Are you using the cards you create?

Do you hoard them? Do you send them?  Are they taking up space or collecting dust?

For the last couple of years I have been looking for a way to use all the cards I create.  I have accumulated so many.  Boxes of them and it saddened me that I was not using them.  It was beginning to feel like such a waste my time.  What was I doing teaching others how easy it was to create such beautiful and fun cards only to have them sit on a shelf.  Yes we had fun making them.  It was therapeutic, great way to get together with friends ~ but at the same time it seemed like such a waste.  We were creating cards that would eventually end up in the garbage before they were enjoyed by someone.

What are you doing with your cards?  

I found a solution that works for me.  

We can really make a difference in others lives by sending our cards.

Through a non-profit organization called Bring Smiles to Seniors I am volunteering to send my cards.

I have a list of Seniors that I send cards directly too.  Inside of every card I write a personal note and mail it to them.  I send out about a hundred ‘Thinking of You’ cards a month.  If I have their birth date – I will send an additional birthday card to them with a note inside.  Every holiday they receive a card on top of the Thinking of You card for that month.  Some Seniors could get as many as 3 or more cards from me in a month.

It has been amazing for me.  Sitting and writing out my cards has become the highlight of my day!  I found a rewarding use for all my cards.

I don’t expect anything in return.  They are not required to write me or even acknowledge that they received the card.  The organization monitors the lists.  They get requests for cards in a number of ways;  family members could request cards for their parents, grandparents, whomever they wish.  Friends could request cards for their friends.  Nursing homes have requested cards, etc.  Names get added and deleted for various reasons.

I have actually heard from family members of people I send cards to telling me how much my cards and notes mean to them.  I have received thank you cards from some Seniors.  It means a lot when I hear how they are enjoying them.  But just sending the cards has really changed the way I think about card making.  We can really make a difference in someones life by sending the cards we create.

To my surprise I quickly ran out of my card stash and with my craft room under construction I needed help.  I needed cards.  I reached out to my crafting buddies and Stampin’ Up! sisters and received generous donations of cards.

Check out these donations:

 

These are some of my Christmas cards I am sending.  They each have a special gift inside and will need to be hand stamped at the postoffice because they are a little bulky.

If your cards are collecting dust, this is a great way to use them.  There are so many groups looking for cards.  You could just donate your card to people in the group that are willing to write notes and mail them each month.  Or you could create the cards and write notes in them. 

There are groups that send to children, soldiers, people with cancer, you name it.   

If you are like me and looking for something to do with your cards and would like information, don’t hesitate, contact me and I can help you.

Don’t let you cards go to waste.  You spend countless hours creating beautiful cards and you need to share them with others!

Contact me today if this might be something you are interested in.

I said it above, we can really make a difference in others lives by sending the cards we created.