The day that I was admitted for this round of chemo, three teens from the town where I used to live were in a horrible crash near the northern town where my dad used to live. One died on the scene; the other two were air-lifted to the hospital I am in and have been in critical care here since. My heart has really been dwelling on their families. So, I decided to use the little bits of arty stuff I brought to the hospital to play with to make some cards for the families of the girls that are here in the hospital.
I had some pages from some old books, some paint and stamps, and a couple of extra copies of verses from my Word Art Wednesday work.
And I used some larger pages to make envelopes.
Not your typical "Thinking of You" cards -- but I hope they convey the message that these folks are being thought of and prayed for as they suffer such a difficult trial.
I talked to my husband again about the incredible impact my pretty blankets and other lovelies in my room have had on my well-being while I'm in the hospital, and he heard my heart for these girls. On his way to visit, he picked up some beautiful blankets to grace the beds of these girls while they recover. DH and DD14 took the blankets and cards up to the ICU and delivered them to the families, who seemed appreciative. Our hope is that they will bring some beauty and warmth to help them heal.
Have you discovered any ways to bless people who are in hospital? Besides flowers, what are some ways that we can bring beauty and warmth and love to people who are trying to heal in an institutional setting?
First of all, Happy 4th of July to all my American friends! :)
This week's Word Art Wednesday verse is from Deuteronomy 6:5:
I like to use imagery drawn from the verse, but outside of a heart, I drew a blank. So I decided to use the opportunity to explore a new technique for me. I recently spent some time watching youtube videos about art journaling (cuz that's about all I had the energy to do!), and I came across this one, which was a new twist (for me) on an old art activity -- "scratch art". I've done it before with crayons and black paint; this employed coloured oil pastels covered in black oil pastel. I meant to start by priming my library index card with gesso, but I forgot. As a result, I think my colours are less vibrant because they had nothing to grip and got scraped off with the black. I used a little stencil to scratch out a design -- but it's quite subtle. I thought it needed a little more of something, so I went with a heart that I created using a molding medium, red paint, and red glitter. For me, this was another piece that was more about the process than about the product. I really enjoyed the process even though I wasn't as happy with the results as I had hoped.
Would you like to play along and make a piece of art with this verse, another verse, or an inspirational quotation? Check out the WAW Challenge! This week you have the opportunity to win something from Isabella's Sketchbook OR Our Daily Bread Designs (2 prizes -- two winners) if you decide to link up at Word Art Wednesday.
I have been having a blast watching art journal videos and playing in my art journals (I have three going now -- my Joy Journal Project, my Faith Journal, and just a "play" journal.)
This spread about how I feel -- like my self again (not "a whole new person") -- having lost 90lbs (last year) was inspired by Claudine Hellmuth's "poppets" :
My poppet makes me smile :) She has a little more "shape" than Claudine Hellmuth's ladies do -- but that feature was important to me in this spread given the subject matter ;) The photo of my head was from the photo shoot of my head-shaving party when we all got silly with wigs and feather boas. (My sister made the awesome video, and my friend Helen took all the fun pictures.)
I feel like the spread needs some more layers, but I'm just not sure how to go about adding them. So for now, it's done. Any suggestions?
The other day, DD10 had a friend over and they wanted to do some art. Because she noticed me using swatches of fabric, she thought it would be fun to apply the strips of fabric we have on hand to little canvas boards.
Here is her pretty product:
And here is her friend's work:
Can you think of anything else we might create with the tons of strips of fabric we have?
