Winnie The Pooh Dress Waits to Be Finished for an Operation Christmas Child Shoebox

Well, instead of a finished outfit and the beginning of an Operation Christmas Child shoebox like I normally share I'm sharing a very patiently waiting Winnie The Pooh.  I began this pillowcase style dress a couple of weeks ago, and yet here it sits on my sewing machine table waiting for my return.

Life sometimes gets in the way of crafting for shoeboxes.  As most of you know my mom lives with us and her care takes quite a bit of time.  Recently more time has

Pattern & Fabric Donation: A Colorful Dress for an Operation Christmas Child Shoebox

My friend Joanne offered to sponsor a dress for my Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.  She let me choose a pattern from the See & Sew collection she sells and fabric and buttons to make it.

She wanted me to use some of the new line of fabric she had just gotten in.  I was able to choose from any of these colors.

Inspiration to Keep Sewing Dresses & Skirts for Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Girls ~ A Moment to Reflect

I came across these images from Dress A Girl Around the World again recently and just had to share them with you.  They are my inspiration for sewing sweet dresses and skirts for little girls around the world and pack in Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes.  Look at her sweet face -- she feels like a princess in her new dress!

Before

After

These statements from the DAG website also keep my sewing machine humming:

“...girls who live in a society where they have no value—where they are used as slaves—where they are abused and preyed upon and no one considers this to be

Teddy Bear Day ~ First Operation Christmas Child Shoebox for 2015

My friend runs a brick and mortar discount craft store.  She recently opened an online store, The Rag Bag of Shelby [Updated:  no longer in business], and donated fabric for me to make a dress for one of my shoe boxes.  I got to "shop for free" at her online store.  I chose this sweet cotton fabric Teddy Bear print--it is a Boyd Bears print.  It so soft to the touch.  So I began to build my first shoebox for the 2015 Operation Christmas Child collection around this dress.

Do you remember the Kohl's Cares Bear I wrote about earlier that I just couldn't resist?  He will be tucked inside the box with the dress.  I added the blue bow to

A Happy Birthday Dress ~ For Dress A Girl Around the World

Oh what fun Birthday celebrations are!  Dress A Girl Around the World turned FIVE this year and part of the celebration is making birthday dresses!  I stumbled upon Dress A Girl a couple of years ago while searching for pillow case dress instructions for my shoeboxes.  I jumped in with both feet and got heavily involved just like I have with Operation Christmas Child.

I have donated well over 100 dresses and have gotten to see several on little girls around the world.  This last year I have cut out sewing for Dress A Girl directly and have sewn exclusively for my shoeboxes--still dressing girls around the world, just thru a different delivery system.  When I saw the birthday celebration I knew I had

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.

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

Why I Add Trim to the Hem of My Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Pillow Case Dresses

I like to keep things simple when packing my Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes or crafting items to tuck inside. The simpler I do things the quicker I can do them and the more I can make and thus the more I can pack.  But I love adding just a little touch of something special at the hem line of my pillow case dresses.  I imagine the little girl looking down at her dress while wearing it and the part she can see the easiest is the last several inches.  So I love to add a little extra fun for her to enjoy.  My favorite, and what might become my "signature" is the last one.

Decorative ribbon -- such a fun addition.

Ribbon and roses -- just a tiny touch of femininity.

An Added Pop of Color -- on busy prints adding a little addition of a plain fabric and some colorful

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

Crafting for Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes ~ Dotted Pastels

Once again this week's Operation Christmas Child Shoe Box Sewing & Crafting includes a dress and drawstring bag I made from fabric donated by Kristy of Hopeful Threads.  The colors don't show well, but there are pale dots of pink, green and yellow in the fabric.  And even tho this is a very light

Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Crafting Progress Report for 9/18 ~ Pretty Butterflies

This week's Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Sewing & Crafting includes a fun butterfly dress and drawstring bag I made from fabric donated by Kristy of Hopeful Threads.  The colors don't show well, but there is orange in the print and that is why I choose the orange trims and added a crocheted orange butterfly to her hat made of all the colors in the print.  My daughter found the Beanie Baby moth that was orange and thought it would be perfect.  The sparkly purple shoes my husband found at

Packing OCC Shoeboxes for Girls Verses Boys: Why I Sew Dozens of Dresses

Most of us know that Operation Christmas Child reports most boxes are packed for 5 to 9 year old girls and boys and that 10 to 14 and 2 to 4 year old boys receive the least.  This has caused many of us, including my family, to focus the bulk of our packing for boys.  I'm taking some time to rethink my packing in light of what I have learned about many cultures around the world from being involved with the representatives of Dress A Girl Around the World.

Check out my step by step, illustrated instructions to make your own Pillow Case Style Dresses.

Dress A Girl Around The World’s [DAG] goal is to provide dignity and protection to young girls in crisis situations while letting them know they are loved.  Their website says there are many “girls who live in a society where they have no value—where they are used as slaves—where they are abused and preyed upon and no one considers this to be unspeakable injustice.  By providing a new

Purging Party Patchwork Dress for an Operation Christmas Child Shoebox

I shared earlier that I have joined up at the Purging Party over at Stitched in Color and one of the items I am working on purging is all of my scraps left from pillowcase dresses I have made.  I decided it was about time to try to match them up and make patchwork dresses for my Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.

I have seen some gorgeous patchwork dresses online but have never tried my hand at matching fabrics, other than two at a time and often one of those is a solid.  But I took the plunge and this is the result at my first attempt.

I had this center piece just the width it is here and started with that.  Of course, as you can see, I added two solid fabrics right off!  The mustard gold piece was just wide enough to cut into two to put on either side of the center panel.  The rose and blue/pink piece I had the most of, but used it all up in

Crafting for Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes Report ~ My Finished Items

Do you remember awhile back I shared the supplies I had planned out to craft for an Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift with a pillow case style dress as the anchor?  Here are the finished products.

As I shared in my original post, Choosing Fabric & Yarn to Craft for OCC,  I focused on the teal from the flip flops. Then I choose my fabric and bias tape and focused on the orange and teal colors.  I added a hat and scarf and a purse to match using the orange and teal theme.  I thought the little purple platypus and "pocket Pelican" Tiny Beanie Babies matched the bright colors perfectly.  I will add school supplies, hygiene items and some more toys to complete the box.

You can find the instructions for the basic pillow case style dress and hat & scarf in these earlier posts (I haven't written up the instructions for the little purse):

• Simple Pillow Case Style Dress Instructions ~ How To Sew A Pillowcase Dress from Fabric
• Double Crochet Front Post Crochet Scarf Pattern (With Link to Hat Pattern)

Upcycled Ladies' Skirts to Little Girls' Dresses for Operation Christmas Child Sheoboxes

Finished Dresses

My daughter was gathering items to donate to Goodwill and knew that I was interested in upcycling items into new gifts for my Operation Christmas Child Shoebox gifts.  She had these two cotton skirts that were perfect for turning into pillowcase style dresses for a 2 to 4 years old girl's shoebox!

Thankful to Give to Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Collection

Thankful to see this sweet little one in Uganda in a dress I made.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving here in the United States, my mind and heart agree that I am thankful to be on the giving end of the Operation Christmas Child shoebox.

May I work harder than ever this year to share with those in need, encourage and inspire others who also give, and next Thanksgiving may I be able to look back and be thankful for what I have been privileged to accomplish.

Happy Thanksgiving!