Dressember + Periscope: Bringing the Campaign to Life

After participating in Dressember last year, I've been challenging myself to come up with new and creative ways to promote the campaign, raise awareness, and share the process with all of you! To help bring my Dressember challenge to life, I'm going to be sharing it on Periscope!

 
If you've never heard of or used Periscope, it's a live video streaming app. That means you can watch live videos of me gearing up for and participating in Dressember. All my videos will remain on Periscope for 24 hours before disappearing, so they're only available for a limited time.

If you already have or decide to download the Periscope app, you can follow me there @MrsEliseMance. If not, you can also watch online at https://www.periscope.tv/MrsEliseMance. All my videos will automatically post to Twitter as well, so you'll know when I'm live and can get a direct link to the video I'm shooting.

Another new feature I've added this year is called "Support a Dress." When you donate $30 or more to my Dressember campaign, you have sponsored a dress.

As a sponsor, you get to pick out a dress for me to wear from my dress catalog (it's toward the bottom of the linked page). When I wear your sponsored dress, I'll send you a photo and give you a shoutout on social media. I think this will be a fun way you can participate by choosing what I'll wear!

For those who choose to donate anonymously or don't select a dress, I will select one for you and recognize you when I wear it.

I hope these initiatives make the whole process more interactive and fun while bringing awareness to a cause that is near to my heart. If you have any questions about this post or Dressember, please leave a comment below or contact me.

Vogts Family Photo Shoot

Fall has been a busy season for my photography! This month I've had at least one photo shoot scheduled each weekend, which has been awesome! But it also means I'm constantly playing catch-up on editing and sharing photos. I had a session with the wonderful (and very photogenic) Vogts family earlier this month, all in their backyard! Here are some highlights from their shoot.

More photo sessions will be coming soon! I've got some awesome senior photos and a maternity shoot to share with y'all! If you're looking for more information on my photography, you can find it here.

My 2015 Etsy Holiday Gift Guide

Christmas is coming and now is a perfect time to start planning for thoughtful, hand-picked gifts. Let my gift guide help you with some one-of-a-kind ideas from my Etsy shop!

In my shop, I specialize in custom creations. My listings feature examples of product designs as well as some pre-made items. With this gift guide, I hope to show you some things that are ready to buy, or give you ideas for something totally new that I could make for you.

When I talk to friends about what they want for Christmas, most say they want something thoughtful. What better way to give a thought-filled gift than a completely custom creation from my shop? I will work with you to design something that reflects the style and personality of whomever you are shopping for.

When you shop through my Etsy store, you are not shopping alone! Consider me your personal shopping assistant, who will also make the items you're buying! Together we can create personal gifts that will be treasured for years to come. Plus, they'll be delivered right to your door!

These journals are perfect for the writer, note taker, or artist in your life. They're also great for anyone who wants to begin keeping a journal but may need help getting started. These notebooks are perfect for women or men of any age. Plus, they can be gift wrapped so they'll arrive ready for gift-giving!

My art options are perfect for home decor and make a great, personal Christmas gift. Plus, if you order a custom piece, I will work with you to create a design that fits the style of whomever you are shopping for. Once you've settled on a size and design, why not purchase a coordinating frame from another Etsy vendor or local store to make your gift complete?

If you don't see exactly what you're looking for here or in my shop, please send me a message or custom order request. I've done paintings, signs, and made various other products for my shoppers. Just because it's not listed doesn't mean I can't do it.

Finally, top off your gift order with a few finishing touches like a card, gift wrap, or a bag tag. When you purchase something through my shop, you will be able to designate if your item is a gift or not. If it is a gift, you will receive a free, hand-lettered tag. On select items, you will be able to add gift wrapping for only $2. Your item will arrived wrapped and ready to go!

If you want more than a swing tag, order a custom card or my pre-made Christmas card set (one set is available, it comes with 3 cards). These cards ship free when you add them onto an order with another item.

As a thank you for checking out my gift guide, use the code "BLOG10" at checkout to receive 10% off your order! Come over to Elm Creative Designs and let's make this holiday season one to remember!

Clark Family Photo Shoot

The first of my fall family portrait sessions was with the Clarks! We had a lot of fun scouting out pretty locations at Kent Park in Tiffin. I hadn't been there before, but I loved getting to check it out with them. We had some adorable and priceless moments with their little ones, who were so much fun to photograph. Here are a few of my favorite shots from their session.

I'm currently booking fall photo shoots for families and individuals. If you're interested, check out my photography page for more information.

Dressember 2015: Let's Team Up to Change the World

 
In a couple months I'll be participating for the second consecutive year in Dressember, an initiative that uses fashion to raise money and awareness for anti-human trafficking work. I know it's early, but I wanted to get started on planning and sharing this with all of you so that this year can be bigger and better than last year!

Last year--and already this year--some of my friends have expressed interest in participating in Dressember. I hope this blog post will give you some more information and help you decide if this is something you want to do. I hope you will consider joining or supporting me, last year was amazing and I know this year will be even better!

What is Dressember?

The goal of Dressember is to use clothing to declare a message while working to raise support for anti-human trafficking organizations International Justice Mission and A21. Participants commit to wearing a dress each day for the month of December, demonstrating the inherent freedom and femininity of all women.

The Dressember foundation states, "In its first year of fundraising, Dressember had 1,233 registered participants in 32 countries across 6 continents who collectively raised over $165,000. One hundred percent of the funds raised in 2013 went directly to International Justice Mission. In 2014, participation doubled, and the funds raised nearly tripled, at over $465,000 raised."

If you'd like some more information about Dressember, you can check out the FAQ page.

How can I help?

Last year I participated in Dressember by myself. This year, I've created a team that I hope you'll join if you decide to participate! The team is called World Changers, and is open to anyone, women and men.

And speaking of men, here's a note for the guys: If you want to join the team and be a voice for women, consider a creative way you can participate. You can wear a bow tie each day, share a dress photo each day on social media, or if you're creative, draw a different dress each day! It's totally up to you!

 
If you decide to join, go to dressember.org/participatex and create your own fundraising page. Make sure to set a goal for how much money you would like to raise. When you’re done, you’ll see a green box near the top right of your fundraising page that says “Create or Join a Team.” Find the team name “World Changers” in the drop-down list and click “Join Team.” After you join the World Changers team, I will add your personal goal into the overall team goal.

When things get going, make sure to tag your posts with #TheWorldChangersTeam so we can see what everyone is doing throughout the month. 

What if I don't want to participate?

That is totally fine! I know wearing dresses for 31 days during the winter isn't for everyone, so no judgement here! You can still help out in other ways, though. 

Please consider donating to my fundraising campaign and ask yourself what you can give to this cause. Every dollar you invest goes to IJM and A21 (and is also tax-deductible within the U.S.), no amount is too small to give to this great work. Plus it feels really good to know that you've done something to make a difference in the world.

Next, please share my page with others you think should join the cause. You can post a link to it on Facebook, share it on Twitter, and email it directly to friends and family members. The direct link is https://support.dressemberfoundation.org/elisemance. This is a simple way to raise awareness and to spread the message that human trafficking is a very real, very wrong crime.

I'm also working on coming up with some incentives and other projects related to Dressember. If you're interested in helping me with a creative project, a collaboration, or coming up with ideas, send me an email at eliseloyola(at)gmail(dot)com. 

I'm so excited for Dressember and can't wait to see how we'll change the world together!