Mail from one day last week. Amazing.

About 300 sock monkeys cooperated for this picture.

Sometimes, just sometimes favorites are picked by the Craft Hope receiving department.

Some of the most adorable monkeys have shown up. Each little detail, hand stitched with love. It’s a beautiful thing.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday 35 boxes arrived on our doorstep. The mailman was honestly worried that I’d be able to make it through the front door. Everyday he greets me with a smile and more boxes. I’ll get more pictures of the large group of monkeys in the daylight. Many monkeys have made their way under the Christmas tree and are hanging out. It’s like a little vacation for them before they head off to their new homes.

Project 15 has ended and we are currently sorting monkeys for delivery. If you still have monkeys to mail, please email me at jade@crafthope.com and I can get you the mailing address for our location in California that needs them so much. We need about 50 monkeys for the children who are burn victims in the hospital over the holidays.

From my house to yours, thank you for all you do. I’m surrounded by monkeys and I wouldn’t have my life any other way.

So the kids ran inside with the package and low and behold there were two sweet-non-mischief-making sock monkeys from Pennsylvania. They are the sweetest little duo. I’m not sure they are aware that there is a monkey party in the making and they are just the first to arrive.

They are now hanging out with me in the Craft Hope World Headquarters. I joke about such a locale because it’s only my desk in the corner of my bedroom. I think people think we are bigger. This is it folks. Welcome to the Craft Hope World Headquarters! This global crafting for charity organization is run right here. This little spot along with dining room tables, craft rooms, classrooms, and playrooms around the world. We are global. Spread out in your living areas.

I love making sock monkeys. I started making them with our last sock monkey project and found out how incredibly easy they are to make. They are great for Christmas presents and birthdays and I’ve given away my fair share of monkeys the past couple of years. So last weekend I purchased four pair of socks at good old Target, gathered my four favorite kids – ages 8, 6, 5, and 2 – and set to making sock monkeys. The kids were all on board for a while. They were great little helpers. Then it was time to give their Barbies a spa day and then onto karaoke. How do I compete with that? They had moved on from the sock monkey fever we all shared thirty minutes prior and there I was left with sock monkey parts.

Exhibit A. Sock monkey parts.

Now all of the parts are gathered in a bag awaiting assembly by yours truly. It’s only hand stitching that’s left so I’ll get it all done as soon as I can get ‘em all stitched up. Then add my four little monkeys to the growing collection to be delivered the first part of December!

Just a friendly reminder that it’s not too late to join us in making sock monkeys. Leave a comment on this post if you’d like to join in on the fun. It’s for a great cause.

Spread hope, y’all.

{Project 15 has now ended. Thank you to those of you who made sock monkeys for the children in Texas who lost their homes to wildfire in the summer of 2011. Please check the Craft Hope website for the most current project.}

Craft Hope is run outside of Austin, Texas and the billowing smoke plumes that were on the horizon the past few weeks tells me that Texas needs us. There has been smoke in the air and fires all around. Communities have been evacuated, only to come home and find that the only thing left is a charred landscape. Entire neighborhoods leveled by fire.

I’ve gone through my own mental lists lately as to what I need to grab if a fire breaks out. Fires have surrounded my small town. I haven’t ever personally experienced this type of evacuation, but know several families lately who have and some of which have lost their homes. The town of Bastrop experienced a devastating fire that destroyed more than six hundred homes. That’s at least six hundred families. Families with kids. Families who lost everything.

Just this summer alone, over 1,600 homes have been devastated due to wildfire in Texas. Two weeks ago fires raged through Texas burning through 1.4 million acres of land. Homes have been gutted, animals killed, and hundreds of famillies have lost their homes. At Possum Kingdom Lake, a wildfire raged and burnt over 87,000 acres in just 24 hours. Enough statistics for you?

Fire destroys lives.

We collected sock monkeys for Project 4 for children at a burn camp in California. Children who were victims of fire and still wear the scars. This time around we are going to collect sock monkeys for all of the children who lost homes in the Texas wildfires. You get the monkeys to me and I will hand deliver them across Texas.

Here’s the skinny, for Project 15 :: Sock Monkeys for Texas we are collecting handmade sock monkeys for victims of the Texas wildfires. The main requirement is that they are handmade. Once again, this is a great project for kids. I’m already planning with my own kids what kind of socks we are going to buy and how we are going to dress them up. Clothing is optional on the monkeys. I’m personally thinking about adding a tutu or a scarf. It is getting chilly out.

I’ve already started planning for the sock monkey invasion. I’ve got child locks on all of my cabinets and put away the breakables. They are a mischevious lot. Just ask Marjorie who collected them for us for Project 4. Left unsupervised they can cause havoc.

This is my youngest with her first sock monkey. Made by Jessica, my Aussie friend living in Germany, who makes beautiful sock monkeys.

The deadline for Project 15 is November 24, 2011. Thanksgiving. This will be our last project for 2011 so jump on board and join us. There are tons of sock monkey tutorials out there and I’ll put up a post with links shortly. Click here to be swiftly redirected to our post with patterns.

How many sock monkeys do we need? As many as you can muster. I would love a sock monkey for every kid who lost a home. This is possible, but I’m going to need your help to rally the troops and get people involved. Spread the word about our sock monkey project. Tell your friends about it, tell your neighbors, tell your neighbor’s friends, tell your church, tell your scout group, tell your craft group. Tweet it, facebook it, blog it. Spread the word. Spread hope.

We’ve got kids that need hope and a sock monkey is a great way to put a smile on their sweet faces.

Please leave a comment on this post if you plan to participate. I’ll also be posting this information to our facebook page so you can easily find it there as well.

Please mail the monkeys to:

Ready, set, create!

{Project 15 has now ended. Thank you to those of you who made sock monkeys for the children in Texas who lost their homes to wildfire in the summer of 2011. Please check the Craft Hope website for the most current project.}

A HUGE thank you to Marjorie for spearheading this project and taking care of all of the monkeys before they head to the children at the preschool burn camp. I’m sure the monkeys have been up to no good around her house. I’ve also enjoyed reading your blog posts and seeing the cute pictures of your monkeys causing mischief around your house and yard. I’m sorry I’m not always able to comment, but I do follow many of you.

There are currently 101 monkeys raising havoc playing nicely at Marjorie’s house! Thank you to all of you who have made monkeys for the children at the preschool burn camp. They are certain to put a smile on the kids faces.

I’ve also heard stories of groups getting together to make monkeys and I sincerely appreciate those of you who are spearheading these efforts.

Keep the monkeys coming in, the deadline is this Friday, September 18th! They will all find a great home.