What Do You Do to Beat the Stress of COVID?
I don't believe that many of us ever dreamed that COVID would rule so much of our lives for as long as it has, or maybe I should say as long as it will. It's definitely made its mark on everyone's life in big and small ways. So my question to you today is, what do YOU do to make this more bearable?
One of the things we, as human beings, try to do is make things better. Sometimes that means being more productive and other times it means doing more of what you love. What do YOU love to do? I'd really love to hear about it, but remember that this is a PG audience in your replies!
CREATING
For me personally, it is to make something, and thank goodness there are LOTS of things I LOVE to make. I love to sew, cook, knit, crochet, embroider (by machine), create embroidery designs, and to my surprise, I've learned over the last nine months I actually love to create cards. That's a lot of what this blog will be about.
After my retirement (43 years as a teacher), and three years before COVID, we moved to Central Texas to be closer to our children and their families. I quickly decided I wanted to do something outside the home, and the most natural thing for me was to teach people how to digitize designs using software that then embroidery machines could sew out, teach people how to use their sergers and I also fell into teaching how to use an electronic cutting machine to decorate clothing through appliqué and heat transfer vinyl. The machines can cut paper, too, and when a few customers wanted to learn about that, I needed to learn how to do it so I could teach it.
One of the paper projects was to have something drawn or stamped onto paper, then get the electronic machine to cut it out. Guess what--I didn't have any stamps. I started looking online and found a Stamping' Up Demonstrator who lived close and gave a free first class, so I took her up on it and came away with three cards and a catalog. That was December. I learned enough to teach my January class, and decided to participate in the monthly stamp club, which started in January.
You guessed it--I got hooked. I think making the cards has been therapeutic for me, and I believe most people enjoy getting cards I've taken the time to make as they know someone has been thinking about them. I dove in with enthusiasm and have added new knowledge in watercolor and alcohol markers to my repertoire of decorating techniques. I've always loved watercolors, and they blending you can do with alcohol markers is amazing. I'll be featuring some of my cards here in the near future.
Don't forget to let me know what you're doing to relax you during these crazy times!
