I’ve loved having Julie from Lifeverse partner with us. Rather than have me wax poetic about her heart for the fatherless, I’m going to give her the stage…

I have had a heart for adoption since watching 20/20 or Dateline news shows as a teenager. I remember one in particular where a photographer did black & white portraits of orphans & I thought, if I see one more photo of a beautiful child, I may scoop them all up.

We are still trying to figure out what my heart for adoption means for our own family, but in the meantime, it has been my joy to help support those adopting through my gift of art.

The above art is traveling to Africa on Monday. My friend & her hubby are off to bring their son home and she asked me to create a piece for the orphanage director. She went on to explain how so many children die while waiting to be placed into a home & how truly they are the forgotten ones. But those dear & selfless orphanage directors who selflessly love & care for those children do not forget.

So, this memorial is to write the names of those children who have passed away in their arms so they will not be forgotten. The other heart breaking thing is that she requested the piece be large and yet has to fit in a suitcase. Friends, there are that many children.

As with the other 50ish partners, Julie is giving 10% of all her sales this May to The Sparrow Fund to support adoptive families. And, to draw a few more folks in and share this fundraiser with more folks, she’s offering an 8×10 print here as a giveaway, winner’s choice.

So, go ahead and enter to win it. And, go check out all the partners’ sites. (If you leave a comment naming just one thing you have ordered/purchased from one of them, you get an extra 10 entries for any of the giveaways going on right now…and there are quite a few!)

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One of my most prized possessions—for real—is from this little Etsy store. Do you remember this post? Fallon from Olive Handmade created this for us based on a picture of our home. And, it’s perfect down to the living room curtains.

Fallon taught herself to sew and just opened an Etsy store “for fun.” She soon realized that others loved her sewing as much as she did, and she’s working towards making this a full-time gig. What she has there is positively delicious and makes me want to set up more beds in my home simply for the pillows.

What makes her things even more beautiful to me is the generosity that comes with them. A portion of shop sales go to her local Rescue Mission which houses a few hundred homeless folks in Las Vegas and feeds many more than that daily. They care for their physical and spiritual needs there and help them get their lives on track again.

And, this month, Fallon is partnering with the other nest builders, donating 10% of all her May sales to The Sparrow Fund to support adoptive families. On top of that, she’s offering a little something here to get you addicted to her wares as I have—her Olive You pillow cover (worth $40). I’m already jealous of the winner.

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Spunk. This girl’s got it. Victoria of ZiLLA’S QuEeN is a counselor and create-tess who is always looking to be an agent of change whether that is in relationships or accessories. Her jewelry shouts change to me, and she somehow manages to take just a little something that has some interest and combines it with other items of interest to create an accessory masterpiece. Seriously. You gotta see these necklaces she masterfully creates.

With a steadfast belief that we can all be the difference that this world needs, she has been wholeheartedly excited about being a partner to Build the Nest this May for The Sparrow Fund, donating 10% of all her May sales to support adoptive families.

And, she also is pretty excited to introduce her to one of her sweet pieces (worth $28.50 when you include shipping)—so versatile as a necklace or wrap bracelet, it features a lovely vintage flower earring made into a pin sitting beautifully on a purple and yellow dyed silk. The pin is removable so you can take it off and wear on other things even. so pretty, very Anthro (where I’d buy everything if I were filthy rich). 

The winner won’t get it in time for Mother’s Day, but who cares. You can wear this and celebrate Mother’s Day everyday of the year. It’s that pretty. And, even if you don’t win, you can use the code “NESTING” to get 10% off your purchase AND have 10% donated to The Sparrow Fund. Nice.

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“A doll is an image of a human being and is therefore the toy most suited to develop and enliven the self-image in the growing child.” Freya Jaffka (in Toymaking with Children)

There’s something really special about basic toys like wooden dolls our kids can use to role play life. Because that’s the thing; they are no longer a toy but a tool for them to use to process their lives. As our kids try to bring the big world into some sort of manageable size, doll play serves both boys and girls well. Especially for kids who have come from hard places, the tool of doll play can be empowering for them as well as for us as parents as we try to walk through hard stuff with them.

Beccijo is a local artist and natural toy maker at The Enchanted Cupboard, an award-winning and nationally recognized Etsy store. She reached out to us originally with encouragement and appreciation for what we do to support families. And, you know what, I’m appreciative of what she is doing to support families because I really think her items such as her custom doll family could be SO helpful for families like ours whose children may look a little different. They’d also be great to help prepare children for medical procedures if she made a nurse and/or doctor doll for you (wouldn’t a custom one that looks like your child’s surgeon be awesome?). I just love these. Can you tell?

The Enchanted Cupboard is one of our partners to Build the Nest this May, giving 10% of all her sales to support the work of The Sparrow Fund. And, she’s also offered to giveaway my favorite item of hers here–the custom family doll set worth $58. Wow.

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