Block prints!

I've been on a kick of making block prints out of leaves and flowers I've found around my beautiful neighborhood.

Here's one of a ginko leaf I found on my morning walk with my dog.  Can't wait to use it!

How to be a blogger...

I haven't been keeping up with this blog, like a good blogger should.  I'm always at a loss as to what to write about, but I realize that I have a lot going on in my life that might be of interest to the masses.  I'm working on my housewares line, including a few mediation pillows.  I'm also a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) for 3 kids in the foster care system and want to share my experience with these wonderful kids.

So my goal is to blog about something each day or at least every other day.  Maybe people will care about what I'm sharing, maybe not.  It's all good. <3

Peace,
nicole

Know Your Power

Ever have one of those days/weeks/months when you feel like you're floating outside yourself and can't quite get back into your groove?  This happens to me after some sort of trauma.  It can be a 'small' trauma (like getting a pink slip at work) or a big trauma (like your dog jumping off a roof and nearly dying), but the result is the same- out-of-body, must-find-grounding.

The only way to get back into your body and back to your life is to KNOW YOUR POWER.  Through all the situations I've been dealt, my resilience, patience, and perspective is what's gotten me through.  Of course, when combined with the support of those around me, my power is limitless!

I'm working on remembering how powerful I am each day.  And I have wonderful friends and family who remind me of this often.  Do you KNOW YOUR POWER?

*peace
    n

Making of the Vagina pillow

As promised, here's how I made the pillow in the last post.

Supplies needed:

Screen frame, Printer, Modge Podge glue, Small paint brush, Painter's tape, Fabric paint

I've been teaching myself how to make screens for printing.  I bought simple curtain fabric for $3.99/yd and some "build-your-own" frames.  I glued the frames together with wood glue, and after they dried I stapled the curtain fabric around the frame.  Once I had the screen frame, I was ready to get started.


Using Photoshop, I created the quote and enlarged it to fit an 8x10 paper and printed it out.

Once I have the printed image, I traced it with a pencil onto the screen.  Be sure to trace the image with the screen flat on the image.  This is the same direction you will be printing from once the screen is ready, so it's a direct-image transfer (no need to reverse the image).

The next step was to make the screen by filling in the space around the printed image using Modge Podge.  This means tracing around the letters with the MP so that only the image that will be printed is left.  This can be a time-consuimg process, but if you use a small brush around the image first, then fill in the larger space it's a bit easier.

The screen must dry before you can print with it.  If it's in the sun, the screen can dry within 4 hours.  Once the screen is dry, use painters tape to tape off the sides of the screen.  This will prevent any paint from getting past the border of Modge Podge.

Now the screen is ready to use!  I wanted the word Vagina to be screened in pink, with the other words in black.  In order to do this, I taped off the words, squeezed some fabric paint on the side of the letters and dragged the fabric paint across the letters.  Once with pink, and once with black.  This can be done easily, but be careful not to overlap colors.

So this was the result of the screen.  Then I got all the parts together to make the pillow.  I decided to add some fabric hearts to 'soften' the message.

  

Once I added my tag to the back of the pillow, it was ready to go.  Here's the final product:

 

You can find this pillow on my Etsy page:

http://nicolesteward.etsy.com

*peace

n

  

VAGINA: not a sign of weakness

I was at the park the other day with two of my advocate kids (I'm a court-appointed advocate for 3 foster kids) and overheard a really sad exchange between two little kids.  An older boy, maybe 8, was trying to get two 6 year olds to fight each other.  When they didn't want to fight, the older boy said, "Don't be such a little girl."

What he meant was, "don't be weak-like a girl".  Being around so many teen boys, I realize that they struggle with being manly and do anything they can to avoid being called a girl, sissy, pussy, or worse.  I've heard this so many times and my response is,  "A vagina is not a sign of weakness."

Until we can all agree that women are not weak and having a vagina doesn't make you less-than, little boys and little girls will continue to define themselves by what they are not, rather than who they are, strengths and all.

I had to channel my anger and frustration by doing something.  This pillow is the result.  I'll add a post about how I created the pillow in the coming days.
Enjoy!

Peace,
nicole

Grateful

 Taking stock of the many things to be grateful for in my life.  This has been an exercise I've been practicing a lot lately.  Imperfect situations creep up, people do things that seem a little off, crisis are staved off one paycheck at a time.  Even in the random chaos that peeks its crazy-making head out every now and then, there are always things to be grateful for.

• my endlessly caring husband
• my entertaining pup Chomsky
• family & friends who give unconditional love
• buds on trees and plants peeking out of the dirt
• upbeat songs that get me through my day
• sunshine
• hugs

There's lots more but I'll have to save them for a later post.

What are you grateful for today?

Peace,
nicole

Lack of Funds

That was the wording on my pink slip as the reason for my layoff (January 2010). I was the Communications Director/PIO for a school district for 3 years. Then the budget cuts hit.

My job, being furthest from the classroom, was on the hit list pretty early. Makes sense except most people fail to realize that without someone coordinating it, communication doesn't "just happen". Newsletters and press releases don't write themselves; websites don't update themselves; media events don't coordinate themselves; and believe it or not, Board decisions don't get translated to the parents, community, or even the school district teachers and staff by themselves.

But none of that matters now. Now it's time, as my Grandma would say, to put on my big girl panties and deal with it.

I'm dealing with it by working for myself. Yep, I'm newly self-employed and figuring out the ropes. I've been sewing and making jewelry under Nicole Steward Designs for a little while. It's time to get that business moving in a more fluid and profitable way. I'm also doing communication and social work consulting under Nicole Steward Consulting. I promise I'm not vain. It's just easier to use my own name instead of thinking up a witty name and hope it isn't already taken.

I'll be chronicling my journey on this blog. Here we go...


Peace,
nicole