Organizing Hat Crocheting Supplies for Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Packing Party

First hats Elizabeth has made towards the 200 shoebox packing party.  She uses Aunt Ida's hat pattern from Joy with Purpose.

My oldest daughter is crocheting hats for a new OCC packing party Sarah has been invited to help host.  The goal is to collect enough stuff for 200 boxes.  They are trying to do it all thru donations and hope to even gather extras to donate as fillers.  We will donate much of our leftover stockpile from this year's shoebox packing, but Elizabeth wanted to do something more and decided to see how many hats she can

Quick Crafting for Upcoming Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Packing Party

Proudly placing her finished shoebox on the stack (from a past packing party we hosted).

Our family planned to spend the afternoon trying to finalize the organization of the kids Operation Christmas Child packing party Sarah is hosting.  We had dresses to roll and tie up with yarn so they didn't take up much room, hygiene kits to make (Sarah shared on YouTube how we made them), bag up small toys, and more.  When Sarah did the final tally of the stock we were short over thirty stuffed animals,

Fixing Fillers for Operation Christmas Child Processing Center from Donations

Along with packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child each year, we like to send fillers for the OCC processing center to add to boxes that need something extra.  This year one of the items we are sending are tiny stuffies wrapped in crocheted loveys.  They were all donated to us to use in our boxes, the kids packing party at church or to send as fillers.  By wrapping the small animals in a crocheted lovey it turns an ordinary item into a WOW item.

I love the uniqueness of each lovey--just like the children who will receive them.

Suzanne, from Sew Delightful, sends us many donations each year.  Some of the items are pillowcase dresses, handmade jewelry, small toys and tiny stuffed

Babies, Bears and Bags for Operation Christmas Child Filler Donations

Babies, Bears and Bags, Oh, My!  We continued to work on Baby Bundles this week to use up the babies we have on hand for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.  We also had several extra fleece bitty blankets that I considered sending as fillers just as blankets but decided to make them into little bags and tuck in a stuffed animal (see further explanation below).

Baby Bundles--Baby doll with flannel blanket, crocheted hat and a girl size hat to match

Unfortunately I, Cheryl, had a very slow week and only got the blankets for the babies cut out, tho Elizabeth got the crocheting done....hopefully I can finish them this week, but here they are as a Work In Progress.  We choose the colors for the baby's and girl's hats from the baby's outfits.

To be sure the items stay together at the processing center we slip ribbon thru the back of the hat on the baby's head, thru the girls hat and around the baby's waist.  Then we wrap her in the blanket and tie a ribbon tightly around the waist.

Fleece Bags with Stuffies

I have several extra fleece bitty blankets I cut out for my 2 to 4 year old girl OCC shoeboxes.  Elizabeth mentioned the other day how it would be nice to make bags out of soft blanket fabric so the child could cuddle it or carry in it.  So I took the fleece blankies and sewed them up into a drawstring bag and used satin ribbon for the tie (I thought the smooth texture would be different from the fleece and they may enjoy it).

I only made two so far, one the long way to hold a fish stuffie Elizabeth found at the Hospice Thrift Store and the other I sewed the short way to hold a Gund brand

Babies, Hats and Blankets for Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Fillers

This is our first week to work on fillers for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.  Elizabeth has been crocheting and I (Cheryl) have been sewing.  Check out our gifts below.

Baby Bundles--Baby doll with flannel blanket, crocheted hat and a girl size hat to match.

Baby Bundle number one is my favorite.  I love the sweet face on this doll and her mini Aunt Ida hat looks so cute on her.  I made a flannel blanket with a satin border in a Pooh and friends design for her and Elizabeth crocheted a hat in miniature to match the doll's outfit. Then she made a matching hat for the girl who will receive the gift.

This second one is Elizabeth's favorite. She already has a hat attached to her head so Elizabeth just designed a hat with colors to match hers:  purple, pink and cream.  I also made her a Pooh edged blanket.

To help the items stay together at the processing center we slip ribbon thru the back of the hat on the baby's head, thru the girls hat and around the baby's waist.  Then we wrap her in the blanket and tie a ribbon tightly around the waist.

Aunt Ida Hats--Crocheted hats from the Aunt Ida Hat Pattern at Joy With Purpose

Between crocheting the hats for the Baby Bundles, Elizabeth whipped up these two hats to send individually as fillers.

Filler Tally (to date)

Beginning to Craft for Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Filler Donation

After seeing reports of so many boxes arriving in the Operation Christmas Child processing centers only partially filled we wanted to help fill the need for fillers.  Then last week I saw this comment by OCC on their Facebook page and it made us want to do even more.

This weekend I (Cheryl) should finish packing my 14 Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes for 2 to 4 year old girls and then I will begin crafting for fillers to be donated to the processing center while still crafting for my other family members' boxes and the 100 boxes the kids will pack at the church packing party.

I have way too much fabric on hand to only craft for boxes we pack.  I have some I have personally purchased, but I have way more that I have inherited or have had donated for my projects.  So I hope to find time to make many items for fillers.  One of the items I am sure to make are pencil pouches to fill with school supplies (much like The Pencil Granny & Friends do).  I will be using the Drawstring Pencil Pouch Pattern that I shared recently here on Simply Shoe Boxes.

Elizabeth will be crocheting with yarn she inherited from her Grandmother.  The main items she will be making are hats.  She uses the Aunt Ida Hat Pattern at Joy With Purpose.

Hopefully we will have some fillers ready by next weekend to share with you.

As a reminder, Operation Christmas Child encourages the packing of shoeboxes over the donation of fillers.  We pack as many shoeboxes as we can and use our extra crafting supplies and shopping deals to make fillers.

For more information on fillers for shoeboxes check out these earlier posts:  Donating Fillers for Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes  and A Day at the Operation Christmas Child Processing Center.

Happy Packing!

        Cheryl & Elizabeth

Hand Made with Love Tags Printables for OCC Fillers

If you read my blog, you know my mom and sister have been crocheting hats for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes & fillers to sent to the OCC processing center. They decided to put a "note" on them so the child would know it was a sign of love.  They came up with these cute tags to put one.  My mom also made a version for me to share here that says "Made by hand" instead of "Crocheted by

Last Minute Tote Bag Sewing for Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes ~ A Guest Post by Cheryl

Hi!  Since my daughter Sarah took over the blog I have been asked by readers to make guest appearances as I have time.  I thought I'd stop in today and say hello and share a few last minute sewing projects for Sarah's 10 to 14 year old girl Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.  I haven't really done much sewing in the past few months, so it was nice to whip up a couple of special things.

Sarah has an owl themed box and I have seen so many cute owl stuffies around the internet that one night in bed it hit me why not make an owl pocket on a tote bag.  So here is my

First Skirt of the Month Finished for an Operation Christmas Child Shoebox

When I shared the fun items I received for Christmas for my Operation Christmas Child shoebox stockpile, I mentioned my mom gave me a "skirt of the month" coupon.  She is to buy fabric each month and I am to sew a skirt for a shoe box girl.  Here is the first one completed.

I had sewn a floral skirt with gingham accents so I showed her that skirt and asked her to choose a main and a contrasting fabric.  My daughter said when she took her

Operation Christmas Child Skirt Kit of the Month Club Designing

Since I received a skirt kit of the month club membership for Christmas I have decided to have fun and to design a different skirt each month. I will make the skirt in a size 8 from my fabric stash and then write up the instructions and "order" supplies for a size four.  I'll make it following my own instructions -- if they are clear enough I will share them with you all so you can make them for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.

I thought you might enjoy seeing my sketch book.  I design the skirt and then do the figuring of fabric pieces that need cut using the Girls Skirt Sizing Chart as a guide for the size it needs to be when finished.  Then I figure how much fabric and trims need to be purchased to make one.  My daughter will take my mom to the local discount craft store and she will choose the fabrics and trims and buy them for my Christmas gift.  It's a wonderful arrangement as she gets to have the fun of choosing the fabric and spend time with my daughter and I get to design the skirts and add them to my shoe box gifts.

I'm thinking I should call them the "Twelve Skirts of Christmas."

Here is the finished skirt from the sketch above.

Flower fabric skirt for Hello Kitty Themed Shoebox

Do you have a sketch notebook you keep crafting ideas in for your Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes?

Football and Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes: Crafting While Cheering on The Buckeyes

My husband and I grew up in NE Ohio and if you grow up in NE Ohio you can't help but be fans of THE Ohio State University Buckeyes!  Well, the Bucks have made their way into the National Championship Game on Monday January 12, 2015.  So you can guess what we will be doing at 8:30 on that day.  And I am sure you can guess what I will be doing....crafting for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.

To make the dress a little more girly I am adding some white lace trim.

Just like I make themed shoeboxes while packing I also make themes in my crafting according to life happenings.  Since we will be watching the game I chose Buckeye colors scarlet and grey supplies to craft with.  I will make a pillowcase dress and a hat.  Well, I will work on them -- not sure they will be done.  The cool

Flower Power Skirt for an Operation Christmas Child Shoebox

I had the pleasure of ordering fabric for an Operation Christmas Child shoebox project once again from my friend's online store. She donated the fabric & trim for the skirt and the yarn for the hat.

My husband had found a dozen of these wonderful, high quality knit shirts for just $1 last fall and I am going to make skirts for each of them. They are for 5 to 9 year old boxes.  This is the first one I

The Last of the 2014 Dresses for Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes

Here are my final Operation Christmas Child dresses for 2014.  They are all packed up and delivered to our church to start their journey to the little girls who will hopefully enjoy wearing them as much as I enjoyed sewing them.  And hopefully some will find their way to girls who need them for protection as I explain in this post:  Why I Sew Dresses to Include in my Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes.

Hearts and Flowers in Pink and Purple.  This is a seersucker type fabric.

The Life Saver Snowman Box ~ How an Operation Christmas Child Theme Shoebox Came Together

I think everyone who has been reading Simply Shoe Boxes for any length of time knows I love to do theme boxes for my Operation Christmas Child kids.  They just seem to come together without much effort sometimes.  Such is the case with the Life Saver Snowman Box!

I shared how I came across a ghost beanie baby in a lot I had purchased for my shoe boxes.  I transformed the little guy into a snowman by removing his tongue, his "tail" and the "peak" on his

Hot Wheels & Matchbox Car Totes for Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Gifts

My daughter had a half yard piece of black and white checked fabric she had used in the center of a table for our annual AWANA grand prix (like the Boy Scout’s Pinewood Derby).  When they canceled any future races it was her job to find new homes for all of the supplies--and my Operation Christmas Child shoebox stock benefited.

She also had a dozen or so new, in package Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars.  They allowed the smaller children, who couldn't make a car, race these.  Checkered flag and race cars – a perfect match.   I love it when one man’s trash becomes a

Twins ~ Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Crafting Progress Report

This week's Shoebox Sewing & Crafting for Operation Christmas Child  includes Twin Sets.  I have read of people doing "twin boxes." They either put two of everything in one shoebox or make two matching shoeboxes.  This came to mind with these two projects.

Brother & Sister Set

After sharing this fabric and teddy bear on Simply Shoeboxes' Facebook page asking should I use it for a boy or girl I decided to make both since there seemed to be a tie.

I had this little short set with the red shirt from a Dollar General clearance sale.

I needed another teddy for the little boy box and found this red fella just waiting to be sent filled with

The Hare and the Garden Apron for An Operation Christmas Child Shoebox

My Operation Christmas Child Shoe Box Sewing & Crafting for this week includes another garden apron for a 10 to 14 year old box.  The color in my images is not too great, sorry about that.  The lighting was bad and my camera has been doing some wonky things!

Once again I began with the flip flops and matched the fabric and trim from what I have on hand to

A Trio of Aprons ~ Operation Christmas Child ShoebBox Crafting

My Operation Christmas Child Shoe Box Sewing & Crafting for this week includes a trio of Aprons for 10 to 14 year old girls.  I began with the flip flops I had on hand and matched the fabric to them.  From there I match them with the bias and quilt binding and then yarn for matching hats.  Because I use prepackaged bias and quilt binding these whip up quickly.  Thankfully I have a lot on hand inherited from my mother-in-law and also some I was able to pick up for just a quarter at a closeout craft store, otherwise I would be making it from the fabric.

The flip flops and fabric were donated by Kristy of Hopeful Threads.

Tea for Two Inlaws ~ Crafting for Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes

This week's Operation Christmas Child Shoe Box Sewing & Crafting brings our families together.  I inherited this black and white tea cup fabric from my sister via my mother and niece.  When my sister died a couple years ago she had several pieces of fabric she had gathered to make my mom a quilt with a Tea Pot/Tea Cup theme. Her daughter gave it to my mom who passed it on to me to use for my dresses.

When I saw it on my fabric shelf I decided it was perfect to make into a dress in honor of my husband's cousin who is like a sister to him.  She wears a lot of black and white and she enjoys a

Fit for a Princess ~ Crafting for Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes

I just love how shoe boxes come together.  My weekly Operation Christmas Child Shoe Box Sewing & Crafting includes a special "designed for a princess" set.  This grouping began last Christmas when my daughter gave me the little princess doll.  She knows I love dolls and wanted to give me