Story Behind Cheryls Purple Cow

This post was originally published on June 6, 2009.  I had occasion to refer to it a few days ago and I wanted to share it again for my new followers.  I did make a few changes to make it easier to read. 

Handmade Wire Wrapped RING
Purple Mother of Pearl
by gabeadz

I have been crafting and making jewelry for about 5 years. Before that I seemed to gravitate to highly stressful clerical type jobs. I worked in banking and also in motor vehicle registration and titling. How did I get from there to beading and crafting? If you will listen I will tell you.

 
Do you remember the kid in art class that just could not make anything? That was me. Most people get A's and B's in art class. I failed art class. I found the whole process of creating something bothersome. I just could not, would not do it.


That was my fast-paced stressful life and I loved it. My life started changing in 2004.  I remember having "episodes" of sudden inappropriate emotion or rage most of my life.  But they lasted a few minutes and happened every few years.  The stress became too much around the summer of 2004 and the "episodes" became more frequent and lasted longer.  It was during this time that I started having a compulsion to create things.  I received many incorrect diagnoses during that time but finally in November 2005 I received the correct diagnosis, Right Temporal Lobe Epilepsy.

Grande Vanilla Latte Shawl
by CordovaStudios

I lost my job as I tried to get my epilepsy under control. As I started to control my epilepsy and my seizures decreased, the need to create grew.  And the more things I created the better I got and the better I got the stronger the need to create became. That is why I attribute my newfound "gift" of creativity to my epilepsy. 

I started playing with different crafts and techniques to see what my potential was. I went through most of the crafts available and then I started beading and making jewelry. And that is what gives me the most pleasure.

I have been making jewelry since early 2007. I really like making the Awareness Ribbon jewelry. I think it is important to raise awareness regarding medical conditions like Epilepsy and Cancer. At first I was giving most of my pieces to my family and friends. Everyone urged me to try to sell my creations. It took a while for me to get used to the idea that I could make something worth selling, but I came around.

Stained Glass Candle Holder
by African Sand Stained Glass

I found the motivation to open my own store, but the store needed a name. I wanted the name to be something that I could connect to. March 26 is "Purple Day" and wearing purple on that day shows that you support Epilepsy Awareness. 

 
Purple has always been my favorite color so I decided that the name of my shop would include "purple". I was getting there. I had one word, but I still couldn't figure out the name. Then one day out of the blue, I remembered a gift I received in Junior High from my best friend Dee Dee. She gave me a purple cow with a poem attached:

"I never saw a purple cow;
and I never hope to see one.
But I can tell you anyhow,
I'd rather see than be one."

I had completely forgotten about that purple cow. I surfed the web looking for a purple cow. I was surprised to find that a book was written based upon this popular poem. The book helps you to succeed in business by being the purple cow among all the regular cows. The purple cow represents something extraordinary, different. It is something unusual that we all would like to have or even see just once.

 

Purple and Pink Dragonfly Necklace
by Simply Raevyn

My best friend Dee Dee was never ordinary and neither was I. We are both still purple cows. I never realized how wonderful it was to be different. I even located her through the Internet and found out that she has Lupus. The Awareness Ribbon for both Epilepsy and Lupus is purple. Strange coincidence?







Now you know a little bit more about me and how Cheryls Purple Cow was born.


I used pictures from the following Etsy shops in this post:
African Sand Stained Glass
CordovaStudios

Gabeadz

Simply Raevyn


Please click on the pictures of the items to be taken to the listing page.
Click on the shop name to be taken to the shop.

Click here to read more!

My Purple Day Treasury

Visit the Purple Day For Epilepsy Treasury Click here to read more!

Purple Day

Cassidy

I would like to share a story with you today.  This story takes place 2 years ago and is about a young girl named Cassidy.  Cassidy, who was 9 years old at the time, has epilepsy.  But she is not the type of girl to let that get her down. 

Cassidy wanted everybody to know that she has epilepsy and that it was OK to talk about epilepsy.  She wanted to explain to people that epilepsy affects over 50 million people worldwide.  That is more people than MS, MD, Parkinson's Disease and Cerebral palsy combined.  Cassidy wanted everyone to know the truth about epilepsy and dispel some of the myths. 

It is very important to Cassidy that everyone know that people with epilepsy are ordinary people.  She also wanted other children like herself to know that they were not alone. 

March 26th - Purple Day

Cassidy was very motivated to make her wishes come true.  She decided that one way to get people talking was to ask everyone to wear purple on one special day of the year.  Purple Day was founded in 2008 by Cassidy with the support of the Epilepsy Association of Nova Scotia. Epilepsy Awareness Month is celebrated in March in most of the world.  Here in the U. S. we celebrate it in November.

From the Purple Day website,

"Purple Day is an international grassroots effort dedicated to increasing awareness about epilepsy worldwide. On March 26, people from around the globe are asked to wear purple and spread the word about epilepsy."

 A little bit more about Cassidy in her own words from the Purple Day website.

"Before I started Purple Day, I was afraid to tell people about my epilepsy because I thought they would make fun of me. After the Epilepsy Association of Nova Scotia did a presentation in my class, I started to talk with the other kids about my seizures. That is when I decided to become a spokesperson for kids with epilepsy."

Cassidy

I am asking everyone who reads this post to wear purple on Friday March 26th.  Do it for all 50 million people in the world who have epilepsy.  Do it for Cassidy.  Do it for me.

Click here to read more!