"Zaza" Came Home

Our Bags for Zaza fundraiser has been wrapped up for awhile now. But I was just doing some cleaning and I noticed we forgot one important update:

"Zaza" came home in December 2010. She was 7 years old and that time and it's all just been SO AMAZING.

Thanks again for your help!

Important Updates!

Hi All,

It's been awhile, eh? I didn't really close things off neatly here as I'd kept hoping to start up again. Well, that hasn't happened, but Linda, Zaza's Momma-in-waiting, has fired up a new blog site and she and Grace are sewing up a storm.

http://bagsforzaza.wordpress.com/

And even more exciting - Rick and Linda, Zaza's Parents-in-waiting, have topped the waitlist and their file is now being sent to the region in Colombia where Zaza is waiting! They should have a referral, with name and photo, in 30-60 days! Stay in touch with the process at Zaza's Adoption Blog.

And finally, I never reported how much we raised in total: $6869.61! Not bad for sewing together a bunch of scraps? I'm still using my bag daily ... are you?

Thank you all again for your support and we look forward to seeing you over at the new site:

http://bagsforzaza.wordpress.com/

Patty H.

Patty H. - you've won Fuzzy Dots!

Please email BagsforZaza@gmail.com within 1 week to arrange payment and postage/pickup.

Thank you for your support in this adventure to adopt a Colombian orphan.

Fuzzy Dots

Hi All,

Egads. Do we have any readers left? Life got silly, busy, stressful, etc. and BFZ went by the wayside. But here we are again ... plugging along. Thanks to those of you who are still around. Tell your friends!

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Fuzzy Dots was created by Grace and is located in Phoenix, AZ.

Click on any picture for a larger view.

Bid on this bag by leaving your name and a bid in the comments section. Bidding starts at $30 and increases by whole $s please. Highest bidder at 8pm on Mon, August 24th gets the BAG! Postage extra.

This beautiful bag is made from a collection of various types and styles of fabrics. The deep brown is a sturdy cotton. The light sea foam green was a darling little jacket. The Fuzzy Dots are a sample that is silk and velvet... over $100/yd!

The front flap is decorated with a little handmade flower with three turquoise beads in the center. It tops the turquoise, tan and brown grosgrain ribbon trim.

Under the flap is a section from the front of the jacket with the pocket still functional. The perfect size for a blackberry or a Zune. The brown fabric with the flocked white flowers trims the edge of three pockets. The buttons are the dividers.

The cell pocket is trimmed with fuzzy dots and a delicate turquoise cotton braid. The same braid was used on the back side of the flap.

Inside Fuzzy Dots are three more pockets, two on one side and one on the other.

The back of the bag has one larger pocket of the silk and velvet dots topped with the chocolate cotton.

The strap measures 45 inches and has decorative stitching on each side.

The bag is a tad smaller than the usual BFZ size. It is 11" across, 9 1/2 " tall and 3" deep.

About the Bags ~ FAQs ~ How to Bid

Ooops

I thought bidding was closing last night - but apparently I lost a day.

V Y Rober "won" both items.

I just happen to know Mrs. V Y Rober and she's a lovely lovely lady and I want to take this opportunity to thank her from the bottom of my heart for being so supportive of this fundraiser and for being such a wonderful, loving Grandma to me for the last 38 years.

I love you Grandma.

Something New ... Something Wonderful

Hey all! We're back with two new items for you to bid on.

• Jennie Lynn - an adorable, highly-detailed fabric doll (so exciting)
• Peony Place - a wonderful messenger bag by Grace

Bid on the items by leaving your name and a bid in the comments section. Bidding increases by whole $s please. Highest bidder at 8pm on Tue, July 21 gets the BAG (or DOLL)! Postage extra.

All proceeds go towards Zaza's adoption.

About the Bags ~ FAQs ~ How to Bid

P.S. A friend of mine is in the process of adopting from Ethiopia. They just got the horrible news that their agency (who they've paid all their fees to) has declared bankruptcy. Please pray.

Jennie Lynn

Jennie Lynn was created by Linda and is located in Phoenix, AZ.

Click on any picture for a larger view.

Bid on this doll by leaving your name and a bid in the comments section. Bidding starts at $40 and increases by whole $s please. Highest bidder at 8pm on Tue, July 21 gets the DOLL! Postage extra.

I just finished reading Before Green Gables which is the prequel to Anne of Green Gables, but not written by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Still, it captured Anne's spirit and vocabulary endearingly. I have also been thinking of making a stuffed teddy bear for Zaza with clothes that she could dress it in. But, in the story, Anne received a teddy bear from one of her foster parents and she wishes the whole time that it could have truly been a doll. Her first doll ever, with puffed sleeves and long blond hair.

So, I made Jennie Lynne... and love her. But then decided that I want Zaza's doll to have a slightly darker skin tone and black hair. So we decided to offer Jennie Lynne on Bags for Zaza... the first Doll for Zaza.

Jennie Lynne is made of vintage linen from my grandmother's fabric collection. She's got a few freckles about and is soft and squishy, like all dolls should be. Her heart is embroidered with soft pink floss.

Her hair is made of pale blond chenille yarn which will stand up to years of combing with a wide toothed comb. It won't unravel like yarn. The ponytails are tied in light pink satin ribbons are stitched to her head as well as the bonnet. All the ribbons have "no fray" on the edges, for longer life. The brim of the bonnet has buckram sewn in to keep it stiff so the sun won't shine in her eyes.

Jennie Lynne's face is an iron-on design that has been enhanced with colored pencils. Her eyes are a beautiful clear blue. She stands 19" tall and is filled with soft fiberfill, yet her neck has a wide craft stick inserted so she will always look straight into your little girl's eyes.

All of Jennie Lynne's clothes are made of 100% cotton and can be machine or hand washed and tumbled dry. They might need a light iron touch up.

Her pantaloons have an elastic waist and pink satin ribbons adorning the fronts of the lace cuffs. The fabric matches the bonnet.

Her dress is made of a tiny flower print of soft rose, has elastic at the wrists and closes with two tiny snaps at the back. Three miniature white buttons grace the bodice for fanciness, as well as a pocket for her to hide her treasures. There is also scalloped eyelet at her neckline.

The apron is made of eyelet fabric and has gathered eyelet ruffles over the shoulders. It ties in the back, so Jennie Lynne will need help doing that up.

Jennie Lynne is so soft and cuddly, any little girl will love to hold her and snuggle with her.

About the Bags ~ FAQs ~ How to Bid

Peony Place

Peony Place was created by Grace and is located in Phoenix, AZ.
Click on any picture for a larger view.

Bid on this bag by leaving your name and a bid in the comments section. Bidding starts at $35 and increases by whole $s please. Highest bidder at 8pm on Tue, July 21 gets the BAG! Postage extra.

This week I called the bag Peony Place which the name of the designer fabric. Peony Place is a rich bag constructed with designer fabric samples averaging over $75 per yd. Thanks to my friend Cheryl being at the right place at the right time when they were offered to anyone who could use them! She thought of me and Bags for Zaza!

It is comprised of neutral colors to wear with many outfits. The flap has an off-white 100% floral embossed cotton fabric and a black and white cotton fabric with gold butterflies and white peony’s. I added gold braid for an elegant touch.

The back has the black floral fabric and a silk and cotton blend material with raised polka dots for the double pocket. I decorated the pocket with a silk striped fabric and a vintage off-white button.

Don't forget to click on each picture to see the fabulous textures up close.

I used the above three fabrics on the under flap making sure I put one of the cute butterflies where it shows. The front of the bag is the black floral, the off-white and I found a striped raised fabric that had the same colors for the center of the pocket. I topped it with gold and off-white silk and a vintage button.

The side or cell pocket is black floral with a gold silk border which I used my new sewing machine embroidery stitch for the delicate leaf pattern.

I also decorated the straps with the same gold silk and leaf pattern and used the sturdy polka dot fabric lined with black for the main part of the strap. It measures 42” and is all one piece.

The inside of the bag has a large double pocket made with a designer chenille polka dot fabric. I topped it with silk and a black ribbon. I love the black vintage button I found to secure the top of the pocket. The back lining is heavy off-white cotton topped with black and I had fun using a decorative stitch to add interest.

The bag measures 12 ½ X 11 X 3 inches.

About the Bags ~ FAQs ~ How to Bid

Sleepy Head Me

I have some sort of exhaustion cooties or something right now and last night I couldn't achieve a vertical state long enough to announce this week's Bag Biddies. But here I am now! Wakey wakey, eggs and breaky!

• Swallowdale -- Kristin -- $35
  
• Through Every Season -- J.A. -- $25
• The Cricket in Times Square -- Kinneyland -- $32

Please email BagsforZaza@gmail.com within 1 week to arrange payment and postage/pickup.

Thank you again (we can't say it enough) for your continued support in this adventure to adopt a Colombian orphan.

Another bag will be posted tomorrow (Wed) morning.

Linda's Been a Busy Girl

Linda's caught the sewing bug! In other news, her son caught a different kind of bug.

Linda's bags for this week are:

• Swallowdale
• Through Every Season
• The Cricket in Times Square
  

Bid on a bag by leaving a name and a bid in the comments section for the bag you want. Or you can just leave chatty comments as well. The highest bidder at 8pm (PST) on Monday, July 13th gets the bag and ALL profits are put towards Zaza's adoption!

Please make sure to check back and contact me if you're the highest bidder.

About the Bags ~ FAQs ~ How to Bid