrie & Bob's team.

I've just completely re-vamped and stocked the etsy shop... so go ahead and UN-STOCK it!

If you'd like to skip the purchasing part and just make a donation directly, please go here: make a donation

thank you so much.
peace, health and lots of love.
xoxo, danamarie

Pencil dog

Well its not perfect, but its only the second dog sweater I've ever made, and this one was without a pattern. This is, most likely, mason's costume for the costume contest at the March for the Animals in 2 weeks. I mentioned a "storm" coming... I barely even have time to write a post, its so insane. I have a number of shows coming up and maybe 7 knitimals on hand (eek!); i'm starting a new mural for Baltimore city in 2 weeks and designing a butterfly for the Towson Chamber of Commerce and going to Florida to teach another workshop. And that's just the next 2 weeks. AND just what I can remember off hand. Sigh. Busy is good right? And I just remembered the folders of digital pictures on my desktop that I've been setting aside to post for, oh, I don't know, 3 months? I will. Soon. I promise. On that note, there's only a few days left to add your donation to the pack! The March is April 20th and mason and I would love to walk up with a huge check. Please click on the link to the left and make a donation. Thanks! Wish me luck... On second thought, I'm heading to bed. Xo, danamarie

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