Collin's Mom

Do you all remember Colin? The boy who’s mom created a Facebook page to get him birthday greeting that turned into an internet sensation and was even featured on Good Morning America.

Jennifer, aka Colin’s Mom was devastated when her son told her he didn’t want to have a birthday party because he had no friends. She decided to do something about it. When she started she had no idea it would turn into such a huge outpouring of love and support for her son and her family. She is a true Super Mom!

Colin has received so much through his mom’s efforts so, I thought it would be a really nice idea for someone to show her a little bit of love and appreciation for what she does. So Art for the HeArt and Soul decided to make her an art journal.  So that is what I’ve been working on this week.  I made her this journal, and a small supply package with a lot of my heart and soul included. I hope that it will be a place she can put down the things she can’t put on Colin’s Page.

This is our way of saying Thank you Jennifer for being a great mom and an inspiration to us all!

Check out their FB page “Colin’s Friends” at https://www.facebook.com/Coliniseleven

New logo..

It's finally here... After months of waiting we are proud to unveil our new official logo at Art for the HeArt and Soul. We all hope you love it as much as we do. Also don't be surprised if you don't see some small seasonal changes over the next few months on the logo. I don't want to ruin the surprise so stay tuned and keep your eyes peeled. We also have a big surprise in store for everyone in regards to our website in the next week. :) There will be a big announcement and a giveaway around the announcement. 

To give you a quick update on where we are at with our projects... We just wrapped up the TLC project and the Baby Kate project. After finishing these two this leaves us with the Beacon House project. The Beacon House is in Wooster , Ohio.  It is is run by Steps at Liberty.  It is home for women for get  rehabilitation from alcohol and / or drugs.  They enter the home with a lot of restrictions and earn more privledges as time goes by and they improve their lives for the better by doing the next right thing.  The average stay at Beacon house is 8 to 9 months and then the program helps them find an apt and job and continue with counseling, meetings and support. It seems like many of women in this program are "artsy".  They have free time to create and are encouraged to do so.Sketch books, charcoal, paints, water colors, markers, gesso, glue, old magazines, journal pens, journal, stencils, paper, ink, stamps.  

Any donations are greatly appreciated and as you can see will go to a great cause. We are in need of journals (complete or incomplete) in order to keep our stock up. If your not much into journaling we could use any type of art supplies you can send. All of these supplies donated along with the journals that go out with these projects. We will be posting pictures as we move along on our website at www.artfortheheartandsoul.org and on our business page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/artfortheheartandsoul?ref_type=bookmark. 

On a personal note it has been very hectic at home with my husband being under the weather with his kidney stones and my kids heading off to summer camp. I look forward everyday to getting to sit down and work on building journals along with getting to know each and everyone of you in our community. Thank you so much for all of the love and support you have give me the past week. Your words of encouragement have helped carry me through when I was tired and wasn't sure if I would make it. Thank you!!! Love,Tina

"Do not always listen to everything you think"

Every year the 4th of July is a reminder to me that the year is half over. It lets me know the kids only have less than a month left until school starts back. Lastly, it reminds me how proud I am of my country and the men and women that serve to ensure we get to watch fireworks every single year. I am an extremely proud Veteran that comes from a long line of Veterans. Because of my passion and past with the military I am making it my mission in the month of August to reach out to the Veteran community. I know for myself journaling would have been a life saver while I was in the military and away from my family and friends for us long periods of time. I also know that coming back in some cases therapy is what gets us through. It was very hard to transition back to civilian life after being in the Army. It is hard for every soldier especially if you are making a career change and getting out for good. I want to reach out to not only the soldiers who are serving right now but I also want to reach out to other Vet programs in the community and at the VA hospital. I want to see if there is anyway I can repay my gratitude by paying for a journal in hopes that this journal will help them as much as they have me over the years. 

According to PsychCentral "Art therapy is helpful in alleviating the psychological trauma experienced by soldiers returning from war zones in Afghanistan and Iraq.  The research was conducted by Cheryl Miller, who used the study as part of her master’s thesis in Concordia University’s Department of Creative Arts Therapies." If you get a chance please check out the website at  http://psychcentral.com/news/2011/05/06/art-therapy-alleviates-ptsd-symptoms-in-veterans/25979.html

If you are interested in seeing or helping with other projects like this in the future please leave me a comment below and let me know your thoughts. 

Earlier in the week I had someone tell me "don't listen to everything you think."-unknown This statement is so small and powerful to me right now considering my circumstance. I don't think many people know so let me share a piece of my story really quick with you. I was the girl who did Crossfit every single day. I loved the changes to my body and I loved the way I felt after a good workout. In October I sustained/aggravated a spinal cord/nerve/disc injury. In all of my years I have never had anything lay me flat like this. For the past 8 months I have been very restricted on what I could do. Being someone that is always active you can imagine I am not doing very well with this. In December I found a wonderful art community on Facebook and the rest is history. Art has gotten me through the darkest and most difficult days in my life. I get very down on myself and beat myself up harder than anyone else ever could. After 8 months of medically not getting very far in the system has lead to extreme frustration on my part. I have never been one not to work out so I am also very hard on myself and how I physically look. The quote above is helpful for me because it reminds me that I think the worst of myself and how I look. It reminds me that when I'm being hard on myself I should stop and remember we all deserve a little grace. This reminds me to stop picking myself apart and consciously make an effort to think positive. 

Remember that we are open to suggestions on what you would like a product review on. Gelato's, Tim Holtz distress inks, PanPastels... you name it and I'll review it. Once the review is complete I will be giving away some of the products to members that comment on my blog injury below. Happy 4th of July Friends and Family! 



<3 Tina

P.S. Check back in next week for the reveal of a huge secret that I can hardly stand to keep quiet. Your gonna love it! Cher, Patti and Kelly don't even know about it.. eeekkkk...






References:

Pedersen, Traci . "Art Therapy Alleviates PTSD symptoms in Veterans." . N.p., 6 May 2011. Web. 5 July 2014. <http://psychcentral.com/news/2011/05/06/art-therapy-alleviates-ptsd-symptoms-in-veterans/25979.html>.

Stencil Girl Products...

Hi everyone,

     I want to share one of my favorite products with you all. I'm talking about Stencil Girl Products. A friend from our Art for the HeArt and Soul group told me about the stencil club option they have. Being that I'm a stencil fanatic I decided to sign up and give it a try. Check out my review at the link below on the stencils and the company. I have also included a picture of a journal Patti did using their product.

Review:  http://youtu.be/sxDbQKAQIrU

Also you can go directly to their website to check it our for yourself at: www.stencilgirlproducts.com 

Once you check out the review please leave me a comment and tell me what other great products you would like to see a review on. I will pick a random winner from the comments section to receive a few products from Stencil Girl.

Product Review and update

Hello my Art for the HeArt and Soul family,

Life here at AFTHAS has been productive and busy the past month. Cher, Patti and I have found that there was more work than the 3 of us could keep up with. Paying it forward is such a wonderful thing and we want to spread the word and help as many people as possible. We are excited to announce the addition to the board of our very own Kelly Rish. Kelly is a wonderful woman with a heart of gold. It honestly feels like she's been a part of our family the entire time. There is nothing better than the feeling of warmth that comes over you when you meet someone and you know they were meant to be a part of this journey with you. That was exactly how it felt with Cher and Patti and now Kelly.

We are currently working on getting a logo. We have started a couple of times and it just never got off of the ground. I have recently been introduced to a wonderful lady who is willing to help me get this done. Once we get the logo you are going to see it everywhere. It is the final piece we need in order to pull everything together. We also have magnets on the way that will be given out over the next month. Our product line is growing. When you get a moment go online and check out all of the handmade products we have in our store. If you don't see something you are interested in please message us and let us know. Cher is currently working on making over 10 journals. http://www.artfortheheartandsoul.org/store/c1/Featured_Products.html

 I am currently working on our very first review which will be posted within the week. For me there are so many art products out in the market today and I get overwhelmed at times and don't know what product to go with. There seem like there are millions of youtube video's and I'm not sure where to start. Because of this I have decided to start doing a review on products that we frequently hear about on the many art web sites that we all follow and love. I am going to be reaching out to you and asking you for help in giving me suggestions on what products you would like to see reviewed. I will be posting on our facbeook business page contests and fun ways to get your ideas in exchange for your ideas we will be rewarding those of you who help us with some of the products we review from time to time. So don't be shy, speak up and get rewarded in the process. 

When I do the reviews I will do a written portion and a small video to show the products and exactly what I am talking about. I want to show how the products work so that you get an idea of what to expect if you decide to use the product in the future. I have ordered all of the equipment in order to make the videos so please be patient with me. 

Drumroll please.........  Our very first product that we will be reviewing will be StencilGirl. I had a friend from one of the Facebook groups suggest this product and I have been a part of their monthly services for the past 6 months. Your going to love this review so stay tuned.

I also want to thank each and every one of you for being loyal and taking this journey with us here at AFTHAS. You are our family and we look forward to everything it has in store. 

With all of my love,

Tina