Why I Suddenly Couldn't Breathe

It's scary.

Not being able to breathe...

A couple days ago, I was down in my mini home-laboratory, trying to mix up a new herbal concoction that could be used as both a natural cleaning agent, a bug killer and repellent, and a home air freshener and detoxifier... all at the same time!

You probably already know this, but...

... in addition to being an artist...

... I'm also a herbalist.

And as herbalists are wont to do, I like to experiment and create new stuff using Nature's finest herbs.

Stuff for healing.

Stuff for relaxing.

And even stuff for cleaning. Without all the synthetic chemicals laden on us by Big Industry that do microscopic long-term damage to your health.

(I also majored in chemistry in college for one of my degrees by the way. So maybe that's also why I have these weird hobbies.)

Anyway, after I was done mixing up my new solution...

... I started pouring it into a special sprayer I had so that I could start testing out my lovely new creation.

The sprayer was supposed to squirt the liquid in a straight line.

But suddenly:

The sprayer started malfunctioning...

And instead of spraying in a straight line like any good water gun does... it started turning the liquid into a mist and diffusing it everywhere! In case you're wondering... NO it's NOT supposed to do that!

And even worse:

I hadn't finished diluting the solution yet!

*sigh*

(This is the last time I purchase equipment from China. No-offense if you're from China. I just find that their equipment malfunctions way too often.)

Anyway, I didn't inhale too much, but I did breathe a little in...

... and I don't know why...

... but I started finding it hard to breathe.

Well, let me rephrase that.

I could breathe just fine.

But somehow, I felt that I wasn't getting enough oxygen. And I was starting to get dizzy and faint.

I quickly rushed to the pantry, and grabbed a bottle of extra hot cayenne powder... dumped some of it in water... and gulped it down... to open up my lungs, keep my circulation going and stop myself from fainting.

Next, I quickly whipped together a batch of stuff that's normally used to combat low oxygen at high altitudes.

Blackstrap molasses.

Gingko Biloba.

A pure and concentrated megadose of Vitamin C powder (which I normally don't use, but it's good to have on hand when you need fast recovery of any kind during almost any emergency.)

And I ran to an open window to get more fresh air.

I started feeling better.

But I was still having some issues.

Some dizziness.

Starting to get some numbness.

And I couldn't really think straight.

So finally, I grabbed a few drops of highly diluted food-grade hydrogen peroxide and used that to infuse oxygen into my body. I won't go into how I did it, because it's a bit controversial, but when you can't think straight, you just instinctively go for what works in the moment.

And work it did...

... for I quickly started going back to normal.

*phew*

That was close.

I'm fine now.

But I really need to be more careful about having all my safety equipment on when running experiments.

Not being able to breathe is scary!

Now I know what it feels like to be a terminally ill Covid patient who can't breathe.

I do have some health clients who came down with Covid. But, because of how knowledgeable they are right now about taking care of their health and immune system, none of them even got sick. So... this is the closest I'll get to seeing something like that... I hope...

Anyway, I'm still here.

I'm fine.

And I know what I'll be thankful for this Thanksgiving! :)

Being alive and being able to breathe fresh air.

And, in case you were wondering:

Yes, I do have some lovely stuff you can use this Thanksgiving to express thankfulness to your family, friends and loved ones and to show gratefulness to the world for just being alive.

It's now up in the store for the coming Autumn season.

So, if you have anyone or anything you're grateful for, check it out here before Fall ends.

Sincerely,
Aurelia Nobleia
"Too Clumsy For Chemistry"

P.S. Yes, I'm grateful to you too!

Thanks so much for reading this and for supporting all my work! :)

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This letter "Why I Suddenly Couldn't Breathe" was first published on turnip.co

The Easiest Way To Cure Artist's (And Writer's) Block

Have you ever needed to write or create some artwork but all of a sudden...

... your mind started going blank...

... and your ability to write or draw went *poof*?

Well, it happens to me sometimes too.

In fact, it happened to me a few weeks ago.

Mind you:

This doesn't happen often.

Normally I have so much to write about (and draw about) that I can't stop writing. And eventually because I write so much, people start finding me annoying. So I have to consciously limit myself so that I don't start annoying everyone around me.

However, when I look back on how this week's writer's block came about, I realized something interesting...

Inside me are two sides:

My Creator side. And my Consumption side.

My Consumption-side is forever wanting to read more books, watch more videos, and look at more artwork.

While my Creator-side is all about making more stuff.

Normally my Consumption-side is holding the steering wheel.

But one day...

... my "Creator" side said to my "Consumption" side:

"Hey, you've been reading too much recently. And you haven't been writing enough! I need you to stop reading and watching videos for a couple of weeks, and sit your fluffy butt down and write and draw... or else people will forget about you forever and you'll starve!"

"Umm... Ok. I'll try..." said my Consumption side, reluctantly.

And so I did.

No books.

No videos.

No artwork.

Just sit the fluffy butt down on the chair and try to write and draw as much as I could to please my Creator-side.

And just like that...

... my mind went blank...

... for weeks...

Until:

I stopped trying to force myself to write and create and...

... I went back to reading again.

Reading as many books as I could.

As much as I wanted.

On as many different subjects as I wanted.

And...

Presto!

All of a sudden I have so much inspiration to write and draw that I don't have enough time to do it all.

And now, Creator Aurelia and Consumption Aurelia are both happy.

This reminded me about about something I once heard Jake Parker, the creator of Inktober, say:

"You need to breathe in first before you can breathe out. If there's no input, there's no output"

You would have thought that with all the thousands of books and artistic masterpieces I've gone through over the years, my mind would be a literal river of creative ideas that flow out endlessly 24/7.

Looks like it doesn't work that way.

No new input, no new output.

Speaking of new:

Recently I've noticed that a ton of fans have started stocking up on my Christmas Wreath masterpieces in preparation for the upcoming holiday season.

And, yes I know...

I haven't started releasing my new Christmas pieces yet for this year.

I've been so busy working on some amazing illustrations for a contest I'm in. It's been taking a lot of my time.

Well, I'm enjoying it.

But in case you were waiting for new Christmas masterpieces...

... rest assured, they're coming! :)

But for now, our Christmas masterpiece collection from years past is now available in the store.

Might wanna stock up while you can.

Sincerely,
Aurelia Nobleia
"Crazy About Consumption"

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This letter "The Easiest Way To Cure Artist's (And Writer's) Block" was first published on turnip.co

A Fan Asks About My Multiple Personality Disorder

A couple days ago, a fan asked me this:

"Aurelia, how come your emails often sound like they are coming from different people from different walks of life? Sometimes you sound like an old, scholarly sage in the style of Leonardo da Vinci.

At others, you sound like an unhinged teenage girl who is full of energy and bursting at the thought of adventure.

And at yet others, you sound like the typical, peaceful matron. Who is sitting quietly next to the window, and sewing herself something lovely for her family."

And the answer to that, my friend is because...

... my personality at any given time slightly changes depending on the projects I'm working on.

You see:

My main focus is on honing and mastering my art.

However, while my main art of choice is normally illustration, I dive into lots of different types of art at any given time.

For example...

... sometimes I have this urge come over me...

... and I'll be into hand-sewing for weeks.

At yet others, I'll be studying and learning the crafts of movie producing and directing. And thinking about making myself a feature film.

And at yet others, I'll be doing clay molding and stop motion animation.

But it doesn't just stop at art.

Sometimes I'll take a break from art for a while. And I'll be studying the business and marketing side of art.

At others times, I study the neuroscience and history of art.

And at yet others, I'll be watching old replays of Mr. Bean and laughing hard.

So whatever I'm immersed in at the moment, it affects my mood.

And perhaps my personality.

And that affects my writing. As well as my art.

But you know...

... in a sense, that's also what makes my art so special.

And gives my art that extra edge.

When I'm creating art for children, I'll often be dipping myself into childish pleasures. Like watching classic Ghibli films.

I noticed that it adds a special fairytale-like feel to my artwork that you can't just explain with words.

When I'm creating art that can be used for weddings, perhaps I'll grab my hubby and ask him to get married again.

And my latest example:

Recently, I managed to find myself in a country where everyone's being locked down and longing for freedom.

Including me.

And that helped me create this piece that just screams out with my longing for freedom.

I want to travel!

Actually, I even made two versions of the piece. One with and one without borders.

Because I guess, subconsciously, I just want all the borders and restrictions to go away so I can travel again.

Have a look and just tell me that that doesn't make you long for freedom!

Well:

This is true for me, and...

... as you're working on different types of crafting and artistic projects...

... it'll be true for you as well.

If you have a client, who needs a wood art piece for their children's bedroom, immerse yourself in some childlike pursuits.

Perhaps playing with your kids.

Or take out your dusty, old doll collection and pretend to be a princess for a day.

Or if you're designing a project for someone who's getting married...

... get out your old wedding dress and start making some rounds around the house. ;)

I guarantee you that it'll put an extra special "ooomph" in your artwork that makes it tower over everyone else's.

And your clients will be so amazed... they won't be able to explain just why.

Or you could just use mine as a base...

Since I'm already doing that.

Sincerely,
Aurelia Nobleia
"Still Clinically Sane"

P.S. Recently, I created a masterpiece that feels just like this.

It has multiple styles and personalities all blended into one.

Imagine Pixar + Disney + Papercut + Collage + Watercolor Painting

I made it for submission to a contest with the Society of Visual Storytelling. And the judges picked it as a quarter-finalist. They said they couldn't stop talking about it. Yay!

Unfortunately, I lost in the end.

But it was fun. :)

...

This letter "A Fan Asks About My Multiple Personality Disorder" was first published on turnip.co

How To Get In Hundreds Of Squats A Day This Fall

A couple of weeks ago:

One of my fitness mentors (who also happens to be a world champion martial artist) posted a funny photo on Instagram.

In the photo...

... he was squatting while wrapping his hands around a beautiful piece of bamboo growing outside his home, with its leaves scattered on the surrounding grounds.

Someone asked in the comments:

"Who rakes the leaves?"

To which he replied:

"No one does. I pick them up one by one. One squat at a time."

He uses the leaves as an opportunity to get in his daily squats. And with each squat a leaf is removed. One by one. Until the grounds are clear. Some days there are hundreds of leaves. And that means hundreds of squats.

All this just goes to show that...

... life is full of opportunities... hidden in plain sight.

But as the legendary Ralph Waldo Emerson once said:

"What lies behind us, and what lies before us are but tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

The opportunities we see on the outside pale in comparison to those hidden within us.

Inside you are an uncountable number of hidden talents, strengths and abilities that lie untapped. Most people go through their lives never discovering these buried opportunities. And at the end of your life, they are buried, gone and wasted.

A great teacher helps unlock those undiscovered opportunities inside you.

They see what you really have within. And bring it out to the surface. Where you can polish it and turn it into fine treasure.

But notice that I said... "great teacher".

I have no qualms about saying that 99% of the teachers I've had in my life were terrible. And I hated them.

But the remaining 1%?

They believed in me.

They encouraged me.

They helped me unlock talent that I never knew I had deep within.

And they changed my life by encouraging me to focus on and refine my strengths.

And that's why... I'm so incredibly amazing now!

Just kidding. Ha ha.

Anyway...

I'm making progress daily too. Just like you. But a few great teachers really made the difference for me.

And I think it would be it would be a shame for such teachers not to receive the recognition they deserve.

Especially considering how rare they are.

Recently:

I've been doing a little experiment.

I decided to start creating some 'themed' wreaths. Like my recently drawn and illustrated "Teacher's Wreath", which makes for an amazing design on any gift for that teacher or teachers who made a difference in your life.

I wasn't expecting a lot, to be honest.

Didn't think that many people would like it.

But...

*BOOM*

The Teacher's Wreath turned into one of our best-sellers right now.

So:

I'll be making more themed wreaths in the near future. But for now...

I see something special inside you...

... but I don't know what it is.

Sincerely,
Aurelia Nobleia
"School Hater Extraordinaire"

P.S. The Adventures of Aurelia continues on Instagram and YouTube. If you need some daily laughs, or maybe even some inspiration, then you really should check it out. :)

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This letter "How To Get In Hundreds Of Squats A Day This Fall" was first published on turnip.co

What A Shooting Star Taught Me About Making Your Wishes Come True

It happened when I was in elementary school:

One fine week in August, there was a news report. It was about an upcoming shooting star shower in the skies above us. Forecasts said it would happen next week. Around 5 am in the morning.

If we could wake up early enough, we could see a spectacular sight that only happened once every... fifty years I think?

Anyway:

Our school was in an uproar.

All my friends were talking about it. And we'd spend long hours chatting about how amazing it would be. And what wishes we would make. And about how lucky we were to witness such a grand event.

Days passed. The week was over. And finally the skies would be aglow soon.

Tomorrow morning.

That's when it was gonna happen.

I set my alarm, and looked forward to seeing the shooting star sights.

Unfortunately though, for a young kid (though I should really used the word *kitten instead, because that's what they call young bunnies these days) trying to wake up at 5 a.m. is like trying to rouse the dead from their graves.

The alarm rang. I hit snooze. And went back to bed...

... before it hit me 30 minutes later that...

... I wasn't supposed to be sleeping! The event of a lifetime was taking place outside in the sky!

I bounced out of bed.

And sprinted to the door. Sad at the thought that the shower was probably over by now.

But to my pleasant surprise, I managed to catch the tail end of the event. And a couple of shooting stars were still streaking across the sky. They looked like blue balls with short fuzzy tails dancing in front of a dark night.

"Amazing!" I thought to myself.

I didn't miss it.

I really made it.

And I managed to make my wish...

What did I wish for, you ask?

Ha ha ha. I'm pretty smart. So I made the best wish anyone could wish for:

I wished for a million wishes!

But sad thing, I think my wish wasn't granted. Because even now when I try to wish for more cash so I can buy new art supplies, I don't see money dropping out of the sky in front of me.

Oh well...

Next day I went back to school. Waiting to share the grand experience with my friends.

And looking forward to hearing about what they all wished for.

Guess what?

None of them managed to wake themselves up that early to watch the shower. I was the only one who saw it! :O

"How lucky I am..." I thought to myself.

But then again, it wasn't just luck was it?

I put in a lot of effort. Hard work. Diligence. And sheer determination. To maintain my rationality in the face of blissful sleep and a soft bed that was waiting for me. I pushed myself to my limits and got out of bed.

And that's why... I witnessed it!

Event of a lifetime! Yeah!

Sometimes in life we spend so much time wishin', wantin' and waitin' for things to happen.

When the truth of the matter is...

... our wishes are just within our reach... they're right in front of us... but they're waitin' for us to put in that last bit of effort we need to get them.

Just like those shooting stars were just waiting for me to get out of bed to make my wish.

It's tough work.

But all worth it in the end when you finally get everything you wished for.

I was reminded of this story (and what I learned from it) a couple of days ago.

I suddenly got an Etsy message from a fan named Maggie.

She owns a farm called Shooting Stars Farm. She loves my work. And was wondering whether I had any wreath illustrations with Shooting Star Flowers.

She sent me a photo of those flowers.

And I'd never heard of them before.

But I was amazed at how uniquely beautiful they looked. They really look like shooting stars, with tails of purple following behind them as they streak through the night sky.

So I decided to make a Shooting Star Flower Wreath.

And add it to my store.

Because I love how lovely they are.

And I thought to myself that... with how uncommon these flowers are... and how uniquely beautiful they look... I'm sure a lot of my fans would enjoy using them to make their own designs and projects stand out from the crowd.

After all:

Most crafting projects these days are focused on the same ol' flowers again and again.

Roses.

Peonies.

Sunflowers.

There's even a popular quote these days which says:

"In a world full of roses, be a sunflower."

Well...

I'm sorry to say it but, the world is just FULL of sunflowers right now! Just looking at how much my uniquely illustrated sunflower wreaths are being swiped and copied by art thieves and hustlers left and right makes me well aware of that fact. Sunflowers are everywhere right now.

I think it's time for a new quote.

"In a world full of sunflowers, be a shooting star flower."

Sincerely,
Aurelia Nobleia
"Wishin' but still wantin'"

P.S. I can just imagine someone using this Shooting Star Flower wreath and engraving it on a birthday gift.

And when the gift gets opened, they tell the birthday girl:

"You know what this flower is called? A shooting star flower. You know you can make one wish on it? Just like a real shooting star? So this birthday... you got two wishes! One from blowing out candles. And one from my gift. You're welcome."

LOL. That would be awesome...

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This letter "What A Shooting Star Taught Me About Making Your Wishes Come True" was first published on turnip.co

The Truth About My Rumored Kidnapping (And News On AoA Season 2)

Dear Friend,

I've been missing... for a while...

... and you've probably been hearing rumors about my sudden disappearance all over the place.

All sorts of rumors...

... like maybe...

... me being kidnapped...

... or me being abducted by aliens...

... or even...

... me riding a recently launched commercial tourist rocket ship into space and suddenly going off-course, dooming me to the outer confines of the galaxy forever.

Yes, I know.

As always, the rumors seem far-fetched.

But are they really?

Wanna know the real truth?

About why I've been gone for so long?

I just created a new animated short which explains exactly what happened. And you can have fun watching it by clicking here.

By the way:

This short is the first in a new animated mini-series I'm doing.

And it marks the beginning of...

... The Adventures of Aurelia, Season 2!

YAY!

That's right.

Season 2 is going to be animated.

And it's going to be hosted on Instagram!

So if you're not following me yet over there, you might wanna hop along and follow me if you wanna be the first to know when I release a new short.

I haven't done animating in nearly a decade, so I thought this'd be fun. :)

Enjoy!

Sincerely,
aurelia nobleia

P.S. In case you saw some of the new wreath illustrations I've been releasing on the store...

... and you were wondering...

... the answer is...

... Yes, I have been working hard on improving my drawing skills and bringing them to the next level.

As always. ;)

My policy is to never stop improving.

And my favorite way to improve my illustrative skills right now?

Tell you about that in another letter...

See ya!

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This letter "The Truth About My Rumored Kidnapping (And News On AoA Season 2)" was first published on turnip.co