Final Day of the Choose Joy auction for Ashley

Good morning!
Just a quick reminder that Choose Joy Auction, being held to benefit the phenomenal Ashley of LBB ends tonight!
The outpour of LOVE and SUPPORT that is being shed upon Ashley is so remarkable.
It is a true reflection of the positive impact Ashley has made on so many people!
If you haven’t yet, please take a few minutes and head over to the auction – HERE

 

Bidding will be open until this evening and you really don’t want to miss out on this one!
There are so many AWESOME items up for grabs! So many of my favorite shops/photographers/designers have donated some really incredible items! The women of Team Ashley did a fantastic job organizing this event!
What is so sensational about this auction is that the bidders are giving SO generously! It is truly heartwarming!

Here’s another look at the dress that I have donated (I’m offering it to the winner in their choice of size)

This sweet dress is a limited edition designed especially for this auction (read more here)
I will be making this dress exclusively for the winner of the auction; that’s it. So if you are interested in owning this adorable version of my very popular “Birdie” dress – PLEASE get your bids in! HERE is the direct link. :)


If you haven't had the pleasure of "meeting" Ashley yet, please visit www.lilblueboo.com
You will not be disappointed!  Her blog is GREAT! You will laugh, cry, and be motivated to create! She is a true talent!

Have a beautiful day my friends!

Preview–The Choose Joy Auction for Ashley of LBB

Good morning friends!
Just FOUR days until the Choose Joy Auction, being held to benefit the phenomenal Ashley of LBB!
I am SO excited for this sure-to-be-epic auction. I have seen just a few of the HUNDREDS of donations that will be up for grabs and they are AWESOME!

Here’s a sneak peek of the dress that I have donated (I’m offering it to the winner in their choice of size)



It is a sweet little "Birdie" style dress, featuring a deep inverted pleat and a single button closure in the back. I just love this classic style! The fabric is one of my new favs; the warm gold/brown combination is perfect for all seasons and the bright white flowers remind me of the "wishing flowers" I would search for as a child. I loved finding one, making a wish, and blowing the fluffy white pieces into the sky. Every day I am praying for Ashley and wishing her the best; so this fabric seemed perfect for my auction piece. I hope ya'll love it!

Don’t forget friends, February 27-29th is when the BIG auction is taking place! :)  Click here for more details!

The Daydream Believer Project: Choose Joy for LBB

This month, I am participating in Choose Joy Auction for Ashley!
This awesome auction will benefit the phenomenal Ashley of Lil Blue Boo.
I have so much love and respect for Ashley; she is truly AMAZING!
Please join me in CHOOSING JOY and honoring Ashley by spreading the word about this event!

Be sure to clear your calendars for February 27-29th - that's when the BIG auction is taking place and you are not going to want to miss out on this! Click here for more details!

Until then, Ashley’s inspirational “Rite of Passage” is now on you tube {here} ♥ Please share this video and if you would, give it a “like” - Ashley epitomizes grace and strength; it would be amazing if this beautiful video went viral!

Be sure to check back tomorrow for a sneak peek of the item I’ve donated to the auction! :)

Spread a Little Love Recap

THANKS again  to everyone who sent in a nomination for Spread A Little Love!
Here’s a peek into the lovely packages we sent out -

Along with their custom outfits; each girl received some fun jewels & accessories

Each package was filled with pink, hearts, ribbons and frills :) Pure girly fun!

Speaking of pure girly fun, haha, SO my daughters LOVE that mumma makes clothes and sends them to girls all around the world! Whenever I’m sewing, they always ask a dozen questions about the little girl I’m sewing for – they want to know her name, how old she is, where we’re mailing the package too… it’s super sweet! They think each one of my clients are their friends and they will often color a special picture or write a little note for me to include and send to the little recipients of my clothes. :) Both of my girls were SO excited about Spread the Love! They told everyone they saw about our special surprise mission ;) I love that at such young ages they understand and enjoy spreading kindness. Anyways – they wanted to contribute to the Spread the Love packages, so I let them decorate the envelopes…

… oh yes, rainbows, unicorns, princesses, fairies… pure girly fun!

I hope all of the lucky little sweeties LOVED their special surprises! :)

Don’t ya just love making people smile? ;)

All the details about the next Daydream Believer Project will be posted tomorrow! Yea!

7 Simple Tips for Maintaining Creative Integrity

Plagiarism is plagiarism – there are no excuses.

Imagine a student, Jane, is sitting in class and looks at a poem that her classmate wrote.
The poem is well written and creative. Jane decides to write the exact same poem.
Since she agrees with everything that her classmate wrote, it’s not a problem that Jane copied the work, is it? What if Jane explained that she “was inspired” by the other student’s work? Would it then be ok for her to replicate her classmates’ original work? No, of course not.


Being inspired by something and re-creating something are two VERY different things!


There are many talented people out there who, thankfully, are brave enough to share their work with the world.

The current online creative movement has created a wonderful venue for sharing ideas. It is SO fun to be a part of! For the most part, the majority of bloggers and shop owners I have dealt with are wonderful! Creative, talented, encouraging. But, unfortunately, there are some people out there who are inappropriately using the work of others; blatantly stealing ideas and sometimes stealing actual photos and passing them off as their own; it’s disheartening!

I feel a bit out of place blogging about such a negative issue; but with the rapid growth of sites like Pinterest, I feel the topic of creative integrity is too important for me to not address.

PLEASE, respect the artists/designers/writers/stylists/bloggers/musicians/photographers/crafty-mummas who so bravely and so selflessly share their talents with the world, by following these simple tips:

- Do not steal or duplicate someone else’s work and pass it off as your own.

- Never re-create a tutorial or project then post it on your site as an original.

- Always, always give credit and link-back to the original author/designer when featuring their work.

- DO NOT attempt to profit off of an idea/photo/tutorial that is not your OWN work!

- Respect copyrights laws and image licenses; always ask permission before sharing someone’s work. 

- Do not use online boutiques or shopping sites (like Etsy) as search engines for your next project; the items for sale in these shops are someone else’s work – BE AN ORIGINAL!

- If you are genuinely inspired by the work of a fellow artisan, BE HONEST about it! Contact the original designer, tell them you love their work, tell your friends/fans/readers about the original artist. SUPPORT the people you admire, don’t steal from them!

I enjoy blogging. I love sharing my work with all of you and in return; I love seeing the innovative ideas that my fellow bloggers share. It is essential that we maintain a high standard of creative integrity amongst our creative-blogging-community! Spread the word! ;)

Best,

Michelle

The new winner is...

Just a quick update - the original first place winner of the  1,000 fan giveaway did not come forward to claim her prize, so an alternate winner was selected. Congratulations to Michelle who will receive a limited edition Bliss dress from the Fall 2012 collection and a matching headband!
Thanks again to everyone who entered! :)

And the winners are…

Congratulations to the three lucky winners of the 1,000 fan giveaway!
They are….

1,000 fan giveaway!

Last week, The Daydream Believers Facebook Page reached 1,000 fans!

{Yea!} 

To celebrate, I'm giving away one, two, THREE *awesome* prizes!
It means SO much to me to have ya’ll following along! I want to say THANK YOU in a BIG way!

Want to see the prizes?!


First Place winner will receive a limited edition Bliss dress from the Fall 2012 collection!
That’s right! You can win a dress 8 months before it is released to the public for sale! :)
The sweet dress will be made especially for the winner, in winner’s choice of size (2-8)
*PLUS* I’m including a made-to-match headband!





Second Place winner will receive a custom four tier "Bowie" tutu in their choice of size and colors (nb-8)





Third Place winner will receive a pair of my super-popular ruffle legwarmers in their choice of size (nb-10)



This giveaway is to say THANK YOU to each and every Daydream Believers' follower - so - I’ve decided not to limit the number of prizes one winner can win! Which means, if you qualify for 10 entries and your number is drawn three times, you will win ALL three prizes! That’s over $100 worth of handmade loveliness!

Want to win? It's EASY! Here's how!

Using the rafflecopter widget below, simply follow the steps indicated to enter your name into the raffle :) While it is not required, if you follow Daydream Believers via the blog, facebook, and twitter, you will have TEN chances to win! {Yea!}

BEE sure to follow each step!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GOOD LUCK and THANKS for supporting Daydream Believers! xo M*

**The Fine Print**
The 1,000 Fan Giveaway ends Friday, February 10, 2012 at 12:01am EST.
Winner(s) will be selected at random using random.org via rafflecopter. A full
list of winners will be posted on daydreambelievers.net on Friday, 02/10/12.
Winner(s) will have until 02/15/12 to claim their prize, or said prize will be forfeited.

Custom Elmo Dresses Available for a Limited Time

I have had a lot of inquiries about ordering this custom Elmo dress, so I’ve decided to make this style available to the public for a limited time! 

The fabric is a special order and not something I normally keep in stock; so I will be accepting orders for one week or until 10 dresses have been ordered. Dresses will ship in late February/early March. The dress is available for purchase without the applique` for $30.00. Or you can add a handcrafted, machine sewn applique in your choice of number or letter for just $5.00!  Get all the details and pre-order your dress here!

--DON’T FORGET the BIG 1,000 fan giveaway starts tomorrow morning (6am!) You do not want to miss this one!--

Spread a Little LOVE. Recap

Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU {from the bottom of my heart} for enthusiastically supporting the
Spread a Little LOVE event! The response to this campaign was AWESOME!

I am so excited to tell you that, ALL of the pieces were matched with a recipient! YEA!

I are so grateful to the many women who took the time to write and send in a nomination.
The response this event was everything I had hoped it would be! I really do have THE BEST fans and friends!

I plan to continue growing the Daydream Believer Project by organizing events like “Spread a Little LOVE” and supporting other fabulous charitable events going on in the blogosphere! ;) THANKS for all the support!

Speaking of support… last week, the Daydream Believer’s Facebook page hit (and passed!) 1,000 fans! Whoo!
I have a BIG surprise planned to celebrate! I think you’re going to LOVE it – everyone loves free clothes, right? ;)
Be sure to check in on Friday morning for all the details! :)