Making a Difference
Making a difference with rubber stamps, ink, and paper! 
“To love what we do and share what we love as we help others enjoy creativity and worthwhile accomplishments. In this we make a difference.”
This is Stampin’ Up!’s Statement of the Heart. I truly believe and live this, even before I was a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator.
Creating and sending cards has always been a passion of mine, and Stampin’ Up!’s products make it easy and gratifying. Although I’m not the world’s best crafter (and I rely on Pinterest for inspiration, a lot), I love making cards and passing them along to others.
The card I’m sharing today is one I created multiples of early in the week. I experimented with Stampin’ Up!’s Bokeh Dots stamp set, which is retiring soon. So, I combined that with the Dandelion Wishes (which is carrying over) and made a handful. Then, each person on my list received this card. The list includes a teenage niece battling Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a friend of a friend diagnosed with stomach cancer, someone celebrating a birthday, and the list goes on.
I’m hoping people find joy and understand someone is thinking of them.
When my friend Dianne was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma many years ago, I began sending a “thinking of you” card weekly. Because I couldn’t remember what I sent from week to week, I found it “necessary” to design a new one each week. She later told me she compiled all of the cards in an album and discovered I never duplicated a stamp set! Imagine that! When Dianne passed away, I vowed I would, in her memory, continue to send something weekly to support someone in their journey.
Chemo Angels
This group dedicates itself to facilitating the sending of cards to those undergoing chemotherapy treatments in the United States. It matches volunteers with patients. As a volunteer, you commit to sending at least one card a week and often a small gift.
I’ve written to many patients through the years, and though it’s not meant to be a pen pal program, I know I’ve made a difference. Some of the patients graduate from treatment and others lose their battle.
A few years ago, I received a letter from a man who lost his wife. He thanked me for the cards and letters, saying he found a basket of them by his wife’s chair. She turned to them when she needed a pick-me-up. Those cards, made with rubber stamps, ink, and paper, made a difference to her.
It seems like such a small thing to do. But it’s the one thing I CAN do.
Stealing a saying from a fellow demonstrator: Making a difference one card at a time. May you find joy and purpose in your paper crafting.
Kim
