Purple Day Epilepsy Awareness Blog Hop

Hello friends!  I am very honored to be joining my friend Fikreta Posavec to support her efforts in “Purple Day” for Epilepsy Awareness.

 Please take a moment to read:

Purple Day is a global grassroots event formed with the intention to increase worldwide awareness of epilepsy, and to dispel common myths and fears of this neurological disorder. Further intentions of this movement are to reduce the social stigmas commonly endured by many individuals afflicted with the condition; to provide assurance and advocacy to those living with epilepsy that they are not alone in their ongoing endurance; and to initiate individuals living with the condition to take action in their communities to achieve these aims.

The day occurs annually on March 26.

 Formation and history

The concept of Purple Day was initiated by a 9-year-old named Cassidy Megan and was motivated by her own struggle with epilepsy.

The Epilepsy Association of Nova Scotia helped to develop Cassidy’s idea, and the first Purple Day event was held on March 26, 2008, and is now known as the Purple Day for Epilepsy campaign.

In 2009, the New York-based Anita Kaufmann Foundation and Epilepsy Association of Nova Scotia joined to launch Purple Day internationally and increase the involvement of numerous organizations, schools, businesses, politicians and celebrities around the world. On March 26, 2009, over 100,000 students, 95 workplaces and 116 politicians participated in Purple Day. In March 2009, the official USA Purple Day Party launch was organized by the Anita Kaufmann Foundation. Canadian Paul Shaffer of the Late Show with David Letterman attended the official launch at Dylan’s Candy Bar in New York City.

In March 2012, Purple Day received the Royal Assent and became a legal day for epilepsy awareness in Canada.

In December 2015, Electronics retailer Dick Smith had arranged a major corporate partnership with Epilepsy Action Australia to support Purple Day in Australia with a $50,000 cash sponsorship, prizes and exclusive distribution of Purple Day merchandise. A week prior to Purple Day celebrations in 2016, Dick Smith was placed in receivership. Later, the Retail Food Group provided a $50,000 donation to match Dick Smith’s previously promised sponsorship.

My own experience with epilepsy revolved around someone in my childhood school.  She was constantly made fun of because of certain behaviors she had due to epilepsy and I wasn’t aware of her condition, but naturally felt sorry for her.  Due to me trying to be nice to this person, I quickly became someone who was also made fun of for it.  Children can be cruel, but I’m sure that the long term affects of what this person went through were very traumatic and long lasting.  I watched her collapse in her yard with a seizure and was so scared. (This is how I learned about what she had.) She was embarrassed about it and didn’t want to talk with anyone about it.  I have since lost contact with that person from school years, but think of this time with my heart still going out to that person and wishing her a happy life.

My hope is that there is more education about this in the school system and especially since it can be very dangerous and children need to be aware of it along with what to watch for and/or to tell a teacher what is going on or how to help.  If other children are more aware, then maybe stigma can be less severe for children with epilepsy.  It would be so hard for a child to speak out about something they are being made “ashamed’ for.

Fikreta has brought us together for a fun blog hop to bring awareness to PURPLE DAY and educate people about this condition that her husband has.

Here is the special card that I’ve made for this blog hop:

I had so much fun with this card!  I first started out by making a panel with alcohol inks over some Yupo paper.  I didn’t have the MFT Triangle dies, so I made myself a stencil and cut out my own from the alcohol background I made.  I then white heat embossed the sentiment from the MFT All About You stamp set and cut out the black strip and attached in the center between the triangle layout.  I then cut out this panel with the MFT Wonky Stitched Rectangle die and added some splatters with some Brutus Monroe purple “basket grass” Aqua pigment and water.  (Love the shimmer it created too!  See the photo below.)

Next, I cut out the “you” die from some Brutus Monroe Spring collection glitter stock and placed it underneath the black strip sentiment.  Lastly, I stamped one of the cute little Yetis from the MFT Beast Friends stamp set and colored him with my Copics.  I popped him up over the bottom portion of the design with some foam dots.  Lastly, I’ve added some Brutus Monroe Unicorn Bottlecap Sequins and filled the centers with Nuvo White Blizzard Glitter Drops.

Here’s a closer look at this cute little guy and how I’ve colored him up.  I’ve used a light purple tone marker to color the outer “fur” portion of his body.

Here’s the card lying flat, and you can see in the light how those splatters shimmer!  Those aqua pigments are very awesome to play with!!

challenges I’d like to enter:

1.  My Favorite Things Wednesday Sketch Challenge – MFTWSC429
2. Creative Moments – Anything Goes
3. Pammies Inky Pinkies – PIP1912 Anything Goes