Holiday Season Donations

Here are a few of the most recent card donations – lots of them are hand-drawn, which adds a sweet touch to an already-sweet gesture!

This one was drawn by a boy who just moved to Arizona from Mexico! These were store-bought, but the nice people at Norris Management took the time to write little uplifting messages on 80 cards!! Click here to see the rest! Also, a special belated thanks to Cindy Schaider from the Casa Grande Alliance, who thought of us as she collected a pile of blank Christmas and “everyday” cards to donate!  And… after three months of collecting great donations, we finally delivered five stacks of cards to places where smiles needed to be sparked! We sent them off to Casa Grande Regional Medical Center, Pinal Gila Council for Senior Citizens, Deborah’s House, United Way, and Meals on Wheels! Do you know of any other charitable organizations that could benefit from Spark a Smile? Let us know! Did you find our blog because you received a Spark a Smile card? Please email us or leave a comment – let us know how you felt when you received your card!  We’d all love to hear it!

Last-minute Christmas gift idea

Looking for an easy, last-minute Christmas gift idea? Why not give someone the gift of card-making “therapy”? (Some of the ladies who participate in Spark a Smile report that crafting cards is a great way to ease your mind, get your thoughts off of the worries in life, and just make something pretty!) It’s simple:

1) Stuff a stocking with scissors, pens, glue, some blank cards, and a few colored-paper scraps.
2) Add a bow (optional).
3) Give it away!

And, for the accountants out there, I’ve calculated an estimated cost for this little gift:
1) Scissors: You can find them on sale if you’re diligent, but usually about $4 will get you a nice, sturdy pair.
2) Black scrapbooking pen: A nice pen/marker costs about $1.50 at craft stores.
3) Glittery scrapbooking pen: Just for fun! You can get them in value packs or singles, for about $1.50 each.
4) Glue stick (option #1): Two for $1.50 at discount stores
5) Glue runner (option #2): A dry adhesive that doesn’t get messy. A dispenser at Walmart is about $3.50, refills approximately 75 cents each.
6) Card blanks: A package of 250 sheets of cardstock can vary from $7-10, and you can fold 2 cards out of one sheet. So, if you give away 10 card blanks, that’s about 20 cents worth of card stock…
7) Colored paper scraps: Share from your stash! This varies, so keep an eye out for good sales and never underestimate the power of recycling junk mail or old cards!

Total Cost (high-end): $11
Hours of enjoyment: Approximately 50
Creating art with your own hands: Priceless 😉

Merry Christmas!!! Go spread some holiday cheer. See you January 9th!!

Last Thursday’s Card-Making Party

What a successful second card-making party we had last Thursday – we made over 50 cards that night!!

Some people chose to do all Christmas/winter-themed cards …

Some people chose to take the card-recycling challenge…

(the blue wise men and the white border are from a recycled Christmas card!)

(the cute little birdie was cut out from an old birthday card!)

some people swore they weren’t crafty, but made their very first card, EVER!!! She ended up making seven cards that evening!! How exciting!!!

Click HERE to see the rest of our creative results!

What about you? Ready to join the fun? Come join us on Saturday, January 9th, from 10AM-1PM. It’s the perfect way to unwind from the holidays!

WOW!! 182!!!

WOW!! Take a look at some of the *182* cards that were donated by the kids at Pinnacle High School! Thanks so much to Tamara S. for coordinating the card-creating classes, and for delivering the cards this week. Click here to see the rest of their amazing, encouraging artwork!!

P.S. Want to see some of these cards in person? Come to our card-making party on Thursday, December 3rd, from 5 – 7 PM!