Friday 12 October 2018

Stepping Out Challenge - Day 12 - Tips for Carers 2





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.

Listen to the Podcast


Today I am going to conclude with the Tips for Carers  



Working with the Social Workers

Quite out of the blue after attending a few of the carers meetings I was asked to do a workshop for social workers at a training institute.  Oddly enough these social workers were doing a course where they had increased powers and could make the decision to have individuals sectioned.  It was interesting to hear things from their perspective about life, and the struggles they had in their day to day, feeling overwhelmed, stressed and the issues they had in their own lives. 



Within all this I shared with them the Carers Perspective especially when they have to make decisions about the Carer and those being cared for to think about how much their own baggage they bring to the table.  We looked at the perceptions that they arrive at the carers home with, the ones that the carer has and how the one being cared for might be feeling when the social worker arrives.   

It was an amazing opportunity which led to regular training sessions looking at the carers’ perspective as well as what the social worker brings into the situation.  The social workers who attended were attentive and shared their own experience and it made for an enriched session and it all came about from taking a step to share my own experience.

The more I spent time working on presentations about being a carer,  I realized that there were some things that I was doing that I needed to share, and along came another A-Z challenge which prompted me to share some of the things along the way that I had found helped me get on with what I needed to do.



Self-care is the overriding thread that you need to address and put strategies in place so that you make sure that you get some respite on a regular basis.  The first thing that often suffers for carers is caring for ourselves.  We are consumed with caring for another person and all the other things with such as family, job or other dependents and possibly a million other activities for someone else.

In writing the tips I wanted to offer practical things that I found useful when helping mum - from looking at your support network, getting out of the house and getting fresh air, finding others to talk to and ways to share your story.  The main thing that it was to try and be flexible with the time that you have and the resources you have available to you and look at the kind of support that you have around you. 
 “It takes a community to care for the elderly with Dementia”.



Dementia doesn’t discriminate and everyone is effected not just the individual and their carer.  I’ve spoken to some people who put their parents in a home and they have chosen not to visit them saying that they don’t ‘recognize me anyway’. That person doesn’t realize that there are emotional repercussions that come from choosing to abandon a loved one in that way when they cannot care for themselves.  Communication is not just about knowing your name, it is also touch, the sound and tone of your voice and your personality that the person can relate to.

Whilst they are in a home it is useful to set up a schedule of care - who will visit your loved and continue to interact with them when you are not able to.  Having the continued interaction helps in their health and well-being.  We all know the difference we can feel when we are sitting on our own or sitting with another person.

However you feel you are coping it won’t hurt to get some more help, even if it is just to give you a break for an hour or two.  When you bury your head in the sand about the situation you miss important things that could have been put in place ahead of time, but become crisis if left.  Putting plans into place makes the journey a bit easier.  The tips for carers was a way for me to start to share with others not only my own experience but a way to help as well.

The tips are not an exhaustive list and depending on the person, needs tweaking but it’s a place to start.  When mum started to go to the day care center I later got involved and started offering Art sessions.  I got an even deeper understanding of the different ways in which dementia affects individuals and I also grew as an Artist, daughter, and mother.  Over a 4 year period I had an amazing time working with the men and women who attended the day care center putting on exhibitions for them and getting them out of their comfort zone as artist.  This informs the knowledge that I have gained over the years.

What are your tips for care what words works for you and your loved one?  In what ways can you get involved with their care?

You can find additional tips HERE


Tomorrow I will share the challenge that I did called '30 Days to a Healthier Lifestyle'.  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 would like to check out 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 - 



    Thursday 11 October 2018

    Stepping Out Challenge - Day 11 - Tips for Carers





    Welcome to today's post where I will be sharing my challenge called 'Tips for Carers', 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.

    Listen to the Podcast




    I started the Tips for Carers series as part of another challenge and I wanted to document some of the things that I had found helpful for me as a carer. They were practical things that when you are in the midst of your situation can be something in you tool kit that you could use.

    I was determined to do everything myself when I first started on my journey as a carer. I was going to be the one to get mum better, I didn't understand that has the disease progressed mum's ability to do things for herself would decrease. I also did not want to ask for help or assistance because I felt that if I showed any weakness I would be judged by others and then mum would be taken away from us. 




    It is interesting that as a grown woman I felt that my power base was conditional with others having the power to step in and make decisions that could affect me and my mother - at the end of the day they have and they could and say that they are making these decisions 'in her best interest'. We have all heard of cases where decisions were made based on a 30 minute discussion that might not have happened cause the person didn't feel like talking and 5 people looking at notes then coming to a decision that the person should be institutionalized. 

    I know mum was an adult but she was becoming increasingly unable to look after herself and I was once told by a member of staff that one of the ways that I would receive help would be to say that I was unable to cope and wouldn't care for mum anymore in order to gain more points on the form that she had to fill in. For me the line was too fine and I couldn't make that statement. I asked her why there couldn't just be the offer of help and she said on the face of it I seem to be coping and the one who shouts loudest gets the help the quickest - so my acting skills could have got me an award but not the additional help we needed at the time. 

    So I soldiered through and tried to be there for everyone and put myself to the side I became emotionally drained and a lot to deal with. 

    As time went on we had to call the social workers in, we couldn’t do it on our own, we needed help and we needed to ask, it was my sister who prompted it and in they came and my fears were subdued. I did meet some social workers that left a lot to be desired and one who actually tried to over turn all the help that other social workers had put in place for mum, that was a battle and a half that I was prepared for when the time came. I got involved with a range of carers groups and found that sharing my story actually helped with the feelings of isolation. I didn't always want to do it, but I realized that it helped my own health when I gave myself a break

    One of the key things you have to understand, that asking for help is not a sign of weakness or failure, and the more you try and carry the weight of the world on your own the more you put the life of the person that you are caring for in jeopardy. What will happen to them if you are taken ill or another crisis comes up, you leave yourself without a network that you can call on and you leave them in a vulnerable position.

    Another useful key would be to learn how to step back and see your situation and circumstance. When I looked after mum I started out thinking that I had to occupy her every waking moment and really stressed myself out. I realized that there maybe times that she would just like to sit and relax listening to music, or just have a chat with her, read a book to her and it was enough, I didn't have to be all singing and dancing and could take a breather every now and then.





    It is important to think about where you fit in all of this and what are your needs and the tips addressed some of these points. The more organised you are the more you flexibility you will have, as I said earlier if you have someone you can call on that can step in for an hour or two. We signed mum up for a day care center, and it was one of the best things that happened. Initially it was 2 days a week 9am to 4pm, then we were lucky to have it extended to 5 days a week, and it made a big difference to not only her health and well-being, for her she felt that she was going into work and that she was part of the staff. She often complained that she didn't think they were paying her what she deserved but I assured her that her work was valued by all who worked there.


    If you can put in place a support network you have to also learn to savor the time that you have when you can get a break and do something for yourself. The tips also included making long term plans and looking at ways to get the maximum out of your day to day and you can check out the list HERE.


    As an artist one thing I relied heavily on was my creativity. I got my art journal and every day I did something. I didn’t have the capacity to sit down for hours creating but I gave myself a minimum of 20 mins, or when mum was having a rest with her feet up after coming in from the Day center I would get out my art journal and give her some supplies to create if she wanted to or just relax. 



    During the tough times, where it felt that mum wouldn’t do what I needed her to do such as get ready for a doctors appointment, I would step away from the situation and take 5 minutes out. The exercise gets you to go to an imaginary place where you are surrounded by peace and it only takes 5 minutes but you feel refreshed. I would then go back to the situation and mum as if it were my first time asking her – mum would then get ready as I had asked her to do without any problem - it took stepping away from the situation to be able to work through it.

    If you are a carer what would be your top 5 tips, I always say that you never really understand what it takes until you are in it yourself. How have you utilized the help that you may have in your community, do you have any social help at all. When you think back over your situation what would you do differently?

    Tomorrow I will share the second part from my Tips for Carers. 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 would like to check out some of the resources below please do, you will find a selection of discounted books, art supplies, magazines that might fit in with where you are at the moment


    Dollar Tree - http://bit.ly/DolAT18
    Book Outlet - http://bit.ly/BOOKAT18
    Stampington - http://bit.ly/STAAT18
    C& T Publishing -  http://bit.ly/CNTPAT18
    Craftsy Kits - http://bit.ly/CrafAT18



    Wednesday 10 October 2018

    Stepping Out Challenge - Day 10 - Carers Story Continued





    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.

    Listen to the Podcast


    Today I am going to be continuing with the A - Z of Dementia - a Carers Story


    Thank you so much for joining me again.  As I started to share my story I began to think about all the negative emotions I felt around the dementia.  I wanted to relate to mum as her child her daughter and not her carer.

    I felt lost - I didn't know what I should be doing every step of the way, some days I made it up, some I played it by ear or just shut down and moved on automatic.  I felt angry - why us, we had lost our father from an unknown illness, the doctor we had should have been disbarred for his handling of Dad's illness and every time I saw him (cause mum didn't want to change - a loyalty to authority that her generation had) I wanted to give him a slap for his condescending attitude.

    As my father slipped away, my brother turned to me and said that we had to be strong for mum.  The tears that were beginning to stream down my face did an about turn, part of me couldn't compute, I put away the voice that said 'who is going to be strong for me and mentally began to construct a strategy of care that when mum was in the throws of Dementia came into action.  I thus went into stealth mode and became organised and planned and took responsibility and created schedules for us as a family.



    I didn't think about myself, I was on lock down I shut out my emotions to stop the floodgates from opening as if they did I couldn't be effective.  I compartmentalized my emotions and tapped into them only when caught off guard - such as someone asking how I was.

    Over time I built a fortress around my emotions and you needed special clearance to cross the moat which guarded how I felt.  I became practical and rather than thinking about how I felt, I started to consider how mum might have felt.  If I felt scared, how must mum feel?

    I felt frustration and fear - we have all felt these, but what if your frustrations are dismissed, and you were told to sit down and the more you tried to explain yourself the more frustrated you got cause they weren't listening to you, they didn't and wouldn't understand, they ignore you, shout at you.  In my work with people living with dementia, I have seen this happen first hand.



    How would you feel if it were you?  I began to look at all the emotions I felt around the dementia and the feeling of powerlessness and tried to understand how my mum and others might feel.  Mum was able to cloak the memory loss for some time especially to the health professionals which often made us look like we were the ones who had memory issues.  She worked hard to enjoy the life she was living and she became the life and soul of not only the party but where ever she went she brought laughter and an appreciation for life and she brought me along for the ride - she called herself the dancing queen.  I laughed, cried, came out of my own comfort zone, accepted she was willing to live her life and found a way to make sense of mine.

    Yes, it is good to share, to understand to realize we are but here for a moment.  I don't mourn for the loss of who mum once was, she is still living and breathing and wanting to make the most of her life.  We have to think about what it is we call quality of life for ourselves and spend time enjoying it with our loved ones, we need to have patience.

    In our fast paced lives, we have to think about what really matters to us, we are all getting older and have to think about the kind of life we want to lead, how we treat each other and how we want to be treated.

    You an check out some more of the posts I wrote HERE and if you have any questions please do not hesitate to leave them.  I am so glad you were able to join me today.

    If you are interested in the Arts and Health activities you can join my  Arts in Health Network where I curate Arts and Health activities happening around the world, you can also share what you are doing as well.


    Tomorrow I will be going further into the Tips for Carers challenge with some practical things that you can do.  I hope during this month you find some time to get out of your comfort zone and 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: some resources that you can check out


      Tuesday 9 October 2018

      Stepping Out Challenge - Day 9 - Dementia A Carers Story





      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.

      Listen to the Podcast


      Today I am going to be talking about Dementia and being a Carer.  I did a series called A - Z of Dementia - A Carers Story




      It is funny talking about a challenge within a challenge, but the A-Z Challenge that I did in 2012 was probably the first time I really thought about my situation as a carer and what it meant to me seeing my mother living with Dementia.  I never thought about myself in the midst of it or considered how I felt, but knew I had a job to do and so set to doing it the best way I knew how.

      A is for Alzheimer’s

      There was no emotional manual, the dementia caught us off guard, there was no calling card and preparation, but one day things just seemed different, mum acting weird, not glaringly but saying things that made us wonder briefly, but we never twigged, just brushed it off not daring to thing that there may be something wrong.

      B is for Behaviour

      I remember going up to her local chemist to buy something for mum and the pharmacist handed me a shopping bag that mum had forgotten in there Friday, it was now Tuesday and I looked into the bag I could see among the shopping a pint of milk that had now curdled.  I wondered why he didn't put the milk in the fridge or even get in contact as they had her address.

      C is for Carer

      In hindsight there were many people on the periphery who noted things, saw things that we were too close to see and never alerted the family and just watched things unfold as if watching a reality tv show and we were the unknowing participants.

      D is for Dependant,

      It was hard to deal with.  My son was around 5 at the time and when we would visit mum would say she wanted us to stay - she lived on her own, I didn't want leave her to but had to do the school run and go to work, I prayed that what ever was happening would just go away and mum would be safe.  But it didn't go away and I started staying with her as she couldn't be left on her own.  Mum lived about 45 minutes away from me.   I think I felt several things, responsible and annoyed, part of me didn't want to take on the carers role.  There were many inner casualties over the years as I tried to navigate being a carer and holding on to me.

      E is for Enough

      I began writing and it was an outlet for me, I had so much to say about things that I learnt that it was good to get things down on paper and begin to process.  What ever your situation is it is so important to find others that you can share your story with, as the inner stresses can lead to outward physical symptoms.

      F is for Fear

      Doing the A - Z challenge help me put things down that I thought not only helped me but could help others as well not just in my local area but from around the world I spoke to people who were in similar situations.

      G is for Guilt

      Check out some of the posts and think about your own story and experience, how can you share it and be a blessing to others who may learn something from what you share.

      H is for Health Professionals

      I will continue sharing tomorrow, and would love you to come back and spend some time.

      I is forIdentity,

      Are you or have you been a carer? What has your experience been like?  Are you the sort who will ask for help or do you do it all yourself?  We cannot carry the weight of the world ourselves and sometimes in your stepping out you have to ask for the help that you need. 

      J is for Judgement

      Tomorrow I will share the second part from my carers story.  I hope during this month you find some time to challenge the way you currently do things, 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:  There are some resources and links below I will be sharing more books that might be able to help.:







        Monday 8 October 2018

        Stepping Out Challenge - Day 8 - Art Journal Teaching





        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.

        Listen to the Podcast


        Today I am going to be finishing off talking about Art Journals, there is so much more to say, check out some of the Art Journals that were created as part of the series.




        So yesterday I shared with you about how I got started art journalling, and examples of the videos on the series.  It is so fulfilling creating an art journal from scratch, and you can make it to your own specifications.  I have art journals of every size and one of my favorite sizes are B6, it is a bit wider than A5, can fit in the average size bag and I find them handy to carry around.  I also created some really small ones that I call Capturing Moments Journals, these are a no sew mini journal that again is easy to put in the bag and capture snippets of inspiration, drawings or anything that you want to take note of.


        One of the other things that I was able to do while art journaling is to teach.  The more I put in, the more I was able to give and I love sharing techniques and my 'Ah ha' moments.

        Some people are in a place where they are just finding their style and need encouragement to keep going and over time they find the kind of art they like to produce.  I also find that some want to take away techniques that they can apply to what they already know, some will run with it or leave it, but it is all part of growing and finding your style as an artist.


        I started teaching online in 2015 - one of my first teaching courses was My Color is Beautiful Art it was great to have been selected alongside so many inspiring artists, and though nervous I stepped up to the challenge and said yes, and haven't looked back since.  

        And I kept going over the years, learning techniques, finding inspiration from other artists, there is still so much to learn, techniques and materials to try and each year teaching and getting involved with developing courses and creating content for Art Journal Lessons.

        I am teaching here!

        BadAss Art Journal hosted by Tiare Smith, is one of my most recent classes that I have taught on and have been involved over the past 3 years.  The 2018, the sessions are still available as a self directed course until the end of the year.



        BadAss 2016

        One Badass Art Journal


        I was a guest Artist for Embrace Your Art, there were weekly sessions and it was great fun!
        Every Friday! - Its FREE


        Hacking the Color Wheel 
        hosted by Kiala Givehand, my class looked at getting inspiration from the colors around us.




        The Journey Within 2016 
        I taught 4 sessions in this Year long class.

        The Journey Within 2016 - A Year Long Adventure


        My own Art Journalling Products

        Art Journal Series 1 Bundle Series is something that I recently came up with.  I am often asked how to come up with backgrounds and so I put a selection together, it comes with:
        • 5 background videos looking at how to create your own, build your stash, and to create images from your backgrounds, 
        • 4 Art Journals for you to make made from recycled materials
        • 31 Art Journal prompts for you to spend time in your Art Journal
        • 5 Art Journal Backgrounds for you to download and keep, and 5 Art Journal Videos for you to keep

        Art Journal Bundle - Series 1
        Buy Now for $10


        25 Ways to fit Art and Creativity into Your Life 



        Free gift when you sign up to my Mailing list


        I have had some amazing experiences working with art journals and teaching, when I look back to where I started I realize just how far you have come.  I never would have thought that I would be teaching or creating my own art journal tools and it has taken discipline and perseverance and a joy for experimenting and playing.

        Tomorrow I will be changing the topic to something that is close to my heart and is the Dementia Carers Stories that I did on the blog.  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!  There are many things that I learnt on my journey as a carer and I hope that you find some useful information for someone you know who is looking after a loved one. The main thing in any challenge is to take one step at a time and do something that you find interesting and inspiring.

          Stay blessed and be a blessing.



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

          Sunday 7 October 2018

          Stepping Out Challenge - Day 7 - Creating Art Journals





          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.

          Listen to the Podcast





          Today I am sharing about the 31 Art Journal challenge that I did by the same name in which I share 31 different Art Journals that I had made or altered, over a period of time.

          I have been creating for as long as I can remember, and embarked on Art Journaling for around 14 years.

          I was trying to find my particular style and wasn't sure how or where to find it but found that working in an art journal allowed me to experiment.  I created small pieces and built up my confidence.  I would use my art journal in the same way as my written journal.  I would create pieces that spoke to me and told my story, not necessary for others to see but to enable me to express myself visually.

          Journals enabling you to combine art and encouraging words

          At one point I did try to combine my written journal and my art journal but for me both fulfill a necessary function on their own and use both, and more recently I have been putting journaling on my art journal pages.


          Over the years of taking many course I became confident with making my own art journals and also re-purposing.  I used to buy them but found when you make them or altered them yourself it added to the uniqueness and has an integral part to the stories that the particular art journal held.


          Collage Journal

          As time has gone and playing about with my own style I have my own way of doing things.  I create a lot of Art Journals from recycled materials and it is wonderful to see what would normally be thrown out be transformed into a thing of beauty, combining collage, and mixed media supplies

          Creating the 31 Art Journal Challenge enabled me to see just how many art journals I had created - the time put into each and there are a lot more than 31 now.

          Soul Restoration Journal

          I encourage you to try making a journal of your own out of the supplies that are currently available to you, try making different sizes and see which one works with you best and let me know how you get on!

          Tomorrow I will share the second part from my 31 Art Journal Series, which also looks at some of the courses that I have taught on.  I hope during this month you find some time to challenge, be creative and stretch yourself.
            John Lewis Journal

            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: Check out some books and art supplies in the links  below:  

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