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Love Letters

February 6, 2014 by Barbara Rucci 6 Comments

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Love Letters is a program that asks teens to create handmade Valentine's cards to lift the spirits of older people across the US during a peak time of isolation ~ in partnership with DoSomething.org // Art Bar

This week my daughter and I had the privilege of inviting 20 girls from her class to our house to make Valentine’s Day cards for a very good cause. Here’s the scoop: DoSomething.org, the largest non-profit in the US for young people and social change, has launched a campaign called Love Letters. Love Letters asks kids and teens to create Valentine’s Day cards to lift the spirits of older adults across the country during a peak time of isolation and depression. These letters are then sent to Meals on Wheels all across the United States, and delivered to those seniors who are in need of some love and attention.

Love Letters is a program that asks teens to create handmade Valentine's cards to lift the spirits of older people across the US during a peak time of isolation ~ in partnership with DoSomething.org // Art Bar

We filled the tables with heaps of fun and colorful crafting materials. Some of the girls were using rubber cement for the first time (hard to believe)! They were so excited, their smiles were contagious. The girls fully embraced their task and enjoyed every moment. All the while, being completely aware of how much they would help another person with their thoughtful, handmade cards. I was so proud of them!!

Love Letters is a program that asks teens to create handmade Valentine's cards to lift the spirits of older people across the US during a peak time of isolation ~ in partnership with DoSomething.org // Art Bar

Here’s what we put out on our tables (all found on Amazon):

white card stock (folded in half) // construction paper in valentine colors // heart punches big and small // scissors // glitter glue // rubber cement // pom-poms // markers // chalkboard markers // paper muffin cups // fabric strips (cut from scraps) // washi tape

DoSomething.org asks that you follow these guidelines when making your cards:

~ Outside of the card should say Happy Valentine’s Day.

~ Inside the card, share three facts about yourself in order for the receiver of your beautiful cards to feel more of a connections with you. For example:

What state are you from?

What is your favorite hobby?

What do you want to be when you grow up?

~ You may sign the card, but do not use your last name or any specific details about where you live.

Love Letters is a program that asks teens to create handmade Valentine's cards to lift the spirits of older people across the US during a peak time of isolation ~ in partnership with DoSomething.org // Art Bar

Love Letters is a program that asks teens to create handmade Valentine's cards to lift the spirits of older people across the US during a peak time of isolation ~ in partnership with DoSomething.org // Art Bar

The deadline for sending cards is February 15th. Please, please consider making some cards with your kids this weekend. Click here for directions, guidelines and addresses of Meals on Wheels across the country.

Thank you, thank you! You guys are the best.

xo, Bar

 

Filed Under: Teen Crafts Tagged With: crafternoon, dosomething.org, Meals on Wheels, Valentine's Day Cards

Previous Post: « Printable Valentine Coloring Pages
Next Post: Make + Share on Instagram // #makeit2014 »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lorah

    February 6, 2014 at 12:01 pm

    You guys are so lovely and inspirational. What big hearts you have! 🙂

    Reply
    • Barbara Rucci

      February 10, 2014 at 1:34 pm

      thanks lorah….as do you! xx

      Reply
  2. Liz

    February 10, 2014 at 6:54 pm

    Thanks so much for this! I invited a few of my son’s friends over this weekend and we had a lovely Valentine-making session for the Love Letters campaign!

    Reply
    • Barbara Rucci

      February 11, 2014 at 4:02 pm

      awww…thank you liz!! you’re the best! xx

      Reply
  3. Jeanine

    February 14, 2014 at 5:02 pm

    OK, you are now my new favorite. I am so head over heels for the words wisdom & diy craftiness you share here! Thank you for the weekend inspiration and for sharing these beautiful colors! How did you get these pinks SOO NEON!!!??? Where do you buy your supplies?!

    Reply
    • Barbara Rucci

      February 23, 2014 at 4:42 pm

      hi jeanine, thank you again for commenting and reading my blog! for this project in particular, the two most neon pinks are the construction paper with is from Amazon called “Roselle Bright Colors Suphite Construction Paper” in hot pink. and then we used a neon pink chalk marker which you can also buy on Amazon called “Marvy Bistro Chalk Marker Set”. Hope this helps!! xo bar

      Reply

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I have been thinking lately about so many big idea I have been thinking lately about so many big ideas. They seem to be stuck, though, in the cogs of my brain. I need to articulate and connect these ideas together, but I can’t find the right words, or medium. It feels like trudging through thick mud, and then making the choice to set up camp in the muddy place. Maybe this is always what motherhood + living a creative life will be. And I am ok with that, too. Life is mucky, and even though I crave clarity, I am also acutely aware that this is why I also crave art. Music, books, museums, film, gardens… these are the mediums humans turn to when they need to find connection and, if we are lucky, clarity. But I feel more protective of my human-centered ideas these days and less willing to share them in spaces like this where they are open source. I don’t even know what is real sometimes. And how am I contributing to this landscape of creative and intellectual robbery. I think I am headed in a different direction but I don’t know what that is yet. Meanwhile, I am camping in the mud and looking for beauty where I am. 

Some moments new and old, lately…

1. Painting at my easel, age 4 when we lived in England before moving to the US. 
2. I tried making a video of motherhood on mother’s day inspired by this song 🌙 but never finished. 
3. Planting dahlias 🌸
4. Year 2 of my veggie garden. It is not going well. 
5. We diagnosed our garden problem as not enough sun so cut down a tree to give the sun a little path but then the sun moved. Also failing at science 😳
6. When you see your habits in your children ❤️ 
7. My mom’s caretaker gave me a cake and now I am a whole year younger 🙏🏼
8. Thank you James for the treats, mom dreams of traveling to visit your bakery but this was the next best thing 🥐
9. Finding 50 bucks in jeans from 20 years ago 👏🏼 Always check the pockets!
10. The newly graduated makeup artist with her kit off to a job 💋 
11. When the birthday kid isn’t home it’s too sad. must make art. 
12. When I am so dumb and share it on the internet 🙃
13. My heart, my clarity ❤️
14. Another round of silkscreening! Things are happening. 
15. MUA by Ava, and hanging out with the help 😍
16. Reminder.
Happy Earth Day! Can we agree that every day is Happy Earth Day! 

Can we agree that every day is Earth Day? The older I get, the more I change my habits to be kinder to this beautiful planet. Lately, seeing the photos from Artemis II of Earth from space has really moved me to make even more planet-friendly choices. Here are some things we do at home, and of course, we could always be better, but I also think small changes are more doable and sustainable, and if millions of us did just one of these things, it would make a difference.

Ok, here goes! My hope is that someone reads one of these actions and thinks, I can do this! We cannot reverse the melting ice caps, but we can stop further global warming… humans can do this if we work together. It starts small and is community-driven, so share this with friends!

1. Eating less meat, eating more veggies (this is also called eating low on the food chain). A vegetarian or vegan diet is a low-carbon diet. Did you know switching to 2/3 vegan reduces your carbon footprint by 60%? 
2. Grow our own veggies. Save on emissions and packaging, and find joy in gardening.
3. Less food waste. Eat leftovers, clear the fridge.
4. Buy less. Buy local.
5. Repurpose, fix, mend, thrift.
6. Make homemade gifts.
7. Drive less, fly less. (This one is harder, but being conscious of it is really important.)
8. Moderate, steady thermostat settings can save so much energy. Try 67/68 F in the winter and 72/73 in the summer and don’t touch it.
9. No pesticides on our lawn. It may not be pretty, but we have never had a beautiful lawn, and I’m fine with that. We also live on a river so the thought of polluting that water so I can have a perfect lawn is crazy.
10. Using non-toxic cleaning products or making our own from vinegar.
11. This year, we will do “no-mow May” to promote biodiversity, help the soil, and reduce emissions.
12. Vote for candidates who take climate change seriously!

Add some things you are doing in the comments. This is a judgment-free zone, so no preaching! But for real, we all can do a little bit better. 

The blog post about these signs is on artbarblog.com, link in bio!
New blog post! It’s about time I share my favorite New blog post! It’s about time I share my favorite materials that I bring to the library. Read the post for links and tips for how to pair these materials to foster deep engagement. Children have always needed time in childhood to use their hands to make things and play, but now more than ever, the skills they develop through these experiences are imperative for their future well-being and success. I’ve been reading everywhere about children’s “lost skills” in this new ed tech world where screens have replaced so much hands-on learning in the classroom, even as young as preschool 😞 Communication skills, flexible thinking, regulating emotions, building empathy for others, innovating, even core strength and pencil grips are a struggle. Offering time and materials for making things and playing with ideas should not be a challenge; it should be as essential as filling bodies with fresh air and food. Play is how children learn! Anyway, I hope this post will inspire you to collect some things for making and maybe even join our Materials Matter course over on @the.creativityproject so that you, too, can become an expert at cultivating creative thinking through art making!
It’s almost impossible to concentrate or sleep or It’s almost impossible to concentrate or sleep or work or enjoy anything these days. I know joy is resistance, art is resistance, kindness and empathy are resistance, and I try and practice all of these things every day, and also boycotting and shopping local and volunteering and making calls and checking on my neighbors and bartering and keeping our big tree lit for the community. And still, it doesn’t feel like nearly enough. I know we probably all feel this way. And maybe the collective small things really do add up to bigger movements, I don’t know. It’s Sunday and my mom is in the hospital again and I miss my one at college and I had such a bad dream last night. My headspace is not in cheerleader mode which is my usual default. And yet… going through my camera roll to find photos of things I made did actually help today. And I have made a plan for future things to make. When I wake up in the middle of the night, the way I get myself back to sleep is by envisioning this one big installation idea I’ve had for years, it takes place in a forest and involves textiles. So maybe 2026 is the year for me to bring this to life, or begin the process. I think about this quote, and it helps, too: When you make art, you rebel against a world that fears vulnerability. Ok, I’m better. Thank you for listening 🤪❤️

Ps: It weighs on me that Meta should be part of the boycotts. If anyone has any ideas for building community and sharing somehow somewhere else let’s discuss.
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