250 Followers and a CDAC Win

Well today is a good day already and it is only 8am.

I have reached a momentus milestone of 250 followers. Thankyou Asmah for being lucky number 250. When I started blogging my cards I never thought that anyone would be remotely interested in what little old me had to say. It was merely a way of keeping a catalogue of the cards I made and back when I started in 2007 it was quite a new thing. Not being afraid of technology I thought I would have a go.

Little did I know that it would open up a massive world of challenges, so much inspiration, many connections with people from all over the world but most of all making friends.

As I went through some of the darkest times with my re-occurrence of depression following my Mother's death I realised that there were a lot of people who were in the same situation so I talked about it on my blog. After 2 years of seeing an amazing counsellor I am literally on top of the world, enjoying my life with a passion and feel like this huge weight has been lifted.

Blogging and entering challenges was a big part of my recovery as the positive comments about my projects really helped to boost my non-existent self confidence. As a DT member myself I try very hard to write something personal for each entry I comment on, it is daunting especially when it is an "anything goes" challenge with lots of entries but you can easily tell which comments are personal or just cut and paste.

I want to say thankyou to each and every one of you that has popped by my blog, liked what they saw and followed me. I also wish to thank anyone who has left me positive comments, each one of you has helped rebuild me when I was a very broken person.

It also seems quite befitting that I found out today that I was the winner of the Easy as 123 challenge at the CDAC with a card I made using an Ike's Art image Spring Fairy.

I remember my fabulously talented friend Janey asking if that was me skipping through the daisies and you know it really is. The joy I feel each and every day is a million miles away from the deep darkness that was inside me for a very, very long time. I am thoroughly enjoying where I am at and long may it continue. 

More importantly I feel that I am much more aware of myself and the motives of other people. I self analyse and adjust where my mind is to regain my balance and composure. My stress tipping points are not at the same level as they once were and I have better coping mechanisms to right myself when things go wrong (as they inevitably do....)

I am thankful that I have got back together with my Sister after many years of estrangement and I am now able to see my Nieces and Nephew who have welcomed me with open arms back into their lives.

I have discovered I have a very spiritual side that I didn't know was there. This part of me is very in touch with nature and is fed by the little wonders that happen every day. I am lucky that in my garden we are visited by lots of little birds and squirrels and I love to watch them. I love to colour, I love to craft, they feed my soul and keep the child inside happy.

Sorry for the long post but I wanted you all to know how much each of you has the power to touch another person's life. The world can be a cruel place, people can be so cruel to one another but I like to think our little crafting world is a better place filled with lovely people. I am very fortunate to have some of them as my friends. (Yes I mean you, yes you reading this!!)