A long time ago now, I had the idea to make a hanging sign to put on my bedroom door when I was meditating – in my imagination, it would be colourful and friendly and fun so that it was more of a gentle request to the family to observe my few minutes of quiet time, than an instruction to keep out! I wanted to play around with writing in hot-glue and it seemed like a perfect project to do so. And what with everyone home together for the last few months – this has been an ideal opportunity both to make that door-sign and to put it to use 😊 (my playful “shh sign has already come in handy a couple of times when we’ve been in online meetings!).  

For this tutorial we have used my daughter’s design… on the way home from school each day one of the first things she would say to me was “can you not talk to me now because I’m daydreaming”, enjoying the relative quiet of the walk home, and having the chance to be with her own thoughts after her busy day. She chose to make this sign to go on her bedroom door for when she wants to go and have some time to colour, draw or craft by herself and needless to say it is already being enthusiastically used on a daily basis!

I also made a sign with the message “You are Loved” – these words are always present in my online meetings with Simone on a sign hanging in the background, and was always present at PowerWood camps too…  the gentle message so lovingly nurturing and seeing it now hanging in my kitchen for the family to enjoy makes me feel happy and gives a boost of energy.   

With the long summer holiday not far off and after already spending weeks at home together, I thought this could be a fun project for anyone else wanting to carve out a little quiet and self-care time or just to enjoy any favourite saying or words that remind you and your family that you are loved. 

It’s quite a simple project but because it uses hot glue, is suitable for teens/tweens upwards or as a joint family project requiring adult supervision.  

Some words or messages you might put on your sign:

Quiet Please (or just Shhh 😊)

Play in Progress

Work in Progress 

Meeting in Progress

You are Loved

Busy Daydreaming 

Meditating in Progress 

Nap Time 

Or any favourite sayings, messages, or affirmations that are meaningful to you! 

Happy Crafting! 

Note: if you don’t have a hot glue gun, you could still do this project by building your words out of another medium to go under your tissue paper covering – scrunched-up paper, paper-mache, or layers of string are a few options.

© Abigail Cole 2020

For more creative ideas visit www.forgetfulfairyartstudio.com

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