First BellaKarma.com Contest Winner is...

...after eliminating Mom (not in that Sicilian kind-of-way) and multiple entries...the winner of our first contest is Barb! Congratulations for winning the FOUR mini-notebooks designed by mixed-up media artist Jolene Marie! E-mail me at info@bellakarma.com with your address so I can send out your prize package this week!

You all left such inspiring comments regarding where you find peace - thank you for sharing! I encourage everyone to go read 'em!

Be sure to check out BellaKarma on Etsy --- where Jolene's hand-crafted journals sell out as quickly as they are listed!

Visit BellaKarma.com for secret giveaways not mentioned here on the blog. And stay tune for some really cool interviews featuring awesome artists-as-advocates!

A Quest and A Request

A young branch takes on

all the bends that one gives it.
~ Chinese Proverb

BEND Print Benefiting Augie's Quest.

There is a couple in Corona del Mar by the name of Lynne and Augie Nieto who showed me the real Orange County and also helped set the course for BellaKarma.com.

A dream home is built alongside a rocky cliff above the Pacific Ocean in the wealthy community of Corona del Mar. It is one of my favorite houses in the 'hood because of the simple elegant exterior that blends in beautiful with its environment. Upon first seeing it I immediately jumped to the conclusion that whoever lived there had to be insanely well-to-do, stuck-up and out-of-touch with the middle-class.

One day a woman with a striking resemblance to (if not, dare I say, prettier than) Princess Diana appeared on the driveway leading down to the house. She had a genuine smile and friendly vibe. I was drawn to her down-to-earth demeanor as she walked her two dogs. We spoke briefly, but enough for me to determine she was far from being a Newport Beach bitch. In fact, the only time I've ever seen Lynne stuck-up is when she was stuck up on the roof of their home, stringing Christmas lights by herself!

I was introduced to her husband not long after. Handsome, healthy, and a sharp-sense-of-humor! I knew he would laugh and not be offended by my clueless knowledge of cars if he heard I once referred to his Ferrari (or it could have been a Porsche) as a "really nice-looking Mustang!"

Augie was co-founder and former president of Life Fitness - a company he bought the marketing rights to when he was only 19! It grew to be the largest commercial manufacturer of fitness equipment in the world. In September 2005, after nearly three decades of being a prominent leader in the nation’s fitness industry, he received the industry’s top honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award.

And it was the familiar image of an athletic Augie jogging down the street, surprising me every time with a nod of recognition from him as I drove by, that I thought of when a mutual acquaintance pulled me aside one afternoon in 2005 to inform me Augie had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Although I've never known Augie on a personal level, the news had a profound affect on me. If I had not encountered the Nietos back when I first moved to Corona del Mar nearly eight years ago, my perception of most its residents (with their false sense-of entitlement) would have been (and probably remained) negative.

Augie and Lynne made me realize that there are real rich people.
And I feel richer from the experience of having met them.

Months after Augie's diagnosis in 2005, Augie and Lynne created the Augie's Quest initiative in conjunction with the Muscular Dystrophy Association. As co-chairs of the ALS Division, the Nietos help raise awareness through public appearances, speaking engagements, media interviews (this one is a must-see), and public service announcements.

In the last five years, Augie's Quest has raised close to $20 million for ALS research. The organization continues to gain the support from an ever-growing impressive list of artists and humanitarians.

I wanted to bring attention to Augie's Quest on my personal crafty blog, but I knew once I brought awareness to one, there would be another. Therefore, Augie and Lynne's courageous and charitable work was part of the inspiration behind BellaKarma.com being reinvented so to create an alliance between art and advocacy.

Crafty Ways To Help: Art For Fundraising Auction

And it was while I was looking into ways art can aid with ALS patients and fundraising, I received news about the diagnosis of a close friend of a much-loved, well-known crafty gal who is quite an advocate in her own right, Vickie Howell.

Vickie is requesting help in getting arts and crafts donations for an auction that will help her childhood friend, Jason, take the financial stress off of him and his young family so they can concentrate on their remaining time together.

Donations must be sent by August 27th, 2009 so please visit Vickie's post for more information.

Sea Peace (Plus a Peace Prize!)

for whatever we lose like a you or a me

it's always ourselves we find in the sea
e e cummings

Growing up in Southern California meant spending many fun-in-the-sun summer days at the beach! Now living with the Pacific Ocean in my own backyard has made me more appreciative of the awe-inspiring natural beauty that is the sea.

Being so close has also made me aware of how terrible people treat the ocean! The stuff I see wrapped up in the seaweed after a storm would stop you from ever dipping your toesies in the water again! The crap that is left on the shore and in the surrounding streets during the summer is a sad sight. Why do people treat the beach like a litter box?

Because the sea gives me peace-of-mind like no other place, I want to do what it takes to protect it. And since we're all in the same boat together, I've come up with a couple of ways for you to help too!

SEA PEACE Print Benefiting HEAL THE BAY

10% of each purchase of Sea Peace during the month of August will be donated
to the Southern California-based nonprofit organization HEAL THE BAY.

Click Photo of Sea Peace Print to Purchase on BellaKarma's Shop

Heal the Bay is a nonprofit environmental organization dedicated to making Southern California coastal waters and watersheds, including Santa Monica Bay, safe, healthy and clean. Heal the Bay uses research, education, community action and advocacy to pursue its mission.

Crafty Ways To Help: It's In the Bag!

Heal the Bay hosts L.A.'s annual "Day Without A Bag" in December; however, every day we don't use a plastic bag makes for a better tomorrow!

Americans use over 380 billion bags every year. The world’s largest ocean garbage dump in the North Pacific is currently estimated to be 5 million square miles, larger than the entire United States. Plastic bags (which resemble jelly fish or sponges) are mistaken for food or prey by seabirds, marine mammals, fish, and sea turtles. In general, plastic harms hundreds of wildlife species, some of which are threatened or endangered species. (source: Heal the Bay).

Not only do plastic bags totally screw up the environment - but they also cramp our individual style! Listed below are several low-cost-highly-creative reusable bag tutorials/patterns that can be altered to reflect YOU and your commitment to a cleaner planet! Your bags will look so fabulous that you'll want to go grocery shopping to show 'em off!

Crochet Reusable Grocery Bags
Reduction Tote Bag
Sugar n' Cream Market Bag
Handicrafter Cotton Shopping Tote Bag
Handicrafter Cotton Shopping Bag


Knit Reusable Grocery Bags
1Bag: A Knitted Grocery Bag
Felted Market Bags


Sew Reusable Grocery Bags
Upcycle Old Denim Into Market Tote
Cheap & Easy Fabric Grocery Bags
Curved Reusable Grocery Bag
Cheap & Easy Produce Bags


I'd love to see pictures once you make any of these! Action shots are even cooler!
Stay tuned for details about a BellaKarma.com Flickr Group in the works!

'Cos Contests Are Cool!

Where do you find peace?

Spacing out on the sand?
Wandering the aisles aimlessly at Target?
Hiding out for a few minutes in the bathroom?
Getting covered in glitter & glue in your craft room?

Leave a comment sharing with us where you feel at peace (or write anything nice about this blog post) and be entered to WIN FOUR mini-notebooks designed by mixed-up media artist Jolene Marie (a.k.a. "My Mom")!

Jolene Marie's art has been featured in Somerset Studios Gallery and honored in Craftsters Best of 2007.

John Lennon - NYC

Cat on a Limb ~ MAKE ART NOW ~ Dylan
*Notebooks only ~ Books, piano and trinkets not included.

Contest extended to September 12th!
Good Luck!

Coming Around Soon:

Artwork courtesy of Jolene Marie

*Be entertained & enlightened by interviews with crafty characters
who are making life beautiful thanks to their creative endeavors!

*Discover charitable organizations that
appreciate & count on handmade donations!

*Ideas to inspire you to make art to give from the heart!

*Share your suggestions on how to spread the love through arts & crafts!