Facecloths!

Today I was blessed with a box of crocheted facecloths for shoe boxes!  Mrs. E Wiebe, from our congregation, saw a blog post I had made about learning to crochet so I could make some facecloths for shoeboxes.  She has been faithfully sitting by her husband's side as he has been in palliative care at the hospital for the past few months and to fill her days, she's been crocheting.  Today she dropped off 90 facecloths! She plans to carry on, making more as she spends more days in the hospital. The square ones have a bar of soap inside (wrapped in a bag).  These will be used to fill boxes at our church-wide packing party this fall.

Always amazed by the generosity of some people.  Instead of focusing only on the negative, she chooses to use her time to bless others.  And in turn these facecloths will be a part of a shoe box that will travel across the world, to share about God's love with a child.  Amazing!

Chalk

This week I found some chalk on clearance at Superstore.  Regular $2/pail these are on clearance for just .50 cents each.  These would be great for either gender and all ages.

I think most kids would have a place to use these...a street or cement wall, but I think of those kids living in areas that are more lush and green.  Cement may not be something that's plentiful, so I think a small chalk board would be a great addition to these.
They come in a small pail with a lid and handle, so I think it could be repurposed once the chalk has been used.
If you do go on the hunt for these, check the clearance bins when you first walk in, as well as the toy section.  Lots of summer clearance...

More Garage Sale Success!

This weekend I hit up some more garage sales.  I find it's best to know when a town or area of the city is having multiple sales as it increases your chance of success.  This past Saturday was the garage sale day for Island Lakes in Winnipeg  (Whyteridge area is also a good one, always the Saturday before Mother's Day).  It means getting up a 6am as I have a 1.5 hour drive into the city.  But I also scored some deals for myself and was able to visit a friend in the hospital, so definitely worth the trip!

It may be hard to see what's all in the picture, but I found:

- New set of hair barrets and headbands for 50 cents
- Beanie Babies in packaging for 50 cents each
- New cars pencils for 25 cents
- Skipping ropes, marbles, tiara, large bouncy balls for 25 cents
- Thomas train and monster truck for $1 each
- Wooden X's and O's game for $1
- Fuzzy socks were free...brand new found in a bag of hand me down clothing my friend passed along to me from a co-worker.

To find these things, I often looked in a bin marked 25 cents.  Yes there is a lot of stuff I didn't want. Pieces of stuff, obviously used things and just general junk.  It takes time, but there is usually a few treasures that work well for shoe boxes.  Either new in packaging or things that look new.  The thrill of the chase...always so fun.  ;)

Hutterite Garage Sales

Hello!  Usually at this time of year, garage sales have kind of wound down.  And for the most part they have. With the exception of the Hutterite garage sales, at least in our area.  Today I attended garage sales at 2 different colonies (Fairholme and Good Hope, both South West of Portage la Prairie).  And I managed to snag quite a few deals.

My favorite find of the day was the mens hats.  There was a huge box of them, brand new with tags.  They were asking 3/$1, but throughout my years of garage saleing, I've gotten the nerve to barter now and again. I asked the lady if she would give me a better price if I took 50 hats and she sold them to me for $12.  So that's .24 cents a hat.
There was also lots of bars of soap around, so I bartered at both colonies and got almost 30 bars of soap for about .25 cents a piece.
Socks and toques were a quarter a piece and I found a few miscellaneous things as well: a beanie baby (.25), a collapsible cup (.10), a bag of wooden beads (.25), a small toy drum (.25), and some wash cloths that worked about to .30 a piece.
I also always checked the free boxes and got free felt (see top left hand corner), that I can use for a craft I have in mind for shoe boxes and a new mens hat.
I have never really shopped garage sales with shoe boxes in mind, until this spring.  I have found the odd thing here and there, but overall, not that much.  You want something that's a great price, but also something that is or looks brand new.  You also want quality items, not just trinkets from a dollar store.
So if you have a chance to hit up a hutterite garage sale, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the things you can find.
Do any other areas have sales such as these?  Just curious!

Canadian Flag Lapel Pins

I always like to include something with the Canadian flag on it, in each shoe box I pack.  An easy way to let the recipient know which country the box came from.  The souvenir section of any store often has little items that can be bought, such as tags, stuffed animals, key chains, etc. 

I got these Canadian flag lapel pins in the mail today.  A great addition for a shoe box.  And best part is - they're free!  Just contact a member of parliament and they will send them out to you.

I think these would get lost easily in a shoe box, so I'm thinking it would be wise to maybe print out some card stock with a little message or Scripture on it and pin one of these on.
What other items have you come across with the Canadian Flag on it?

Trade Show Freebies

My husband attends various trade shows across Canada, as an exhibitor for our family business and I often tag along. Many exhibitors give away freebies, as promotional items.  With Operation Christmas Child Shoe Boxes in mind, I snag as many items as I can, that are suitable for packing in shoe boxes.

This last week, we attended the Regina Farm Progress Show.  While the show is three days long, I attended for a couple of hours and was able to snag these goodies:

Some items may be hard to see.  There's a hat, beach ball, regular and mini sized footballs, coloring books, stickers/tattoos, pens, pencils, a flat water bottle, notepads, microfiber clothes, reusable shopping bag and of course, I snagged the soap and personal hygiene items from the hotel room.
I plan to deflate the beachball, to pack as efficiently as possible.  I would also deflate the football and include a pump (which I would have to purchase).  The great thing about including`a larger sized ball (soccer balls are great too) is that a whole group of kids can play with it.  I think most, if not all, of these items would lend themselves well to a shoe box for an older boy.

OCC Fundraiser Lunch

Back in March, I organized a soup and dessert lunch fundraiser at our church, following the Sunday morning service.  We were able to raise over $800 for shoe boxes!  I hope to purchase items throughout the year, as I come across them at discounted prices.

Our church has a small congregation of about 150.  I put up a sign up sheet for most of the food donations and had no problem getting everything brought.  We had a very simple menu: chicken noodle soup and hamburger soup with buns.  Dessert was chocolate cake with whipped topping or white cake with raspberry topping.  Everything was delicious!  I had lots of offers of help from dishing out soup, to washing dishes and setting up tables.  It really was a team effort.  My hope is to plan a church wide packing party when the collection date draws nearer.
I would encourage you to raise funds for your own shoe boxes!  People are often more than generous when they know you're raising funds for a good cause.  Step out in faith.  :)