My last blog post was April 2020... yes, a whole year. I have excuses, but I won't bore you with them. Instead let me try to catch you up a wee bit and we'll go from there.
Last January, I started my journey into the technique of cloisonné. I actually have an album on Facebook that shows the entire journey and if I have a spare hour someday soon, I thought it'd be fun to re-create those images here on my website.
I'm also recently spending more time trying to take care of me... watch my health, exercise, eat better, etc. Those things are time consuming and I'm not yet into a great routine of getting everything done. Okay, truth is, that routine will never happen because it's against the laws of physics. I just can't get done everything I want to do. There aren't enough hours in the day (and there certainly isn't enough energy in the bod). So I have to make decisions. I'm glad I put my health first, at least, but now I'll have to sort out what else to keep and what to toss.
One of the other things I want to keep is order in my surroundings. So (like many of you out there) I am working on purging and streamlining. I suffer the same syndrome most of you face... "But I might need it someday".
Well, I'm being brutal. I really will never EVER mosaic that birdhouse with my broken china (you get the picture). Let it go. Let it go. Let it go. That being said, some things were invested in heavily so I may try to recoup. I plan to have one or more destash sales (books, tools, jewelry, supplies, etc). So if you have any interest in that, sign up for my newsletter or follow me on Facebook (and turn on notifications).
Those of you who know me, know I like to babble. So I plan to start babbling again. The beauty of the internet and blogs in particular is that if you don't care for my babbling, you get to just leave. Yay!
I will probably ease into this. First, because I'm out of practice (you guys are like my version of "journaling"... it's therapeutic and I enjoy it but I forgot how to make it flow). And secondly because I did my Saturday morning chores and it's already 9:30am and I promised myself I'd get into the studio and work on jewelry today. In the past five months I've spent about a total of 10 hours in the studio. Can you believe that? Wow!
Anyway, let's ease our way into this... starting with this...
Show of hands....
This is totally me. I can be the Queen of Distraction. And I love looking through supplies, beads, drawers of unfinished pieces, etc. When I was a kid, one of my favorite things to do was look through a box of buttons my mom had. They were little treasures.
So maybe, aside from trying to work on a little riveted diorama today, I will take the opportunity to open one box or one drawer of miscellaneous items and go through them... whether it's playing or purging.
Some experts say that distractions can be an escape and provide a much needed break from our routines, our work, our stress and our anxiety.
Positive distraction is defined as, “... an environmental feature that elicits positive feelings and holds attention without taxing or stressing the individual, thereby blocking worrisome thoughts” (Ulrich, 1991, p. 102)
An article in Psychology Today talks about how distractions can ease pain and anxiety (because we can't focus on two things at the same time). So what if rifling through a box of Swarovski crystal beads takes your mind off your upcoming vaccination anxiety or the worry you have waiting to hear the vet's diagnosis of your sick pet or the stress you feel about your in-laws coming to visit tonight. Maybe we all need to spend more time doing things we enjoy from time to time.
I'm not advocating a 100% hedonistic lifestyle. I'm just thinking I want to cut myself some slack and not feel guilty about some of the time-wasting events that bring me joy.
June 20, 2022