Share Handmade Kindness Challenge Week 2: Community

Welcome! Today is the start of Week 2 of the Share Handmade Kindness Challenge. Many of you were able to play along during Week 1 (check out many inspiring images HERE)… and I hope you can participate this week, too.

SHK-Week-2

Week 2 (November 9 – 15) will focus on sharing any kind of handmade kindness with anyone who works/serves in our community – anyone who provides a helpful service to us.

Here are some ideas of who can give to this week: waitresses, doctors, mailmen, nurses, teachers, police, firemen, military, pastors, etc.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

Participating is easy. Simply make and GIVE something to someone who works in your community. It can be a card, sweet treat, handwritten note – anything made by the hand, from the heart counts. It is that simple! The more you give, the better. This is all about spreading kindness and appreciation… especially when it is least expected.

And since kindness is contagious, I also encourage you to share whatever you create on your blogs, social media, etc… and even here on my blog. Let’s inspire each other! Here are three options:

  1.  Post a photo of whatever you create on social media with the hashtag #sharehandmadekindness.
  2.  Link a project you created to this post using the link-up tool below. (At the end of the post – click “Add a Link.”)
  3.  Leave a comment on this post telling what you created. (This is great if you don’t do social media or have a blog. Easy peasy!)

You are welcome to do none of these, one of these, two of these, or all three! But for each you do, you will be eligible for a prize…

PRIZES

To celebrate this week’s challenge, I have THREE great prizes to give away.

Prizes-2

This week’s prizes include:

  1.   A $100 Gift Certificate to Simon Says Stamp
  2.   A $25 Gift Certificate to Lawn Fawn
  3.   A $25 Gift Certificate to Mama Elephant

These three companies were very generous and kind to offer these prizes. Please consider checking out their stores – great people!

I will give one prize to someone who I see participating on social media with the hashtag #sharehandmadekindness. I will give another prize to someone who links their project below. And a third prize will be to someone who leaves a comment on this post letting us know of their participation. All will be randomly picked on 11/15/15. (International folks are eligible, too!)

If for some reason you can’t participate, no worries. I will have other random giveaways throughout the week! Stay tuned.

KIND CAMPAIGN

If you have a moment, please consider checking out the Kind Campaign. This is a group of strong women working to end bullying. Their work is phenomenal. I will be donating to them throughout the month and hope that you will consider doing the same. (I have been sharing a lot about Hero Arts donating a percentage of their profits of some kindness stamps – be sure to check that out, too!)

BADGE

A few people asked if there was a badge or image they could share on their blog. You can download this one HERE.

SHK blog badge

LINK UP YOUR PROJECT

As I mentioned, you are welcome to link here to share your project to inspire others. This is optional! It is easy – you can watch THIS video if you need some help.

Thank you so much for joining me in this challenge!


Leave a Comment

242 thoughts on “Share Handmade Kindness Challenge Week 2: Community”

  1. Kristine Amari says:

    I made a card and some cookies for my daycare providers. So much fun!

  2. Nels Nelson says:

    I’ve donated Sympathy Cards to one of University of Michigan’s ICU units for 2 years now. It’s so rewarding to hear back how the families have appreciated the “handmade” and thoughtful efforts put forth by U of M. I’m so lucky to be a part of this; it adds special purpose to making these cards. Such a good idea to get everyone’s experience in this regard, thanks so much Jennifer – you are such an inspiration and a force for good out there!

  3. Debbie Vasel says:

    This week I decided to downsize my crafting supplies so I set out to reorganize the whole room.
    I ended up with a few boxes of brand new crafting items to give away.
    When I gave them to my friend’s daughters along with a handmade card,
    they were blown away. Their smiles made all the work worth it.

  4. KristieMaynard says:

    I’m loving this challenge. I gave our mail carrier a handmade card and a Tim Horton’s gift card. Thanks!

  5. SQUEAL!! LOVING LOVING LOVING this AMAZING Challenge and the FUN ways that people are giving back!! =) I’ve made several Cards and Given an Iced Coffee Slush Recipe Card to several of the People at the Motel and Cancer Treatment Center where I’m staying and getting my Treatments!! They are ALL AMAZING People and have shown such KINDNESS since I have been here!! I wanted to give something back that they could ENJOY this Holiday Season!! THANKS for sharing and for the chance to WIN!! Have a FABULOUS WEEK!! =)

  6. Julia Trzeciak says:

    I made my first card set inspired by Jennifer!!!?

  7. mrsdidi says:

    I gave handmade cookies and a card to the Bishop of our church ward. He and his family sacrifice so much for him to be able to serve his congregation. Thank you so much for having this challenge. I always think of things to do for people but never follow through. Jennifer, you are amazing!!!

  8. ambecoming says:

    I couldn’t decide until I saw your post today what I wanted to do for this weeks challenge. I finally decided to give my mail carrier a thank-you card and a coffee gift card. My grand-daughter got involved and felt very proud to place it in the mailbox! I actually created a pocket with a short piece of cardstock the same width as the card using washi tape around the bottom and sides. (it felt great to do it AND I got to use one of my new stamp sets I just bought Sunday with a “thanks a latte” and to-go cup, colored with watercolor pencils) Thanks so much for the inspiration!

  9. Karen P. says:

    I tried to download a card but can’t seem to do it right. Anyway I made a beautiful card for an elderly friend from our church who fell and hurt herself. Hope she enjoys the card as much as I enjoyed making it for her.

  10. Noreen says:

    I have been working on an envelope box of handmade cards to give to the local elementary school for the staff and teachers. It was such a fun project. Over the past few months, I’d make an extra card or two for this appreciation gift. My granddaughter attends this school also. She did the artwork on the box! I have already received a wonderful thank you message from the principal who even mentioned that it will “spread joy and kindness throughout the building.” Though I wasn’t aware of the “Share Handmade Kindness” campaign as I made the gift, it really was timely!

  11. Maria says:

    Working on a card for our mailman. He’s such a nice person, and doesnt mind carrying tons of boxes up our steep steps every week. Will be putting it in the mail box for him in the morning.

    I would post this on social media, but my camera on my phone keeps taking black pictures, nothing but solid black 🙁

  12. Dr Sonia S V says:

    I am sharing a couple of cards I made for my daughters teachers

  13. Leigh Penner says:

    My daughter baked cookies and I made a card and we delivered them to the wonderful staff of our town library.

  14. cutie.jensen says:

    I made some cards to say Thank you and I appreciate you for our son’s Therapist, case manager and provider.
    So happy to share some kindness!! 🙂

  15. In the sewing community that I join, there are several ladies who are in need. I will share some cards of mine with them and also some token.

  16. barbmac says:

    I made a burlap fox and turned him into a thanks card for another volunteer EMS worker on our local ambulance squad.

  17. Lianna P. says:

    Thanks for encouraging handmade kindness and for hosting these giveaways! This week I made my mom a Christmas ornament. I used a white pipe cleaner and white buttons of various sizes to make it look like a little Christmas tree, with a jewelled button on the top as the star.

  18. wendy_puckett says:

    For week 2 of the share kindness campaign, I created a “bag full of sunshine” borrowing some ideas from the Worth Checking Out post on your blog (thanks, Heather Ruwe!) and I created my tags from stamps, dies, ribbon and card stock I already had on hand 🙂 I made 10 of these bags and tags and delivered them to teachers at our city elementary school- they certainly deserve kindness for what they do for our community! I included a handmade card and stamped envelope in their treat bags, and I challenged them to send those out and keep the kindness cycle going! I love this challenge- Thank you, Jennifer! I will upload an image of the bags to instagram using the hashtag!

  19. Noreen says:

    I don’t have a photo of anything I’ve done. But I have often sent or given someone a gift just because – even total strangers. We’ve been having work done on our home, and as soon as they are finished, I plan to make a batch of cinnamon rolls for the guys.

  20. Valerie Serfozo says:

    What an awesome challenge again this week. My dog was groomed today, and instead of just handing the groomer a tip, I made a thank you card for her, and put the tip inside.

  21. ionabunny says:

    Giving my card to a librarian at the local library. She is always cheerful, helpful and inspiring. Hugz

  22. Ashlyn E says:

    I made a card for one of my favorite baristas, using the Ellen Hutson Zipper panel die. Inside the zipper panel I added a gift card to return the kindness we have always received from her. I also wrote he a short note telling her how awesome and appreciated she is. We drink a lot of coffee and see her often. Shes always kind and cheerful!

  23. LauraBean says:

    I sent a card to the pastor of a church I’ve recently started attending as well as a card for a counselor in my community. I’ve been inspired by this challenge to send more of the cards I create, so thank you!

  24. LauraR says:

    So- quick funny story. I included my husband on this one and said, “Who should we send a card to?” His response was our Village Manager! I would never have thought of this because, well, we’ve never met her! But we recently moved to where we are now and we love it and have a lot of love for the community, so I said, “why not?!” It was mailed off this morning. I can only imagine someone who has to do a lot of work like that doesn’t get enough thanks, so hopefully that will brighten her day.

  25. This week I baked cookies (Mint Chocolate Chocolate Chip with Dark Chocolate Ganache frosting–to die for!) for our local firefighters & EMTs. I also created a thank you card for them, which my mom & I both wrote messages in to them, thanking them for their service. We delivered them this afternoon. Even without tasting the cookies, they loved them, and guaranteed us they will be eaten! Funny thing is, I had planned this for today even before I knew today is World Kindness Day! 🙂

  26. Cris G. says:

    Thank you for the challenge, this world certainly needs more kindness!
    I made a card, but I’m not sure to whom I’ll be giving. Living in a country where the mother language is not English, it will look pretentious and unkind giving my card to someone who doesn’t understand what is written…

  27. Ericka16Ericka16 says:

    I made a card for our mail carrier who has been working hard delivery our mail to the neighborhood and doesn’t really get any interaction with any of us since we have those community mailboxes. Hopefully this will help her realize her work is appreciated!

  28. Rema DeLeeuw says:

    I made a thank you card for the gal from UPS who always stops by my house to deliver stamping goodies that I order on line…

  29. MacNaughton says:

    Loving the joy we are getting out if this challenge. We are giving handmade ‘Thank you’ cards to a few people in our church community that are serving and adding a little gift to go with it. Some will get a set of handmade cards. I say ‘we’ because I told my husband about your challenge and he started listing people ‘we’ should do that for. ?
    (My husband hears me watching your videos and says “Hi, my name is Jennifer, and I’m addicted to stamping…”) ?

  30. Sheri K says:

    I just received my Hero Arts Kindness stamps, I was waiting to use them in the 2 cards I made for my Pastor and my brother’s Pastor. For my Pastor, who is building himself a cabin, I made the cabin card, colored with pastels and a paint brush, I made this for one of Kathy’s coloring challenge. For the Pastor of my brother, I made her a very bright, colorful card, again using an image I colored during Kathy’s coloring challenge. My brother traveled to heaven , his most uplifting, celebration of his life was held on all Saints day and the love and kindness from the church and community were overwhelming. Thanks for motivating us to share kindness–we need to fight violence with kindness and love.

  31. Sabina F. says:

    I love your challenge, I think it will bring a lot of happiness all over the world. I made a holiday card for my awesome postman. 🙂 I can’t wait to give it to him.

  32. teresa kline says:

    I am giving a bag of candies to the mail lady, she is not my normal carrier and is not as prompt and efficient as my normal carries, all the more reason to show her kindness!

    sparkle & shine kindness! *~*

  33. I put together a small package for my mail carrier. It has packets of hot chocolate and some homemade cookies. I topped it with a handmade card. She really gets a workout at my house, so she definitely deserves it!

  34. Jazzyscrapper says:

    I like to send cards to my girlfriend to cheer her up!

  35. Lil says:

    My mom has no time to make art projects because of her work. So I took the time to make her cards she can use when she need. She is doing so much for the family so I am glad I can help her with that.

  36. Gail A says:

    Baking pumpkin chocolate chip bread and making tags to attach for all of the teachers in our life!

  37. LisaB says:

    I made a thank you card for my local stamp shop owner because she makes it possible that we (so far away from the US) can enjoy crafting with wonderful products too 🙂

  38. Connie G says:

    I did double this week! I made a handmade card and wrote a nice note to the special needs teacher and team in my son’s high school classroom. He graduated two years ago but I want them to remember how important they are in each student’s life. Their influence is everlasting. I also gave them a loaf of pumpkin chocolate chip bread to accompany the card. Today, I also brought pumpkin bread to my hairdresser who has done my hair for over 15 years now! Great challenge. Can;t wait for next week.

  39. Robin says:

    I had the blessing of filling up a big tub of crafting items to give to a young Girl Scout leader to thank her for her service.

  40. Kit says:

    I made a gift card holder for the custodian who is leaving at my daughter’s school where she teaches.

  41. angeliqandrea says:

    I made my second card (yea!) to give to my mail lady she’s so kind and thoughtful she brings my packages to my front door whether its 104′, down-poring, or there’s so much ice outside you can barely walk and she doesn’t have to. She was so blow away that someone thought of her as a more than just a mail lady she started crying. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE spreading kindness you really know how others are feeling on the inside and it can change there whole perception. Thank you for continued inspiration! 🙂

  42. Jackie says:

    I made two cards for nurses. The husband of one if the nurses is a teacher so i thanked him too 🙂

  43. mroberts3 says:

    I made a little mini-book for the Children’s Librarian at our local public library. For years she has been sharing the love of books and reading with our children and grandchildren – prior to her work at the library, she was a school librarian. It can be worn as a necklace or simply hung from the cord. Most of the materials came from the October Afternoon Public Library collection. Many thanks to Shirley Pando for the YouTube tutorial.
    http://papertrail3.blogspot.com/2015/11/love-your-library-mini-book.html

  44. Linda Knors says:

    I tried all afternoon trying to figure out how to load this picture of the card I made for the Milwaukee Police Department Sensitive Crimes Division. (MPD/SCD) I am a social who does CPS work in Milwaukee Co. I work with SCD all the time and wanted to give them a thanks .
    I used Brusho in blues and greens. Put a border on the right side in blue green and embossed white hearts on the border. Die cut a Thanks in a dark blue then stamped a bit of kindness to brighten your day for the sentiment inside

  45. Lindarub says:

    Sending one to a friend to give to her mom’s caregiver and some elderly friends.

  46. I am making up a thank you gift package and a card (shared here: http://www.craftypaws.us/cas-thank-you-card-happycreating-dtp/ ) for the nurse coordinator, Elaine, who has been helping my hubby (and me) as he goes through all the pre-op prep for donating a kidney to my brother, who has total kidney failure. The operation is on Tuesday and it has been a long, hard process so I wanted to do something to thank Elaine for all she has done to help us through this very difficult time. Thanks for always inspiring and motivating us in crafts and being thoughtful people! Big hugs, Kristina

  47. Lorelie says:

    I made a card for my daughter who is going to be a teachers aide next week. She just got married in January of this year and moved to a new community so everything is still pretty new, but she’s enjoying it!

  48. Toni C says:

    Loads of beautiful cards linked up! I have made a couple of thank you cards for my son’s teachers. When your child says “I love doing her [the teacher’s] homework” you know something is going right!!!

  49. Rebecca says:

    Thanks again for another great week of the Share Handmade Kindness Challenge. I made a card for my Grandma telling her how much she has been a role model for me. She is someone who has been serving her community all her life as a mother, as a volunteer, and because each day she strives to be more religious, more patient, more humble, more understanding,and more forgiving. She (and my Grandpa) raised a family of 6 incredible children who actually care about and enjoy spending time with each other! Even though she’s 86, for the past 15-20 years she’s regularly made rosaries by hand for the church, quilts for children in the hospital, and knitted scarves for veterans.

  50. KittyT says:

    I made four cards for both my children’s teachers and teacher’s assistants. This is my son’s first year of elementary school and has recently been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD. His teachers have been wonderful and have truly made this an exceptional year for him (which I believe has set the ground for his outlook on school).

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