It feels so good to give.
Giving is so beneficial for the giver and the receiver.
I racked my brain to think of as many things as possible that people could do to Craft It Forward. I came up with this list…and I can’t take all of the credit because our Facebook readers helped me.
Do you have ways we can Craft It Forward? PLEASE share your idea in the comments below!
Here we go…
1. Send handmade THANK YOU cards to people who have inspired or helped you.
2. Surprise someone you love by putting hearts all over their door with a reason you love them upon each heart.
3. Make blankets for the Newborn Intensive Care Unit at the hospital.
4. Make big brother and big sister kits for a family that just had a new baby. Sometimes the older siblings tend to feel left out.
5. Offer to teach a creative skill free of charge to a local group.
6. Cheer up your husband with a candy gram telling him how much you appreciate him.
7. Create birthday cards for an nursing home.
8. Give a spa kit to a new mother.
9. Make a money tree for a teenager that could use a fun surprise!
10. Make a holiday wreath for a family member or neighbor.
11. Create fun hair bows or hair flowers and give them to random little girls.
12. Help a friend or neighbor to paint a room.
13. Make handmade dolls or toys and give them to a women’s shelter.
14. Crochet baby items and give them to the pediatric unit at the hospital.
15. Make some fun t-shirt hats for cancer patients.
16. Make some homemade play dough and give to a preschool teacher.
17. Make beautiful bracelets and give them to a local women’s shelter.
18. Make a countdown chart or advent calendar and give it to a family with young children.
19. Frame an inspirational quote and give it to a friend who needs cheering up!
20. Make some floral arrangements and deliver them to a nursing home or the moms that just had a baby.
21. Give your daughters or friends a personalized journal!
22. Offer to make a Halloween costume for a child that wouldn’t be able to have one otherwise.
23. Give a teacher a gift of “sunshine” including all things bright and yellow inside.
24. Brighten a veteran’s day with a patriotic craft or thank you card.
25. Know somebody who is throwing a birthday party…offer to help with decorations!
26. Give a local daycare or preschool teacher some handmade matching games.
27. Know someone who is sick? Give them a “Get Well Kit”
28. Give a new neighbor a welcome to the neighborhood gift including a treat, important numbers, and a cute card.
29. Make some fun bookmarks and give them to a local library.
30. Call a local school and do a fun kids craft {and include the supplies}.
31. Surprise a little girl with a homemade dress or skirt.
32. Surprise a little boy with a Lego storage box and small Lego set.
33. Leave cheerful and inspirational notes in random places for family members.
Do you have an idea on how to “Craft it Forward”? Please share in the comments below!
Post By: Kari Sweeten
Any parent would LOVE that!
What a wonderful way to serve Andrea! I think a lot of people shy away from this horrible issue that happens daily and I commend you all for doing this!
Thank you for sharing the link!
Morena, I’m off to check it out right now to see what “heart bombing” is!
Okay, that’s one of the cutest ideas I’ve ever seen!
Morena,
Cute idea! We are doing something like this as a fund raiser for our friend who has stage 4 kidney cancer. We contacted all of our neighbors in the area where our friend lives and sold the hearts for $1 each. We are saving them for valentines day so we can go place the hearts on her business windows to see as she comes in to work. ALL the money will then be delivered to her office to help out with medical treatments. We are giving her a “Heart At
“Heart Attack”
What a great idea Holly! Also, a wonderful way to teach children…thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Kari!
Mary, what an awesome idea!
Thank you. We are fixing those RIGHT now.
I like to donate cards to Operation Write Home. The cards go our service men who are living abroad. Here’s their link: http://operationwritehome.org/
I like to fill baskets with craft supplies (usually with a theme- kids, scrap booking, rubber stamping, etc)) and donate it to a silent auction fundraisers! I also like to donate handmade items to the fundraisers as well – jewelry, quilts, a tote bag, a hand sewn girl’s dress…
Bake cookies or a small cake for a shut-in.
When I was 16 years old, my aunt made me a “quillow” (a quilt that folds into a pillow). My mom had just been killed in a car accident, and I was in need of comfort. That quillow not only kept me warm physically, but even now, 20 years later it is a reminder to me of someone who gave me comfort at the hardest time of my life. She did it through her craft… Now I need to figure out how to make those quillows!!! Thanks so much for your post, it’s got my wheels turning.
Maren, your comment brought me to tears. I’m sorry to hear you lost your mother, especially at such a young age. Your aunt sounds amazing-so glad you had her at this difficult time in your life. Thank you for taking time to share this beautiful comment.
I am inspired! We host a “Parents Night Out” once a month for the families in our community/neighborhood. I have a beautiful 24 year old daughter with special needs who volunteers to work it. She and I come up with different themes such as “Book Worm” party where the kids make book bags, book marks and decorate a journal. Fun Stuff and the parents get a Date Night! Check out some of her adventures at alliesparkles.blogspot.com
These are great! #3 and #4 are on the top of my to-do list for sure 🙂
This is an awesome idea! I teach sewing to 4th-8th grade girls twice a month, but I’ve been looking for other ideas to pay it forward. Thanks!
My daughter is in the 4th grade and takes sewing classes! She wants an American Doll for her birthday so she can sew clothes for it!
I get out a lot of my creative energy by making “enrichment toys” and habitat structures (like swings and fun perches) for birds at animal rescue centers. If captive birds are not stimulated enough, they can develop severe psychological problems and even die 🙁 Just google “DIY bird toys” and you will come up with a million exciting ideas! Most can be made out of simple or recycled materials. One word of caution – you must be very careful to use only bird-safe materials. There is plenty of information on the internet to guide you. Rescue centers and the birds (!) are always appreciative of my donations.
I’ve been doing this all month! I’ve been trying to do it with things I have in my stash though. I’ve left cute coffee mugs with k cups but the coffee pot with a cute note. I’ve decorated a few composition notebooks and put them in their mailboxes. And I did a few little bags of kisses and hugs with a note that teachers need more than apples, they need hugs and kisses, too!
I want to be like you Lisa!!!
Thank you so much for sharing your fun ideas!
What great ideas!
I crochet blankets and donate to Project Linus. They in turn give them to children in hospitals!
This is wonderful. Love it! Pinning and sharing :)))
For over 18 months I have been making and delivering toys, pillows, and more to the children’s hospital and crisis nursery in my city. It’s been one of the most rewarding things I have ever done just to see those little smiles. I’m now making 75 superhero capes, masks and wrist bands for the Cardiac Camp. Every town has some program that needs help such as Foster Care. Please check my blog for info and find someplace to donate to the kids in your town. It will change you forever!
Dona
sewingmilesofsmiles.blogspot.com
I think a random spa kit to a teacher would also be a great gift!
Ooooh. I love that! Great idea and something a teacher doesn’t normally receive!
I’ve a friend who has for years run a monthly sewing circle out of her home (she recently stepped down from this one, but I suspect it will carry on). She and others get together to sew or crochet tiny preemie clothing and blankets, designed with easy access, to donate to NILMDTS photographers and hospitals. Heidi herself is a NILMDTS photographer and started this project after seeing how most parents of critically ill or stillborn babies had nothing appropriate in which to have their babies photographed. She started taking things with her, and donating to hospitals, and inviting friends…and it grew from there. It’s the most incredible thing I think I have ever heard of.