Have you ever been cupped?

Hi everybody! This week I have started my treatment here at the clinic, and I got cupped! It's an alternative healing method, which they use to support the other therapies.

Cupping is the method of using glass or plastic cups to create localized pressure by a vacuum. The Chinese have been doing this since ancient times by using heat inside glass or bamboo cups. Nowadays, cupping sets use suction to create the vacuum. The vacuum inside the cups causes the blood to form in the area and help the healing in that area.

Ancient Chinese medicine believes that the body contains "Meridians". These meridians are pathways in the body which the energy of life called Qi ("chi") flows through. It flows through every body part, tissue, and organ. Cupping therapy is mainly performed on one's back because there are five meridians on your back. When these meridians are opened, the internal energy is able to flow through the whole body.

Another healing aspect of cupping therapy is through the release of toxins in your body. The suction from the cups can penetrate deep into your tissues causing the tissues to release harmful toxins. It triggers the lymphatic system, clears the blood vessels, and stretches and activates the skin.

Cupping therapy has been found in ancient records dating back 3500 years and it is still used today by many alternative medicine practictioners. New advancements in technology and materials have been integrated with cupping therapies and its uses now range for many different treatments and applications.

The cups suck themselves onto the back, and stay there for about half an hour, and when they are taken off you have a nice circle pattern, which doesn't go away for hours.

This is not a pic of me, it was one I found on the net:

I will be having lots of different therapies in the coming weeks, and hope they will bring some relief.

This morning I took this photo of a beautiful tree in the garden here, which I can see from my window.

And of course, I still have plenty of free time for crafting and painting, so that is good. Today I am going for a walk around the little town, and I have discovered a thrift store that needs to be looked at!


Have a great day you all, take care, and thanks for visiting!

Paint Party Friday # 44 & The Postcard Challenge

Hi you all, welcome to PPF no 44, hosted as always by Eva and Kristin, and the second week of Darcy's postcard challenge. I have combined both challenges this time, as I can't mess as much as I would like to just now! Our destination this week at Darcy's is SPAIN. Jason is off to Spain, as he has got a hot tip to buy a genuine Picasso for only 150,-€ - well, he thinks it's genuine, but he doesn't really have a clue, as will be revealed in the coming weeks. He is also visiting some of the sights, but seems to regard the Spanish Muchachas as the main things worth seeing, and spends a lot of time taking pictures of these beautiful girls. *Beautiful* is one of his favourite words, as *delicious* one of Auntie Cissie's fave words is.


Since Cissie came back from Austria, they have regularly spent time with each other, catching up on family business, and of course, eating....
He tells her the sad story how his Mum nearly got eaten by a crocodile, never quite got over the shock, and had to have regular sessions with a psychiatrist to try to get over her fear that a crocodile was lurking around every corner. This made Auntie Cissie very sad, so she quickly hid her crocodile handbag…. Jason was overwhelmed by Cissie’s favourite fish-and-chip shop, and the giant portions which were served there, but still found room for the mounds of cream cakes Cissie served in the afternoon.

He has spent the last week in Spain, where he bought a painting, supposedly painted by the Grand Master Picasso himself, and after hiding his bargain in his case, he spends the rest of the week visiting the famous sights of Spain....

The postcard has been painted onto water-colour paper. I used the tourist symbol of Spain, and added a cut-out of Jason's fave Spanish sight.

The stamp has been made from a scrap I found in my box; I couldn't find the real stamps....

And here is the album page, and the postcard in its pocket:

And yesterday evening I made three more vintage tags:

Have a nice day you all, take care, and thanks for visiting!

Journal pages, tags and photos

Hi everybody. I had a bit more peace and quiet for crafting etc yesterday, as I didn't have quite so many appointments, so was able to spend more time with my crafty bits and bobs. The only problem here, is that I have to pack everything away again at the end of the session, I don't think they would take kindly to a stash, paint and glitter trail!

The journal pages are once again more or less the same but different.... I used some background stamping, partly painted over with gesso, *my* faces, lots of doodling and some cut outs from some old magazines I found flying around here.

The tags have been made using some paper and cut-outs from Crafty secrets. I stamped the butterfly with vintage photo and Victorian velvet, cut it out, and glittered it with some stickles. I made a mini tag to place onto each tag, added some pale pink ribbon and some silk roses.

And here are a few pictures of this little town, showing the old half-timbered houses and a strange *pet* that someone is keeping on the balcony....

Have a good day you all, take care and thanks for visiting!

A Snow Tag

Hi everybody, good morning again from Bad Honnef! Had a busy day yesterday with the lots of exams in the morning, and then a little walk through the town in the afternoon, followed by some crafting - yoohoo! I had 3 days where I didn't get sticky and painty, now I feel more normal! I made a tag for the second snow challenge over at Tag Tuesday, this time the theme is snow games. I painted the tag with pearl blue acrylic paint, which has a lovely shimmer, and then made *snowballs* on it using the nozzle of the paint bottle. I heated it to make it *snap, crackle and pop* and the snowballs stand out. I added some lace for curtains, and a window frame, and a snowman from a very ancient Christmas card I dug out. Then I added a row of pearl ribbon for some *ice* on the window ledge, and that was it.

In the evening I worked on my journal pages, and I hope to get them finished today.

Thanks for all the good wished you left me yesterday, they cheered me up no end!

Take care you all, have a good day, and thanks for visiting!

Hello from Bad Honnef

Hi you all, good morning from my temporary place of residence here in Bad Honnef. I am here at a hospital for some long time treatment and therapy, so will be here for several weeks. Yesterday I loaded up my little panda with a few clothes and a huge pile of crafty stuff- as much as fitted into the car! So I will be able to *keep calm and carry on crafting*.

I set off from home early yesterday morning. The motor way was one giant traffic jam from start to finish, it was foggy, and we had torrential rainfalls all the way, which made the journey take twice as long as usual, so I was pleased to arrive safely. Then I had to check in, fill in lots of forms etc, and had the first medicinal checks. Tomorrow will be another day with lots of exams, and after that it will be getting down to treatment. I hope the weather will brighten up, as there are lots of pretty towns and castles along the Rhine which are worth visiting.
I should have time for some crafting later, too, so that will be nice.

Take care of yourselves, have a good day, and thanks for visiting! And if the sun is shining where you are, send a few rays over!

Journal Pages again

Hi everybody! Just a quick post today, as I still have masses to do here.
I made some more journaling pages yesterday. They pages have been covered with old book and ledger paper, painted over with some gesso, two tones of blue and some yellow, and then I worked on them in between clearing up, tidying, sorting out etc. Half an hour H*******K, half an hour journal as a reward. This time I seem to have a mixed up under water world....

So, that was it for today. I have to be out very early tomorrow, so will be blogging again on Tuesday. Have a good day, take care of yourselves, and thanks a lot for visiting!

Saturday, Weekend and an Album

Hi everybody! Hope you are all enjoying your weekend. I still look forward to weekends, although as I don't work any more, all the week is work free for me. Must be a throw back to all those working years, where the weekend was always something to look forward to!

Yesterday I made a quick album in which to put my postcards for the *Auntie Cissie and Jason Saga*. It had to be quick, as I am busy doing lots of other things in *real-life*, although I hate all those nasty but sometimes necessary errands and other things which keep me from crafting and painting! I cut the pages from a pad of craft paper, made a fold along the long side, and then folded the page together, to give a double page for 2 postcards. I snipped off the inside corners, to make it easier to fold, and stuck the outside edge with DST. Made 26 pages, so I have a pocket for each week of the year. The covers have been made from a corrugated cardboard box. The covers have been distressed a bit, and then partly painted with a quick coat of gesso. I lined the inside covers with some cardstock to give them a bit more stability, and then fixed the whole thing together with my Zutter BIA. I decorated the front cover with *photos* of my protagonists and the first pages with some old ads for hotels in Vienna and a few other travel related embellishments. The postcard can then be tucked into the pocket each week.

I am really looking forward to getting the new travel destination on Monday and starting the new postcard!

So that's all for today. Hope you all have a wonderful day, take care, and thanks for dropping in!