Let Them Know You Care

April 17, 2021

Keep reading for some good suggestions on how to send a blank card to show how much you care.

(Or you could skip to the end to find details on this week’s Spring Card Sale. But you’ll miss out on the good advice.)

Once upon a time, everyone sent you a birthday card for your birthday and a Valentine card on Valentine’s Day. And your grandmother’s card usually had a “little something” tucked inside.

Once upon a time, you would get a card AND a present for your birthday. In fact, it was considered incomplete to only get one or the other. 

Once upon a time, everyone sent Christmas cards at Christmastime, and sympathy cards when someone passed away. Then, we started sending “I’m thinking of you” cards and even “Congratulations on your divorce” cards! We wanted to let those closest to us know that we cared about whatever was currently important in their lives.

So, what happened?

Now, we send electronic greetings. We send Facebook and Instagram posts, telling that special someone (and the whole world!), how much we love that them. We send electronic cards. We send texts. We send emails. We send tweets (some of us anyway).

Queen of Greeting Cards!

Before I get to the possible answer to the question of what happened, let me just say that I used to be the Queen of Greeting Cards! Yep. I had (um, still have) boxes of all kinds of cards. Birthday cards for my best friend, my children, my grandchildren, nieces, and for people we don’t know all that well but want to remember anyway. Valentines? Yep, got ‘em. Easter cards, Christmas cards, New Year’s cards. I have cards for every holiday except Halloween because I don’t do Halloween. I have “thinking of you, friend,” cards. I have cards saying you will “make it through this hard time”. I have sympathy cards- for those I know well and those who are just acquaintances.  How about “praying for you” cards? Yep. I even used to have “sorry for the loss of your pet” cards but I used them all. (I probably should replenish that supply.)

If I heard from a friend having a challenge in her life, I’d dash to my card box, pull out an appropriate one and it would be in her hand the following day. If I forgot to remember a birthday, I had one handy, the moment I remembered I’d forgotten. Often the “forgotten” birthday person never knew I’d almost goofed up.

And my friends sent me cards too. Birthday cards, “you’ll get through this” cards, valentines, Christmas cards.

Remember getting cards and letters in the mail?

Remember how nice it was to see familiar handwriting on the envelop? Just that handwriting let you know you were cared for in a special way. Someone loved you enough to choose a card, address it and put a stamp on the envelop- just to let you know you’re not alone. And you know what? That card didn’t even have to have big important revelations. Our friend had only to say, “Thinking of you, Love, Sandy”. Now, if she decided to write an epistle about what was going on in her life, that was great. But the mere act of thinking about you was enough to lighten your load and put a smile on your face.

Another thing you need to know about me is that I, too, have become an Electronic Greeter. It’s sad and I fought it. But in the end, I gave up. Sold out. Went to the dark side. I stopped sending cards. (Insert very sad face). So, I’m not just preaching to the choir here. I am in the congregation of blatant Electronic Greeters and I need a good lecture as much as the next person.

What happened?

I believe we all became a little lazier, a lot more stressed and busier, and we all just gave up. How much easier is it to simply send an electronic card, or a tweet, or a text, etc.?

Let’s look at that a moment.

Sending a text is indeed pretty quick and easy. A greeting in all caps, a few appropriate emojis and – boom!- off it goes and you’ve done your duty. An email is similar, as is a tweet. But if you really care a lot, you send an electronic card! Jacqui Lawson is my favorite. Her line is lovely and there are good choices. You do have to subscribe and still take the time to send a personalized greeting. Basically though, it’s easy-peasy!

I think we’ve been duped into believing that a store-bought greeting card is not as personal as an individual electronic message. But that’s a lie. I mean, when we buy a card, we spend time thinking about the recipient, their likes and dislikes, and if the greeting fits that person. And, by the way, have you seen the prices of greeting cards? THEY have become the gift!

So yes, there are pros and cons to both electronic greetings and store-bought greetings.

How about a blank card? It’s an opportunity for you to write as much or as little as you desire!

How about a card you can not only choose the theme but also the exact colors your recipient likes? A card that YOU yourself have taken the time to personalize? How about a card you color before sending? Or maybe you color half and your friend finishes the coloring to complete the picture? Or maybe you could even send along some colored pencils and suggest they color the picture. Coloring is a gift.

Did you know, coloring is relaxing and reduces stress? Yep. It’s been scientifically studied and declared to be true. I know it’s true. I use coloring the calm down and relax. I use coloring as inspiration when I’m feeling flat. The colors and the repetitive motion relax your brain, allowing your mind to sort through all the jumble that’s giving you fits. You hardly even realize you’re getting “un-jumbled”!

When you send a card with a pretty picture for your friend to color, you are not only sending your loving thoughts and best wishes, you’re sending her a mini-spa treatment that she can enjoy right there in the comfort of her living room. You are sending her a gift worth getting. You are sending her a way to de-stress!

Speaking of stress, wait a minute. If I send a blank card, I have to come up with something to fill in all that space! Again, it’s your choice, you can say as much or as little as you want. If it’s someone you don’t know well, just say Happy Anniversary! and sign your name. But if it’s for someone you know well, write all the wonderful things you appreciate about her. Tell her why you like her. Bless her, compliment her, encourage her! If it’s something hard, like a loss, again, just write the basic words and sign your name. Something like, “I’m so sorry for the loss of your cat. I know she meant so much to you… Love, Sandy”. Keep it simple. The number of words isn’t important. It’s the feeling behind the words that matters. On the other hand, having a blank card gives you space to share your favorite story about the time you and your friend searched all night long for her missing cat, only to find the cat curled up in the bottom drawer of her dresser.

A blank card allows you to be creative without having the come up with the entire card. If you are a maker, chances are you would like to create the card yourself but don’t have time. In that case, a blank card gives you the basic foundation of a card with a nice front and also gives you space to add your own drawings or stickers or other embellishments. A win-win solution! You get to create, your recipient gets some of your special creativity but you haven’t had to start completely from scratch to do it!

All the preceding good advice applies to all cards, of course. But if you’re looking for a unique greeting card that can be used as is or colored with your choice of color, I hope you will take a look at the assortment of blank, black and white, pen and ink cards available right here at SandyBeeArt.com where you will find a choice of 13 designs. And new designs are being added weekly.

We intended to run our Spring Card Special until Monday, but our advertising got mixed up. 

So, our mix-up is YOUR GAIN!

This week, until April 23rd, when you buy 4 or more cards, you save $1.00 per card. That’s a good deal and it’s a good time to stock up so you are ready with a unique card when the next big Spring event rolls around.

Meanwhile, enjoy coloring some cards just for the fun of it. You’ll find it relaxing and since you got such a good deal, the price won’t stress out either!

Happy Coloring!

Happy Spring!

See you at SandyBeeArt.com in the Cards Collection!