Frogs and Princes...in Azeri

 

Kelsey, who is one of Nick's bestest friends, has recently been hijacked...by me.  She is originally from the town that I know currently reside in.  So we have taken advantage of our similar goofy scarf lovin' personalities and joined forces on a restaurant/booze tour of the surrounding area.  She has become one of my dear friends recently and am so lucky that she is stuck in northern Iowa. 

Just this week, Kelsey asked me to do a favor for her.  Wrack my creative brain for a way to display a sticker she obtained while in the Peace Corps...aka the third world....aka Azerbaijan.  The sticker is written in Azeri and says something to the effect of kissing multiple frogs to find a prince.  Kelsey bought a frame and gave me creative freedom on the endeavor and I hope she likes it...since I worked my patootie off for her!  Her only requests were no hearts or kissy lips and she wanted it to be classy.  Well, it is heart and lip free with hopefully a touch of class and a few subtle goofy elements that reflect Kelsey's essence.  

 

Step 1: Get a crazy friend willing to go to the third world

Step 2: Collect your supplies

Mine included the picture frame Kelsey got at Hobby Lobby. I wasn't a big fan of the color or the smiling fake people in the frame. I was thankful she gave me full reign of the project.

 

The next supply was the book that I planned to destroy in my attempt at Azeri greatness.  Not going to lie I felt wrong and dirty tearing pages out of a book even if it was a terrible book that I got for 10 cents at the second hand store in town.  I wanted to get something funny and this book had some hilarious parts.

 

Originally I wanted to get a super old book that was all yellowed and cracked with age.  Unfortunately, all the books were in good condition...seems like an odd thing to complain about, I know.  So in order to properly age the book I was destroying, I used distress ink (vintage photo) to make the chunks of paper look really, super old.

Mod Podge...you are the bain of  my existence and you smell.  But I made it through the trial of using this gunky mess of a glue without great incident.

 

Step 3:  Choose pages wisely

I wanted pages without a lot of text.  There were few chunks I used that are not simple to read once placed on the frame.  But the word 'poison' 'blood' 'lifesaving' and 'medical' are all easily read.

 

Step 4: Distressing your paper

You don't want me to try to explain this process.  Let's just say it's more complicated than slamming the stamp on the paper.

 

Step 5: Mod Podge your paper on the frame

This is going to take you awhile.  I covered the front and back of the frame with the paper chunks.  It is important to go over the finished paper with the mod podge.  I went over it twice...because I'm anal like that.  So just mod podge the crap out of that thing!

 

Step 6: Sticker and Cardstock meet up

This is the sticker that Kelsey brought back.  I placed it on some cardstock that matched the color of the lettering perfectly.  I used some of the distressed ink to give it some age as well.  I had to cut off the edges of the sticker because they were a little big but not much.  I made it lopsided as well. 

 

At some point in the process, I injured myself.  Man, Kels better appreciate this.

The final product:

 

This is it from afar.  The first picture at the top of this post is a close up that I absolutely love of the frame and the trim (Step 7).  The trim (1 yard) was cut and stuck on with glue dots I tore in half.  Each section of trim had three halves in various locations depending on necessity. 

Now my attempts to walk you through my crafts step by step are at the very least awkward and the most, confusing but I hope everyone enjoys this one.  I am so completely proud of this display of azeri/frog pride!

Living with Lupus...School

This topic can be broken down into high school and college for me since I have been sick since I was 16 years old.  High school was hard for me because I was trying to get control and understand what I was facing....years of pain and well, (this is cliche but) heartache.

In high school, I missed a lot of days and still managed to successfully accomplish everything I wanted to.  I was lucky enough to have a school nurse who was so understanding and helpful.  I had what was called a 504 plan which is the equivalent for a person with a chronic illness to an Individualized Education Plan for a person with a learning disability, etc.  Basically, the 504 was a how to when I'm sick.  It told my teachers: how long I had to finish assignments, what to do if I had a stroke during class, and any other accommodations I would need.  But I missed out on a lot of my high school experience.  I stayed home most nights and didn't really have fun with friends until after graduation.  

When it came to college, I really wanted to attend a university that was a few hours from home.  Realistically, I couldn't have done it then.  My illness was too out of control and I wouldn't have made it without my family's help.  So I relented and went to a community college close to home.  I was dreading going to this school but I loved it and miss it!  The instructors were amazing and understanding and the sense of community was wonderful.  Luckily, we moved right before my sophomore year of college and I was right in the middle of the school I was going to and the school I planned to attend after graduating.  Driving wouldn't be an issue and I would live at home for the rest of my college experience.

The things that really helped my college experience was Vocational Rehabilitation and disability services.  Voc Rehab is a program that enables people with disabilities and illness go to school by paying for part of their tuition.  Because of the severity of my Lupus and APS, I was accepted right away and they have paid half my tuition throughout college.  This doesn't take a lot of work on my part.  Both colleges I've gone to have had Voc. Rehab counselors who I met with once per semester to touch base and make sure everything is going smoothly.

Disability services was an entire department in college #2.  In number #1, it was one woman who was so helpful!  The process at both schools was pretty much the same; the only real difference, at number #2, more paperwork...of course.  I would fill out papers for each of my classes that consisted of my need for extensions in some areas when I was sick.  In my four years of college, a dozen or so flares and countless bad, bad days, I missed one assignment!  This semester I didn't even fill out paperwork (cause I forgot...brain fog).  The bad part is that I have to talk to all my professors individually to explain the paperwork.  I had to start the semester with a new person telling them I might be gone for two weeks worth of class.  College professors don't like to hear that but they need to know right away so they can make accommodations for you! 

My advice to my Lupus peeps (and anyone with a chronic illness) in college is to get some reliable contacts...I will always be thankful for that nurse who told me about vocational rehabilitation!  Most likely your campus will have a disability service, make an appointment.  In my experience, they are so willing to help!  Be advised: they will likely require documentation of your illness.  I wrote a quick email to my hematologist who wrote a short letter and sent it to the college.

Good luck on your college journey!


Personal update:  School is done!  I finished everything without staying up til all hours of the night like my college counterparts who might need to learn to prioritize! Oh, and I'm going to be an aunt!  My sister and brother in law who have been trying for years to get pregnant just found out!