Silent Auction and a few last minute details

Ok, I told you I would show you a few of the goodies we made last minute to add to Jake's Store. I had a bunch of fabric and thought we should make some funky cuffs for everyone to wear for the big par-tay!

Sommmmmeone was not expecting to be in a bunch of pictures today! Can you say, "FIX your hair, MO"?

Ok, so these are a couple of samples of the cuffs. I used ripped fabric, toulle, little pearls, and ribbon.

Oh yeah, and buttons. And a hot glue gun!

This is the little cuff I made for MIss Anna Claire. She was my model throughout the day to stir up some interest!

Within minutes, we had sucked in her mom, Jennifer.

She picked this one first, with ric rac as the leaves. SO cute. But then, she was told that her shirt would not match the hot pink trim, and decided to go with one with red later.

I guess I finally got a clear picture of Jenn and her bracelets. Cute, huh?

Anna Lea also bought a cuff to wear later that night.

I loved the buttons! I started adding more of them as we went along.

and I am ALWAYS a huge fan of gingham!!

Sarah needed some big time embellishments! Little fringy thread coming out of the buttons, ricrac, embroidery floss sewn into the fabric. I mean, seriously, how dang cute are these?!

Lindsey sat down to show us her kind of flower. It was puffy and stood up off the cuff. really cute!

Jordan was my apprentice for the night and ended up making about 10 of the cuffs all by herself!

Oh Lord, WHO are these no-gooders? Drinking maitais, at that!

My friend, Lisa, made these wooden cuffs and donated them to be sold at the store. I think every single one sold.

We tied them on this wire mannequin with torn fabric and it was so cute!

I think it may have been the cutest Store yet!

We sold the "event" shirt which was very popular this year!

I have to think that they are still available at jakesfoundation.org. I don't know that, but I am sure if you contact them, Don will make sure you get one.

There are still leather arm bands too! They all say, "believe".

These black bags are shoe bags. They were given out at the golf tournament. If you need a shoe bag, I suppose contact the foundation and tell them so!

And, wellll, I can't promise these! Staci ended up throwing these out by the handfuls from the stage at the end of the night.

This is the silent auction prior to the action starting!

I thought I would share some of the goodies that were auctioned as groups.

This one is obvoiusly for the Saints fan. Including a Drew Brees autographed photo.

This package included a photo shoot with a local photographer.

This package brought in a big bunch of cashola. The bags ROCK, and I am pretty sure that this lake house was a real pull!

THis package included LSU football tickets. But that was not the REAL draw!

THIS is what they wanted! Paula's painting!!

Welllllll, let's say Mel and Paula's painting. She had never painted before, and I had lots to do, so I asked her to help me with the backgrounds on several canvases. Then, I coached her through a few more stages. She did the bulk of the work, with me just adding a little "depth" to the colors highlighting, and adding the "LSU".

Whatcha think? I think she is ready for some art retreats, myself!

DId you know that Ben Sheets is from right here in North Louisiana? He is quite the local celebrity!

For the girlies, there were all kinds of facial products, with purses, polishes, and such.

Every single thing in our auction was dedicated by local stores, artists, etc. I actually ended up with this package! I HAD to have taht pink chandelier for Gabbi Girl's new bedroom! And I LOVE this frame by my friend, Sarah! I also lucked up to get a photo shoot from another friend, Emily! wooo hoooo.

You may notice the rainbow canvas. When I saw the rainbow caterpillar, I knew this canvas had to hang out in this grouping.

Diane is an artist who I met years ago in Canton, TX, and told all about Jake. She has contributed a canvas every year since! She is such a dedicated donor! Queenofthetrailerpark.com, I think!

Lindsey and I put our heads together to make a really cute package. I made the headband with my new favorite fabric flowers.

Lindsey made the cute tutu, and I added a canvas to make it a fuller package.

And then, another one of my friends, and actually a kid from my clinic's mom, Diane, made this SUPER cute dumptruck painting. Do I have some talented friends or WHAT?! That pink square just says she will personalize the canvas and gives her phone number.

Remember this canvas? I loved it. But I'd love to help a kid with cancer more, so donation it was! Hope it brought a good price.

Actually, earlier in the day I had visited, and the silent auction girls pointed out packages that needed a little extra "something".

That is when I went home with Paula, the artist, to paint a few fillers for the auction.

SOmeone actually donated a pair of Uggs. DUDE!I bid, bidded?, on this package because I really wanted this purse.

So, now you know... this is just a little glimpse of some of the awesomeness of the auction! Something for everyone!

And that is that!

I still owe you a blog on the Teed Off at Cancer Golf Tournament, the JOR telethon, and my recent trip to Wisconsin for an unbelievable art retreat! It ROCKED!!

Mo

Setting up for the Shake

Wish you were there? Well, let me help you experience it a little better.

First, let's take a look at a few of the tablescapes. Shall we?

As you know, for years now, we have used Jake's favorite toys/ themes/ pasttimes to remember him at the Shake. Heck, we had to have something for centerpieces. So, naturally, we wanted it to be a reflection of his little life.

And each table has a plaquard (is that right?), that has a description for the goodies on the respective table.

Welllll, havent' done this in a while! SOrry. Turn your head to the left and keep reading!

Then, of course, there are the other kids who have received assistance from the JOR Foundation. Some of their parents have send us pictures of their children and their stories.

We, naturally, wanted to let our guests know how their money/ donations will be benefitting the children with cancer.

This is a fun memory!

New Year's Eve is always celebrated at our house because that is this big man's birthday!

Awww... do y'all remember that Rebel pillow? Our little redneck! And this was when we diapered a Sponge Bob pinata. Whatever made him smile!

Oh, man, don't I remember those four wheeler rides! Remember Jake's trick, the "neck neck"?

I pass his old house every day, as they live on my street where my LAH is now. I reminisce about playing in the front yard and use this one oak tree to realize how long has passed since we played like that, as it continues to shoot to the sky. Time keeps on rolling.

Oh, the hairplanes!

I so remember that day! We were at the Memphis Zoo and had a ball! Sick from chemo and all.

And look how little the "big boys" look.

Here's another little story:

Another sweet kiddo.

JOR Foundation helped little Emilio.

This is one of Veronicia's favorite little boys, even though she has never met him! He is a sweet little thing!

Man, can you remember this crazy day? First Halloween at the Jude. They KNEW the Raborn family!

Hey, Nena Beth... see, I got your note! Thanks!

But I digress...

This is Little Miss Molly. She had the same kind of cancer as ol' Jake man! She lives in Wisconsin, and during one of our summer adventures, I went to her house to meet her and her mom.

Here's a little about her.

And finally, here is Miss Shelbi Mae when her hair was on its way out. in? I can't keep up! She made the most of it and went RED!

But now she is healthy and rocking long brown locks!

Tomorrow, I will show you what Jordan and I made to sell at Jake's store.

Bet you can't wait!

Mo