Little Pink Monsters

Tutu Drive 2010!

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I’m SO SO SO excited about this!
Samster Mommy Tutu Drive

A few weeks ago my sister-in-law emailed me a link to this great charity that she thought maybe I could tie in with my blog. It’s called The Princess Alexa Foundation & wait till you hear what they do…

They take dress up clothes & match them with kids who are seriously ill so they can have a bit of fun & make-believe. A little something to put a smile on their face during such a hard time. Is that not the sweetest thing you’ve ever heard?!

The foundation was started by a mom named Crys in honor of her daughter Alexa…

photo courtesy of www.princessalexafoundation.org

Alexa began battling cancer just before her 2nd birthday, throughout her battle with cancer Alexa loved to go everywhere in princess dresses & became known as “Princess Alexa”. I’m so sad to say she passed away in June of 2008. I know many of you are mommies & when you hear a story like that it just breaks your heart. I just can’t imagine… But that’s what I love about this organization, there’s actually something I can do to help. A direct impact I can make & help out some little girl who’s going through a hard time just a little bit. You can click here to read more on their website, you’ll see what organization or hospital their currently “dressing”, pictures of the kids & ways to donate. So that’s where we come in!I emailed Crys & asked if they’d except dress up clothes that were handmade, she said “Absolutely!”. So I got to thinking about what we could make & I thought what could be more the epitome of little girl dress up than a tutu?! There are so many ways to make them too that it’s a great opportunity for some fun tutorials as well. For the next month you’ll be hearing me mention the Tutu Drive quite a bit, I’m going to be posting tutu tutorials every Tuesday (say that 3x fast!) & asking you to jump in & make one as well. My goal is to donate 100 tutus to the Princess Alexa Foundation! Do you think we can do it?? Also if you don’t sew (although some will be “no-sew” projects) feel free to purchase yours & donate it that way. Oh, & although it’s a “tutu” drive you can donate any dress up item you like for little girls or boys. The sizes can range from 2t-10. Over the next month I’ll feature pics of tutus you donate (& I’ll link to your blog) as well as feature guests posts from some of my favorite bloggers who are going to participate!

So to review there’s 2 things I want to ask of you…

#1 Make/Buy a tutu sometime between now & the end of July & mail it to me. It’s needs to be sealed in a ziploc baggie & the baggie should be labeled with the size. I’ll gather all the goods together & send them off to Crys in one big box of tutu goodness! And if you can, email me a pic of your creation so I can feature it on the blog. Also click here for tutu shops that are offering Samster Mommy Tutu Drive discounts!

Please mail all donations to:

Samster Mommy
P.O. Box 84132
Gaithersburg, MD 20883

#2 Please help spread the word! (100 tutus is a lot & if I don’t get enough people involved I’m going to be spending a lot of all-nighters with my tulle stash.) You’ll see there are two buttons available on my sidebar for the Tutu Drive, if you have a blog all you have to do is copy the html code below the button & paste it as either a gadget (there’s a gadget for html) in your sidebar or just paste it directly into your blog post in “edit html” mode. If that doesn’t make sense you can email me & I’ll walk you through it.

Thank you guys so much! Oh! And if you have a tutorial you’d like to share for a tutu or similar dress up item than email me (samstermommy@gmail.com) & maybe you could share it with everyone for the Tutu Drive!

A few updates:

#1 All items must be handmade & never used. Nothing second hand or worn can be donated. If you think about it, it makes sense. These are going to sick kids, cleanliness is of the utmost importance. Also please make sure all items come from a smoke-free home & if you have pets please keep them away from your creations. No dog fur tutus. Any non-handmade items need to still have tags/packaging on them. Handmade creations should be sealed in a ziploc baggie before being mailed.

#2 A few of you have mentioned ideas for boys. Lynette has an AWESOME tutorial for little boys’ capes that I’m going to try and snag her to come post about. If you have any great tutorials please email me at samstermommy@gmail.com!

#3 Here are a few of the tutorials we’ve had so far so you can get tutu crackin!

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  2. This sounds so great! I'll gladly make some tutus for you. I'll try to think up some stuff to make for boys too. I've made a few things for my boys in the past.

  3. Oh I love this idea. I definitely want to help with the tutus! What about capes for boys/girls? Or if someone is a jewelry person – crowns? Everyone can help! 😉 I will post about your project on my blog this week! What a great idea – for such a great purpose!

  4. What a wonderful way to bring some joy into a little one's life who is battling a serious illness. Count me in. I will be posting this on my blog this week. =)

  5. Count me in!!! I already did my first one tonight… I will send you pictures later! This is a great idea. You are for sure going to meet your goal and beyond. Thank you for allowing me to be part of this project.

  6. Hey Natasha! I would love to do a tutorial for the cape. I actually already did one on my blog, but i could possibly do a more specific one for the superman/batman reversible one. Just let me know when you want me to do it by. This is such a great idea…i'm definitely going to put this on my blog to help you out and I'll have to donate some stuff too! Talk to you soon!

    Lynette

  9. What a great cause!!!! I'm in!!!! I also mentioned this on my blog. I want to get some girls together to make some tutu's to mail you!

  10. What a great way to give back! They were selling tutus at Costco near Potomac Mills Mall for all of the non-sewers like me!

  11. What an excellent idea!! Can't wait to see your tutu tutorials! I've been making them for my girls, family and friends for a while and I'd love to learn a different way to make them. Count me in! 🙂

  12. lovely, I'm in; I'm doing a tutu giveaway on my blog right now actually, so I'll have to link up to this when I have a moment and make another one to donate as well.

  14. Well my blog is just a family blog, so I don't have many followers that will see it there. 🙂 I did put it up on Facebook though, so that should get some attention too!

  16. that's a really awesome idea. i've got a bunch of tulle left over from our wedding decorations (a year and a half ago!) and this sounds like the perfect way to get them out of my stash!!

    can't wait to get more info! especially those tutorials!

  18. What a great idea!!! Count me in…. although…. I'll probably make some boy stuff instead. I don't want to leave the little guys out and I have some nifty things to make for boys!

  21. I'm also thinking we could post some tutus on etsy "for sale", but do them at a VERY discounted price. When somebody buys it, they will be buying it for the charity & not themselves. Or, sell them at normal price, but say that for every tutu bought, another will be donated to the charity. Its just a thought so that people who can't afford to buy the materials could then make & donate. Let me know what you think.

  22. This is such a motivating idea. I am excited to make a few tutus, but also make some boy stuff. I do not think that you will have any trouble getting the 100. 🙂

  23. I'm in as well, but can we make capes for boys as someone else said above? This is a great idea!

  24. Love this idea but I was wondering if they have to be 2T or bigger? Ive made several tutus for my 6 month old I'd like to donate. If so I'd still like to make some bigger ones but I would like to send my little ones as well.

  25. I have a bunch of handmade felt crowns that aren't up on my etsy shop yet, I'd be happy to donate them! They work well for boys and girls. Thank you for starting this wonderful project!

  26. Awesome idea! Good luck! 100 tutus (or capes or crowns) would make an amazing dress up donation box.

  29. Great idea and I am so willing to help out! I will pull my stuff together and see what I have to offer!

  32. BTW HALOHEAVEN has tutu's for as little as $2 a piece- along with great deals on fairy wings tiaras and more! (I am in no way affiliated with them, they just have the best prices I've found!)

  39. If anyone wants to buy one instead of making them, they can buy one from me for the cost of supplies — http://www.nelliebugs.com

    I plan on making as many as possible, and anything left over from my craft show this weekend I will donate.

  40. How wonderful of an idea this is! Im going to jump on in! I have a question, do you know if there is any need for matching dolly tutus?

  42. Love this! Posted it on my blog and 2 facebooks sites so hopefully I can get a few more headed your way! You can see it here if you are interested:
    http://oxfordfam.blogspot.com/2010/06/things-i-like-thursday_24.html

    My 11 year old daughter is going to make a few! It takes a lot to get this girl to commit to something 🙂 Keep up the good work! Can't wait to more tutorials since I only know how to make the knot kind!

  45. I CANNOT wait to partake in this. It is so important that we put smiles on these childrens' faces. I posted it on my facebook pages for my event planning page (A Perfect Pair Event Planning)and my Pretty Pixie Tutu's page on Facebook. I'm hoping to have a lot of orders for tutu's so we can have a lot to send to this organization. I want my hands to HURT from making so many. :O)

  46. I just did a facebook post about your Tutu Drive! I will be sending a tutu your way and hopefully will have some friends participate as well!!

    Lindsey 🙂

  47. I linked to this on my weekly roundup – what a super idea! I'm not sure if I'll be able to participate, though… I'll have to find a time where the cats are far away from the sewing area… I don't know what it is about tulle that attracts them so quickly!

  48. Hi!
    I came across this post and thought you may be interested in helping us with our project too! My friends little baby died short of 5 months from a rare genetic disorder, and while in the hospital she could only wear baby leggings. We're preparing to send as many pairs of the baby legwarmers as we can to the ICU's at our local childrens hospital for little ones who can't wear cute little outfits for a while. If you can help us with this, or spread the word, please let us know!
    http://kendraandryanwebster.blogspot.com/
    Thank you!

  52. Fabulous idea. Just put a link to this post on my facebook page. I seem to have a big stack of tulle in my stash. Can't even remember why I got it.

  55. I've got a tutu finished and on it's way to you within the week. I am now going to be busy making them for my little girls! 🙂 I spread the word on my blog!! halfpinthoney.blogspot.com

  58. I just learned about this when I checked my reader and saw it on the Greenbean's Crafterole. I'm going to blog about this and I will attempt a tutu to send (although in the end, I may be buying one!)

  61. Hello Natasha,
    I think what you are doing is a great thing!!!

    I just posted it on my website jerseygirlstreasruebox.com and I will be sending some tutu out for you by the July 31.

  62. Its tutu central here in Lincoln, VA! I have to admit I have always been intimidated by your amazing crafts but I couldn't resist at least attempting to help with this project. It touches me a lot because I have a 2yr old little boy who spent most of his 1st yr of life in the hospital. Things like this really brightened the kids spirit and brought smiles to otherwise horrible days. I will be sending out 6-8 tutus by next week!

  64. Natasha,
    I wish you all the best with baby Chum Chum. I know everything will go great. My son was 3 weeks and 5 days early, but weighed 6 lbs, 14oz, so he was borderline preemie, but not really…he was fine and everything worked out great, so hang in there girlie…now on to the tutu talk=)
    I just completed my tutus for the drive and posted about them here on my blog. I'm going to see if I can find some sort of wands to doll up to match tomorrow and get them out to you by the end of the week. Here's the link to my blog…
    http://carriebells.blogspot.com/2010/07/ive-been-busy-making-tutus.html

    Thanks for all you do…we love following your blog,
    Melissa

  65. I hope all is well with you family! I wanted to let you know that I am sending you a tutu in the mail today…I hope it's not too late!

  68. Hi,
    I just posted about this Tutu Drive on my blog and will be making a tutu for you.
    Thanks for posting about this foundation and for allowing us to participate/help.

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