Birthday Tag-Tim Holtz Online Classes

One of the things I have learned from having Behcet's is the importance of making sure my brain continues to learn. One of  the most frustrating consequences of being ill has been the loss of cognitive function and the loss of language skills. Before I became ill there wasn't much I couldn't achieve. Writing was a true gift and I enjoyed writing. I started blogging in the hope of trying to stop the disease from progressing and hopefully maybe someone would read what I had written and benefit from my experiences.

I am now doing Remicaid infusions every four weeks. It is usually every 8 weeks. We are hoping that the chemo will kill off my over functioning immune system. In the back of my mind I am terrified of what it is doing to my heart. Yet it is because of the damage the Behcet's is doing to my heart that we are doing this. And in some ways it is helping. For the first three weeks it is glorious. My joints work with slight pain, I can think clearly, the mouth and genital ulcers disappear. Even better the fatigue disappears. I have HOPE!!! And I start to remember what it was like before I got sick.

But then the 4th week hits. And it is like a ton of bricks have been piled on me. I literally can feel it start in my feet and work itself up over a period of three hours. My body becomes filled with lead. I have angina. I can barely put one foot in front of another. I get several mouth, throat and genital ulcers all at once. The pain is unbearable. All of my joints and bones are filled with pain so bad I can not move. Sometimes I lose my language skills. I sound as if I have had a stroke. I can understand others, but what I think comes out in gibberish. Sometimes my written language is gibberish- but other times it is filled with grammatical and spelling errors. As a former educator and public speaker I am horrified.

So I have been on a mission to make my brain build new neurons. In order to do that it has to go outside of it's comfort zone and learn new things. Enter Tim Holtz's Creative Chemistry 101. This really appealed to me. I used Science to teach my elementary special education kids how to read. We did experiments and worked on saving the local river. The kids won national and international awards as a result. Tim's class was an opportunity for me to use some old skills and develop new ones.

Tim's class is taking me out of my comfort zone. Tim's style as I am sure you are aware if you have been following my blog for any amount of time, is vastly different than mine.

The class has been worth every penny. The things I have learned about the chemistry of stamping!!! I especially appreciate that we make a tag with directions on the back of the technique we learned that day. So important for someone who is struggling with a brain that can have an inflamed blood vessel at any moment with no warning and not remember anything.

 Scott's girlfriend is having a birthday this weekend. I made her a tag using blending and distressed ink. I then used a solvent ink on top. I had never mixed types of inks before!

So here is the tag (with more to come later-I am waiting on some supplies. Yes, Tim managed to enable me! LOL)

Supplies:
Inks:Tim Holtz Distress Inks: Mustard Yellow, Tumbled Glass, Preserves, Spun Sugar, Peeled Paint, Walnut Stain
Ranger  Black Archival Ink
Tools: Ranger Blending Tool
Stamp: Hero Arts Wish Big
Ribbon: Stash
Tag: Ranger Manilla #8
Embellishments: Creative Charms Butterfly

Have a day filled with new learning moments:)