AN AMAZING DAY AT ST.WILF'S

Hi everyone!!! i would just like to share with you the amazing day i had on Wednesday at the St.Wilfred's Hospice Day Centre. Some time ago i was asked if would like to spend the day there and take my cards and perhaps show the patients how to make them. Wendy, my beautiful friend who works there, had taken a box of my cards in some weeks ago to sell for Wilfie's fundraising. They proved so popular and the patients asked about me and how i make them so this is how it all came about me being asked to go in there.

So this week it happened!!! i packed up my dolly trolley packed to brim of craft stash and me and Wendy headed to the temporary base in Uckfield. I was really nervous as i did not know what to expect as i had never done anything like this before. Instead of going in unprepared i made up some card packs with stamped images and made up some little files of card and papers already cut to size. I took lots of embellishments and sentiments too.  I made this card below so that the patients had an idea of the style of card we could make. I kept it simple and i had made sure that there were lots of different images for them to choose from and lots of different patterned and coloured paper to choose just so that everyone's card would be different.

I realised when everyone started pouring in to the day centre that i had not needed to worry. I had the biggest & warmest welcome imaginable. At first i was known as "the card lady" as the patients started talking amongst themselves!!!. The nursing staff and volunteers were amazing too and the kindest people you could meet. I was made so welcome and they could not do enough for me.

There were 6 patients in total on Wednesday (it varies week by week) and they all wanted to participate. They were all so excited!. The most amazing thing of the day was that i had a 97 year old man making cards! his enthusiasm was fantastic. Another gentleman who is 93 is really into art and he did a terrific job with his lighthouse image and got well into the Promarkers. He had brought a canvas in of an Aborigional scene which he had made and it was awesome!.

Some of the patients who were unable to physically make the cards themselves were included as much as the able bodied one's. I made up the cards but got them to choose everything they wanted on the card, from the image to what coloured Promarker they wanted & where. It was good as the volunteers helped me out. Some of the nurses were even making cards!!!.

I had a really big soft spot for one of the ladies by the name of Joyce. She was totally beautiful and the tiniest thing you have seen. Joyce made 2 cards and coloured 2 more images but did not have time to finish. We were all really sad when the time had come for everyone to go back on the minibus. I have promised that i will go back very soon and i have kept hold of the unfinished cards and will be taking them back next time for them to finish.

I feel so totally humbled by my day on Wednesday. How a wonderful group of people can get together every week just to take their minds off their illness and forget all their worries. I feel so close to everyone, just after a day.

I have been asked about the possibility of going in to the actual Hospice in Eastbourne to do some cardmaking with patients. I know this will be hard as it is where Mum passed away but i know she would want me to get over this and do it.

By the way to everyone who has kindly donated cards i managed to sell £16 worth of your cardson Weds!!! they also said a very big thankyou to everyone.

Thankyou for letting me share this with you.

Love & hugs Clare xxx