'Happy Stampers' create smiles 1 card at a time
Bonnie Peffer's older sister taught her to color.
“I colored with my daughter, with my granddaughters,” Said Peffer of Connoquenessing. “Between scrapbooking and card making, I've been doing it for at least 40 years.”
Peffer is one of 10 members in the Happy Stampers, a card-making club in Chicora that meets once a month in the Oakland Township Municipal Building, 565 Chicora Road, to make handmade cards with greeting, get-well and birthday wishes for veterans, military overseas, people with illnesses and for each other.
Over the course of the year, the group has made a few hundred cards, said member Mary Geibel, adding the group began in about March.
This month's cards would be made to thank a Vietnam War veteran in Ohio for his service, a get-well card for a Navy veteran from Kansas and a thank you card for an 89-year-old veteran in Mississippi, she said.
Cards are also made for veterans who are celebrating their 100th birthday, military chaplains and empty cards that overseas military can use to send messages home, Geibel said.
When the group is not making cards for military personnel, members take turns teaching each other new techniques through card kits. A pop-up gift card and tablet folder were part of the lessons at Friday's monthly meeting.
Card-making is also therapeutic and calming, said Geibel, who has made them for about 30 years.In the case when their own members are under the weather, the group sends them a handmade message to brighten and uplift their spirits, Geibel said.“Putting smiles on others faces,” is the best part of card making, she said.A group activity is a card swap where each member that participates brings six of the same handmade card to share. Members also make cards tailored to the monthly challenge, which could include not using embellishments or dyes.“I enjoy the social aspect,” Peffer said.For the swap, Peffer, who enjoys the creation process, made a card that featured a hand colored die cut leaves. In an assembly line style, she used three different color markers to create dimension and depth.When Peffer makes a card, she usually leaves it blank for people to write their own verses or messages, she said.One portion of the group is called “Secret Sister” exchange where members pick a name at random and make cards anonymously for that person during the month.Members do the “happy dance,” wows and awes followed with clapping, when they receive cards from each other, Peffer said.SherylAnn Geibel taught members how to create a tablet folder, one of the month's craft.“A lot of times I receive something in the mail that catches my eye and I make my own pattern,” SherylAnn Geibel said about the inspiration behind the idea.
Geibel, of Chicora, joined the group because she is retiring as Donegal Township Tax Collector at the end of the year.“I wanted something to do in the community,” she said.The cards are one of a kind, she said. Glitter and sparkle are hallmarks of Geibel's style.“No one else has one like it,” she said. “When I send a card it's unique.”Each person has their own personal touch they give to the card, said Geibel's granddaughter, Alex Gaiser, 20, of Chicora.The activity is one Gaiser and Geibel have bonded over, they said.“It's fun finding new ways to make different kinds of cards,” Geibel said.Camaraderie is one aspect Geibel enjoys about the group.“We're all in about the same range,” she said. “It's nice to get together with people you can develop relationships with and friendship.”Get involved with a group, Peffer said is her advice to people interested in card-making. People who are interested in joining the group can call 724-445-3196 for more information.“When you're with these ladies, they're all very willing to help you, they're willing to show you different techniques,” she said. “It's like a family. This is a happy group, that's why we're called the Happy Stampers.”
