Comfort Doll Project closing

Dear friends and Comfort Doll Project supporters, I am saddened to announce that after over 2 years I am forced to close the Comfort Doll Project. As we all know, life can become very hectic and time is very valuable. I have found myself being devoured by life's happening and must conclude this venture. Although I have enjoyed spending time on this project and getting your beautiful handmade dolls to various shelters, it has become quite difficult with life changes and arising family issues, and I must put my family first as I would expect from anyone.

I wanted to take this time to thank all of you for your time, talent,sponsorship,beautiful creations, but mainly for your generous giving hearts. You made a difference and warmed many hearts of women out there whom we shall never meet as well as mine. Seeing the dolls arrive has been such a heartwarming experience that I will always remember. Each note written was much appreciated too.

When possible I will continue to make and send dolls to shelters and I hope you do the same. We can all be proud and happy to know that close to 900 women have received dolls from us. Almost 1000 in just over two years. That is amazing, and without you, it would not have been possible.

For those who have dolls made and ready to send, please locate your nearby shelter and ask if they would like them. If anyone wants to take over the project, email me at angell100@comcast.net and I will be happy to send you the shelter contact sheet and copy of the comfort cards I pin to each doll as well as the list of states and shelters that have already received dolls.

Again, this is not something I am giving up easily, but I can feel content in knowing the smiles and lives we have touched. Thank you all and many blessings.

Happy Holidays!

73rd dozen

This 73rd dozen will ship to De Colores in Phoenix AZ.The donors are:
Debra Newton
Laura Lefavor
Sherry Ellison
Grace Gilmore
Lynette Cahill
Becky Mehl
Jan Bartlett
Noel Poupard

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR ALL YOUR DONATIONS>>>BLESSINGS TO ALL.

72nd dz

This 72nd dozen Comfort Dolls will ship to Helpmate Crisis Center in Lusk WY.The donors are:
Noel Poupard
Laura Lefavor
Becky Mehl
Lynette Cahill
Grace Gilmore
Jan Bartlett
Sherry Ellison....again, my thanks for all your support.

71st dz

The 71st dozen dolls will go to Time Out shelter in Ladysmith WI.
The donors are:
Grace Gilmore
Becky Mehl
Freda Butler
Noel Poupard
Jan Bartlett
Deb Newton
Sherry Ellison who also sponsored this shipment. Thank you for your support of the Comfort Doll Project.

70th dz

The 70th dozen Comfort Dolls will be sent to Sister Help shelter in Rock Hill S. Carolina.
I will add a shelter this week when I find one to send these beauties to.
The donors are:
Becky Mehl
Grace Gilmore
Noel Poupard
Sherry Ellison
Jan Bartlett who also sponsored this shipment. Thank you all so much .

69th dz to ?

The 69th dozen will go to the Women's Help Center in Johnstown PA.

The donors are:
Lori
Ginger
Jo
Betty
Debbie
Thanks again ladies for a wonderful group of Comfort Dolls.

68th dz to CO

The 68th dz dolls were shipped to the Brandon Center in Denver,CO.
The donors are:
Annie Bernstein
Deb Newton
Sandra Flores Cruz
Nancy Collins
Molly Self
Ann Freeman
Heidi Sprague
Laura Lefavor
Lynette Cahill
Bennie Harman.......Thank you again for your lovely creations.

67th dz to Massachusetts

The 67th dozen was shipped to Elizabeth Stone House in Massachusetts.

The wonderful donors are:
Deb Newton
Nancy Collins
Annie Bernstein
Molly Self
Bennie Harman.....thank you all so very much. These will arrive in time for the Holidays.

Sharing something special

Today I was informed of a heartwarming event that Patti , Brenda Salzano, and her etsy group ,who are also Comfort Doll Donors took part in. These women are truly committed to bring awareness to this project. You must view the photos and read what they are doing...

Letter from Patti:
I am sure you are familiar with Etsy and wanted you to know that recently our local Etsy Team did a window display downtown Coos Bay. We added a basket of Comfort Dolls made by Brenda Salzano and myself to display in the window with a brief description of what a Comfort Doll is and how anyone can participate. I added your Comfort Doll Banner with a link to the site and mine and Brenda's phone number along with your address to mail the dolls to .

I have attached photos of the display.

God Bless You Patricia. I just wanted you to know your project is being promoted here in our community.

Hugs

The dolls on display will be coming to you after Christmas

My heart was warmed once again by Comfort Doll angels..thank you all for what you do.

66th dozen to Utah

The Canyon Creek Women's Crisis Center of Utah will receive the 66th dozen Comfort Dolls.
Donors of these dolls are:
Ann Freeman
Lynette Cahill
Patti Koosed
Sherry Wade
Heidi Sprague
Sandra Cruz
Laura Lefavor
Thank you all again for your generous donations. Blessings!

Nancy Collins sent the 65th dozen dolls to Florida

Nancy Collins donated and privately mailed this beautiful dozen dolls to Safespace shelter in Miami Florida.Thank you Nancy! Your dolls are always a treat to see, I can imagine what the recipients think of their treasures? That was so kind of you to ship the dolls. Much appreciated.

Third letter from Iowa shelter

The final letter to share comes from the recipients of the 62nd dozen, Crisis Center & WOmen's Shelter in Iowa:


Again, my heartfelt thank you to each of you for doing such a wonderful, admirable task completely from your heart.

Mail.........................

The second is from the 61st dz recipients, The Women's Center in Illinois:
Thank you all for keeping this project alive. I know your hearts are warming as you read your letters just as hearts warmed when being handed one of your heart made dolls.

You've Got Mail!

Mail delivery for Comfort Doll Donors!!!!
The first letter is from the recipients of the 59th and 60th dozen, Alexandria of VA: (Click on to enlarge.)

Dolls from Grace Gilmore of CA

Grace donated these lovely dolls with beading around each pretty face. Thank you very much Grace. They will surely be welcomed with open arms and hearts.

More dolls from Noel Poupard

Noel created and donated these lovely dolls. She beaded around each beautiful face. Thank you for donating more dolls and for sponsoring a shipment. All is appreciated.

Comfort Dolls from Jan Bartlett

Jan Bartlett of Nevada created "Pocket Pals" for her newest donation to the Comfort Doll Project.




They are heart shaped made with cheerful fabrics and each have a little smiling face covered button and tied on one side. Adorable Jan. Thank you again for your continued support. These will arrive to their recipients around Thanksgiving .

Directions to create an easy lavender filled doll

For those in need of directions for an easy Comfort Doll which you can fill with dried lavender or fiberfill, I would like to share mine with you which I call "Inner Child Dolls". This idea was taken from a beautiful doll idea by Sandy of ART-TEA-Life, a super creative talent who enjoys sharing. I looked at her sweet dolls and tried my hand at my own version which make great Comfort Dolls. You can see more of my dolls here.
Enjoy!

Sweet Halloween dolls from Jan Bartlett

Jan has sent more dolls!!! These are just in time for Halloween.Aren't they cute?

I will ship them off early next week. Jan is also sponsoring two shipments. Thanks so much Jan!!!

Comfort Dolls from "An American Primitive Gathering"

A creative and very generous group of ladies called,"An American Primitive Gathering" created and donated these 12 Comfort Dolls.....Jo included the following information. Browse their blogs and sites and enjoy!

Betty~

These dolls are filled with sawdust!

Jo~
Ginger & Lori~

Debbie~
What a fun assortment ladies. Thank you so much for your donations to the Comfort Doll Project. It is much appreciated.

Comfort Dolls from Becky Mehl

Becky Mehl of Valparaiso,IN, my creative friend, created these adorable beauties for the Comfort Doll Project. Beautiful job Becky. Thank you very much for your support of the Comfort Doll Project.

64th dz to Georgia

Safe Homes in Augusta Georgia will receive the 64th dozen Comfort Dolls.
The donors are~
Patti Koosed
Lynette Cahill
Laura Lefavor
Nancy Collins
Debra Newton
Molly Self
Ann Freeman
Bennie Harman
You ladies rock! Thank s so very much for keeping this project going.

63rd dz to Louisiana

Turning Point Battered W omen's Program received the 63rd dozen Comfort Dolls.
The donors of this dozen are ~
Ann Feeman
Molly Self
Debra Newton
Nancy Collins
Laura Lefavor
Lynette Cahill
Again, thank you all for the lovely dolls you have donated so generously.

62nd dz to Iowa

The 62nd dozen Comfort dolls went to Crisis Women's Shelter in Ottumwa Iowa.The donors of these dolls are~
Bennie Harman
Ann Freeman
Molly Self
Debra Newton
Nancy Collins
Laura Lefavor
Lynette Cahill
Patti Koosed
Thank you all for your beautiful dolls and continued support.

61st dz to Illinois

The Women's Center,INC in Carbondale, Illinois received the 61st dozen Comfort Dolls.
The donors of this dozen are~
Debra Newton
Patti Koosed
Ann Freeman
Molly Self
Annie Bernstein
Nancy Collins
Lynette Cahill
Laura Lefavor

Thank you all for your beautiful and generous donations.

A little update

Hi everyone. As you probably have noticed, I have fallen behind in the mailings of the Comfort Doll project. Not to worry, I'm awake now .....
and got caught up and will be mailing out 7 dozen this week. Two dozen went out last week. We are up to 70 dozen, can you believe it?

I wanted you to know that the address I had on this blog is a valid one. It was removed for security reasons and if you need to send dolls to me, just email for the address and I will get it to you.

If you have a dozen or more dolls you want to send to a specific place, I will mail you comfort doll cards for each doll and the letter I send with each shipment then you can send them directly to the shelter. This will save on double postage . Thank you for your cooperation.

I will be posting new doll arrivals this week. I just wanted you to know the project is still going strong and I'm sure it will continue to bring joy to many women.

Thank you all for who you are and what you do.

Group hug!

59th,60th dozen-Two dozen dolls from the Kindred Sisters Gathering Post

Beverly Torres,Debbie Henry,and Patty ? of the Kindred Sisters Gathering Post created two dozen dolls altogether. WOW! They have a shoppe too!
Thank you all for these beautiful and unique dolls.
This lot will be sent upon request to the Battered Womens Center of Alexandria in VA

Beverly's dolls~

Patty's dolls~Toad Hollow PrimsDebbie's dolls~Barefoot Primitives

A dozen dolls from Ann Freeman

Ann Freeman donated a dozen more of her soft cheerful dolls. Thank you Ann for your continued support of the Comfort Doll Project.

More dolls from Patti Koosed

Patti created two more Comfort Doll. These cuties will surely bring smiles. Thank you Patti.

Beaded doll from Sherry Wade

Sherry Wade beaded this beauty and made a special box for her to be delivered in. Wonderful beading and beautiful colors Sherry! Thank you!

Dolls from Heidi Sprague of Idaho

Heidi created two beautiful soft dolls with painted faces and rose bouquets. Thank you so much Heidi!

Dolls arrived from Sandra Flores Cruz of Venezuela

Sandra sent two beautiful crocheted dolls with special messages. Thank you so much Sandra. They are so cheerful and fun.

An inspiring venture in OZ

You must check this out . A group in Australia gathered together for a day of making comfort dolls for local young women in crisis. So many turned out to create beautiful dolls and had a wonderful time doing so. I wish I had been a fly on the wall. Great job everyone. Your dolls are fantastic and it was wonderful to read about your venture. My pal and generous Comfort Doll donor, Judith McCarthy gave me a heads up on your project. Thanks Judy.
Reading this just made my day.

Spreading the word

I had received many letters about our Comfort Doll project and wanted to share with you one woman's efforts to help spread the work. Barb Kobe posted this on her blog, "The Art of Healing Dolls".
Browse around and see the amazing dolls and read the stories. How inspiring!