Stepping Out Challenge - Day 29 - Memories of Home 2

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Welcome to day 29 of the blog challenge.  It is funny how talking about the challenge again has brought up so many memories for me.  As I walk down memory lane some of the posts I had written in the original challenge feel as if they are only yesterday. 

Today is the second part of the Memories from Home reflections, and I am really glad that you could join me.

We grew up in a 3 bedroom apartment.  My sister had her own bedroom, my brother and I had to share until my sister left home to go to University. We had moved into the house when I was 7 years old and grew up and eventually left home when we felt that we were grown.  

It was our family home for over 33 years and we would have family dinners on the weekends, and continued the practice when we had children of our own.  When mum became ill with Dementia we needed to consider an adapted flat that would cater to a wheelchair, and her increasing needs. 

The Memories from Home posts came at the right time for me, I had lost my best friend 2 years previously and then my Brother passed and it was like a big hole had been left and there was nothing that could quite ease the feeling.  

As I wrote the posts and looked back to what we used to do as children, and the adventures that we had I realised that when you stir up the memories that you shared it helped heal some of the wounds left by your loved ones departing.   

I smiled at the things that we did as children, all the near scrapes, the laughter and adventure we shared.  I also smile at the way we began to sound like our parents – all those things that you swore you would never say suddenly start to roll off your tongue when trying to discipline your child, and you hear yourself say the words and your mind is saying  'really'.

Going down memory lane every now and again is an important activity, and if you can write about those times you help preserve your own piece of history that your children and your children’s children can treasure.

What things about your childhood, traditions and memories  can you think about? Take time to journal, or create an art journal page.

I look forward to having you join me for tomorrows post where I will be sharing about the Gratitude’s and Celebration Challenge.   I hope you have been able to you find some time to challenge, be creative and stretch yourself.

Why not join on the blog and sign up to the Mailing list as we dive into to some exciting challenges and look at ways in which they can impact on your own life. 

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, it is never too late to start! The main thing is to take one step at a time and do something that you find interesting.

Stay blessed and be a blessing.

Ps:  If you are on a budget and would like to check out some  supplies/books at a discounted price, check out one of the links below:

Adorn it - bit.ly/AdorAT18 

Dollar Tree - bit.ly/DolAT18 

Blick - bit.ly/Blick18 

Book Outlet - bit.ly/BOOKAT18 

Stampington - bit.ly/STAAT18 

C& T Publishing - bit.ly/CNTPAT18 

Dover - bit.ly/DOVPAT18 

Craftsy Kits - bit.ly/CrafAT18 

Amazon Store - 

www.amazon.com/shop/realityarts

Stepping Out Challenge - Day 28 - Memories of Home

Welcome to today's post, a few more days left, it has gone so fast! 

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Welcome, I hope that you are having a blessed day, and that you have been thinking about some of the areas of your life where you can set yourself a challenge.

The Memories of home challenge was a weekly series of art pieces and reflections and memories of what home means to me.  I created and shared a selection of mixed media 4x7 houses that I had made that captured different elements of home and growing up.

Home brings up a range of different memories, some of mine took me back in time to childhood and some memories more recent that reminds me that the home environment should be a nurturing one. 

Alongside creating the mini houses I also chose a selection of words that all bring back memories of home life, or how I wanted my environment to be ie 'nurturing, relaxing, a sanctuary' things that I want to experience at home and I am sure that others too want to have that place where they can be themselves and recharge their batteries.  These words were also ones that you could spend time reflecting on and thinking about what they meant for you and so creating an additional jump off point for creating a journal page

Some Earliest Memories

My earliest memory of home was when I was around 4 years old.  We lived in 2 rooms on the 2^nd floor of a house.  My mum, dad, me and my brother who was a baby occupied one room and my sister who was 10 years old occupied the other. A large fireplace dominated the room and at bath times we had a large tin bath which mum used to fill with jugs of water.  We had fun playing, splashing and laughing and the next minute you are being wrapped up in an oversize towel looking forward to the night time snack.

Family life has changed a great deal over the years.  Creating the challenge was a lovely way for me to take that trip down memory lane and preserve some of it for the next generation.  It is important that we continue to tell our stories and share our truths.  

As the families change/grow and relocate how do you stay connected and have those ‘do you remember when we used to’ conversations.  Our 'Trought' family gatherings used to invariably end up in the kitchen.  The kitchen seem to be the place that everyone gathered and the adults sat around the tables with the children trying to blend in as they listen to the laughter and stories, hearing the long kept secrets.  They would be ushered out when they tried to pip in with their comments and to go and play with the other kids, we were told the same things when we were kids.

There are so many parts of the story to tell, which will you share?

When you think of home what comes up for you?

What are the traditions that you have held on to as a family.

Join me tomorrow as I share more about the challenge and reflections.  Tomorrow I will share the second part from my Memories from Home series.  I hope during this month you find some time to challenge, be creative and stretch yourself.

Why not join me and do a challenge of your own.  Look at ways in which they can impact on your own life and get you out of your comfort zone.

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, it is never too late to start! The main thing is to take one step at a time and do something that you find interesting.

Stay blessed and be a blessing.

Stepping OUt Challenge - Day 27 - I Love You Today Because.....

Welcome to today's post, I am taking part in a 31 day blog challenge where I post everyday in October.  I love creating challenges for myself and joining ones by others.  My challenge for the rest of the month is to reflect on some of the series I created for myself and inspiration that I have taken away.

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When was the last time you looked at yourself, I mean really looked and saw your reflection?  Not the fleeting moment between brushing your teeth and rushing to get ready making sure you get the glance in to fix the top of your hair.  When was the last time you stood and looked in the mirror and just stared at yourself from the top of your head to the soles of your feet, and really saw who you are?

I did the ‘I love you today Series’ to recognise that we need to start loving and seeing our true selves more.  We ignore who we really are seeing ourselves though the lens of others, or how we think others see us.  Our existence wrapped up into a series of roles and services.  

We can be the first to put ourselves down with our comments of being useless, clumsy, stupid and a range of other words I have heard people say about themselves.  When someone makes a positive comment about you, you are the first to dismiss it, or tell them how old a thing is when they complement you on an item of clothing.  You think they can’t possibly be talking about ‘me’ someone who looks and sounds like me but isn’t

You have disregarded yourself so much that you begin to blend into your surroundings you don’t see the impact you might make, you brush it off as ‘oh everyone does it’ and you secretly put yourself down, you don’t openly but in the corners of your mind – right at the back – you often say something unkind about yourself.

I created the challenge as a reminder one year around the time of Valentine’s Day as we declare our love for someone else.  We can’t forget to show love to ourselves and think about the things that we love about ourselves rather than the daily ‘put downs’

I love you today because…..

 I also created a series of simple sketches and coupled these together with the challenge.  I was doing something for me.  This was something that I had not done for a long time, just sit and create a sketch either from memory or a photo.  Overall, it’s all part of being mindful as I sketched, reminding myself of why I matter and what I was grateful for. 

As you think about your life be reminded that without you many things would not happen and the world would be a cloudier place.  Sometimes we surround ourselves with so much noise we can’t hear ourselves think and we drown out our inner voice, our inner guide and wonder until something happens and we have to make a decision, a life decision and we realise we’ve been walking around on automatic. 

I love you today....not for what you do, but for who you are!

  

Think about the things that you love about yourself that you are grateful for, and if you have been following the series you will have seen the gratitude’s post where you write down daily 3 things that you are grateful for

5 things you love doing and make time to do them.

Tomorrow I will talk about my Memories from Home Series.  I hope during this month you find some time to challenge, be creative and stretch yourself.

Why not join me each day for the rest of October as we dive into to some exciting challenges and look at ways in which they can impact on your own life. 

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, it is never too late to start! The main thing is to take one step at a time and do something that you find interesting.

Stay blessed and be a blessing.

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Ps:  If you are on a budget and would like to check out some  supplies/books at a discounted price, check out one of the links below:

Adorn it - bit.ly/AdorAT18 

Dollar Tree - bit.ly/DolAT18 

Blick - bit.ly/Blick18 

Stampington - bit.ly/STAAT18 

C& T Publishing - bit.ly/CNTPAT18 

Dover - bit.ly/DOVPAT18 

Craftsy Kits - bit.ly/CrafAT18 

Amazon Store - 

www.amazon.com/shop/realityarts

Stepping Out Challenge - Day 26 - Gratitude's Pt 2

Welcome to today's post, where I will be sharing about the Gratitude's Series

Today I am going to be talking about the second part of the Gratitude's series.  If you are new to the blog post check out Day 2

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Thank you for joining me today, it is amazing to think about where all the time has gone.  We are going to get right back into looking at gratitude's and how to get started.  When you think about your life and the things that you have achieved, how does that make you feel?  Do you feel a sense of achievement or not having done enough?

I believe that we are here for a purpose.  We have a unique ‘mission’ that we need to get on with, that can impact and those around us and ultimately the world.  We have to recognise that we had some help and we didn’t get to this point on our own.  Along side this we are able to do some things without even giving them much thought, discounting them as basic, but if you didn’t have them you would not feel they were basic.

Yesterday I touched on examples of people whose circumstances mean that they have to have assistance to live their day to day life.  Someone somewhere in the world has woken up having to use an oxygen tank, or have to always go down a checklist before they can leave the house, because their life depends on it.  When we think of all the things we take for granted it can change your perception about the things you currently are able to enjoy.  What are you going to do with them?

Spending time in Barbados and in London when we were small, we have experienced power cuts, water outages and it is only at those times do you really value having a normal service.  On a day to day basis we just expect everything to work smoothly and you really don't pay them any mind.  You leave a light on here and there and you run the water for a bit longer than need to, but when its cut off and you have to ration the bottles of water it becomes precious even to do the the simple things.  Your perspective changes when you don’t have.

I think we have to operate our 'attitude of gratitude' and each day think of 3 things that you are grateful for, you will definitely see a shift in how you approach things.  

Why not get a journal and write down these 3 things daily and really give them thought.  Let me know how you get on and what came up for you and what changes you might be making. 

Tomorrow I will share the I Love You Today Series.  I hope during this month you find some time to challenge, be creative and stretch yourself.

Why not join me each day for the rest of October as we dive into to some exciting challenges and look at ways in which they can impact on your own life. 

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, it is never too late to start! The main thing is to take one step at a time and do something that you find interesting.

Stay blessed and be a blessing.

Ps:  If you are on a budget and would like to check out some supplies/books at a discounted price, check out one of the links below:

Adorn it - http://bit.ly/AdorAT18

Dollar Tree - http://bit.ly/DolAT18

Blick - http://bit.ly/Blick18

Book Outlet - http://bit.ly/BOOKAT18

Stampington - http://bit.ly/STAAT18

C& T Publishing -  http://bit.ly/CNTPAT18

Dover - http://bit.ly/DOVPAT18

Craftsy Kits - http://bit.ly/CrafAT18

Amazon Store -  https://www.amazon.com/shop/realityarts

Stepping Out Challenge - Day 25 - Gratitude's

Welcome to today's post, In which I will be talking about gratitude

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Gratitude’s

The gratitude’s Challenge came about after listening to a motivational speaker online, he talked about gratitude and for us to think about what we were grateful for in our life.  He also mentioned the idea of writing them down, and meditating on them daily.  

I started to think of all the things that blessed me, that I know I take for granted, each and every day.  Some of the things would make an impact if they weren’t available to me so I thought about some of these things and began to take note of them.  Some of these things involve areas of our lives that we pay no mind, practical things, creativity, and my studio space.

What are the things that you are grateful for, we can become complacent not only about the what we have but the things that we don’t pay much mind to as it an automatic function, but would greatly affect us if we didn’t have it, like the air we breathe and the beating of our heart.  Someone has woken up with a faulty pacemaker, or has to use an oxygen tank.  Some have awoken and no longer have their sight or hearing, and now have that to deal with.  We can take our health for granted, not looking after our bodies, but wanting to be free from pain.

For years I was convinced there was a problem with my knees, I couldn’t bend down without being in some sort of pain, the doctor offered an anti-inflammatory which was a temporary fix, that I didn’t want to take and be dependent on.  When I started exercising and lost weight the pains disappeared, I had been causing the pain myself through not taking care of my health and then taking for granted what I had.

The challenge was necessary for me, as it allowed me to reconnect with all that was important in my life, not only physical and material things but relationships, and the things we take for granted around us, such as feeling the breeze on my skin, hearing the sound of the waves, the birds, the morning sunshine and much more.

What do you need to take stock of, as you consider the things that you have been taking for granted?

Tomorrow I will look at ways you can incorporate a practice of gratitude into your life.

Tomorrow I will share the second part of Gratitude's series.  I hope during this month you find some time to challenge, be creative and stretch yourself.

Why not join me each day for the rest of October as we dive into to some exciting challenges and look at ways in which they can impact on your own life. 

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, it is never too late to start! The main thing is to take one step at a time and do something that you find interesting.

Stay blessed and be a blessing.

Ps:  If you are on a budget and would like to check out some  supplies/books at a discounted price, check out one of the links below:

Adorn it - bit.ly/AdorAT18 

Dollar Tree - bit.ly/DolAT18 

Blick - bit.ly/Blick18 

Book Outlet - bit.ly/BOOKAT18 

Stampington - bit.ly/STAAT18 

C& T Publishing - bit.ly/CNTPAT18 

Dover - bit.ly/DOVPAT18 

Craftsy Kits - bit.ly/CrafAT18 

Amazon Store - 

www.amazon.com/shop/realityarts

Stepping Out Challenge - Day 24 - Creating in Faith Pt 2

Welcome to today's post, I will be sharing part 2 with the Creating in Faith Series.

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Thank you for coming back to today's Podcast. Yesterday I shared about how the ‘Creating in Faith’ prayer month started and was initially hosted by Artist Mika Diaz. I had really enjoyed taking part, and we connected as artists and friends which was great. Mika has a very clear and informative style of teaching, and is very giving, a lot went into all the courses that she runs online.  I also many years later was blessed to meet Mika and her beautiful family in Virginia.

When we completed the month on Creating in Faith I was asked by Mika if I wanted to continue and lead the sessions myself. It was something that I never thought of doing and I was very unsure that I had a strong enough voice to do it.  But there was a part of me that wanted to stretch myself and take the challenge.  Whilst I had a very different voice, I felt equally I had something that I could share, I couldn’t say no, as I am all about taking myself out of my comfort zones so I said yes!

It became almost like a meditative practice for me, I would take an encouraging word and scripture and see what it meant for me and what insights I would be able to bring, and also do a creative project. In the beginning I found it quite a challenge, whilst it was new to me I had to remember also that there are many who would participate silently so you weren’t going to get much feedback from some.

 There were times where I wondered if I really had anything more to share but I kept going. But gradually realised as I widened it and shared it on my blog and received encouraging comments from artists around the world that it was blessing others as well. You also have to develop a thick skin for the times when no one comments, it is alright because you showed up and that is all that matters.

The way I continued Creating in Faith was to develop a creative project along side. I created Bookmark pocket holders that you could put your prayers and thoughts in and at the end of a period you could bind it together as a journal, but you could also look back over the year to see which prayers had been answered.

I continued to lead the project for over a year and a half and it is great to look back and see the progress that I have made, the confidence in my writing, and being consistent in sharing and showing up, and best of all the creative bookmark pockets that I had created. I remembered how insecure I had felt in the beginning, but these feelings are all part of the experience and I am preparing for a season when I will be able to bring together all the things that I have been learning over time which is making me into the artist I have become and yet to become..

When you put your mind to it you can achieve some amazing things. Some things you create for a different reason, and the Creating in Faith was one of them as I read back some of the posts I am surprized how some of the reflections then have helped me even now, but I wouldn’t have done it if I hadn’t been asked and accepted the challenge.

So what are you going to do with the time you have left? What projects have you been asked to do that you need to step up and say yes to.

What are the steps you are willing to take, will you show up for you and step out of the comfort zone, shake things up and really surprise yourself at how much you have within you. It all starts with a step, then another and before you know it you are further than you thought possible.

Tomorrow I will share the Gratitude Series.  I hope during this month you find some time to challenge, be creative and stretch yourself.

Why not join me each day for the rest of October as we dive into to some exciting challenges and look at ways in which they can impact on your own life. 

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, it is never too late to start! The main thing is to take one step at a time and do something that you find interesting.

Stay blessed and be a blessing.

Ps:  If you are on a budget and would like to check out some  supplies/books at a discounted price, check out one of the links below:

Adorn it - http://bit.ly/AdorAT18

Dollar Tree - http://bit.ly/DolAT18

Blick - http://bit.ly/Blick18

Book Outlet - http://bit.ly/BOOKAT18

Stampington - http://bit.ly/STAAT18

C& T Publishing -  http://bit.ly/CNTPAT18

Dover - http://bit.ly/DOVPAT18

Craftsy Kits - http://bit.ly/CrafAT18

Amazon Store -  https://www.amazon.com/shop/realityarts