Taking Care of Myself

I have lost track of which week it is in my fourth semester of nursing school, but I like it right now.  Clinical wrapped up and I now have two extra days off each week.  I *should* be studying like a mad woman and catching up on all my readings, but I have opted to take a break instead.  I need it.

My classmates have been falling ill in various ways.  Their illnesses vary from high blood pressure, irritable bowel syndrome, and anxiety to stomach ulcers, anemia, and the common cold.  Most of them are simply tired.  I think it's related to all the stress we are under to perform well in clinical, pass our classes, and stay up to date with our studies.  It's a lot of work and most of us don't sleep enough.  Ironic that the very career that aims to heal people and save them from illnesses is making us ill.

I decided that I should do something about my health.  I walked myself to the counselling office so that I could talk with someone about how to better manage my stress, I went to physio for my aches and pains, and I even went tried out acupuncture (it's free at the school).  The end result of my efforts was very satisfying.

The counsellor said, "You advocate so much for your patients so that they can have good health. What makes you any less worth advocating for?".  It stopped me in my tracks because she was right.  I deserve to have good health too.  She asked me what kind of care plan I would write if I was treating myself, and I verbally constructed one.  It was a very good exercise.

At the acupuncture office, I was poked a lot.  The needles don't really hurt, but I don't know yet if they work either.  I did like the heat stones and the heat lamp though.  Those were relaxing.  The acupuncturist gave me some pretty awesome advice though.  She told me to go swimming.

I wasn't sure about swimming, but I thought about it that night as I fell asleep.  I imagined being in the water and moving weightlessly about like a mermaid.  It was such a peaceful and stress-relieving visualization that I determined to go swimming the next day.

I swam for hours and it was a wonderful experience.  The buoyancy of the water made me feel light and free.  I didn't feel so weighed down with the world.  Honestly, I swim terribly, but I didn't really mind.  I just paddled around however I was able, and rested in between.  Afterwards, I sat in the hot tub and let the hot jets of water massage all the aches and pains away.  It was really cathartic.

I told my classmates about how nice it was so a few of them plan to start swimming too.  I hope it will help them as much as it helped me.  If you're feeling stressed out, maybe you can try swimming too.  You might like it.

Take care!
 

Painted Lace Rocks Tutorial

I've been eyeing the lovely lace and crochet rocks on Etsy, but the prices are out of my range.  So here's a really beautiful way to make faux lace rocks with paint for a whole lot cheaper!

 You will need the following supplies:

1. Polished river rocks
2. White acrylic paint
3. Polyurethane outdoor gloss sealer
4. Painting surface
5. "Spotter" paint brush
6. Soft, flat brush with rounded sides
7. Water

 First, wash your rocks with soap and water to remove any oily residue.  Dry well.  

Then, squeeze out some white paint onto your painting surface.

 Add some water to your painting surface and use the water to dilute some of the white paint until you have a smooth mixture to work with.  You don't want it too watery or the paint will dry light coloured, but you don't want the paint too thick or it will make giant blobs instead of neat, small dots.

 Start with a small ring of dots and then start adding dots out from the center.

 Work in a circle and keep adding dots to make an interesting design.

 Keep adding more dots in curved arcs.  Depending on what you want, you could even stop here.

 Add dots outwards to extend the design.

 You can form petals by connecting dots into triangles.

 As you get closer to the edges, you can modify the design to fit the size/shape of your rock.

 Here's the finished design!

 Here's an alternative design idea.  Start with a ring of dots that touch each other.

 Make a cluster of these rings.

 Keep going...

 As you form a good shaped mass of these clusters, start to imagine what design you would like to finish with.

 I added paths that curved out in opposite directions.

And then built up the shape into something that I considered to be lace-like in design.

Once you're finished with your design, let it dry overnight. 

 The next day, take the soft, flat brush with rounded sides and paint the surface of your rock with the outdoor gloss sealer.  

Work in short, slow strokes to avoid bubbles forming.  Paint along the sides of the rock too, but don't let the sealer drip down the sides.  Always use a thin coat of sealer.

Let it dry for at least 30 minutes before painting a second coat on.  Do only one side on the first day. 

Let it dry overnight.  Then flip the rock over.

 If you want, you can paint a new design on the other side.

 The possibilities are endless!

  Seal the other side with sealer in the same way, being careful to ensure that the sealer eventually touches the sealer on the other side of the rock so that the entire rock is covered with sealer in the end.

Never try to seal the whole rock at the same time.  Do one side at a time and be patient with drying. Otherwise, the sealer will look ugly on the side that touches the drying surface.

Never paint sealer on a wet rock, the sealer will bubble up and look cloudy.  Don't add water to thin the sealer either.  (But follow the instructions on your sealer in case it's different for your brand of sealer.)

The rocks look great on a windowsill or in a bowl.  You can use them as paper weights, home decor, or as outdoor decor (if you used an outdoor sealant).  They would make lovely gifts for friends, I think.

Enjoy your new painted lace rock collection!

Don't forget to post photos of your finished work on the Flickr page here.

If you're interested in buying some painted lace rocks.  You can find some here.

Have a great day!

Poggles the Wonderful Hedgehog

It was prime time for a photo session with Poggy.  He wasn't always the most cooperative though...

 Smile! No, no, no, that's not a smile! 

 Ah, okay, that's MUCH better!

 Poggy?  ...Poggy?  Where did you go?

 There you are, little guy!  What are you doing there?

Are you going somewhere?

 ... and then he parked himself into his pouch and settled down for a long snooze.  *Sigh*  But we got a few good pictures in there.  Not bad for a day's work  :)

I hope you liked the pictures!  Have a great weekend!

Piles of Elephants

My sweetie bought me a giant stack of new scrapbooking papers so my desk is covered with new origami elephants.  They make me happy.

They look funny all fallen over.

I'm also loving these new papers.  The variety means that I can make lovely new colour combinations that inspire me.  

I started off with some papers that reminded me of East Indian textiles.

Then I put together a marvelous collection of papers that look like paintings.  I love this set!

These pretty floral prints looked just right together in a sort of shabby chic rose collection.

And in the process of collecting the flower papers, I found that these orange, yellow, and blue-grey-green papers fit well together.  They remind me of an orange creamsicle in the summertime.

If you'd like to see more pictures.  You'll find them in the shop!

It has been pretty busy in the shop lately.  I think that a lot of customers are preparing for weddings and babies.  The elephants and butterflies are popular as party and baby room decor.

Have a great week!