all about crafts

Cheryl at Caitlin's Smiles asked for this:


(Audrey types)

M: Crafts helped me because they will help me feel better!
A: When did they help you?
m: When I feel bad.
A:How did they make you feel better?
m: That's a hard question...
a: Tell me more about the crafts you did and how they helped you.
m: that's a hard question...
a: Finish this sentence: Crafts helped me because...
m: they are great.
a: what is your favorite craft to do?
m: that's a hard Question...
a: tell me where you were and when crafts helped you.
m: at the hospital when i was doing my bone marrow transplant!

(mom types)

V: Mare, why do you like art?
M: Because it's fun.
V: Is it fun to be at the hospital?
M: Yeah..
w cause there's lots of people there that support me and help me.
do they do things with you?
some people do.
did you like your art therapy?
that recess person?
no, that was the child life. did you like her?
yeah.
why?
I liked doing the activities.
did you like getting shots?
no, that was the worst part.
did you like surgery?
no.
did you like blood draws?
I hate them!
Did you like getting packages?
yes! that was the awesome-est part. (thumbs up & cheering arms; jumping on chair)
what did people send you?
lots of crafts.
why crafts?
to help me in the hospital!

Let's say this: you are at a dinner that the Caitlin's smiles people are dong to explain why they give hospital kids craft kits. What would you say to them if you were making a talk about that?

Kids in hospitals need arts and crafts so they have something to do. If I would not have something to do with arts and crafts, I will be bored to death and I'd have to think about all the time about yucky things like about me having big, big surgery. It makes me feel loved when people are sending me a craft. it's making me happy.

bye bye!

project superstar

My bone marrow transplant is in March. Right now I'm starting to make plans. I want to earn money for kits. First I'm earning money for new crafts for me, and then I'm earning money for Caitlin's Smiles. I need to bring brand new craft supplies [to the hospital] 'cause they don't have any germs and you can wash them off with a wipe.We are calling it project superstar because I made this great superstar T-shirt and my mom and dad and sister think it's really cute and also my aunts and uncles and grandma. I first made this picture for a treasure hunt and then we decided to use it for our family reunion. We're going to make new ones with light blue because it's my favorite color and this is why I like it: the bright, beautiful of the blue blue blue sky and I love it so much it's gonna make me cry.
Last week my mother and sister and me goed to Caitlin's Smiles. We helped doing craft kits and we made cards and we decorated bags. They give the craft kits to the kids at the hospital who are sick and they pass out 4-5,000 a month. And that's how many bags they pass out a month. And I liked helping so much that I'm about to cry. My class is going to help and they're going to make cards at creative activities. We're going to have some parties at our house to put together craft kits. Then I'm going to earn extra money with Project Superstar and give it to Caitlin's Smiles.

Some of the things that I'm going to sell for project superstar are star wish necklaces, superstar T-shirts [at cost, for support, not profit], beaded barrettes, drawings, porcelain hamster playsets, my sister's books, and snowglobe necklace kits. I'm going to sell them in my mom's etsy shop, purple petunia, and she'll give the money to me.

[mom note: thanks to all of those who love Marian and want to help her. She's really excited about this project, and supporting it will mean a lot to her. It's kind of unusual to plan a BMT so far ahead of time, and I thought that having a service project would give her something positive to focus on as she waits. She is also taking her research very seriously...we'll post her BMT informative poster here when she finishes it. It is, of course, very detailed! When we're in the hospital, we'll be limited as to what she can take and use, but mail and drawings and photographs will be very important. She thinks that it would be great if you sent her jokes, since she heard on one of her learning DVDs that jokes help. We are reprinting her superstar tees and distributing them at cost + shipping. I think that photos of all of her favorite people in their superstar tees will be something wonderful for her to have on the walls of her hospital room during her long stay. We'll keep you posted here.]