Friday 29 May 2020

Being hopeful, Mindful Moments 10

This is my 10th Mindful Moments post and it will be my last as things are beginning to change and improve and we are slowly but surely coming out of Lockdown. By no means is this dreadful Pandemic over but the whole purpose of my Mindful Moments posts was to bring some mindfulness to the very dark place the UK found itself in 10 weeks ago. Back then we had no idea how long we would be there for. Here is my original post if you missed it. It was then the very start of spring and everyone but  key workers had to stay indoors. Now we are rapidly approaching summer. I have been able to see my son outside and will also be visiting my parents sitting 10 feet away in their garden. Although it's not possible to share a hug it's wonderful to catch up "in the flesh". However it seems that it could still be a long time until we see my daughter, her HB and our 2 grandchildren. Jack is only 3 and does not understand social distancing at all and Daisy would find keeping apart (as I would) very emotionally challenging. 

Last night was also the last of our weekly "clapping" for the NHS. This has been a joyful and supportive event for our street but I agree that now is the right time to try to get back to a little normality. What I really hope is that people continue to give the doctors and NHS staff the respect and thanks they have always deserved. Pandemic or no pandemic that have always given 100%. When this terrible illness descended and we were all told to stay indoors, they ran straight out, without ever considering their own personal safety. My doctor daughter also had all her bank holidays until the late May one cancelled and she never once complained. What an incredible job they did and are still doing.

I also hope that society also continues to be thankful for all the other key workers that perhaps previously we took for granted until life changed overnight. Teachers, postpeople, delivery drivers, shop workers, refuse collectors, the list goes on and on.  

So today's post is one where I trying to inspire some hope.

Most of my inspiration over the last 10 weeks has come from my tiny garden and from my daily walks. Mother Nature has never slowed down over these 10 weeks and has carried on blooming and growing. 
I noticed that my ornamental poppies in my front garden came into bloom this week.
Their stunning bold red colour inspired me to use red flowers, like the red in the English flag and hope for the future of our country. 
I noticed red roses in the park

and red geranium.
One of my hanging baskets has a deep red begonia which looks stunning with it's dark green foliage.
So back to my ornamental poppies. My dearest best friend gave me the seeds as part of a birthday present some years back and they just self seed each year. They are real show stoppers as they are enormous. I think the variety is called ladybird, and you can see why. 

I thought that it would be very apt to make my last Mindful moments project using them as my inspiration.

I wanted to make a thank you card for someone who recently painted me the most delightful artwork...and then apologized as she didn't think they were good enough as she has only just taken up painting! Believe me they are so gorgeous and I will treasure them. 
I don't have a poppy flower stamp so I decided to turn my Visible Image Creative Choas set into poppies. 
I also knew the perfect Visible Image sentiments to use too, these are from their "The world needs art" sentiment set. Those I have used on my card are so apt and so true! I made a distress stain inky sprayed background in green like the foliage of my plants. 
Here are some close ups.
I added a little glossy accents to a few petals.


I would like to enter my poppy card into the following challenges.

Creative artiste 2/3 anything goes
Lil patch of crafting friends 2/3 anything goes
A vintage journey Beautiful blooms
Sweet stampin 1/3 anything but square
C.R.A.F.T 1/3decoupage/3D
Addicted to stamps and more 1/3 anything goes
Creative moments 1/3 anything goes
Simon says stamp Wednesday anything goes
Try it on Tuesday 1/3 cut it out
Stamping sensations say it with flowers

My lockdown crafting gave me such a focus over these last 10 weeks. I am still Zoom crafting with my little Daisy until we can craft together in person. I will continue as always to craft but I hope over the next 10 weeks that life may actually begin to open up a little more too and allow visits and perhaps even a mini holiday in the UK.  
Yes very, very slowly and by taking baby steps we are trying to move the UK forwards. The last thing we want is another peak of the virus.

So here is my last Mindful Moments quote which is actually a very famous short poem called;

Hope is the Thing with Feathers

Hope” is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.


I’ve heard it in the chillest land
And on the strangest sea,
Yet never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.


By: Emily Dickinson


Let's hope we can come through this pandemic with the least possible loss of life. It is certainly  going to change the world and the way we live forever. Let's hope some of those changes are eventually seen as being for the better. One day we will be able to look back at all this as a historical event and my greatest hope is that we can learn lessons from this dreadful disease and that we never again have to live through such dark days. 

Thanks so much for stopping by over the last 10 weeks and reading my Mindful Moments posts.  I really do hope that they gave you a tiny ray of sunshine.

My "normal Jane's Journal" blogging will resume on Monday.

Stay safe, stay hopeful and stay mindful.

Bye for now,

With love,

Jane x

13 comments:

  1. A moving post and a beautiful card to finish the series with

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  2. Thank you for your lovely positive uplifting posts through lockdown Jane!
    I do hope that after all the darkness some good will come from it and certainly nature has been at its best, cheering us on through it all.
    Lovely poppies both real and inky!
    Have a wonderful weekend my friend,
    V x

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  3. A lovely positive post Jane loved the ladybird poppies mum x

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  4. The card is gorgeous! I enjoyed all your flower photos. We have a lot blooming here in our farmyard, too. Have a great weekend. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  5. Beautiful colours on your pretty floral card, many thanks for sharing and joining in with our 'Say it with Flowers' theme at Stamping Sensations challenge.

    B x

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  6. Wow, those flower photos are gorgeous. I can see how they were inspirations for your beautiful card. Thanks for sharing it with us at Try It On Tuesday. Hugs-Erika

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  7. Really enjoyed reading your post Jane.
    I had that variety of poppy in the garden of my old house - I really wish I'd have taken some seeds so I could have had them here too. They are beautiful and thanks for sharing those lovely pics.
    And thanks for sharing your gorgeous card with us at Stamping Sensations!

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  8. Gorgeous card with fantastic stamp and background. Thanks for sharing with us at Creative Moments.

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  9. A lovely card. Wonderful soft background and contrasting splashes of colour with the flowers.
    Thank you for joining in with our May challenge "Anything Mixed Media Goes" at Creative Artiste Mixed Media. Good luck x

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  10. A really beautiful card for our Say it with Flowers theme. So pretty! Thanks for joining in at Stamping Sensations this month and Good Luck!

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  11. Everything about this post is lovely, the thoughts, the pictures and the card. Thanks so much for joining us at CRAFT Challenge this week!

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  12. A beautiful card and a lovely post to read. Thank you for sharing this with us at Try it on Tuesdays.
    Yvonne

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Jane x