Relax

Breathe in... breathe out... relax...

Amongst all the craziness, 2020 has brought me four wonderful weeks of rehabilitation, and in one of the booklets I received in my welcome package, I found this image of a meditator. I think it was part of a leaflet featuring relaxation methods or something like that, but I'm not sure anymore to be honest. Of course, I'd save it for one of my crafting projects - after all, I'm a hamster when it comes to saving scraps I *might* use one day. 

For a long time, the figure was just meditating in my stash, but here it is featured atop a very simple CAS card.

Since the image says it all, I didn't feel like changing it a lot. I opted for a light grey cardboard as a background, partly because it goes well with all shades of rainbow that are depicted in the yoga scene. On the other hand, the leaflet had a text printed on the back side and I knew it would shine through if I had picked a cream/beige background as I originally planned. 

To make sure the grey picture frame wouldn't end up too meh, I combined it with another grey paper which is a bit darker but actually quite cute due to the glossy swirls.

When everything seemed to be complete already, I found the card a bit too simple. I remembered a set of colourful star stickers from my stash, and picked a star in each colour to match the rainbow ornaments (well, the pink does stand out a bit, but it was the closest match to light purple I could find). In a fun coincidence, the glossy appearance of the stickers matches the grey swirls in the background. 

There isn't much more to add in the end, other than to redirect you over to scrapping4fun where there's an easy ATG challenge going on this fortnight. I've been invited to contribute as GD this time so you won't be seeing me among the linked entries for a change, but I'll sure have a look at what you'll come up with. Also, you'll have the chance to win a little something sponsored by

And for a little more Zen feeling, a beautiful sunset above the old town of Ljubljana. While the nights are pretty cold right now and it takes quite some time for the atmosphere to thaw in the morning, it is still possible to catch a bit of vitamin D in the afternoon hours without turning into an ice cube.

challenges: 
- krafty chicks: CAS

- 613 avenue create: ATG
- a bit more time to craft: ATG
- a place to start: ATG

- craft-alnica: ATG

- crafters castle: ATG
- crafty sentiments: ATG
- creative moments: ATG

- everybody art: ATG

- love to craft: ATG

- morgans artworld: ATG
- path of positivity: look for the positive (To me, mindfulness has a great deal to do with positivity, as well as focusing on the good things you find along the way even in bad times. I'm not a supporter of the "everything happens for a reason" attitude though, because, well, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it's just a bunch of coincidences that pile up in the wrong way. And when they do, a person has every right to be sad/angry/disappointed/... But of course, despair isn't a state that should be kept alive forever, and at some point, you need to move on. 

I believe that everybody should develop coping strategies that help them along the way - either by themselves, or with the help of family, friends and/or professionals. What will work for you? You never know until you try. 

I for myself tried several techniques of relaxation during my rehabilitation last summer, and to my surprise, I couldn't really help myself with any of them. Not because something was wrong with the therapist, the group or the exercise itself - the methods as such just didn't suit me. I guess my kind of positivity lies within nature, crafting or being alone, rather that in a gym circle listening to somebody's voice. And I'm totally fine with that, because seeing what doesn't work for me made it possible to look for something else, something that would work better towards my needs. Above all, it allowed me to realize that when coincidences line up, I'm the person who starts looking for a tangible plan rather than a CD of relaxation music. Which is fine because that's the thing that works best for me. Still, the simple meditating figure will always be connected with the wonderful care I received during rehab, and I honestly can't wait to go back due to the overwhelmingly positive experience I had - when all they did was basically just let me be and support me along the way.)

- pennys papertake: ATG

- through the craftroom door: ATG
- unicorn challengeblog: CAS
- use your stuff: out with the old (image of meditating figure)
- wortartwednesday: ATG
- worldwide open design team challenge: ATG