Creaciones Angeles Cardshop

One of the things I get to do on a regular basis is work with and visit the girls in the cardshop.

For those of you who don't know the history of the cardshop, this is a minsitry that Gloria started years ago. When she and Jim were first coming to Alto Cayma through rotary club, Gloria decided to use some of her time volunteering to teach women a craft or handiwork that they could do to earn money. As Jim and Gloria began spending more time in Alto Cayma, the handiwork lessons became more detailed and gathered more interest. Over time, this evolved into the cardshop as we know it today.

Jim and Gloria host the cardshop in the downstairs of their Alto Cayma residence. Every day from 9-1, 15 or so ladies come to create beautiful handmade cards. Gloria and Jim then take these cards back with them when they come home to the US twice a year, and they spend their time selling the cards. Typically one card will sell for $4. The girls receive a paycheck from the profits of the cards.

This program is almost completely run by the ladies of the cardshop. They have a president and a treasurer, and together with the rest of the girls, they take inventory, buy supplies, manage money, and run a business.

The girls that Gloria and Jim have hired to work in the cardshop have undergone extensive psychological testing and training. They have had classes on team building and self esteem. Many of the girls who work in the cardshop use the money they earn to put food on their families' tables and go to school. We have two girls who are studying to be English teachers, one studying to be an elementary teacher and another who has one more year left of nursing school. The cardshop has made it possible not only for these women and their families to eat, but to go to school and have careers. In the process, the cardshop has helped to mold wonderful women leaders.

These are the women I get to work with:



The women use many, many techniques to make beautiful cards. These are my two favroite techniques. This first set is called boldado in Spanish. In English, this refers to an embroidery technique in which the cards have designs sewn into them.







The second technique I like is called Iris. For these cards, the women cut up very small pieces of paper and lay them out in a spiral pattern.












Most of the time when I work in the cardshop, the women let me cut strips or trace lines with a ruler so that they can be as precise as possible when formatting cards. Recently, however, I received a promotion. The girls decided it was time for me to learn how to embroider. They started with "algo facil" - something easy.

This was the first card I learned how to embroider:



The girls had already punched holes in the card, and my job was to sew the wedding rings in the center using thread. Would you believe it took me an hour and a half to sew the rings?! The second card was worse. And by the end I was cross-eyed and ready for a nap. I'm hoping that as I grow in the relationship with the girls, I also grow in card-making ability.

If you are interested in these cards, there are many, many more to choose from.
You can check out the card catalogue at www.serving-alto-cayma.info.
This is a wonderful way to support and empower the people of Alto Cayma.