3 Creative And Crafty Things That Will Comfort Cancer Patients

If you’ve been going through your stash of crafty supplies and want to use them to give back, this post provides a great way to get started with three creative things you can make to bring comfort to cancer patients.

Spring cleaning is in full force in my house and the same appears to be true in many of the creative groups I follow. People with all kinds of fabric, scrapbooking supplies, and yarn have decided that some of it needs to find a new home and fast.

So, if you find yourself ready to ‘destash’ why not making some simple handmade items that support cancer patients?

Comfort Cancer Patients With Your Creativity

These three ideas vary in level of difficulty. Each of them, however, carries the same meaning: the idea that someone, somewhere wants to bring even the smallest bit of comfort and joy to a person fighting cancer. And if you don’t already have a charity in mind to which you’ll donate your items, I have some wonderful, worthy suggestions.

Easy: Creative Handmade Cards Show You Care

While email and texting may be some of today’s easiest forms of communication, I don’t know a single person – at any age, mind you – who doesn’t like to receive a handmade card. While I don’t have research data at my fingertips to cite (although I bet it exists), I am convinced that holding something another person made just for you creates a visceral positive impact on the recipient.

 

Handmade cards are something that can be as simple as a drawing with colored pencils and adding some stickers, or something more involved like the above dyed rice paper that I stitched to a card. That’s the beauty of handmade cards. If you can fold something in half and add some of your creativity, you have just made a card.

Featured Charity: Card Care Connection

For this project, I want to introduce you to Card Care Connection, “a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing sympathetic messages and motivational cards to those who face cancer. Our goal is to provide an uplifting message of hope to brighten their day.”

What I like about Card Care Connection is that their mission and specific need is very clearly communicated. Not only do the give a detailed explanation about how to make cards for them, but they also take the guesswork out of what you need regarding card making supplies.

Intermediate: Pillowcases Bring Sweet Sleep

Pillowcases have been a “go to” of mine for gifts of all kinds. I keep a stash of flannel just for pillowcases, and that fabric stash has especially come in handy when I had friends with children who needed a short or long-term hospital stay.

Sewing a pillowcase is also a extremely straightforward project that involves matching of fun fabrics and straight-line sewing. I have made pillowcases from a single piece of fabric (when the pattern super busy and I’m super busy), but the nicest pillowcases have a main fabric and a border (as showcased below).

This is a great way to use up some of the flannel you have in your stash. If you don’t have flannel on-hand it is still an inexpensive way to give back because stores like JoAnn Fabric’s regularly run sales on flannel so you can buy it for less that $3.00/yard.

Featured Charity: Ryan’s Case For Smiles

If sewing for charity is something you enjoy doing, why not whip up some pillowcases for Ryan’s Case For Smiles? This organization is, “dedicated to helping kids feel better to heal better. While other great organizations focus on research and finding a cure, [they] work to improve the quality of life of children and their families as they undergo treatment.”

A life-threatening illness should not define any child and a whimsical, handmade pillowcase can often be just the emotional boost a child needs.

Started in 2007, Ryan’s case For Smiles has delivered 1.7M (yes, your read that right, MILLION) and counting. To get started, read more here on how to sew a pillowcase for them and make sure to review their pillowcase guidelines thoroughly.

Advanced: Handmade Blankets Are Wonderfully Warm

As a child, I wasn’t partial to any specific blanket, but now that I’m older I definitely have my favorites. Some of the blankets have become special because of the I love the materials and blanket weight, while others (like the t-shirt quilt I made) represent snapshots of a moment in time that was special to me.

I have labeled this endeavor as “advanced” because of the time and materials it typically takes to make a blanket, regardless of whether you’re using fabric or yarn.

When making a blanket for a cancer patient, something approximately 46 x 46 is a great size. This can be a quilt, hand-tied blanket (think fleece), or something you have knitted or crocheted.

Featured Charity: MD Anderson Cancer Center

While I usually feature smaller organizations that may not find themselves on a national (or international) stage, after taking the time to make a beautiful quilt or crocheted blanket you cannot go wrong by donating it to the MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Not only has MD Anderson been named the “No. 1 hospital for cancer care in the nation” by U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Hospitals” survey, but they continue to engage in cutting edge research to improve patient treatment and outcomes.

Once again, make sure to read MD Anderson’s guidelines for donating handmade goods.

Craft To Comfort Cancer Patients

Crafting a handmade card, pillowcase, or blanket is a wonderful way to show people in need that we are thinking of them during a difficult time and for cancer patients a positive outlook is extremely important to their treatment process.

So next time you stare and your stash and wonder what it should become, I hope you will consider crafting something beautiful to comfort a cancer patient.

Mother’s Day Giveaway

Mother’s Day is fast approaching so I not only wanted to feature ways to give back to worthwhile charities, but I also want to give back to my readers! So take a look at all of the wonderful bloggers who are participating in this giveaway and enter for a chance to win.

Now on to the giveaway!

We are so excited to be giving away $250 in cash prizes for Mother’s Day to two lucky readers.

The prize will consist of 2 – $125 gift cards. Each winner will choose the gift card you want. Please choose a gift card which comes from an online store and can be paid by US dollars. EX: Amazon, Target, Walmart, Macy’s, Kohls, etc. You may ask for more than one gift card but must add up to $125.

Please stop by and say hi to these wonderful ladies and their blogs.

The giveaway will end midnight on Friday, May 11th, a few days before Mother’s Day. You will have 48 hours to respond to the email claiming the prize. If we don’t hear in 48 hours, we will choose another winner. The giveaway is open to anyone over 18 years of age and able to receive e-gift cards from the U.S.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

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