Just Because

09.17.09 - Day 29: Paint it Forward

When I was little, I used to make my family little cards to tell them that I loved them ...just because. I remember one time when I took all of the pennies from my piggy bank and glued them to a sheet of paper in the shape of a heart to give to my sister, Rachelle, when she was sad about something.  Much to my dismay, half of it fell off before I could hand deliver it, but I still remember how tightly she hugged me because she could tell it was from my heart. I always had this thing with labeling my cards on the back, as if I was my own Hallmark brand or something.  I had forgotten about that until this past year when my Grandma Liz brought me an envelope full of cards I had left for them over the course of several years. When I "did the flip," it said  "From the Heart Cards" on the back in pencil.  I must have been 7 or 8 years old when I started doing that...so I guess I really was destined to be a marketing person.

Over the years, I have made and exchanged several cards with family and friends, but I had forgotten how much I truly love the simplicity of drawing with a pen.  I've been making whimsical flowers, trees and creatures like these since I was a kid--whether I was drawing them, cutting them out of paper or even making them from a paper napkin at dinner [clearly, I have an attention disorder].  I'm not sure what my fascination with flowers has always been, but in part, I think it is the realization that it's virtually impossible to be sad when someone gives you flowers.  They're like an instant gratification button--poof, you're happy.

The story behind these two cards in particular stems [pun intended] from my frustration with standing in the store for 30 minutes, unable to find a card that says what, or looks the way I want it to...so I made my own.

There are two people I'm sending these to: one is a dear friend that's been on my mind a lot lately, and the other I have yet to meet but has recently touched our family in a very special way.  That's all I'm really going to say about these.  I'm not sure they count as part of the PIF project, but it was something I'm glad I picked up again, for no real reason other than...just because.



CRL
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