The little things matter - Little Happy Thoughts

I spent most of my childhood creating and crafting - it is a part of who I am, I would be lost without creating and designing. So many of my happy childhood memories were making and birthday trips to toy shops where I would buy crayola sets and "make your own"s.

This stayed with me as an adult and I have tried most crafts you could think of and had all sorts of machines from various printers to silhouettes, foil printers, heat presses, sewing machines - The list is endless! Craft is literally my happiness, my therapy and honestly a massive chunk of my life, especially now after years, well - a lifetime really of craft and slowly starting to sell my items, and years of dedication and passion - my business is doing just that!

I combined my passion for craft and my passion for mental health and kindness to create Little Happy Thoughts, where I have quite literally created my happy! It's my work, my baby, my passion and my happy place :)

The focus of my little business is "The little things matter." This stems from my own personal experience with mental illness and my life in general. As someone that has battled their mental health since early teens (I am now 35) including self harm, anorexia - both of which I made a recovery from and then later being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, anxiety, OCD and having gone through six inpatient admissions and (two of which were a lengthy 6 months each for anorexia in my early 20's, so I felt I missed out on a lot of things) I learned that it really is the little things that can make a huge difference.

There were times in my own life, one specifically where I planned to end my life. I will never forget that the one evening where I really had made up my mind and planned an MSN message came through on my laptop which was open. I had never ever spoken to this friend before online but in that moment it broke my train of thought and though I don't even recall what I said to him, it meant he came to my house and took me to A&E. That sticks in my mind and always will because that one thought from him, that one message quite possibly saved my life.

I create all sorts of things, all little sentiments with a big heart but my main items are my stones which I just love designing and drawing and much of the time when I am doing so they are a reminder for me too! They make me happy as well as other people so it's a double win!

I use all sorts of materials and am always making new things and still like to try new things - i'm always on the look out for something I haven't tried yet but my main staple tools are my design software, my doodle materials - i'm partial to a mini sketchbook, colouring pencils and of course scissors! I I'm pretty sure I have permanent finger dents where my scissors rest and I have many pairs but continually go back to my trusty pair that allow me to "cut out quicker" (my husband doesn't understand this and says they need to go in the bin, but they really do! no scissors since have been the same!)

The messages I get are so beautiful and I am so touched by the honesty and kind words in people's messages who receive my items, those alone create my happy and make it all so worth while. During lockdown some of the messages broke my heart but I felt so honoured to have been able to provide something so small but that clearly meant such a great deal to people both giving and receiving. So for me I am very bless that not only does the creating make me super duper happy but also the knowledge that they are helping someone is just the best thing ever.

It really is the little things, acts of kindness and things that people are not expecting to receive or see that can really impact people in a moment, possibly even in a greater way than you could possibly imagine, so be kind. Always.

www.littlehappythoughts.com

#CreateYourHappinessChallenge

#craft #creating #mentalhealth #thelittlethingsmatter