make – Christa Avampato

health, invention, make, maker, meditation, yoga

Beautiful: Vote for my 1st invention on Quirky – a temporary web-enabled health tattoo to reduce stress and anxiety

October 14, 2013October 14, 2013 Christa Avampato

For a few months, I’ve been working on ideas to combine my love of technology with my passion for health and wellness. I posted my first invention idea on Quirky to accomplish this: a temporary web-enabled health tattoo to reduce stress and anxiety. I’d love it if you’d hop on over to the page where it’s posted and like it if you’re so inclined: click here.

What this invention does:
This invention utilizes temporary tattoo technology currently available to monitor muscle tension, temperature, and blood pressure, all early indicators of stress and rising anxiety. Connected to a mobile app, the user would receive a ping from his or her mobile device and be led through brief meditation and breathing exercise to help reduce his or her stress level. The user can then chart stress level over time for personal reference and review with healthcare providers. This invention raises awareness of our stress level while also giving us empowering tools to manage it when we need it most.

A few different circumstances inspired this idea:
1.) At Advertising Week I learned about epidermal electronics tattoos that are temporary films applied to the skin to monitor vitals signs like temperature and blood pressure
2.) My sister, Weez, had such a tough day last week that she got a backache for two days from the stress
3.) While I love there are so many e-health apps that are now on the market, many of them require us to manually input a lot of information, making them cumbersome and time-consuming to use
4.) Some scientific studies have shown that stress is one if the root causes of as much as 90% of all disease

What the heck is Quirky?:
Quirky is an online platform that gives independent product developers like me (and you!) the opportunity to put their ideas out into the world and have the crowd vote on the ones that they find most useful. To date, they have enabled the development of 398 of these ideas with a community of 544,000 inventors.

How you can help bring this product into being:
My idea will be live for 28 more days and needs 198 more votes to be put into the Quirky production consideration phase. I would love love love if you would vote for it by following this link: http://www.quirky.com/invent/685515/action/vote/query/sort=ending_soon&categories=all

Thank you so much! Let’s make something awesome together to help us all be healthier.

change, creativity, dreams, make, time

Beautiful: You Have All the Magic You Need

February 27, 2013February 26, 2013 Christa Avampato

“We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all of the power we need inside ourselves already.” ~ J.K. Rowling

When it comes to the matter of pursuing dreams, we don’t need to hope for miracles or luck. Our own effort is a source of magic in and of itself. We have the power to make our dreams with our heart and our own two hands. Every moment, we make choices that affect the world around us. It’s up to us to decide what that effect will be.

So if you find yourself walking through your day and taking note of things that need fixing, recognize that you can fix them. With enough care, concern, and time, we can repair and renew almost anything. Nothing is ever set in stone; everything can be transformed. We have the ability to choose how and when that transformation happens.

beauty, creativity, make, maker, nature

Beautiful: Nature Teaches Us to Be Resourceful

January 13, 2013January 9, 2013 Christa Avampato

“When you let go of trying to get more of what you don’t really need, it frees up oceans of energy to make a difference with what you have. When you make a difference with what you have it expands.” ~ Lynn Twist

When I feel myself getting a case of the “I need more…” syndrome, I play this little meditation game. I imagine that I’ve miraculously found $100,000 with no strings attached that I can spend any way I like. Would I travel the world, donate it all to charity, put a down payment on a house, pay off all my student loans? A few minutes into the game, I always find myself saying “$100,000 just isn’t enough. What I really need is…” And then I start laughing. $100,000 of discovered money isn’t enough? That’s absurd.

And this is how it goes for so many of us. We focus so much on what we don’t have that we lose sight of all of the resources at our disposal. Our culture feeds us a healthy diet of lack. Nothing is ever, ever enough.

When this happens, it’s up to us to turn off all of our devices, get outside, and go for a walk. Look around. Nature doesn’t think about lack. It adapts without any drama to the resources available at the present time. Nature has a much bigger job than any of us. It has to keep this whole planet and all of life moving forward. We think we’re over-scheduled and tired? Mother Nature takes a look at her to-do list and shakes her head at all of us.

Stop letting a sense of lack deprive you of the wonders that lay at your feet. Pick them up and put them to good use. Everyone can make something beautiful right where they are with exactly what they have.

beauty, choices, free, grateful, gratitude, happiness, make, maker, time

Beautiful: Make Your Own Freedom

January 3, 2013January 1, 2013 Christa Avampato

54817320435182285_6WPkO2u4_c Action does not imply aggression. You don’t need to bully and bust your way onto the path that is best for you. It’s so tempting to push and prod and throw an elbow to exhibit strength. But there is a better way. A surer way. A happier, more peaceful option.

Just be your best self. Invest your time and effort not in making others see and behave in the way you want them to. Go about this work on your own and inspire through example.

Live your life. Make your choices. And not for the sake of achieving something or changing someone but only because they fill you with happiness and gratitude. That is the truest definition of freedom, something we all define on our own terms and in our own time.

beauty, creativity, dreams, make, maker, time

Beautiful: Create the Conditions You Need to Do Your Best Work

January 2, 2013January 1, 2013 Christa Avampato

“Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect.” ~ Alan Cohen

Why wait? There will never be a better time to do the best work you can do than right now.

More money won’t help. Neither will the illusion of more time. Focus is gained by focusing. Confusion is sorted out through action. Clarity is gained by deciding to be clear about your priorities.

The conditions around you are always temporary and you have the power to make the ones that are right for you. Begin and the world will mold around your dreams. The Universe loves purpose, passion, and action.

adventure, creativity, make, maker, time

Make Something Beautiful – My New Theme for 2013

January 1, 2013January 1, 2013 Christa Avampato

263671753155516019_kiUeQKrM_b — From Pinterest

In the spirit of my new year’s resolution to fearlessly go after every dream I have, I’ll write every day about this journey. In 2012 I took the leap into a life of my own design. I spent a lot of time entrenched in the critical processes of planning and experimenting. In 2013 I will breathe life into those plans. I’ll roll up my sleeves, get out into the world, and actually build those dreams with my own two tiny hands because at heart I am a Maker.

Poet Mary Oliver poses the question, “What will you do with your one wild and precious life?” In this new year, I mean to answer that question not in words, but in beautiful, thoughtful, passionate actions.

I’m so glad you’re here to share this experience. I hope it inspires you to take up the call to create. In 2013, what will you make?