Welcome 2009

I've done the math for our contributions to cancer research charity funds and the grand total for 2008 (beginning in March), including both shops, is:

 $2101.28! 

This represents the generous patronage of people like you for buying art from Paintingwell.etsy.com and HandmadeHelp.etsy.com. There were no independent contributions in either "team" at Stand Up 2 Cancer so it was simply Art  that may help bring help to those suffering from this treatable, crurable disease - at some point in the future.... who knows, maybe 2009!  We're going to keep beating the bushes for sales and support for this very worthy cause.

 

Also, we want to send out a very grateful thank you for those of you who have not only participated in making items to sell, supported the shops with giving your time and efforts at promotion and technical help, and of course,  to those who have given homes to these art works.

Bless you all.

Where the END of Cancer Begins..

I was so inspired by this article describing the top-notch research teams and oversight, I felt compelled to put the link on this blog. I know it can be daunting to follow these new paths being forged in order for scientists to work globally to conquer this disease. However, I am confident that one day we WILL be able to look back on cancer as being a thing of the past.

http://www.standup2cancer.org/blog_su2c/2008/12/a_progress_report_on_stand_up.php

Happy Holidays

We've been busy shipping gifts of giving!
Most of the pieces of art have been ordered from our sister shop, PaintingWell.etsy.com and here is a photo of the goodies that are standard inclusions in most shipments. That white wrapped package at the top with the green ribbon encloses the actual painting that was purchased - all the rest are freebies and information about cancer research.

We're closing down the studio for the holidays. Nothing will be produced until after the festivities have died down, but you can still buy! And, we'll be happy to send you an array similar to this one.

Happy Holidays, with much gratitude to all who have made this venture successful in raising and donating over a thousand dollars in our combined shops this year.

Blessings to you all.

Give Giving

Special thanks to Phyllis for creating this outstanding article on shops which donate all or a portion of their sales to charitable groups. The time for giving is here, and choosing gifts that keep giving is a wonderful idea.
Here's the link;
http://personaltreasures.blogspot.com/2007/11/give-gifts-that-give-twice-holiday.html

PERSONAL TREASURES: Give Gifts That Give Twice: Holiday Presents from ETSY that Support Charities

PERSONAL TREASURES: Give Gifts That Give Twice: Holiday Presents from ETSY that Support Charities

... with a little help from our friends...

AMAZING!

Our good and diligent friend, snagged a front page treasury, and within ONE day HandmadeHelp doubled the sales of the entire history of the shop.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Knme for continuing to put forward HandmadeHelp in your beautiful treasurys.

I'm going to try to get the Flikr version to come up at a photo... if not the link is:

http://flickr.com/photos/getglassy/3021377357/in/pool-etsyfrontpagers

GOING WITH THE FLOW

October sales were very weak. Just a little over a hundred dollars from HandmadeHelp since the beginning. Saddens me because it seems such a worthy cause. PaintingWell managed to net a bit more for cancer research, but this economic downturn is something we just can't control, so we're just trying to keep heads above water until things pick up.

Thanks to everyone who has given of your time, energy, donations, and interest. We all benefit.

If you want to keep an eye on the sea change, check out the "see your donations grow" in the last post under Stand Up To Cancer links.

GLITCH

I was so excited to be able to put in the donations to our Stand Up To Cancer Team today - being the last day of the month. But, being Halloween, the goblins are at play.

Keep an eye on out team, though, our meager donation will come soon.

Don't forget http://www.handmadehelp.etsy.com/ and http://www.paintingwell.etsy.com/ both contribute 100% of net sales to cancer research.

And, here are the places where you can see our donations grow:

http://www.standup2cancer.org/teams?tq=handmadehelp

http://www.standup2cancer.org/teams?tq=paintingwell

HAPPY HALLOWEEN !

We are always interested in the ways research is progressing toward new ways to treat, detect, and cure cancer.

Recently, this Public Broadcasting Program presented a fairly comprehensive overview of areas of study that have given some encouraging results.

If you are seeking information about how cancer researchers are proceeding, this site might be an entry point:

http://www.cancerstory.org/index.php/cancerstory/article/50/

Many thanks to those who have shown interest in furthering the much needed awareness of cancer research, and those of you who have donated your time and money. We ALL benefit.

And... what's up with HandmadeHelp, you ask? Well, we've just gotten the MOST stunning mini cards from : www.myminicards.com with wonderful reproductions of bits of paintings on one side and our pledge of 100% donations and our site addresses on the other. Everyone who's seen them has taken several. We're "johnny appleseeding" neighborhoods with them. Thanks "myminicards"!

THANKS from the bottom of our hearts!

YAY, we have money in our "Stand Up 2 Cancer" team fund. Check it out: http://www.standup2cancer.org/teams?tq=handmadehelp
And keep an eye for more donations for RESEARCH coming at the end of the month.
But, of course everyone's invited to donate now! Let us know and we'll send you something special...FREE.. to say thanks for helping. We're all SO thankful for these dollars which will inch us closer to finding a cure.

THANK YOU!

We've made some sales! YAY

This weekend I spent a good deal of time packing up items -- SO much fun. We even had international sales!

As soon as I'm sure about how to put the donation into the HandmadeHelp team at Stand Up 2 Cancer, I'm going to put the sales in right away. (Usually it's at the end of the month, but HEY, it's our first!)

So, please, go take a look at the "TEAM" site and watch as the donations account bar registers our progress toward our goal. Check it out: http://www.standup2cancer.org/teams?tq=handmadehelp

WE are a TEAM !

Since all the profits from sales made on HandmadeHelp.etsy.com are donated directly to "Stand Up To Cancer" the charitable organization which focuses on cancer research, and especially emerging scientific approaches, WE now have a team!

The address of the team is : http://www.standup2cancer.org/teams?tq=handmadehelp

Please join up. It doesn't cost anything to join and you can leave messages of encouragement for the rest of us.

Let's pull together against this disease.

SU2C=Stand Up To Cancer

YAY !! On September 5th there was an all network TV show introducing "STAND UP TO CANCER". This is exactly the cause Handmade Help has been promoting! RESEARCH! The science is at a point of being able to make an assault on cancer biology! There are 1.5 MILLION new cancer patients diagnosed in the US each year! About 4,000 people each day hear those words: "you have cancer." If you have heard those words you know your life is never the same afterward.


PLEASE, PLEASE! Now, more than ever, take notice, watch these video snippets to get more of the very important message that RESEARCH is what is so desparately needed.


This site has seven segments about 3 minutes long: http://www.standup2cancer.org/

The main link is http://www.standup2cancer.org/

To view the entire show: (about an hour) http://www.nbc.com/Movies_Specials_More/Stand_Up_To_Cancer/video/episodes/

Please watch Dr. Pausch's plea to congress.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iP7xr6ig-s&NR=1

This is such a powerful and truthful plea about why cancer needs everyone's attention. More research and funds are needed to help save our children, as well as our loved ones, and ourselves.

Another good video to watch for getting informed about current ideas of new ways to fight cancer are on a taping of the Charlie Rose show - Google his science series sponsored by Pfizer. Number four is on cancer. 

http://www.pfizer.com/think/episode_4.jsp

www.Handmadehelp.etsy.com is taking off to the northlands for a bit. We have a hurricane coming, so it is a good time to leave.

Check out the new items listed. We'll be ready to ship anything out when we return on Sept. 17.

Hope to be able to check in while we're away.

Thanks for the Super Support

Special thank you acknowledgements going out today:

Tennekka at Tennekka.etsy.com featured Handmade Help on her great blog: http://etsynewbie.blogspot.com and that might account for the new "hearts" the shop got today. Thanks SO much.

Annie at anngardesigns.etsy.com is donating one of her bracelets from her shop of HOPE and support for all those who need to hold on to hope: justplainhope.etsy.com She says the bracelet she's donating is the style that first sold in her shop, so we're HOPE-ing it will bring us luck.

Barbara Sengelmann, who continually resists my persistent badgering to open a shop on etsy for her fabulous photographs, has donated several beautiful scenes from her travels. The one we chose was a close up of flowers which look lovely on a note card. They're in the works and will be listed soon.

Thanks to all of you who have been so generous with your kind words and actions. A special thank you to Erik at erikendres.etsy.com for helping with a revision on our banner at handmadehelp.etsy.com . Big hearts, each and every one of you. Many many thanks.

Write to the government!

I'm bouyed by having received a comment from yesterday's post.
Today, here's your chance to write even a quick note to your legislator in Washington urging support for the Cancer Trust Fund bill. It's #HR6791.
Here's the link which will take you to a site where you can find out who is your representative and send them a note. It came through my ovarian alert mail, but it's for all cancers: http://capwiz.com/ovarian/issues/bills/?bill=11771076&size=full
Here's what the legislation says:
One of the last bills to be introduced before the Congressional recess was the Cancer Trust Fund bill, a piece of legislation that aims to fully fund cancer initiatives through the federal government. By raising the tax on cigarettes, Congress and cancer advocacy groups hope to accelerate the War on Cancer, declared in 1971. Since then the relative five year survival rate for ovarian cancer has increased from 38 percent to 45 percent, indicating that ovarian cancer needs more research, early detection and treatment. These issues, and others, are addressed in the Cancer Trust Fund bill.

Handmade help seems a pitiful effort in the face of all the suffering and all the funds needed. However, I'm just one person and it's all I can do, and I do all I can. All profits from sales go to four-star rated cancer research organizations. If you link to www.handmadehelp.etsy.com and go to policy section it tells you all about the contribution process.

All ideas are welcomed. Write if you have a light bulb going off. Or just write!

Cancer Research News

OK, lets get right to what Handmade Help is all about. Cancer research. Funds have been reduced to university researchers. This is where real objective research can be done.
Here's a news article about Pediatric Treatment research going on at the University of Florida at Gainsville: http://news.ufl.edu/2000/08/31/peds-onco/
Kids die of cancer too. There's still a stigma about the word "cancer" but there is also an association of it happening to the old and infirm "one foot in the grave" folk as well.
A cure for cancer, or more effective treatments will improve the lives of SO many people, children, mothers, sisters, brothers, fathers, grandparents. All of them.
Please support the cancer charity of your choice.

It seems as if www.HandmadeHelp.etsy.com is beginning to be noticed. This image, a detail of a larger original charcoal drawing, is featured in this treasury: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=251

Thanks SO much. There are some new items listed at Handmade Help today. Take a look

This painting might make a sale as a print. Any suggestions? It costs about 30 dollars to make a print and HandmadeHelp sells all original donated artwork, so this would be a departure.

Is it just me, or is this an all round good looking image?

Note cards maybe. We can hand craft them.

Two's Day

Did you ever have one thing in mind for your day then something else came up? Now there are TWO things trying to be in one Tues-day.

Here's the little image of "resting" I tried to upload yesterday without luck. I guess today the blogging wizards are all working and not resting. If you like it, there are more charcoal sketches, well one more, on www.handmadehelp.etsy.com.

Today is a wonder. Both of it.

Monday, Monday

Well, there's a lot of new items on http://www.handmadehelp.etsy.com/ check it out. I tried and tried to upload an image as a preview, but couldn't make it work. Last night's post, with image included, went SO smoothly I'd gotten confident.
We may be getting some new artists joining the collective. Stay tuned....

I owe so much to so many people for being able to get this whole enterprise of raising funds for cancer research - it's hard to know where to start. So, I'll start at the beginning. This painting is one by Luke, my step-son. He inspired me to begin painting. He has an etsy shop too. It is www.demianart.etsy.com Stop by to see some wonderful paintings.

Thank you Luke, with all my heart, for this inspiration, and so many others.

SATurday

Think the name of the day refers to what I did on SATurday?
Still buzzing about what to do and how to do it to make the new shop www.handmadehelp.etsy.com become a significant benefit for raising runds for cancer research.
So, I've put up a painting reminding me of what it feels like with my "thinking cap" on.
Don't forget to come see me at www.paintingwell.etsy.com

Oh 8 Oh 1 Oh 8

An auspicious date. Not for me, but maybe for someone?
The new shop (www.handmadehelp.etsy.com) is getting views. Yay.
My friend is going to MDAnderson to see if they have magic bullets for his recurrence, so this month's funds raised from www.Paintingwell.etsy.com will be going to MDAnderson for their efforts in research.
It's a beautiful day to be looking at the sky.

Welcome to the first ever Handmade Help BLOG

Bare with me.
This is ALL so new.
We're setting up a collective shop on Etsy.Com where cancer survivors and people effected by the loss of loved ones to cancer have contributed their work for sale. ALL the profits from these sales will go to cancer research donations. We chose only four star charities which use the monies for research. There MUST be a relief for the suffering so many are experiencing.
We hope to be up and running smoothly by summer's end.
Thanks for stopping by.