The Next Level...

There are masses and masses of challenge blogs around at the moment, but The Next Level sounds like it's going to be rather special. Go and check them out to read more.

No card ... but look what I've done!!!

I designed and hand painted this beautiful background to give my blog a totally new look.

LOL - do you believe me - no I thought not. I actually visited this amazing blog ...

http://blo64rt.blogspot.com/

where there are the most beautiful backgrounds and headers freely available!!! To make it even better there are even detailed instructions on how to change your blog and they are so easy to follow. Well they must be because I managed it and it didn't take long at all.

So a huge thank you to Itkupilli for sharing her huge talent with us all.

Hope everyone likes my new look.

An idea to share...

Today I am showing a card kit I've made to be used in a local Care Home. This is something you might want to do to both recycle and use up some of the things in your stash that you may never use yourself. I'm sure that any home would welcome kits to use with the people in their care.

My daughter, Laura, is a nurse at the home and on Monday she came home saying that they had got a new resident, who was suffering from dementia and was also very depressed.

It had been decided that the lady needed to do activities to stimulate her brain and build up a little self esteem. She isn't interested in anything and doesn't really want to participate so any activity tried with her has to be really simple. The lady's family are buying her kits, but it is hard to get things easy enough, but not childish.

This led to me making this kit, which although made for one lady is something that will be used with the other residents in the home. If it goes down well I will extend it and make more.

The cards in the kit are almost made - they just need the bits sticking on, BUT the big thing about the kit is that it gives loads of opportunity for the carer and resident to talk as they work. I was trying to provide the opportunity for the lady to think and make choices so I made 4 base cards with different sentiments, 4 different coloured nestabily circles and 4 different designs of bears (recycled from Laura's birthday cards - she had a lot the same).

I'm hoping that the kit goes down well and that I can make more for Laura to take in to work. I'm also going to make some for home to sell as a fund raisers at their Summer fair.