One of the ways I deal with stress relief is to immerse myself in a bit of crafting therapy. Just after election day, I was in great need of some focused self-care, and now that we are coming up on the inauguration, looking at my wall art reminds me we are bigger than the outcome of the election.
Now, Reviews, Chews & How-Tos is written by a number of people with a variety of political, religious and lifestyle views, so I will not use this post to discuss politics, but I think anyone can relate to sometimes needing visual reminders to keep them going during dark times, regardless of what is causing the darkness for them.
For me, during a year that's been hard in many ways on a personal level, the election's tone of pointless drama, hate and disrespect towards soooo many things that I believe in made it hard, sometimes, to get through the day without feeling anxiety and despair.
I found a personal way to cope with it: Motivational Wall art.
It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the opinions of others, the media, the internet and what-not, but to me it is important that I keep a clear view on what’s important for me and my family. And, personally, I like for other people to see right away what we are about and what we don’t tolerate.
This is how this particular piece of art was born:
I need the people who enter my house and the life of my children to know that hate is not an option here.
And there is just no better way for me to express my love for something other than by creating. I love creating, whether it is an art project, food items or fiber arts. I need to do things that have an end result that I can view and touch and smell (sounds creepy, but hey, at least I am honest! Especially as the mother of young children, you need proof sometimes that you completed something!).
Now, there is more to this though:I am not a professional in the psychology field, but there are basic techniques that you can do to improve yourself and your mental health. One of them involves focusing on words of affirmation.
What do you think happens almost every time you walk by a positive sign? You may not actively read it but your brain most likely does recognize it. Now imagine reading positive and happy things all day – consciously and subconsciously. It will eventually have an impact on your perspective.
We have motivational Wall Art all over the hous,e and I constantly add more or replace old ones with new ones.
I take my inspirations from many sources but my favorites are from books, songs and movements that I support.
Word Porn (a facebook page), as well as Pinterest are also great sources.
You could do something as simple as jotting motivational words on sticky notes, or print them out and frame them. Since I find artwork to be calming, I made this piece using canvas, paint & stencils.
Here is the how to guide:You need:
- Paint
- Canvas
- Paper, the same size as canvas
- Brushes
- Stencils (optional)
Once you have the quote or idea you like, sketch it out on some plain paper, the same size of the canvas.
This is a great way to make sure everything will end up centered, or the way you want it. You can also easily change things that way.
Pick your color scheme and start by painting the background for your picture.
With a sharp pencil transfer the sketch from the paper to the canvas. Make sure to only make really fine lines that your paint will be able to cover.
Write your quote on it or paint out the stencils that you choose.
If you have children,I also recommend that you wait until your kids are in bed to do this part or when you have a moment of silence (otherwise all the work you put in to center it may just be a waste of time because your kid may switch out the sketches – this is the reason why mine isn’t centered as I originally planned to do!).
Once it is all done, put it in a safe spot to dry.
What’s your favorite motivational quote? Do you keep it in view to remind yourself of it? Tell me in the comment section!
