It’s School Time

This time of year always excites me because it is the start of the school year. As a kid it was always a little sad because it was the end of summer vacation.  But still there were new clothes, or a new backpack (unless last years was still usable and still a favorite.  As a child it was a new pencil case that always excited me.).  There were always new crayons, notebooks, or pencils.  You did get to see your old school friends you never saw during the summer and were able to make new friends.  There was a new teacher, new classroom, just a lot of new.

 As a professor, I am still excited about the new year.  I get to see my campus friends who I didn’t see over the summer and meet new colleagues.  There is usually a new class room or class rooms; often times there is a new textbook (that is usually not a fun new if it comes right before the semester starts) and also lots of new students.

 I love walking down the store aisles where all the school supplies are.  I have this urge for new pens and pencils, notebooks, even crayons.  I don’t need them for what I teach but it is just fun to have crisp new items.  Usually I just keep walking down the aisle without buying anything. But a few years ago, I changed that.

 There is always someone who needs the supplies but can’t afford them.  A local charity collects school supplies to give to those families in need and this is where my fun comes in.  I find out what type of supplies is needed and I buy some to donate.  I usually set a limit on how much I spend or I could go crazy.  It satisfies my urge to want new school supplies and I usually smile thinking about the kids who will get to use them.  It is a nice way to give back.

 But there are also some school supplies that are great for crafts.  The notebooks are wonderful to write down ideas of projects you might want to do or using them as journals to keep track of your creative process.  The pencils cases or boxes are great to hold a rotary cutter or scissors.  I use one to hold all my punch needle supplies (the needle, extra needle tips and needle threaders).  Crayons, which are probably my favorite school supply, are wonderful for drawing a picture, planning a color scheme for a quilt or piece or embroidery, or just doodling when you are stuck for an idea.

 So, if you are like me and just get sentimental for new school supplies, buy them.  You might not use them or you might find a little kid who would love a box of those 64 crayons. Who knows, that kid might just be you.

©2021 Cheryl Fillion

 

 

Laughter

 Someone once said “Laughter is the best medicine.” And they were right.  Laughter might not cure anything but it makes you feel better.  And this is needed during these recent days.

How can laughter make you feel better?  Well to start with when you are laughing you are smiling. And that is always a good thing.

Studies show that laughter lowers blood pressure and releases a chemical which reduces stress hormones which can then in turn boost your immune system.

The actually act of laughing can reduce the tension your muscles hold when you are stresed.  When I was in graduate school, I strained my back.  It hurt to move and aspirin wasn’t helping.  I went to the campus theater to see Shakespeare A Midsummers Night’s Dream, one of his funnier plays, when I left my back felt much better.  I had laughed so long and so hard that it actually released the tension in my back.

Having a good laugh also helps with depressed feelings.  If you can look at a situation from a different angle, it helps relieve depression.  Things can’t be so bad if you can find some humor in it. Studies show if you use humor you feel less lonely and more positive about yourself.

Now laughter doesn’t have to come from watching a Shakespeare comedy, it can come from being with funny people or watching the antics of a family pet.  If you live alone, check out the videos on Facebook, there are always clips of silly kids and animals.

Make sure you watch a comedy show every day, maybe numerous times a day (Blooper clips on Facebook or Youtube are the best).  Read a funny book. Listen to a comedian on TV or your Iphone.

Think of something you did as a child.  Go outside and dance in the rain or run through a sprinkler.  Finger paint.  Draw with crayons.  Make something silly.  How about a paper hat?  A necklace of daisies or dandelions?  Play in the mud.

Sit on the front porch and watch the animals.  Squirrels are hilarious sometimes. 

Do whatever you can to bring a smile to your face and laughter to your voice.   This will make you happier and which will improve your health and extend your life.  And when you are happy, think of how creative you can be.

©2021 Cheryl Fillion

It’s Football Season!!

 I like this time of year, not only to the temperatures start cooling and school starts but it’s football season.  Anyone who is a fan has been counting down the days since the

Superbowl game.  For me it means getting out my favorite team’s glass and cup to use on game day.  (I am a Green bay Packer fan. Green Bay, Wisconsin is my family’s hometown.)

A whil3 back I bought a set of cookie cutters which included a helmet and football shape.  Now I didn’t buy these cutters for cookies; I bought them for needle felting (See my blog post “Needle Felting in a Cookie Cutter”).  But I began to wonder what other things the cutters could be used for.  

So here are ten ways to use the football and helmet cookie cutters (but any shape and any occasion will work here).

1- Use the shape to needlefelt an ornament or press the cookie cutter into clay for an ornament.

2- Trace the shape onto a blank card and decorate it for an invitation to your football watching party.

3- Trace the shape onto a blank card but leave the shape plain.  Tell your guests they have to bring the card colored or decorated to the party and a prize will be given to the best card.

4- String yarn or a chain through the cookie cutter and wear it as a necklace.

5- Having coloring sheets with the shapes on it for the children or adults to color if the game gets boring or your team is losing.

6- Use the cutter as a template for appliqué, embroidery or coloring on fabric.  (See blog post “Cookie Cutters are just for Cookies” and “Colored Pencils on Fabric”) 

7- Use the cutters to create different shaped deli meats or cheese for your food table

8-Tic Tac Toe game – Create a 9 patch ( a 3 x 3 square grid) with the squares big enough for the cookie cutter shape.  Pick 2 shapes and make five of each.  You can use paper, card stock, felt, or fabric.  You can also use one shape like the helmet and make 5 from 2 different colors.  Use the shapes as you would Xs and Os in a tic tac toe game but instead of marking a paper, you place the shapes on the squares. 

9- Use them as napkin holders.  If you have just a couple of sports related cookie cutters, add stars, circles, hearts, fall leaves, whatever might be appropriate or fun.  (If the weather is still warm or even if it isn’t, try a snowman). 

10- Oh, yeah, and make cookies with the cutters.

Remember what I said in an earlier blog: cookie cutters aren’t just for cookies.  So go have some fun with football or any cookie cutters.

©2021  Cheryl Fillion

Try something new

Have you ever been given the opportunity to take a class or watch a demo or hear a speech and you thought, no I don’t do that craft or I’m not interested in that subject. Well, go anyway. 

 You never know when going to a talk of something you have no interest in will actually spark an interest.  I belong to a number of crafters groups.  I often see someone prepare a talk or a demo and very few people in the group show up.  “Oh I don’t do that type of craft,” I hear them say.  So?  How do you know if you will like it or not if you don’t see it?

 Maybe you won’t like it but maybe you will.  I went to a meeting once with no interest what so ever in punchneedle embroidery.  I heard how it was done and saw some finished projects and I turned to my friend and said “I want to learn that”.  And now I do punchneedle all the time.  My little 3 heart logo in the corner of the blog is done in punchneedle.   

 Even if you have no interest in something, what you learn might apply to something else you do creatively or intellectually.  I learned to make rings at a meeting of our local Fiber Artist group.  I really have no interest in making jewelry but the technique I learned for the ring I can use to make embellishments for some of my needle felted bowls.

 If the class or demo or talk is being done by someone you know, wouldn’t it be nice for them to see a friendly face in the group?  It takes a lot of time and energy to put together a demonstration for a group (especially a group where you are a member) and it is a little disheartening to just see just four or five people in the audience.

 So go try something new.  You might learn about something you didn’t know you wanted to do.  Or learn about something you might not do but will now appreciate more.  Think of how smart you will look when you can discuss the intricacies of basket weaving at a dinner party. Or just go and be supportive whether the speaker is a friend or stranger. Just go anyway.

 © 2017, 2021 – Cheryl Fillion