• About

All Sparkled Up

~ Like dew hanging from the tip of a leaf, a single bead or word adds sparkle where there was none. BE the bright!

All Sparkled Up

Tag Archives: health

Latte Magnets for the Water Counter

24 Friday Jul 2015

Posted by Julia Monroe in All Sparkled Up, crafts, DIY, On my Worktable, projects, tutorial

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

crafts, DIY, health, magnets, refrigerator art, tutorial, water

“Did you drink anything today?”
“Yes… I think I did… I had a cup of coffee… maybe two…”
“Any water?”
One of my sons is keen on proper water consumption and I really appreciate his healthy diligence.

I keep a Water Counter on the refrigerator. You can check out the tutorial here.

To help curb my coffee intake, I made two Latte Magnets. From now on, it’s two cups of coffee a day max. Coffee is no substitute for water. In fact, caffeine actually dehydrates you and flushes fluid. So for each cup of coffee you drink, drink one or more cups of water to stay hydrated.

The magnets were first coated with gold acrylic paint.

The magnets are painted with gold acrylic paint.

The magnets are painted with gold acrylic paint.

Here you can see the finished magnets, as well as my test painting right on the tray.

For the test, I made a puddle of gold acrylic paint on the paint tray. Immediately after that, while the paint was wet, I used the tip of a toothpick to lightly dab on blobs of white gesso. The gesso was carefully dabbed on top of the wet gold paint, not mixed in. Then I used a toothpick to draw through the gesso and gold paint to make the design. The test worked great so I did the same thing on the magnets and let them dry overnight.

To make the design, I dabbed on two small blobs of white right next to each other for the heart and long thin “smilies” under, for the leaves. It only took one sweep of the toothpick down through the center to make the design.

White gesso is dabbed on a puddle of gold acrylic paint. A toothpick dragged down through the center of the wet paint creates the cute Latte design.

White gesso is dabbed on a puddle of gold acrylic paint. A toothpick dragged down through the center of the wet paint creates the cute Latte design.

Little Latte Magnets.

Little Latte Magnets.

Now when the water counter on the refrigerator just has two cups of coffee in it… that means drink more water!

Plastic wine glass Water Counter on my refrigerator with water, juice/wine and Latte Magnets. Today it's one glass of juice, one cup of coffee and two glasses of water... need more water

Plastic wine glass Water Counter on my refrigerator with water, juice/wine and Latte Magnets. Today it’s one glass of juice, one cup of coffee and two glasses of water… need more water.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

One year ago today I broke my back… and didn’t know it.

16 Tuesday Jul 2013

Posted by Julia Monroe in All Sparkled Up, God, Inspirational, Scoliosis, Scripture

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

All Sparkled Up, broken back, health, inspirational, Scoliosis

I should have known though. The symptoms were severe. Over the next couple weeks I searched the internet for “How to tell if your back is broken” and “Can a person walk around with a broken back.” There were no conclusive answers. Well duh! My husband said most people do NOT walk around with a broken back. Most people seek help immediately, due to immobility or pain. I’m not that smart though. I’ve told my doctors to make a note in my charts “HAS DIFFICULTY INTERPRETING PAIN.”

For the next several weeks I tightly strapped a gallon size bag of ice to my back for 16 hours a day. I wore a back brace day and night as tight as it could be pulled to keep my vertebrae from shifting. I moved slow, walked slower, couldn’t drive, could barely sit. My feet and legs would go numb and I had other worse not-normal symptoms. But I’m not that smart. I thought it was old age. Or just maybe, a popped disk. I do NOT recommend ignoring symptoms.

For the next two and a half months, I helped my husband and sons clean our house, fill and move boxes, reorganize everything as we readied our house for inspection for refinancing. The work was endless and huge. I did it with a bag of ice strapped to my back and silent prayers that God would hold me together, literally.

I finally got surgery two and half months after I broke my back. I had 17 vertebrae fused. It was after surgery that I found out how bad it was. My surgeon told me the upper part of my back wasn’t even connected to the lower part of my back. It is a real, live, unexplainable miracle that I didn’t get paralyzed.  Praise be to God!

Today, one year after breaking my back, I am repairing very well. I can walk, sit and drive again. I can bake delicious treats, cook, do laundry, sew on my sewing machine, make crafts, pick figs, and do container gardening. Best of all, I can kneel down and hug my grandchildren.

When I look over the past year, the thing that stands out above all wasn’t the pain, the learning to walk again, learning new ways to do things. The thing that stands out the most, the memory that glows the most intensely all the way from July 16th 2012 to today, was God was with me. He was so close that he fluffed my pillows when I needed, He supported my back when I could feel the vertebrae shifting and grinding, He helped me lay down at night and get up again and fall asleep even when it felt like I was lying on spears of glass. God was there. The entire year glowed with His presence. I sought Him and he was there. There are no words to describe the profound peace and love I felt, even when enduring pain.

As I look ahead, I don’t have to fear because I know God will be there.

“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:11-13

 

 

 

 

 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

If you are a non-WordPress follower, enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Tags

allsparkledup All Sparkled Up altered book art baking beach beads bird bread breakfast cake candy carving cat cats chocolate Christmas Christmas tree cookies craft crafts dessert DIY Easter Easter eggs eggs egg tree encouragement fabric family figs flowers food funny gardening Gilded Girls God granddaughter grandkids heart home decor hope inspiration inspirational jewelry jewelry making joconde light Little Plastic Bears miniature miniatures mixed media mousse nature painting PB & J pets photo photography projects recipe roses salad Scoliosis scripture sewing snow sparkling Spoonflower sunlight sunset Sunset Beach surgery tablescape tea tree tutorial Valentine's Day vintage book words

Archived Posts

Top Posts & Pages

Marble window sills
Sourdough Breadstick Cobras
My Grandson turned two!
The Day the Baby Hawks Learned to Fly
Valentine Candy Bouquet
Lemon Meringue Pie with Beads of Amber
Miniature Perfume Bottles

Recent Posts

  • Sfogliatelle
  • Blue Willow Toile
  • The Kitchen tea towel
  • The little cake she decorated
  • Icing flowers
  • Matthew 11:28
  • Christmas at Sea Tablescape
  • Gratitude
  • The Hot Air Balloon mobile has lights
  • Journaling in Coloring Books
  • The Light is still here.
  • A Hot Air Balloon decoration for my granddaughter’s room
  • Coco’s new favorite hangout
  • My kitten is growing
  • English roses fabric

Post Categories

All Sparkled Up allsparkledup altered books American Girl Dolls art baking Baking for Neighbors ballet beach beading BFN birthday books cake decorating calligraphy candy cats Christmas color community cooking Craft Fail crafts DIY dolls drawing Easter encouragement Etsy fabric family fashion design Favorite Childhood Books flowers food Free Idea funny gardening Gilded Girls Gilded Life God granddaughter grandkids handmade books holiday home home decor Inspirational jewelry making journals lighting Little Plastic Bears Mexican miniature mixed media music nature New Years On my Worktable painting party pets photography Princess doll projects recipe Scoliosis Scripture sewing sketchbook sparkling Spoonflower sunlight sunset tea time Thanksgiving The cats time tools travel tutorial Uncategorized Valentine's Day water wedding woodwork words wreath
Follow All Sparkled Up on WordPress.com

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
%d bloggers like this: