Brandy Jesperson
I know it’s cliché, but time flies when you’re having fun. I distinctly remember talking with the Paper Crafts team and dreaming up a blog full of interactive challenges, beautiful pictures and prizes galore! Sure enough, two blinks of an eye and one year later here we are!
One of our goals when we concepted this blog was to encourage people to serve those around them. After all, card making is innately generous. We make cards for our loved ones to celebrate events, give condolences and simply say “hi.”
As I think back over the past 12 months, we’ve not only had the chance to give back, but we’ve also had a lot of fun doing it. So put on your magical time machine hats (you’ve all got one, right?) and join me for a quick trip down memory lane.
Last Fall Kelly joined forces with some crafty friends to crop for Cystic Fibrosis. Not only did all the proceeds go to a great cause, but it was also a chance to meet new people and create into the wee hours of the morning!
Here's Roxanne (Becky's sister), Kelly, Megan, Brenda and Becky.
In November we continued our tradition of decorating and donating a tree (complete with oodles of donations from manufacturers and designers) to the Festival of Trees. All the money raised at this event goes to the patients at Primary Children’s Medical Center, and over the past three years our trees have made more than $5000 for this great cause.
Ta da! What do you think of our finished tree?
Even our Go-to Gals got into the act this year! Ms. Maren shared a delicious assortment of chocolate-covered creations (accompanied by a hearty dose of papery goodness) ideal for teacher gifts. With two former teachers on our team, we love and respect the fine people who teach our children each day.
Switch out the tag and you've got a yummy Valentine's treat!
In December we joined forces with Creating Keepsakes magazine and Creativity Heals. This program encourages people to donate time, creativity or extra crafting supplies towards improving the lives of others. We invited all of you to donate cards to Operation Write Home and were blown away by the generosity you showed on our blog and Facebook pages. We’ve been associated with this charity for years and love their support for our nation’s armed forces. We also donated hundreds of cards to this charity following our World Card Making Day Card Contest in October.
All of these cards were sent in to Operation Write Home.
At each turn we have been struck by the kindness and willingness to give all of you readers have shown. Thanks for making 2009 a year of giving back. As a thank you I’d like to give ONE lucky person two copies of our new special issue Stamp It! Cards, two Fiskars stamp sets and two of our sassy Betty t-shirts. All that I ask is that you keep one prize package for yourself and give the other to a friend. To be eligible to win, please leave a comment telling me how you like to give back to those around you. Perhaps we’ll be able to take something YOU do and work it into 2010. All comments must be received by midnight (MST) on Wednesday, Feb. 3.
Thanks and love,
Brandy
P.S. It’s time to announce the 10 winners from Jennifer’s Sharing the CHA Goodies post and the five winners from Kelly’s January/February I-Spy post!
Jennifer’s winners:
1. Diane S. (Jan. 29, 7:59 p.m.)
2. Carisa (Jan. 28, 3:17 p.m.)
3. Brandy Jarvis (Jan. 28, 2:12 p.m.)
4. Tammy Wisterman (Jan. 28, 8:08 p.m.)
5. Carol (Jan. 28, 3:31 p.m.)
6. Iris Soscia (Jan. 28, 1:48 p.m.)
7. Diana N. (Jan. 28, 6:40 p.m.)
8. Sue B. (Jan. 29, 7:56 p.m.)
9. Letisia Chubbuck (Jan. 28, 6:43 p.m.)
10. Jennifer Hansen (Jan. 28, 11:15 p.m.)
Kelly’s winners:
1. Carol H. (Jan. 29, 9:53 a.m.)
2. cards4ever (Jan. 29, 10:39 p.m.)
3. Wendy M. (Jan. 30, 8:47 a.m.)
4. Kerry A. (Jan. 31, 9:43 a.m.)
5. Mary Ashby (Jan. 29, 8:04 a.m.)
Congrats, winners! Kelly will be contacting you shortly to discuss your prizes and get your mailing addresses. Thanks to all who left comments!
I love sharing with others and try and do it as often as I can. I have a most kind and generous online friend that has sent me goodies so I totally know who I would share this prize with. It is amazing how you can get to know and care about someone you have never met before in person.
This is why I love paper crafts for me it is a way of being able to share a little bit of a smile and happiness that is why I do create because I know that anything that I do make I can share and it will be able to make someone (I hope) smile. Each Month I try to donate at my church a bundle of cards so that they can be sent to whom ever might need them. To me when you give a handmade card you are giving away a little piece of you and a smile… and who wouldn’t want that?
I love to provide things that my friends need. I also raise money for Relay for Life and donate to many worthy causes in my community.
I recently made some cards and shipped them to Winter Sims for her Valentines project. I also try to do a lot of extra things for my students. I think that making their 3rd grade year the best ever, will not only impact their lives but also the lives of others around them! I hope to do more card projects, because it didn’t take very long . . . and it felt really good knowing that I would be brightening some child’s day!
My lss does the cards for troops which gets us all involved . We spend about an hour or so of a crop doing the cards for others before we start on our work.
I also love to crochet and always like to have a project going. I found a place that takes baby blankets who gives them to their clients. They are quick and easy to make and I feel like I am accomplishing something.
I have made it a habit for the last couple of years to send out at least one card a week to someone unexpectedly. I, also donate many of my cards to organizations that send them overseas to our military to send back home to loved ones. It makes me feel good inside everytime I do a random act of kindness.
I know this is small, but I like to bring breakfast for my coworkers every once and a while. I also like to make cards, and send them to people. I need to do more of that this year.
What a wonderful thing for you all to do. How do I give back? Well, one thing I like to create cards for our department here at work that hands them out to individuals in need as part of the Giving Committee, how nice it is to receive a hand made note of Sympathy or Get Well or even Best Wishes.
I donate cards to organizations as you’ve described above. I love to participate in our church programs including our food pantry, angel tree, mission sponsorships, children’s ministry and women’s ministry. I also love to show support to families expecting babies by throwing showers and giving handmade keepsake gifts (along with lots of baby supplies!).
This year, I made it my goal to send or give one handmade card to someone each week… hoping to lift the spirits and really connect with the people in my life on a consistent basis.
I also volunteer as a board member at my kids co-op preschool and help out my friends & neighbors as much as I can, in any way that I can (you know the “it takes a community” approach), because I am fortunate to have the time to do things like that. All little things… but I believe that its the little things that make all of the difference in this world:)
This year I hope to make cards for Cards for Heros which is very similar to Operation Write Home. Organizations such as these are close to my heart as I am a military spouse whose husband is deployed on a regular basis (and he is coming home next week!). Thanks for donating to such a wonderful cause.
I would give it to my bf’s sister. She’s been very generous with her crafting supplies to me, so I’d like to give back to her.
I make cards for my DD’s elementary school for the PTA to pass out to the teachers and staff on their birthdays. When I make these cards, I usually make duplicates and stick them in my Operation Write Home box. It feels great knowing that my extras will brighten the day of our soldiers and their families.
I love to give back in a variety of ways. From helping with my daughter’s Girl Scout troop to lending my time to a friend to paint her new home. My daughter and I both enjoy making cards which we alternate between donating to the local senior center and a family member who is currently deployed (he passed them out in his unit so that they can send them home).
A few weeks ago I was asked to make two random acts of kindness cards for http://undercoverkindness.blogspot.com/ . They make cards and set them out anonymously at random places: restaurants, bookstores, schools, etc. in order to hopefully make someone’s day. It’s a neat idea that anyone can do no matter where they are that can impact people in their own community.
I love giving back to those around me. I make cards for Operation Write Home, I send cards to “Cards for Kids” to cheer up sick kids and their families. Whenever I see a call on a blog I try to send a card. It’s such a great feeling sharing what I have made. I even get my kids involved.
I like to make cards for my sisters(to use as their cards). It’s something I like to do and It’s something handmade. Everyone loves to receive something handmade!
Sharing is such a wonderful privilege. Not only do you do something wonderful for someone else, but it makes me feel good too. I would love to share the prize package with someone very deserving who is so generous, she always takes care of others before herself. Thanks for the chance to win.
There are many ways I try to give back but I love to use my cards to give back. I recently sent cards to Winter Sims card drive for children’s hospitals but I also live to give cards to my family for their sending needs to help save them money. Every year the craft club I run at school donates cards to Cards for Soldiers or similar organizations.
I love giving back to our Soliders. There is an Organization “Soliders Angels” where you can make cards and they will send them over to our military so they are able to just go and pick up cards and send them back home to their love ones. Most soliders don’t have access to cards when they are in the middle of a foreign country or on a battle field so this is a way to let them know how much we appreciate their service and give a little of ourselves to them.
I give back in small ways because money’s tight right now. If I have extras in my scraproom I share with my bf’s mom, who started papercrafting about a year ago. When we shop together we bring our packages home and split the goodies inside so we’re giving to each other. Outside our craft one of my fav things to do is when I’m leaving my pay-by-the-day parking lot I look for someone who has just pulled in and run my parking ticket over to them so they don’t have to pay. I know that’s sort of cheating the parking lot people out of a few bucks but you should see the looks on people’s faces when they get a free parking pass. It’s the coolest thing!
I give back by helping out with a charity scrapbook convention that donates $12000 to charities every year. I also volunteer with the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.
Besides sending cards to friends and family I send donations for several causes each year, and donate a large portion of the books I buy/read to libraries in retirement villages and help shelters. Now that I’ve been making cards for a few months some of the comments above have given me a great idea, so I hope to be doing more with them soon. Wonderful contest, I know exactly who I would love to share this prize with.
I like to bring in chocolate or baked goodies in for my coworkers. It always brings a smile to their faces. And I’d love to share my winnings with a crafty friend or two.
I love to do scrapbooks of wishes granted for Make-a-Wish kids.
I’m a SAHM who used to be a teacher. I now teach a little class of 2 and 3 year olds once a week at Pioneer Club. I use my scrapbooking stash all the time to do projects with them.
The process of making cards is enjoyable, but the giving of cards is the best. A friend and I decided to start going to the local retirement homes and share our knowledge and cards with the residents. IT started out slow but has caught on. Now we have quite a following!! IT feels good to share what we know and our supplies. The folks get to give their cards to whomever they want. They get quite a kick out of it and enjoy seeing the smiles on their recipents faces.
I’d give back to my friend Amber…she’s having a tough week with both her furnace and her hot water heater going out (and it hasn’t been above 25 degrees here all week). She could use a pick me up!
I like to send some gift and or cards to friends to tell them I am thinking about them, waiting nothing in return. It’s great to make them smile
I love to give back – for me giving is a much nicer feeling than receiving, making someone smile is enough to make me feel ive done something right
I work in a hospital, so of course my whole day is about helping people–caring for them, teaching them about their health issues. I also like to help out my co-workers, the nurses I work with, the kitchen staff–anywhere I can help out, whether it’s going to get something or holding a dressing in place–whatever I can do to help out, I’m willing to do. I also try to always be there for my friends and family–the someone they can talk to or ask a favor from.
I run an Acts of Kindness group called Heartworks. Our mission is to reach out in small thoughtful ways to individuals and families going through challenging times. As facilitator of the group, I’ve been honored to be able to provide dinner for a family on the one year anniv of their infant twin sons’ passing; put together a Thanksgiving meal for an injured soldier and his family; and made and signed MANY cards of support, sympathy, thanks, etc for people in our community. I would utilize both kits for continuing to spread kindness throughout our world. It’s not just about giving back, it’s about allowing ones self to be present in someone else’s darkest time. Joy shared is doubled, sorrow shared is halved.
I work with college students and everyday I spend time helping them understand the concept of community and the role individuals play in the success of the whole. Personally, I try to make giving back my way of life and not just a special occasion. Generosity breeds generosity.
Once or twice a year, I normally go through my scrapbooking/cardmaking supplies & give them away. I given them to the local Girls Scouts chapter, local scrapbooking groups & to friends who are just getting into the hobby. It’s a great way to get rid of those items you are going to use & it always makes someones day!
I really enjoyed reading all of these neat ideas. I was recently asked to make up some cards to provide to our nursing home, so the residents there can send them out. I hope to do a card making class with those who are able. Thanks so much!
What a great post… We are all in this together — and the world certainly could use a little more kindness!
Also, EEEEEK!!! I cannot believe that I spy MY name in the I Spy Winner’s List! Hot dog!!! This has made my day… THANKS!
I like helping homeless animals by mailing in me old ink cartridges to petsmart charity.
What great ways to give back- all of them! It is so important for all of us to give however we choose. Sometimes we need a little nudge- sometimes we nudge others! I joined in the OWH fun this past year after seeing their blog hop- this is one way I can use my card making skills to share with others. I also make scrapbooking baskets for church auctions and our PTSA (even though my children have been out of HS for 3 and 5 years!). I love to volunteer delivering food to the food pantry, working the white elephant sale at church and helping where I can, although I know I could do more! There is nothing like helping others to lift your spirit!
My favorite way to give back is also the way I keep my stash from over taking my house. Every few months myself and a few of my crafty friends take our extra supplies to a women’s shelter. They are always so happy to have items they can use to make gifts for their own families.
I will definitely give the second prize to a friend… got someone in mind already.
I try to give back to those around me by offering to watch my neighbor’s kid. She doesn’t know anyone in town, her husband works 18 hr days and they only have one car.
I work at a school as a one on one paraprofessional to a special ed student. I help her and others at the high school on a daily basis. Thanks for a chance to win.
I would totally love sharing this prize! I receive small gift cards to local retail stores from sales reps all the time. Instead of keeping them for myself I like to pass these around the office so everyone gets to share in perks.
A few months ago I set up a card making class for the seniors at one of the senior living facilities for 62 and older. It was a hit and they actually want me to come back and do the class again. A lot of them thanked me for taking the time to come and show them how to make cards because a lot of them are lonely. I used a lot of my extra stash at the time and I didn’t even miss it because I knew it was for a good cause. I would love to do more classes with the seniors they are a riot and we had lots of fun with them. I think we all should spend lots more time with the seniors and what a better way to do it is to have a card making class, get togther, or a card making party. Trust me they will enjoy it.
I’ve organized a cardmaking day at the stamp store where I work the last two years. We’ve donated cards to the USO and to the Shriners’ Children Hospital. It’s great finding ways for our business/hobby to give back to others. On a personal note, I share my love of crafting with friends of mine, trying to turn them into cardmakers themselves!!
Hello Everyone from Canada.
I am a deaf grandmother living near Vancouver, B.C. My deaf friends and I are all interested in handmade card craft and getting together for card making class. It is great fun. My hearing husband is Scottish and we often travel to Scotland They have nice card craft magazine’s and Scrapbook shops. The Material papers are a different size from Canada, USA and Scotland. Rita Bain. Yes, facebook.
This is such a fabulous giveaway! If I won, I would give one of the gifts to my BFF, who is always giving her craft stuff to others. I also like to make and donate cards to local nursing homes, children’s hospitals and to our troops.
For non-craft contributions, I donate office attire to our local job bank and other household, clothing, etc to the Red Cross in my area.
I’ve made bright colored, paper pieced, decorative header cards for the preemies bassinetes at Primary Children’s Hospital and helped put together scrapbook kits for the parents of these children. I make cards for my neighbors. I’ve thrown a surprise birthday party for a friend who is sick and used Paper Craft’s creative ideas for the party favors. Because of your blog, I’ve learned about operation White House. Thank you for constantly sharing your ideas! I promise to share my gifts…if chosen!
since i love making cards
i try to send them off to different card drives!
I am a special education teacher for middle school students who love to make gifts & cards for others, especially their families. They totally enjoy using their hands to work on paper projects and most are economically disadvantaged, so that they do not get the opportunities to do crafts at home. If I won, I would offer some time after school and and give the other set to my school so more students could benefit with another teacher’s direction.
I headed up a card making project for our church’s first annual Love Madison Day. We did not have church services that Sunday we did services.
I headed up a group of all ages from kids to Grandma’s, international student you name it they all came to help make thank you cards for the police officer’s in the Greater Madison WI area. I rounded up donations of paper and cutters,stickers, etc. I had one person cutting out saying and flowers with her cricket, family’s punching out flowers and circles. I designed cards and had them cut and stamped and ready to put together on tables. Mind you we never did this before and there was no budget.We made over 500 cards that day and they were delivered to not only Madison police but several surrounding towns along with home made goodies to go with them.
Talk about awesome. It blew me away way can be done if everyone dose a little. The proud faces said it all. The police officers were floored to see all of the cards.
If I won I would donate my things to this event this year and it would pay forward again !
Donna Polley