Happy New Year! For those of you making resolutions let me recommend those put forth by one of my personal heroes, Jill Conner Browne, also known as the Sweet Potato Queen. Jill urges people to make resolutions they can succeed at in order to boost their self-esteem. One of her favorite resolutions is to "Eat More". Needless to say, and so I won't.
One of my resolutions this year is to create projects with a recycling twist to them. Another is to use metallic paint, which make projects simply pop. Prang metallic paints, user friendly and inexpensive, are available online. I discovered one overstock site that has a set of twelve 16 ounce bottles of Prang metallic for $33. Explore and see what shiny things you can come up with.
This project is simply torn, used dryer sheets glued to glass or plastic bottles with my favorite adhesive, gloss gel. Assemble your supplies of glass or plastic bottles, old brushes about 1-inch wide or foam brushes, gloss gel, and used dryer sheets cut or torn into squares that are 2 inches or smaller.
Simply brush gloss gel onto an area of the bottle, apply a piece of dryer sheet and brush a bit more gloss gel on top. Continue until the entire bottle is covered and has a nice textured look. I sometimes do two layers or more simply to get more texture, which I like.
When the bottles are dry, which is generally in a day or so, dab on a few colors of the metallic paint, sticking to basic matches like green and blue or orange and gold. Of course, gold simply looks great with everything. Some of the bottles have an added piece of bead trim at the top, stuck on with gloss gel. When finished, these bottles make lovely vases for artificial flowers or simply as a grouping of glowing bottles.
Happy Creating! Happy New Year!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Laughter
Personal from the Saturday Review - "Important notice: If you are one of the hundreds of parachuting enthusiasts who bought our course entitled 'Easy Sky Diving in One Fell Swoop," please make the following correction: On page 8, line 7, change 'state zip code' to 'pull rip cord'."
I was recently given a copy of the book "Head First, the Biology of Hope" by Norman Cousins. Cousins is the gentleman who had wonderful recovery results from serious illness using all that the medical community had to offer along with laughter. His recovery astonished the medical community and he became an advocate, teacher and fellow researcher on the relationship between human spirit and wellness.
The part of the book that especially caught my attention was the section that talked about the practice of using "Laughter Wagons" stocked with humorous materials and other items likely to amuse residents in nursing homes. One group of Laughter Wagon volunteers wear buttons that read, "Warning: Humor may be hazardous to your illness."
Other suggestions in the book include sending a resident a book of jokes or silly toy instead of flowers. Other suggestions include silly sculptures, comical photos, and mobiles. Or why not consider a joke or riddle of the day on breakfast trays or on a bulletin board?
During this time of year when it's too easy to focus on all that needs to be done and other stressors of the season, it might be good to share a chuckle rather than stories of our all too busy lives. And while humor and a positive attitude do not change the reality of lives, it can influence the way people deal with their reality. As Cousins advises, "Don't deny the diagnosis. Try to defy the verdict."
"Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand." Mark Twain
I was recently given a copy of the book "Head First, the Biology of Hope" by Norman Cousins. Cousins is the gentleman who had wonderful recovery results from serious illness using all that the medical community had to offer along with laughter. His recovery astonished the medical community and he became an advocate, teacher and fellow researcher on the relationship between human spirit and wellness.
The part of the book that especially caught my attention was the section that talked about the practice of using "Laughter Wagons" stocked with humorous materials and other items likely to amuse residents in nursing homes. One group of Laughter Wagon volunteers wear buttons that read, "Warning: Humor may be hazardous to your illness."
Other suggestions in the book include sending a resident a book of jokes or silly toy instead of flowers. Other suggestions include silly sculptures, comical photos, and mobiles. Or why not consider a joke or riddle of the day on breakfast trays or on a bulletin board?
During this time of year when it's too easy to focus on all that needs to be done and other stressors of the season, it might be good to share a chuckle rather than stories of our all too busy lives. And while humor and a positive attitude do not change the reality of lives, it can influence the way people deal with their reality. As Cousins advises, "Don't deny the diagnosis. Try to defy the verdict."
"Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand." Mark Twain
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