The hardest part of maintaining a blog is the daily writing. Don’t get me wrong, I love to write, and I love to share about my passions, but life gets in the way, and let’s face it, I am not a daily habit kind of gal unless it is my Starbucks habit!
Since my last post I have been trying to come up with designs to make for the Craft Faire at work. I donate a ton of stuff to this every year to help my residents raise money for our Activities Department. Last year I went to town making earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. This year they discovered that I make cards and so they now want cards at the Craft Faire. Ok, this should be easy, right? Well, not as easy as I had hoped! Because I am using all of my 2005 Stampin’Up! supply, when I run out of a certain color of cardstock, I have to come up with something new. This is not a bad thing, since I hate making too many of the same card, but it makes it difficult to accumulate stock quickly.
What is cool about this venture is that I get to teach my residents how to make their own cards. I As you will notice, my style is pretty clean cut and not too artsy. That works for me because I have a lot of beginners in my classes at work. Oh, I guess I forgot to mention what it is I do! I am the Director of Resident Services and Activities at an assisted living community for adults 22-64+ years old who have a physical disability. They are an awesome group and what is fun about them is that they are roughly my age, so we have a lot in common. have some pretty talented ladies at work who love to paper craft.
In my classes, I teach them how to use different tools such as the Big Shot and dies, paper punches, stamps, along with teaching them different techniques. My upline is awesome because she donates some of her retired stock to my residents, so they have pretty paper to use to make the cards. What is cool is that I have a few of the gentlemen join us as well. By having these classes, my residents are able to use the skills they have learned to help us raise money for more activities. This means more money for movies for the Theatre, parties, entertainment, field trips, materials for paint pouring (which they absolutely love!), and other activity supplies. Knowing that they helped raise money for all of this, gives them a sense of wellbeing and a sense of purpose.
So, I may not be the blogger who posts daily because my larger mission is to be “Making Smiles One Card at a Time”, even if that means staying up late most nights trying to design cards that are easy enough for beginners to put together, but interesting enough for seasoned crafters to enjoy, and that allows all levels of physical ability to participate!
Let It Snow Stamping 