30 Day Self Care Challenge

“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe,
 deserve your love and affection”- Buddha

"Love Yourself To Love Another" - Unknown

“A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval. - Mark Twain

"To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance” -  Oscar Wilde

There is no question that all the brightest minds knew the importance of Taking Care of Ones Self & Self Love. I have talked about it in the Past ( HERE & HERE ). It's honestly not one of my strengths at this point, I think this is something we all struggle with at different points in our lives.
Whether it is guilt, lack of time, priorities, taking care of others, not seeing the worth, or not knowing what exactly to do for youself, We need to stop these feelings when it comes to taking time for our self, our mood, & our joy. Life moves fast these days, and it's easy to forget or neglect to set time aside for yourself, &I  truly feel that this is something we need to STOP doing to ourselves!
Self Care is essentially recognizing in yourself what you need to be successful in a given day or week. Whether that looks like crafting, pampering yourself, waking up early for a good breakfast, treating yourself to a coffee on tired mornings, Or time alone (these are a few examples of what self care looks like  for me), & then making sure that you set time aside to do those things.

I have been trying to do better at this recently, & have put together this Self Care Cart for myself over the past few weeks; it's been a big help to have my stuff accessible to me, in a way that I can still bring it from room to room without making a massive mess (which in the past was always an excuse I would make to not do the things I would otherwise love to do.

So, This is my commitment to myself to make this a priority in my life! For the Month of June I will be doing a 30 Day Challenge where everyday I do (at least) one thing for myself as a means of Self Love & Care!

I will be sharing my daily activities on Instagram (@upcygirl) with the #30DaysOfSelfCare & #UpcyTodaysSelfCare as a way to hold myself accountable, & hopefully inspire a few of you to add an act of Self Care & Love to your Days too!! You are more than welcome to share pictures of your acts of Self Care & Love using the previously mentioned hashtags If you would like to help spread the message as well!

Gratitude Is The Best Attitude

DIY Dried Flower Bouquet(s) / Center Piece

Hanging bouquets upside down has got to be the most traditional way of drying flowers in shape. With Prom & Wedding seasons both just around the corner I thought I would share this super simple tutorial; It is a fantastic way to save flowers - your Wedding bouquet, Prom Corsage or any pretty flowers that happen to come your way this summer - for years to come!

What You Will Need:

~ Flowers
~ Rubber band / rope. 
~ Hemp / Ribbon / Lace (to decorate)

How To:

While your flowers are still in good shape (try not to let them sit and wither) Gather the flowers in a bunch and secure the stems with a rubber ban or piece of rope.

Hang upside down in a well-ventilated area out of direct sunlight, like from kitchen rafters or in an empty closet. Watch the petals shrink and change color, and within a few weeks you'll have beautiful dried flowers in vintage hues.
You can carefully arrange them to make a center piece or hang them on the wall.

If you do choose to hang them on a Wall you may decide to dress-up the Bouquet by adding Lace, Hemp, Ribbon or by layring a few different textures. I added Hemp to one, and a layering of Hemp & Lace for the other.
Finish your bouquet be sure to secure a small loop to the back to hang it from.  

OR Try Drying With Silica Gel if you would like to keep the colour vibrant. 
Simply put both silica Gel & fresh flowers into a sealed container - leave for 5-7 days and remove your vibrant, dried flowers.
Silica Gel Packets come in just about every shipped package & are easy to get your hand on at little to no cost - you can ask around at the clothing stores you shop, many of which just throw them directly into the trash after being removed from the box(s). Or you can also purchase it at any Craft store.

I hope that you have enjoyed this Upcycled DIY; If you did, be sure to check back for many more as we head into Summer!

Gratitude Is The Best Attitude