Christmas Shoes

Thank you to everyone who shared my GIVE AWAY on their blog!

Thank you to everyone who posted a link to my GIVE AWAY on Facebook!

Thank you to everyone who purchased a bottle cap necklace!

Thank you to everyone who made my Christmas wish come true!

I received orders for 314 necklaces and 1 very generous donation (thanks Aunt Tamara)!!!

Together we were able to raise $1870 and...

All 42 new children at Kind Hearts will have new shoes!!!

All 21 new children at Trees of Glory will have new shoes!!!

AND

40 of the children at Kechene will have new shoes!!!

That's 103 new pairs of shoes!!!!

34 really cool people left me extremely sweet comments and were entered into my GIVE AWAY.  Everyone's name went into a bag for the drawing and the lucky winner is...

LORI LAUGHNER!!!

Congratulations Mrs. Laughner !! 
You have won 10 necklaces of your choice!

I will keep making necklaces to buy shoes for the rest of the kids at Kechene.  Many of the kids there are hoping to have someone who will sponsor them and provide them with the things they need.  When Greta, the coordinator for Kechene, wrote to me about the kids there, this is what she said:

...They are desperate for food, shoes, new uniforms, and teacher's salaries. The children are well behaved and well mannered. They range from age 5-12 and are single orphaned children and most of them are destitute. They are malnourished, yet the most joyful children you have ever seen.  Some of their shoes had their toes pointing right through the front of them.  The sweaters of all the uniforms were frayed and the wrong sizes. When watching some of the children interact with the teachers, you could tell they loved them and the teachers back to the children. It was an amazing place to be.  I saw hope in the teachers' eyes and the director's words. They said, "You are an answer to our prayers."




To learn more about sponsoring a child at Kechene, you can contact my friend Greta Byers at greta-givemeyoureyes.blogspot.com.

Here are a few pictures that Karen Wistrom took during the November mission trip of kids wearing their new shoes:

Peace... Love... Do Good,

Sami

203 pairs of shoes

SOMETHING FUN:  The winner of my GIVE AWAY, Mrs. Laughner, wanted to share 5 of her necklaces.  She had the fun idea of doing another drawing.  The next name I drew was Jennifer Bridges!!!  When I told Mrs. Bridges the good news, she told me which 5 necklaces she wanted and then bought 5 more necklaces and asked me to draw another name for a 3rd winner!!!  I drew the name Tracy Wages!  Congratulations Mrs. Wages!!!  You have also won 5 necklaces of your choice!

All I Want for Christmas is…60 Pairs of Shoes

As I mentioned in my last blog post, there are 42 new kids at Kind Hearts that are hoping to be matched with sponsor families in the United States. There are also 18 new children that have just joined the group at Trees of Glory. I thought how great it would be if we could raise the funds to buy a new pair of shoes for each of these kids this Christmas season.

$18 will buy a good pair of custom made shoes for these children. For most, it will be the first pair of new shoes they have ever had. For some, it may be the only pair of shoes they have ever had. I figure it will cost $1080.00. I have $215 ready to be sent to a special shoe fund at Children’s HopeChest for these kids. That means I need to sell 173 more necklaces!!  I have a bunch of new designs that Becky Burk (Adopt Africa Designs) made especially for us!! I think they are adorable. You can see more detailed images to the left under "Designs".

I need your help to spread the word, which is why I am having a GIVE AWAY!!!! On December 18, I will have a drawing and one person will win ANY 10 NECKLACES of their choice!! To have your name entered into the drawing, all you have to do is share my blog. You can post a link either on your blog or facebook page and then leave me a comment in the comments section of this post.

This is great news for you because bottle cap necklaces make super cute gifts!! They would be perfect for your friends, your kids, your grandkids, your parents and grandparents, your brothers and sisters, your nieces and nephews, your coaches, your teachers, your mailman, your babysitter, your youth pastor, your dog walker, Barack Obama, your orthodontist, your school mascot, your favorite barrista, your bus driver…you get the idea – pretty much everybody! I will include a little note with each necklace letting the person who receives it know that a donation was made to help buy shoes for orphans in Ethiopia. Who wouldn’t love that?!?

Because I want you to receive your necklaces in time for Christmas, I will finish all orders everyday and my mom will go to the post office everyday…because moms love to do that :0) My dad will provide all of the supplies so that 100% of your purchase will be donated!!

So…if you please, order some necklaces, share it on your blog, post a link on Facebook, and leave me a comment. Come back often for updates and to find out if you are the winner!!

Read more about the kids at Kind Hearts and Trees of Glory and find out how to sponsor a child at Karen Wistrom’s blog, Family from Afar.

Peace…Love...Do Good!!
Merry Christmas,
Sami
Over 100 pairs of shoes so far!!

Note: Bottle cap necklaces are not water-proof and are not for small children. You may experience overwhelming joy while wearing your bottle cap necklace. Normal side effects include: compliments from strangers and looks of admiration. If these symptoms occur, continue to wear your necklace and share my blog. When given as a gift, people may have a heightened sense of how cool you really are. Children should not be fed broccoli more than once a month, but should always receive dessert before and after every meal.  If you feel sad because you want to place an order but don't have a PayPal account, just send me an e-mail using the "Contact Me" button in the column on the left.

UPDATE:  I've been crazy busy over the past  6 days.  A whole bunch of really cool people have been ordering necklaces and sharing my blog!!  We have met our goal and will be able to provide shoes for all 60 new kids at Trees of Glory and Kind Hearts!!!  I am still getting orders and will be using the extra money to buy shoes for Kechene Orphanage, another Children's HopeChest care point where over 55 kids are enrolled!!

Here's an amazing video where you can see a little bit of Kechene Orphanage:  http://vimeo.com/3565906

Ethiopia

We had an awesome time in Ethiopia. It was great to meet my new brother. We are waiting on one more piece of paperwork so we can officially call him ours. The day we met him (Metcha Day) he came out with a big smile and many hugs and kisses for us. He wanted constant attention…and balloons :). He is adorable from his little feet to his face with those big brown eyes.

We also spent a day with the children at Kind Hearts. This is one of the care points that receives the funds raised when you buy one of my necklaces. On the ride to Kind Hearts we picked up some fruit and powdered milk to go with the treats and little gifts that were to be given to the kids there. As they opened the door of the school the kids came running out and showered us with hugs and kisses. We brought many beach balls to play with while we were there. We played the Ethiopian version of Duck, Duck, Goose. One of the best things about going there was getting to meet our sponsor child, Biruk. He was shy, but still played catch with us. It was great to spend some time with him.

We were surprised to find out that 42 more children had arrived at Kind Hearts and needed sponsor families. If you want to know more about how you can help out these amazing children, visit Karen Wistrom’s blog,
Family from Afar. I also hope to raise enough money for 42 new pairs of shoes!! $18 buys a good custom-made pair of shoes for one of these children. Order a bottle cap necklace and 100% of your purchase will be donated to Children’s HopeChest for the shoe fund.

Be sure to visit soon for new designs! Bottle cap necklaces would make great Christmas gifts!

Peace…Love…Do Good,
Sami

I'm Outta Here

Tomorrow my family and I will be on a plane and going to Ethiopia.  Our plane trip is going to take 22 hours just to get there.  Other than my homework, I know that this will be a very exciting trip.  I can't wait to see my little brother and play with him.  I wonder what he will think about me. We got our court date and it is scheduled for November 4. 

All necklace orders received after today will be sent on November 9th.  Please keep us in your prayers as we are overseas.

Peace...Love...Do Good
Sami

A note to my neighbors:  I'll see you in two weeks when I show up at your door for Trick-or-Treating.  I will be dressed as a jet-lagged tween desperate for candy.

Kind Hearts and Trees of Glory

On November 13, a team of 16 people will be traveling to Ethiopia from the United States with my bloggy friend, Mrs. Wistrom, and Children’s HopeChest. While they are there, they will be visiting and loving the kids at Kind Hearts and Trees of Glory care points. They have a lot of projects they want to complete and I thought it would be cool to help raise some funds with some new bottle cap necklace designs.

Becky Burk is an adoptive mama to a little boy from Ethiopia and sponsors a little girl at Kind Hearts and a little boy at Trees of Glory. She came up with the cute designs above just for this fundraiser. I think that these new designs are extremely spectacular (thanks Mrs. Burk).

100% of all purchases made now through November 13 will go to a special account that will be used for construction projects for classrooms at the care-points. By purchasing a bottle cap necklace from Little Goody 2-Shoes, you can help build a classroom in Ethiopia!! How COOL is that???!!!

I would love it if you would help spread the word.

Peace… Love… Do Good :)
Sami

PS. We’ve reached over 100 pairs of shoes!!!

UPDATE!!!  Thanks to everyone that has purchased a necklace, we will be able to donate OVER $1000 for the November mission trip!!!

Football Love

I LOOOOOOVE football. Okay, not really. But I do love really cute football necklaces - and the concession stand :) And this week I am sharing six new designs for all of you "football-loving" and "not-so-football-loving" girls and ladies. My brother's football team had their first game last week. While I might not watch most of the game and will spend quite a bit of time running around with friends, I will show my support for him by wearing an adorable bottle cap football necklace. You can get on the ball too and show your support by ordering a football necklace from Little Goody 2-Shoes. And...the kicker is as always 100% of your purchase will help buy shoes for children in Ethiopia!! That makes everybody a winner!!

Go Bears!!

Sami ~ 90 pairs of shoes!!

Give a Hoot!

I have a new set of designs that I call "Give a Hoot." There are 5 different images of funky fun flowers and outrageous owls. It's a wise way to accessorize and do a little good. As always, 100% of your purchase will be donated to Children's HopeChest to help buy shoes for kids in Ethiopia.

From left to right, the Give a Hoot designs are called:

1. Peek a Boo Owl
2. Funky Flowers on Blue
3. Blue Stripe Owl
4. Flower & Owl
5. Funky Flower on Black

UPDATE!! Thanks to everyone who has supported Little Goody 2-Shoes, I have sold 255 necklaces so far!! That's $1275 OR 70 pairs of shoes!!

WOO HOO HOO!!! THANK YOU!!!

Send a Message in a Bottle Cap

Bottle cap necklaces are very popular right now and would make a great gift. Anyone would be happy to receive this sweet surprise in the mail. If you would like to purchase a necklace as a gift, I will include a message from you and a note letting them know that their gift also helped buy a pair of shoes for a child in Ethiopia.

I have an awesome new design to share with you today. It is called Bright Dot and can be made with any initial you would like. All of my girlfriends really like this design. It is also available with the phrase Cutie Pie and LOL.

If you want to buy a Bright Dot Initial necklace, simply type the initial you would like in the text box provided. Please include any gift messages in Paypal's "Special Instructions to Merchant" at checkout.

Cute necklace, special gift, big smiles, good shoes for $5 = great bargain!

100% of your purchase will help buy shoes for children in Ethiopia :)

Peace...Love...Do Good - Sami (39 pairs of shoes :)

Bunches of Bottle Caps

Wow!! Today has been busy, crazy, and fun! During my first day selling my necklaces through my blog, I have sold 40 necklaces!! That's $200!! That's 11 new pairs of shoes!!
Some of the necklaces were sold to my friends at gymnastics. Some were sold to other AWAA families. Most were sold to people I don't even know! Thank you to everyone who purchased a necklace. It makes me happy to know that 11 kids will have new shoes.

Peace...Love...Do Good :)
Sami
(17 pairs of shoes)

Africa Custom Designs

Today I am sharing my Africa bottle cap necklaces. The images were designed by Becky Burk. Mrs. Burk adopted a little boy from Ethiopia through America World Adoption Association (AWAA). There are three funky designs to choose from. I love them all. Click on the picture for a bigger view. Each necklace comes with a 24-inch chain. The cost is
$5 + $1 S&H per necklace and can be ordered to the left with the PayPal button. 100% of your purchase will be donated to Children's Hopechest to buy shoes for the kids in Ethiopia. If you have questions, you can click on the "Contact Me" button at the bottom of the page.



Peace... Love... Do Good!
Sami

Shoppin' for Shoes

Hi! Welcome to my very first blog! I am excited to let you know that our family is adopting a little boy from Ethiopia. We got our referral just last week. We can't share any information yet, but I can tell you this...he's really cute!

Since we started the adoption process, I have been learning a lot about the kids in Ethiopia. One thing I've learned is that they go without many of the things I take for granted - like shoes. Many of the kids there go barefoot and good shoes are a luxury. I have been reading the blog "Family from Afar" about the Wistrom family. Mrs. Wistrom, the mother, helps find sponsors for children in Ethiopia through Children's Hopechest. She took these pictures when she was there.

When I see pictures like this, it makes me want to help. So my mom and I thought it would be a good idea to start a blog to share my bottlecap necklaces. All of the money will go toward buying shoes for kids through Children's Hopechest. A good pair of leather shoes with thick soles costs $18. I will keep track of how many shoes we buy. I have lots of designs to choose from and lots of fun ideas. I'll post new ones from time to time.

Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope you will come back often.
Sami

(6 pairs so far!!)