Monday 26 May 2008

OCC - Crafty Shoebox Fillers

These pictures show samples of what Operation Christmas Child helpers around the country are busy working on. I'm keen to locate crafty groups who would like to create handmade fillers. The Pacific island people LOVE handmade things, and to my surprise, really appreciate woolly hats! They're used to extreme heat, so to them, a temperature drop to 22 degrees Celcius is too cold to go to school.

Cosy hats, shoulder bags, pencil cases, teddies and puppets, wooden toys, beaded jewelry, hair accessories, photo frames (with photos in them, of course), and similar handcrafted items are what I'm hoping to find little production factories for. These items can then be used by a group or community to fill their shoeboxes, or they can be sent to the packing house in Auckland where they will be used to top up partially empty boxes or replace illegal items. I am working on producing patterns and sample pictures for you to download.
Shoulder Bag knitting pattern now available here.

This polarfleece hand puppet (below) is inside-out in order to show the stitching. It's quick and easy to add features and other decorations on the outside to bring the puppet alive. Free patterns are available here.

We also need people to gift-wrap shoeboxes -- despite the attractiveness of OCC's red and green pre-printed shoeboxes, the personal touch of the gift-wrapped shoeboxes is especially loved by the island children. If you're interested in helping, let us know!

Shoebox TIPS

CHANGES in 2008:

New Zealand's National Collection deadline is back to October 25th -- last year's change was to fit in with the school holidays. Our regional deadline will have to be a few days earlier than the 25th to allow us time to get the boxes to Auckland.

It now costs $8 to get each shoebox to its destination.

NO LIQUIDS means nothing that could leak. This extends to batteries, so no battery-operated toys or torches. Solar-powered types are great for equatorial regions, though!

NO SWEETS. Lollies attract ants and have expiry dates which produce a big red light from the Customs officials.

NO TOOTHPASTE. Did you know toothpaste has an expiry date? Again, this is a problem with Customs -- a shipment of shoeboxes sat on a wharf in Argentina for 9 months while the officials tested sweets and toothpaste to see if they were safe.

NO INFANT BOXES. Some folks have been filling these already but don't fret. This is a transition year. Obviously some Infant boxes are going to turn up at the packing house in 2008. They will be distributed along with all the others. In brief, the reason is that if OCC has a pile of Infant boxes remaining after some portion of the distribution, they can't use them for any other age group. Infants grow, so a 2-4 year category box will work for a baby.

NO PACKAGING. The Solomon Islands do not have a garbage disposal service. If the packaging can't be removed easily by hand and isn't useful, don't send it.


YES List
Narelle's list of Must Haves for shoebox fillers:
  1. Lots of stationery -- the more paper they have the more productive their schooling.
  2. A bag -- both boys and girls need a container to keep things in. Shoulder bag, pencil case, zipped carry bag...
  3. A ball -- such toys stimulate community involvement. The United Nations say getting the children playing again after a disaster is the quickest way to bring a community back to life.
  4. A cuddly toy -- even 14 year old boys love a soft toy.

Recommendations:
Not socks or undies (which they don't wear). Jandals rather than shoes - they fit growing feet for longer.

Puppet Patterns

These handpuppets are not made up yet. Click on the image to enlarge. The possum has yellow mirror-back jewels for eyes, with the pupils marked in black permanent ink. The nose is a glass bead with a flower in the centre. The bird has buttons for eyes, and the eyebrows and beak are felt. The scarf is crocheted in double/treble stitch, so it can be fastened by poking through itself.

There are lots of ways to make eyes. These are the glue-on or poke-in kind.

FREE PATTERNS
Copy image and print on A4 paper for your pattern. Fits a medium-size adult hand.



DIRECTIONS
  1. Cut two pieces out of polar fleece or some other sturdy fabric.
  2. With wrong sides together, stitch a narrow seam around the edge, leaving the bottom open.
  3. Hem the bottom.
  4. Turn right side out.
  5. Glue or sew attractive facial features and any other decorations you desire. Don't forget to add a tail where appropriate!



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