"Dressed In Joy" Dress Update...

Dressed In Joy - Brynwood Needleworks l-r: Donna L., Linda L., Linda and Jill B.

I just completed two days of unadulterated fun! When I arrived at Lake Nona's Village Walk Town Center, Linda and Linda II (from our Clermont - Heritage Hills "Dresses For Love" work group), and Jill B. (who came from Palm Harbor) with her friend and our newest member, Brenda were waiting for me. They unloaded my Explorer and brought all our dresses inside.

We were honored and proud to contribute TWO HUNDRED dresses!

Dressed In Joy and Dressed In Hope Members Meeting For The First Time

We met the ladies from "Dressed In Hope" (which is our local connection to "Dress A Girl Around The World") and learned more about how their program works, and areas where we can "tweak" our dresses and dolls. They also explained how the dresses are distributed and how we fit into their goals.

Karen from Dressed In Hope Explains Alternate Dolls

Karen from "Dressed In Hope" explained that we can also contribute knitted or crocheted dolls in lieu of the fabric versions. We just want to choose "cuddly" animals for our dolls. You know...bunnies, kittens, dogs, teddies...not fish or squid or...well, you get the idea. In future, we'll include a doll for every dress we contribute.

Joyce from Dressed In Hope, Painting Doll Heads

I caught a photo of Joyce, their official face painter. I also managed to get a pattern for the larger dolls, which I'll scan today and add to our "Dressed In Joy" FaceBook page under the "files" tab.

Dressed In Joy Meets Dressed In Hope. Monica, Donna and Karen With Our Dresses.

Monica and Karen - Ambassadors with "Dressed In Hope" - were so excited to receive our dresses. We got them two hundred dresses closer to their one thousand dress goal for 2015! 

They looked at every single dress we donated and were oooh-ing and ahhh-ing at all the lovely designs. If you are in any way a part of our group - either through dressmaking, dollmaking, contributions or cheerleading - you can be proud your part in our accomplishment.

Dressed In Joy Members, Linda L., Linda, Donna, Jill and Brenda With Our Dresses

There were many photographs taken, and I've shared most of them in our FaceBook group already. I wish that every one of you involved in our effort could have attended. It really was so very much fun.

I want to thank all the participants in our group for being a part of our shared goal. Without you, this effort would have been a simple dream...my wish unfulfilled. Each of you made it a reality. 

These dresses are deeply appreciated by me, but will be one treasured gift for every one of the two hundred little girls we will likely never meet. You're all generous angels who unselfishly provided joy and hope for so many children. My heart is full and I'm humbled beyond measure. God Bless You All.

DRESSED IN JOY - VALENTINE DRESS DRIVE

Now...I learned a long time ago that, if you sit around on your laurels, all you get is crushed laurels. So, I'm going to set our next dress drive deadline now. 

This time, we're going to shoot for THREE HUNDRED dresses to be delivered in February. I'm calling this our Valentine Dress Drive, and our deadline is February 13, 2016. Please mark your calendars and set your personal goals. 

You can begin making dresses any time between now and then. You can save them to send after the first of the year, or you can send them to me anytime and they will count toward this drive.

PLUS!

I'm going to make ONE unique Brynwood Clutch Wallet especially for this drive. The dressmaker who makes the most dresses by the deadline will WIN the wallet! I'll be creating this wallet in the next couple of weeks, and will post photos as soon as it's done.

Are you ready? Here we go again.