The beginning of my adult life was difficult, I saw very big and I had lots of projects started. You know what it is, we have more and more responsibilities, an apartment, then a house to maintain and pay for, a car, shopping, appointments, then a job where we want to perform and other projects on the side…

It was after the birth of my first child that I started to lose my mind. There was no longer enough space, not enough time for everything. And the most frustrating thing was to see that the others seemed to manage it easily and that I was completely exhausted, overwhelmed, drained.

It also makes me want to do it again! But since I don't have big walls at home and I no longer work in a store, I thought I would satisfy this creative impulse that spring brings back to life… by giving you my best tips and my inspirations!

Making a gallery wall worthy of a magazine is a complex art and some will not risk it for lack of confidence, but with these little tricks there is no reason to be afraid.

Have you ever felt it, this feeling of urgency that doesn't let go, this permanent pressure, and this feeling of being on the run, but still being at the end of the pack? I was constantly in this state.

But the last time it happened to me was on a weeknight when I had just picked up the kids from daycare. The work was finished but still there, very present, spinning in my head. I was going to start supper, rummaging through the fridge.

Then, the children started to be obstinate, I heard only cries: "Give me that, no it's mine, give it back to me!" …”, in addition to the voices in my head that kept chattering and reminiscing about my whole day, in addition to all that I had left to do.

Paw Patrol in the background , my oldest comes to ask me for a glass of milk and, opening the fridge to give it to him, I was still looking for what to eat. There are several things, but nothing at all that goes together and can make a recipe.

No, I'm not depressed. I'm just at BOUTTTTTT, I have so many things on my mind! But deep down I knew I was flirting with an invisible evil that came and went from time to time.

Seriously: what is happening to bring it to this? Is it burnout? A sign to make me understand something? Or would there just be too much stress?

But yes! What if that was it… That evening, I remembered, when I was going to bed, having read a book not so long ago which explained that exposure to chronic stress reduced the sealing of a protein that protects the blood-brain barrier of the brain, allowing pro-inflammatory cytokines to enter it, thus allowing diseases such as depression, anxiety or burnout to enter.

And that's where I made the connection.

So I dived back into this book. According to Sonia Lupien, director of the Center for Human Stress Studies, people will produce a biological stress response when exposed to a situation with one or more of these characteristics:

THE CINEMA.
C ONTROL: You must feel like you have no control over the situation.
UNPREDICTABILITY : The situation must be unforeseen or unpredictable for you.
N EW: The situation must be new to you.
EGO THREATENED: The situation must be threatening to your ego.
 
Having an anxious personality, the unpredictability and lack of control brought me to such a high level of stress that I literally lost control. I was not depressed. I was rather in a depressed state, but let's say that I realized that the barrier was probably open and that it gave me a rather bitter taste of what would happen if I did nothing. That's why I had to manage the unexpected more effectively, before it went any further.
 
That's what I did. I no longer had a choice. Even if I was a creative who lived with the wind, I had to have a certain framework. I hadn't had one since I left the family nest; and now I had to create one and take care of myself at all costs. No one else would do it for me.

Easily I managed to regain control and today, overwhelmed by the positive change, I share with you how I got there, because I sincerely believe that by acquiring a certain form of peace of mind, we can then focus on doing great things and having a happier life.

Two exercises help me now; one in the preamble and the other on a daily basis. I'm sharing the first one with you today, because I'm sorry to have understood this so late and it's so life-saving that I think everyone should do it. First, you have to determine which stressors affect you the most so that you can anticipate or deconstruct them.

Here is a summary of Sonia Lupien's test, from the book For the Love of Stress ( Sonia Lupien, Éditions du Carré, 275 pages ), which she uses in the laboratory.
 
Click here to take the test:

CHOOSE THE OBJECTS TO HANG
As it is eclectic, we can put everything that speaks to us or that touches our heart: painting, illustration, photos, portrait, vintage frame of different sizes. What I like is to mix in a distinctive object: it can be a mirror, a clock or a beautiful wall candle holder. This addition helps break up the rigid rhythm of rectangular shapes.

TIP FOR A HARMONIOUS RESULT
You can put whatever you want, but there are rules to follow to create visual harmony. The trick is to create links by choosing similar colors, materials or textures. For example, here, it seems heterogeneous, but the gold is found in two of the frames, then the black of some paintings is also found in the frames of others and the silver of the mirror in the left frame. Nothing is left to chance!!!

HOW TO PROCEED
Start by cutting out the shapes of your frames and objects from kraft paper, newspaper or cardboard. Then, lay them out on the ground to do tests by choosing a centerpiece (often the largest) and embroidering around it. For example, here the centerpiece is the frame with trees. In the visual sequence, we first look at her. The eye will continue to read the whole afterwards. This piece is therefore given a central location.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

AT WHAT HEIGHT SHOULD I POSITION MY FRAMES?
The middle of your frame or your composition must reach your eye level, approximately 5'.

WHAT SHOULD I HANG MY FRAMES WITH ?
I have hung over 1000 frames in my life and only one has fallen off.. oops, yes, but that was because I had hung so many frames often in the same place that there was nothing solid left ! But what I mean is that it is not necessary to put butterfly screws or dowels that make holes as big as dollars. A simple frame hook is enough or a good old nail driven at 45 degrees if the frame is small.

And if your boyfriend freaks out because you're going to MAKE HOLES IN THE WALL, there's always that.

HOW TO PROCESS A SET OF FRAMES?
In the end, it must form an entity as if it became a single frame. Generally, the space between each piece should be a maximum of 2 to 3''.

There may be gaps, I advise to leave only one at most 2 and the gap should not exceed 10''.

COMPOSITIONS

OPTION 1:
For composition, some like to fill the walls. Personally, my philosophy is as usual: less is more. That is to say that if you fill your wall completely, you will inevitably miss a few frames in passing in your reading. The eye will no longer know what to look at and will be led to look elsewhere. So, even if you like 25 frames, go for it by elimination to keep only the best choices and above all don't hesitate to choose larger works than several small ones. Believe me the result will speak for itself!

• The addition of questions 3 and 5 represents your sensitivity to the feeling of control (C)
• The addition of questions 1 and 7 represents your sensitivity to unpredictability (I)
• The addition of questions 2 and 8 represents your sensitivity to the feeling of control (N)
• The addition of questions 4 and 6 represents your sensitivity to the feeling of control (S)

The highest number represents the characteristic of the CINE to which you are most sensitive. The full test has 100 questions, but these are the most representative.

Here are examples of composition that are in my opinion the most successful... (Because, yes, I also studied art history and believe me, composition is the key to the greatest conductors 👩🏻‍🎨 Nothing is left to chance! )

OPTION 2:
If you want to do a complete wall, you have to treat it as a complete work; as if it were a large painting. It doesn't have to be straight, but you will have to draw an imaginary rectangle on your wall in which you will work. Then, the chosen pieces should be aesthetically similar in terms of colors, materials and finishes.

With these tricks, you can't go wrong, but if you like to dare, know that the rules are also made to be broken!

For example, since deadlines or quick decisions make me anxious, I try to give myself more time and to be organized. I also know that the unexpected, like running out of something, being late, having to change my plans, or being under too much pressure, causes cortisol to skyrocket. And that's why I created for myself tools, techniques and rituals to help me be able to live the life I always wanted; a life where I can live well and not be afraid to dream big.
 
As they have really been of decisive help to me, I wanted to share them with you and there will be some of them in the new collection.
 
I'm not saying either that you have to avoid it because on the contrary, by knowing your weaknesses and facing them little by little, you gain confidence and they slowly dissipate. Avoiding them will make them worse. It's more a question of management, of being in control and of being able to choose when and how we will face them.

Sometimes all the features of CINE are present at the same time.

This is not necessarily a good time to try to tame its most sensitive characteristics, hence the importance of knowing yourself, in order to know when and how to manage situations and avoid overflows and accumulated stress.

You probably tell yourself that you don't have the time or the money to invest in yourself, but that's what I thought too. But know that it is 100 times easier to prevent than to cure. Me, the queen of the last minute, I completely stopped wanting to “save” in the short term when I saw how calm had settled in at home, since I managed it like a boss! Even the children have become surprisingly super docile and quiet. Like what the inner tumult I was experiencing had consequences on all the other spheres of my life. I can't believe it, because I knew I had to take charge, but I just didn't. But now, whenever I don't feel like making an effort in the moment or planning ahead, I think of this quote :

For real, small daily actions take some effort, but cost less in time, money and energy than all the therapies, medications, alcohol, drugs, compulsive behaviors and devastating outbursts.
 
So don't wait until you've run out of steam.
Your mental health, your well-being and that of the people you love are the number one priority for living a fulfilling life and not ending up in burnout.

Need tools for
manage your stress?

Want to make a gallery wall
you too ?

SHOP

SHOP

INSPIRED:
Seen on my favorite accounts of the moment:

About On my x:

IMAGINE a world where his lifestyle would have little impact on the environment and where his happiness index would see a considerable increase. 

At Sur mon x, this is the bet we took on… 

It also makes me want to do it again! But since I don't have big walls at home and I no longer work in a store, I thought I would satisfy this creative impulse that spring brings back to life… by giving you my best tips and my inspirations!

Making a gallery wall worthy of a magazine is a complex art and some will not risk it for lack of confidence, but with these little tricks there is no reason to be afraid.

The beginning of my adult life was difficult, I saw very big and I had lots of projects started. You know what it is, we have more and more responsibilities, an apartment, then a house to maintain and pay for, a car, shopping, appointments, then a job where we want to perform and other projects on the side…

It was after the birth of my first child that I started to lose my mind. There was no longer enough space, not enough time for everything. And the most frustrating thing was to see that the others seemed to manage it easily and that I was completely exhausted, overwhelmed, drained.

CHOOSE THE OBJECTS TO HANG
As it is eclectic, we can put everything that speaks to us or that touches our heart: painting, illustration, photos, portrait, vintage frame of different sizes. What I like is to mix in a distinctive object: it can be a mirror, a clock or a beautiful wall candle holder. This addition helps break up the rigid rhythm of rectangular shapes.

TIP FOR A HARMONIOUS RESULT
You can put whatever you want, but there are rules to follow to create visual harmony. The trick is to create links by choosing similar colors, materials or textures. For example, here, it seems heterogeneous, but the gold is found in two of the frames, then the black of some paintings is also found in the frames of others and the silver of the mirror in the left frame. Nothing is left to chance!!!

Have you ever felt it, this feeling of urgency that doesn't let go, this permanent pressure, and this feeling of being on the run, but still being at the end of the pack? I was constantly in this state.

But the last time it happened to me was on a weeknight when I had just picked up the kids from daycare. The work was finished but still there, very present, spinning in my head. I was going to start supper, rummaging through the fridge.

Then, the children started to be obstinate, I only heard cries: "Give me that, no it's mine, give it back to me!" …”, in addition to the voices in my head that kept chattering and reminiscing about my whole day, in addition to all that I had left to do.

Paw Patrol in the background , my oldest comes to ask me for a glass of milk and, opening the fridge to give it to him, I was still looking for what to eat. There are several things, but nothing at all that goes together and can make a recipe.

No, I'm not depressed. I'm just at BOUTTTTTT, I have so many things on my mind! But deep down I knew I was flirting with an invisible evil that came and went from time to time.

Seriously: what is happening to bring it to this? Is it burnout? A sign to make me understand something? Or would there just be too much stress?

But yes! What if that was it… That evening, I remembered, when I was going to bed, having read a book not so long ago which explained that exposure to chronic stress reduced the sealing of a protein that protects the blood-brain barrier of the brain, allowing pro-inflammatory cytokines to enter it, thus allowing diseases such as depression, anxiety or burnout to enter.

And that's where I made the connection.

So I dived back into this book. According to Sonia Lupien, director of the Center for Human Stress Studies, people will produce a biological stress response when exposed to a situation with one or more of these characteristics:

THE CINEMA.
C ONTROL: You must feel like you have no control over the situation.
UNPREDICTABILITY : The situation must be unforeseen or unpredictable for you.
N EW: The situation must be new to you.
EGO THREATENED: The situation must be threatening to your ego.
 
Having an anxious personality, the unpredictability and lack of control brought me to such a high level of stress that I literally lost control. I was not depressed. I was rather in a depressed state, but let's say that I realized that the barrier was probably open and that it gave me a rather bitter taste of what would happen if I did nothing. That's why I had to manage the unexpected more effectively, before it went any further.
 
That's what I did. I no longer had a choice. Even if I was a creative who lived with the wind, I had to have a certain framework. I hadn't had one since I left the family nest; and now I had to create one and take care of myself at all costs. No one else would do it for me.

Easily I managed to regain control and today, overwhelmed by the positive change, I share with you how I got there, because I sincerely believe that by acquiring a certain form of peace of mind, we can then focus on doing great things and having a happier life.

Two exercises help me now; one in the preamble and the other on a daily basis. I'm sharing the first one with you today, because I'm sorry to have understood this so late and it's so life-saving that I think everyone should do it. First, you have to determine which stressors affect you the most so that you can anticipate or deconstruct them.

Here is a summary of Sonia Lupien's test, from the book For the Love of Stress ( Sonia Lupien, Éditions du Carré, 275 pages ), which she uses in the laboratory.
 
Click here to take the test:

• The addition of questions 3 and 5 represents your sensitivity to the feeling of control (C)
• The addition of questions 1 and 7 represents your sensitivity to unpredictability (I)
• The addition of questions 2 and 8 represents your sensitivity to the feeling of control (N)
• The addition of questions 4 and 6 represents your sensitivity to the feeling of control (S)

The highest number represents the characteristic of the CINE to which you are most sensitive. The full test has 100 questions, but these are the most representative.

HOW TO PROCEED
Start by cutting out the shapes of your frames and objects from kraft paper, newspaper or cardboard. Then, lay them out on the ground to do tests by choosing a centerpiece (often the largest) and embroidering around it. For example, here the centerpiece is the frame with trees. In the visual sequence, we first look at her. The eye will continue to read the whole afterwards. This piece is therefore given a central location.

For example, since deadlines or quick decisions make me anxious, I try to give myself more time and to be organized. I also know that the unexpected, like running out of something, being late, having to change my plans, or being under too much pressure, causes cortisol to skyrocket. And that's why I created for myself tools, techniques and rituals to help me be able to live the life I always wanted; a life where I can live well and not be afraid to dream big.
 
As they have really been of decisive help to me, I wanted to share them with you and there will be some of them in the new collection.
 
I'm not saying either that you have to avoid it because on the contrary, by knowing your weaknesses and facing them little by little, you gain confidence and they slowly dissipate. Avoiding them will make them worse. It's more a question of management, of being in control and of being able to choose when and how we will face them.

Sometimes all the features of CINE are present at the same time. This is not necessarily a good time to try to tame its most sensitive characteristics, hence the importance of knowing yourself, in order to know when and how to manage situations and avoid overflows and accumulated stress.

You probably tell yourself that you don't have the time or the money to invest in yourself, but that's what I thought too. But know that it is 100 times easier to prevent than to cure. Me, the queen of the last minute, I completely stopped wanting to “save” in the short term when I saw how calm had settled in at home, since I managed it like a boss! Even the children have become surprisingly super docile and quiet. Like what the inner tumult I was experiencing had consequences on all the other spheres of my life. I can't believe it, because I knew I had to take charge, but I just didn't. But now, whenever I don't feel like making an effort in the moment or planning ahead, I think of this quote :

For real, small daily actions take some effort, but cost less in time, money and energy than all the therapies, medications, alcohol, drugs, compulsive behaviors and devastating outbursts.
 
So don't wait until you've run out of steam. Your mental health, your well-being and that of the people you love are the number one priority for living the life you have always imagined.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

AT WHAT HEIGHT SHOULD I POSITION MY FRAMES?
The middle of your frame or your composition must reach your eye level, approximately 5'.

WHAT SHOULD I HANG MY FRAMES WITH ?
I have hung over 1000 frames in my life and only one has fallen off.. oops, yes, but that was because I had hung so many frames often in the same place that there was nothing solid left ! But what I mean is that it is not necessary to put butterfly screws or dowels that make holes as big as dollars. A simple frame hook is enough or a good old nail driven at 45 degrees if the frame is small.

And if your boyfriend freaks out because you're going to MAKE HOLES IN THE WALL, there's always that.

HOW TO PROCESS A SET OF FRAMES?
In the end, it must form an entity as if it became a single frame. Generally, the space between each piece should be a maximum of 2 to 3''.

There may be gaps, I advise to leave only one at most 2 and the gap should not exceed 10''.

Need tools to help you

manage your stress?

SHOP

COMPOSITIONS

OPTION 1:
For composition, some like to fill the walls. Personally, my philosophy is as usual: less is more. That is to say that if you fill your wall completely, you will inevitably miss a few frames in passing in your reading. The eye will no longer know what to look at and will be led to look elsewhere. So, even if you like 25 frames, go for it by elimination to keep only the best choices and above all don't hesitate to choose larger works than several small ones. Believe me the result will speak for itself!

Here are examples of composition that are in my opinion the most successful....
(Because, yes, I also studied art history and believe me, composition is the key to the greatest masterpieces 👩🏻‍🎨 Nothing is left to chance! )

OPTION 2:
If you want to do a complete wall, you have to treat it as a complete work; as if it were a large painting. It doesn't have to be straight, but you will have to draw an imaginary rectangle on your wall in which you will work. Then, the chosen pieces should be aesthetically similar in terms of colors, materials and finishes.

With these tricks, you can't go wrong, but if you like to dare, know that the rules are also made to be broken!

Do you want to make a gallery wall too?

SHOP

INSPIRED:
Seen on my favorite accounts of the moment:

About On my x:

IMAGINE a world where his lifestyle would have little impact on the environment and where his happiness index would see a considerable increase. 

At Sur mon x, this is the bet we took on…