Handmade Heals™: Transformed by Imagination

A guest post by Tejae Floyde

When I was a little girl, my brother and I would play make believe in our backyard. I wore my fairy princess dress, a soft to the touch, white short sleeve dress with subtle little raised dots. My princess name was Cindy and my brother's play name was Champ.

Our backyard was transformed by our imagination into a fairytale playground, a magical kingdom complete with a forest, hidden paths and mystical creatures, a place where anything is possible.

There was always the crickety bridge where underneath a scary old monster troll lived. The troll did not speak english. He was a huge slightly obese green and brown monster with warts all over his body and long dirty pointy nails at the end of his hands. Very very spooky. If his hands ever touched you it would leave a sticky gooey mess.

Our adventures outside usually began with us having to cross the scary bridge before our amazing adventures could begin. My brother never failed to protect me as we quickly skirted over the crumbling, shaky imaginary bridge. As the troll reached up to grab us off the bridge Champ's powerful sword carried all the magic needed to get us safely to the other side.

My favorite childhood memories were playing in the backyard with my brother.

Reflecting on my life, I realise it's similar to those playtime's...first crossing over a scary bridge before the real life adventures can begin.

My brother and I eventually got older, we didn't play make believe anymore. Our dad remarried and all our lives changed drastically. The monsters became real life people. Manipulators and tricksters around every corner. Someone always out to hurt us, under the guise of "helping" us. No one could be trusted, especially those nearest to us.

My brother did his best to protect me but the adults powers were stronger than ours. There were deep seated dark violations against me...sexual, mental and physical...we were children and what we seen and experienced should never happen to children but it did and unfortunately for some it still does.

Sometimes as children we have to be our own heroes.

I escaped home at sixteen and from there kept striving for a better life. I trusted in God to protect me. I believe that what doesn't kill us does make us stronger.

The childhood I lived, is not ideal but it's not the end. I crossed over the scary bridge and re-imagined my life, I wished for and imagined a life free of violence, full of good, full of love and caring people. Then I worked to make it a reality. I had help along the way from God, good friends and therapy.

I did find true love, I am happy and belong to a wonderful family that has taught me the real meaning of family, love and protection.

If I could have one creative wish it would be that the hearts I make have healing powers to help others celebrate their accomplishments and help them to heal past hurts, give them strength and the knowledge of a loving God.

When stephey first wrote about creating over 100 ornaments for Terry at Enchanted Makeovers, I felt compelled to help. I wanted the women who receives the ornaments to know that they have kindred sisters who believe in them and wish them all the best blessings.

What do you wish for? I'd love to know, please leave your comment below.

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I’m Tejae Floyde and my passion is sculpting heart shaped art with meaningful messages.

My mission is love: to make the world a better, kinder, more loving place with the art I create and by providing heart keepsakes for others, to help nurture their relationships and show their love for one another. 

If you find it challenging to find a unique gift for your special someone and the average “card” will not do, consider Tejae’s Art Heart keepsakes. When you care enough to send a meaningful gift.

You can read about my artful adventures on my blog. Let me know you were here by leaving a comment. I love hearing from you.
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Do you believe Handmade Heals? Would you like to share your artful story in a guest post? contact me today info [at] stepheybaker [dot] com