Auction for Mom

Well, my 3rd auction for AMMF ended yesterday (Tue 22nd March) and I have to say that I am slightly disappointed at the amount raised, which was around £150.

Despite me posting frequently about it on FB it seems that many people did not see the posts (thanks FB!) and so were unaware that the auction was running. Of the 67 items in the auction, many of them handmade and donated by lovely, generous people, only 33 had any bids on.

I know that every penny will make a difference and that AMMF will be grateful for the amount raised but I wish it could have been so much more.

So I'm feeling very disheartened. Monday would have been Mom's 80th Birthday and I so wanted to raise a decent sum of money in her memory but it wasn't to be.

I think I'm going to have to have a good think about whether or not to do anymore auctions on FB - it just doesn't seem to be working anymore as they keep changing things and making it harder for people to see posts.

Even using the many networking pages that there are on FB doesn't seem to make any difference.

Thankfully, I've discovered that AMMF are happy to accept items that are sent to them that they then distribute to people who are holding raffles and tombola's etc to raise funds for them so I can send some items to them and they will still benefit that way. So I guess it's a win-win situation.

Anyway, hopefully those who did bid in the auction will like their items when they arrive in the post although I forgot it was Easter this weekend so some may not arrive until after the holiday. Guess we can blame the delay on the Easter bunny!!

A little bit about me.

Just in case you don’t know the background to why buteartism exists then I thought I’d fill you in on the details.

I have always enjoyed crafting and have done it for many years. It was a hobby that used to run riot and times and I was always wanting to try something different. Which was ok when we used to live in a 2 bedroomed house but now we live in a small 2 room flat,  it’s not practical to do half the stuff I used to do.

I was diagnosed back at the end of Dec 2009 with womb cancer and once I’d had my hysterectomy I began to put my hobby to good use by starting to make and sell items to raise funds for Macmillan. I was lucky to have a wonderful Macmillan nurse and it was my way of being able to pay something back for the help and support she gave me. I must have been the only cancer patient in the country who took jewellery pliers and beads to treatment appointments!!

Since then I have raised money for various charities and good causes by either selling items myself and donating the proceeds or donating items directly for raffle prizes, auctions and tombola’s etc. Some of the good causes I have donated to include Cefni German Shepherd Rescue; Cystic Fibrosis;  CRUK; and a few local places here on the island.

Currently I am raising funds for AMMF, which is the UK’s only Cholangiocarcinoma charity. CC, or bile duct cancer, is the cancer that my Mom died from in Dec 2013 and they are the main beneficiary of the money I raise now.

I am holding an online auction on Facebook next week and hope to be able to donate another large sum of money to AMMF from that. Have raised almost £1000 so far and would be nice to break that  target and set another one.

I sell my items via my buteartism page on Facebook and have just set up a new twitter account as my personal twitter was getting a bit cluttered with craft stuff so I thought it best to have a separate account.

So please come on over and have a look at the various goodies on the Facebook page and join me on twitter.

All proceeds from sales go the good causes – throughout 2016 they are being split 50/50 between AMMF and Womb Cancer Support UK, which is the national womb cancer support and awareness organisation I run. The money raised will be used to fund the printing and distribution of womb cancer awareness leaflets.

Doing all this in-between struggling to cope with my health issues that I've been left with as a result of my cancer treatment is a struggle but at least it keeps my brain active!!

 

Shiver me timbers!!!

Blimey, it's been bitterly cold up here on the west coast for a few days now. The artic winds are blowing but thankfully we haven't had any snow on the island.

Ferries have been off again today and probably will be again tomorrow judging by the weather forecast.

Our heating has been going on around lunchtime and its taking ages to get the flat warm. Roll on summer that's all I can say!.

February is cholangiocarcinoma month - what's that I hear you say! Well, cholangiocarcinoma (or CC as its often referred too) is bile duct cancer and its the cancer that my Mom died of back in Dec 2013.

I've spoken before about the charity AMMF who are the only CC charity in the UK. I fundraise for them and shall be holding another online auction for them in mid March when it would have been Mom's 80th Birthday.

I had an article in my local paper, The Buteman  this week to help raise awareness and have had a couple of monetary donations already to the cause which is nice.

The auction is being run through my buteartism FB page and hopefully by the time of the auction there will be lots of lovely items up for grabs.

My aim is to reach £1000 by the end of this auction - so far I've raised £835 for AMMF so I'm pretty sure we can do it this year.

If you can spare a little something handmade then it would be much appreciated. You can contact me via the FB page or leave a comment below.

Right, need to go find my hot water bottle. xx

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow - anywhere but here!!!

Well, it seems like winter has arrived across much of the UK with temperatures dropping and snow everywhere. Well, almost everywhere!!

Thankfully we don't have any here on the island as yet but we've had a couple of days of heavy frost and its been very cold, especially at night.

There is snow over on the Cowal Hills on the mainland but as long as it stays there, I'm happy.

Have been keeping busy sorting out my stash of goodies and listing them on the FB page. Have also put some on Ebay as a charity listing for AMMF (the UK;s only cholangiocarcinoma charity, and one of my good causes that I raise funds for)

You can find the items  here - there will be more listed over the weekend including, hopefully some of Terry's artwork.

That's all for now. Stay warm.

Here's to 2016!

Hello, hope you all had a nice Xmas and New Year.

I've been busy adding more handmade items to my FB page over the past couple of weeks and have a nice selection of items - bracelets, necklaces, fabric flower brooches and earrings plus other odd bits and bobs. No sales as yet but its still early days.

Hopefully this year we can raise more than the £730 raised last year which was split between AMMF and womb cancer research.

The Etsy shop has a few items left in it but will close once the listings expire.

Starting to make plans for the next auction which will be for AMMF and will run from 12noon Sunday 20th March until 6pm Tuesday 22nd March 2016.It would have been Mom's 80th Birthday on 21st March.

Please pop over to the FB page and say hello.

Until next time - take care. xx

End of year round up!

Hello again!
Been a long time since I updated you but there has been a lot going on and I've also been dealing with a lot of health issues related to my cancer treatment.

Anyway, if you have been following this blog then you will know that throughout 2015 I have been selling my handmade jewellery to help raise funds for 2 very good causes - AMMF, the UK's only cholangiocarcinoma or bile duct cancer charity and a womb cancer research project.

Well, just before Xmas the total raised stood at £730 so I was able to pay £365 into each Justgiving account. I was really pleased to have raised such a huge amount, far more than I thought I would at the beginning of the year.

I am doing the same again throughout 2016, with the money going 50/50 to AMMF and Womb Cancer Support UK, (WCSUK)  the national organisation that I run that supports women who have been diagnosed with womb cancer and also raises much needed awareness of this cancer as, despite it being the 4th most common female cancer in UK, there is no national awareness campaign.

The money raised for WCSUK will help pay for the awareness leaflets and their distribution around the UK.

I was selling items through an Etsy store but have decided to go back to doing it through Facebook, as not only is there no fees to pay but despite FB making it difficult for pages to be seen, most of my sales from the Etsy shop have come via me sharing posts on FB.
Plus it's easier to keep things together, for me anyway!!

So, why not pop over to the FB page and have a look around. https://www.facebook.com/buteartism/

I shall be running an online auction again for AMMF, in memory of Mom who died from cholangiocarcinoma on 5th Dec 2013 and there will be some lovely items up for grabs there.

Hope you all had a nice Xmas and I wish you all the best for 2016.

Etsy Sales Update

If you've been following this blog you will know that I am making and selling items to help raise funds for good causes.

At the moment, those good causes are AMMF - the UK's only cholangiocarcinoma charity and a womb cancer research project.

You can see the items that are currently for sale here and the total raised so far, which is being split 50/50 between the 2 good causes is £145.50.

So pleased to be able to raise funds for these 2 good causes and will donate the money to them at the end of this year. Lets hope I can get to the £200 mark before then.