Free Art to Give Away

One of my favorite things to make - and give away, are Giving Cards. They're little 2.75 x 3.75 pieces of original art which I give mostly to strangers - at the drive-up, checkout, in restaurants. This appears to make them happy. That makes me happy.

Credit goes to my friend Cindy, who for years has given away her handmade greeting cards as a gesture of kindness. One morning at our favorite diner, she handed me a stack of small cards. Each was different and featured an inspirational message. They were gorgeous! I fell instantly in love, jacked her idea and went into full production mode.

I start with a sheet of watercolor paper and over-embellish it with large brushstrokes of paint, ink, markers, paint pens, collage paper, whatever, until the artwork says please - stop already. The results are chaos, but it doesn’t matter. Cutting it into pieces brings order to the chaos.

After signing & numbering the back, the final part is to glue on messages, which I always do at night, on the couch, in pajamas, with some kind of SMH podcast or video playing in the background. 

After amassing more cards than I could ever give away, I had the idea to put them at the register at my favorite restaurant & former workplace, and my sister's quilt shop. In 10 months, over 1200 people have taken one of my cards!

I'm inviting you to join my new movement - to hand someone you don't know a small piece of art as a gesture of kindness. If you're in, I'll mail you a pack of 8 cards to give away. It’s totally free, cute card & postage stamp included. Give them away - especially to strangers. It feels good and I've seen the look on people's faces - it makes their day. A kind gesture can restore one's faith in mankind. This is good for everyone. Ha! Together we could change the world!

Please limit your selection to one favorite pack of cards per mailing address so I can keep up.