Ovarian Cancer : Do You Know The Whispering Symptoms?

THE TRUTH IS that most women, and in fact, most people, don't think much about Ovarian Cancer. Most don't know the symptoms of one of the most deadly forms of women's cancer. Each year, approximately 21, 980 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer and approximately 14,270 women will die. The World Health Organization IARC department estimated that there are over 238, 000 new cases diagnosed annually and nearly 152, 000 deaths worldwide.

The cancer TYPICALLY occurs in women in their fifties and sixties with the median age being 63. Many women who are diagnosed with Ovarian cancer have a genetic history that may include carrying the BRCA mutation gene and having a strong family history of ovarian cancer.

Unfortunately, many women don't seek help until the disease has begun to spread, but if detected in its earliest stage, the five-year survival rate is more than 93% The symptoms of ovarian cancer are often subtle and easily confused with other ailments.

Symptoms of ovarian cancer can be difficult to pinpoint and are often mistaken for symptoms of less serious conditions, such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome. These are the signs to look out for:

• Persistent stomach pain
• Persistent bloating
• Finding it difficult to eat or feeling full quickly
• Urinary symptoms (urgency or frequency) 

Other symptoms you may notice include:

• Back pain
• Changes in your bowel habits (diarrhea or constipation)
• Feeling tired all the time
• Weight gain
• Nausea
• Indigestion
• Gas
• Shortness of breath

There is no adequate screening test of ovarian cancer at this time which is one of the reasons that this cancer is often discovered in later stages.

Talk to your doctor if symptoms last more than 2-3 weeks or if you have been experiencing any of these symptoms on most days. You are your best advocate.

It is true! September is National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and that means that more people will be openly talking about the symptoms of ovarian cancer in attempt to try and raise awareness about this deadly cancer. If I didn't think that was a good thing, I wouldn't be focusing an entire post to the subject of raising awareness of the symptoms of ovarian cancer. We must get the information to the masses. I implore you to spread the word, if only to save the life of even one other person. It shouldn't be a taboo subject. The person you share this information with might well be the person that really needs to hear the information. The thing is, while I am on board 100% with raising awareness this month, that simply isn't enough! It isn't enough to think about or talk about these symptoms for the month of September and then forget about them as the next type of awareness month rolls around.
This cancer sneaks up on you! The symptoms whisper! Often times, the person who is diagnosed didn't even realize anything was wrong until they heard the doctor give them the dreaded diagnosis. Ovarian Cancer symptoms WHISPER! You may notice only a slight irregularity in what you consider to be normal symptoms. This is why women must pay close attention to their bodies.

Because I am a woman, this cause is important to me, but it should be important to anyone who has a woman in their life as well. Ovarian cancer took the life of my best friend in the world, my Mother. The symptoms didn't manifest in a way that made her notice and by the time she realized anything was "not normal," her cancer had progressed to a place of great concern. Too often this is the case with those who are diagnosed. Because I don't want anyone in the world to experience the heartache that I experience on a daily basis from missing my mother, I earnestly request that you pass this information on to every woman in your life. It will only take a moment to pass this information on but your actions could change the life of someone forever!
Thanks for visiting my blog today and taking the time to read this message.

Visit the: Sew Beautiful Blog: How to Tie a Perfect Sash Bow

While perusing I found this tutorial at the Sew Beautiful blog. (There is a link below) At Christmas time, so many little girls wear dresses with big bows. Make sure you know how to tie a lovely sash. It is so easy with this tip. Enjoy today's tip.
Visit the listing below to learn how to tie the sash pictured here. (this picture is from Sew Beautiful Blog.)


Sew Beautiful Blog: How to Tie a Perfect Sash Bow: The holiday season is in full swing, and many of us will soon dress our little girls up in pretty stitched party dresses as we celebrate Chr...

Crafts for kids! How to recycle old crayons and make new ones.

 Fun Friday, with crayons!

We have been doing a lot of crafting with crayons at our house lately. Working with crayons isn't new to the children who frequent my house. Recently, we found a way to recycle those small broken pieces and shavings to make new crayons. The kids had a great time with this fun craft and had some nice new crayons shapes to use afterward.  Perhaps this idea might come in handy for you on a rainy day.

Recycle and use up those broken or worn-down crayons with this one.
Either separate chips by color or mix them up. (Mixing them up is both easier and faster)
Line or fill old muffin tins, bottle caps, candy molds or silicone baking cups with pieces of crayons or crayon shavings. You can use aluminum cupcake liners for a nice effect.  Heat crayons in either an old pan and pour into silicone molds or put the shavings or crayon bits into muffin tins or molds and bake at approximately 170 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes for a shallow pan or at 300 degrees for about 10 to 15 minutes or until melted for a deeper pan. If you use an oven, preheat it before baking. You really need to keep a close eye on the crayons while melting because the shallow pans melted really fast.

Tip* If you use a silicone muffin tin, it is helpful to place it on a hard cookie or baking sheet for stability when baking. This also makes it easier to get out of the oven when crayons are melted and the tray is hot to touch.

Tip*  Use a toothpick to stir the crayons slightly (if you used many colors) when you take them out of the oven to achieve a slightly swirled look.

~Next: cool the pan or silicone baking pan or candy molds in the freezer until hardened. (The silicone pans work really well.)

There you have it! Great new crayons that your kids will love making and using.

*Tip~If you use solid colors and put the crayons into a heart shaped mold, you can pop the heart out and put it on a valentine card. Looks really pretty.

OK Mom's! Here is a tip for you.

I took the paper off of a long crayon and held it over the back of a letter under a lighter flame, allowing a few drops to land on the back of a letter. The result, a pretty wax seal in moments.

Thanks for visiting my blog today.
Have fun crafting with crayons!
Pixie Paint Studio

Project for the kids: Puffy Art Using Shaving Cream and Glue

Are you looking for a simple and inexpensive art project to do with the kids?
I am sharing one here that is very simple and costs very little.  We have experimented a great
deal with this project. You can alter the project and make other animals or items by adding just a bit of food coloring to make multiple colors.

This project might be a little messy but your children will have lots of fun! This is a great project to encourage your children to express their artistic talent and use their imagination.

Now before I get ahead of myself, perhaps it would be best to give a list of supplies. If you are like me, that is the first thing I look at determine if I might have the items around the house. For many of you, I think you will be in luck as these common items are in most every home.

List of supplies needed:
*Craft paper, paint paper, construction paper or any type heavy paper your kids can paint on
*A can of shaving cream. (You can pick one of these us for about $1)
*a smock for the kiddies, or perhaps and old adult t-shirt or just old clothes will work too.
*food coloring (you will only need a small bit IF you decide to make different colors. If you don't have food coloring, don't worry, your children can make all types of puffy pictures by using only white.
*paint brush (optional) to paint pictures OR just use your fingers
*a craft stick or something to mix the shaving cream and glue and to mix colors
*paper plates, or Styrofoam plates or anything to mix "paint" in
*scissors (optional) These can be used to cut small pieces of construction paper if you want to decorate your child's drawing
*school glue
*newspaper or a plastic table cloth or something to protect surface (optional if your children are painting on a surface you want to protect.


NOTE* Always supervise young children during this project as shaving cream and glue are not an edible products.

Directions:
Mix shaving cream and glue in equal parts. Use a craft stick to stir colors.
If you choose to have other colors, separate some of the mixture in other containers. Make colors by adding a drop or two of food food coloring.

Paint tips:

Unlike regular paint, shaving cream paint can be used in big globs to make three dimensional paintings. When your children are finished painting, set the art work aside and allow to dry over night.

Accents: You may cut small pieces of construction paper to accent your drawing while it is wet. An example might be:  if making a snowman, you could add a small orange construction paper nose or black pieces or paper for buttons.

You can also accent with scraps of material or other small craft items. Use whatever your have on hand. Let your children's imagination soar. You might be really surprised what they come up with.

What to do if you don't have shaving cream:
Try mixing a bit of child safe paint with some hand lotion for some nice finger paint. The little ones will love it. It won't dry puffy, but they will still have lots of fun. The clean up seems a bit better when a little hand lotion is mixed in with the paint. 

This is a wonderful project. Your children will love it and so will your budget.
I hope you enjoy it.
Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you will visit again soon.

Understanding Color In Simple Terms; What Really Is A Color Wheel Anyway? What Does It Mean?

What is a Color Wheel?

Many of you may remember from your school studies that the color wheel was created by Sir Isaac Newton in 1672. This was an amazing discovery and one that lends color to our world today. Sir Isaac Newton discovered that light, when refracted through a crystal prism, appears as all the colors of the rainbow. He basically took what he saw and fashioned it as a circle, creating a color wheel. This made the relationships between colors much easier to see. A color wheel is made up of 12 hues: 3 primary colors, 3 secondary colors and 6 tertiary colors. Don't worry! You don't necessarily have to have a great understanding of color theory when choosing or using color. Many artists never mix their own colors, while others enjoy mixing and working with colors they "created" on their own. The right color scheme will vary depending on the artists choices and the eye of the beholder. Knowing just a little about the color wheel and a bit about color theory will help you in your artistic choices to come up with color schemes that are pleasing to the eye.
The 12 hues of the color wheel can be used by the artist as a handy tool.
Let's break those 12 colors down a bit so that they become more simplified.

Where Do Black and White Come Into Play?

Did you know that all surfaces reflect and absorb light? It is true. The human eye, however, can only see the colors that a surface reflects. A black surface absorbs all colors, while a white surface reflects all color. 

What Are Primary Colors?

Most of you probably remember from your days in elementary school that the primary colors include only 3 colors. Which colors? The simple answer to that question would be: pure red, pure yellow and pure blue. These are the three pigment colors that cannot be made by mixing any other colors. Think of them as the "Parent Colors" to all other colors as these three colors are mixed to create all the other colors. They can be combined with black or white to create tints (lighter tones) and shades (darker hues) of these colors.

What Are Secondary Colors?

Secondary colors are those that are created when you mix equal parts of two primary colors together. What you get when you do this is green, orange and violet. For example, when you mix equal parts of red and blue together, you can create violet.  

What Are Tertiary Colors? 

Tertiary colors are made when you mix one primary color with one secondary color. These 6 new colors are red-violet, blue-violet, blue-green, yellow-green, yellow-orange and red-orange.

Don't Let Color Scare You!

Color is out there to be used. Experiment! Try new things! See what colors are pleasing to your eye and what isn't. There are no real mistakes. The important thing is not to allow color to intimidate you. Just use it and most of all....HAVE FUN WITH IT!

A Tasty Summer Frozen Treat That Kids and Mom Will Both Love

Healthy Frozen Treat on a Stick

Tasty Treats Straight From The Freezer

Summer will be here before we know it. It is time to plan ahead and look for healthy treats instead of those laden with extra sugars and chemicals. Instead of frozen treats from the store, let the kids make their own treats.  Use cookie cutters to cut out fun shapes from a 1-inch-thick slice of seedless watermelon.  Insert a Popsicle stick into the bottom; place on foil and put in the freezer.  Frozen grapes and berries are also great.

Coupon for my customers! Save on your Christmas purchases!

Coupon to use in either my etsy store or on a custom order!

(Good also for customers shopping at our local craft fairs. Mention this code and save 10% on your physical purchase, since there would be no shipping involved.)

It is the Christmas season and with all the shopping that comes with the season, many of us are looking for ways to save. From now until December 25, I am offering my customers an extra special discount. If you purchase anything in my eBay store, my etsy store or place a custom order and mention the code FREESHIP12 you will be awarded FREE SHIPPING. If you purchase from my eBay store, let me know before checkout (make sure to mention the code above) and I will adjust your invoice to reflect free shipping. If you purchase from my etsy store, enter the free code above. If you place a custom order, mention the code above and I will ship your order FREE. This offer will not be extended after December 25, 2012 @ 12:00 am PST. (This will give equal opportunity to the buyers across the nation.)

Merry Christmas to all of my customers! Thank you for making this a very successful year for Pixie Paint Studio.