It's the time of year when seasonal allergies are kicking into high gear, there's an overwhelming flurry of activities as school comes to an end, and people are desperately in need of a summer vacation. Maybe it's no coincidence that May is mental health month – a great reminder to slow down, take inventory of your mind, body and spirit and nurture those areas that have been neglected.

One of my favorite reminders to take pause in my day-to-day are visits from friends and family. These visits often lead to experiencing this amazing place I call home with new eyes. I believe it's also no coincidence that a friend that I haven't seen in over 15 years visited this month and introduced me to a new experience that nourished both my mind and body – a salt cave!!!

Now, I know some are of you are thinking that I've moved to Colorado and gone "all granola." Believe me, I was skeptical at first too. I did absolutely no research before I visited 5 Star Salt Caves in Denver. I only knew that I had an super annoying tickle in my throat from allergies and couldn't take a deep breath without coughing and my friend said that an hour sitting in this room full of salt was good for your health. What the what? However, mention anything spa-related and I'm all in.

I was completely amazed when I walked into the calm, serene space. I found myself surrounded by 13,000 pounds(!) of Himalayan rock salt, a simulated night sky sparkling from above, and soft, ambient music. I laid down and was covered with a cozy blanket. For me, it was the perfect opportunity to empty all of the busy thoughts wrestling in my mind and focus instead on peace and prayer. One of my favorite verses is Psalm 14:10 – Be still, and know that I am God. This space certainly offered the perfect environment to do just that. At some point I actually drifted off to sleep and darn if I didn't walk out feeling rested, at peace, and able to breath fully without having the urge to cough since.

I'm sure you still have questions. Here's what I've learned:

What is a salt room?

A room reproduced as a natural salt cave offering salt therapy.

What is salt therapy?

Salt therapy (also known as Halotherapy) is a drug-free treatment that uses salt vapor to treat ailments. "Halo" comes from the Greek work for salt.

What are the benefits?

Salt therapy treats respiratory ailments such as asthma, allergies, sinusitis, bronchitis, and other respiratory illnesses. It can also help skin conditions such as psoriasis and eczema and combats mental lethargy.

What are you doing to nourish your mind and body this month?

A few weeks ago I hinted at my latest personal project – creating a visual experience for Storyline Fellowship's Easter series! No pressure, right?

Some steps were an absolute joy, while others proved to be quite a challenge. I thought I'd share my behind-the-scene crazy woman workings so you can learn a new craft while gaining some inside tips for designing large physical spaces – whether it's for your home, church, wedding, shower, and any other party or event.

Plan

The best place to start is to create a mood board – a collection of images which serves as a "visual story" for communicating the overall idea, as well as the materials you plan on using. Pinterest is a fantastic starting point for image gathering. The theme of our Easter series was called "One Day," so my goal was to reflect the story of the Resurrection through colors and symbolism as shown on my mood board below.

Gather

I've learned from experience that it's best to gather your resources by shopping online as much as possible. It's easier to buy items in bulk and saves an enormous amount of time and energy. Take advantage of Amazon Prime for free shipping (totally worth it!) and shop from wholesale websites that offer discount prices. One of my favorite sites is Save-On-Crafts.

Engage

Enlist help! This is a difficult step for Type A personalities like myself, but I've found it to be incredibly helpful and rewarding to involve others. There are several people who deserve shout-outs for their amazing contributions to this project.

Leslie Fox is my go-to girl. She always offers encouragement and keeps me motivated along the way. Not only did she spend a hands-on evening helping me string doves, but introduced me to Steve, the guy with mad carpentry skills.

Steve Engel generously crafted the cross that served as our focal point. He made it from brand new posts and beat it for an authentic, rugged aesthetic.

My hubs, Ed Coyle overcame great heights (pun intended) by hanging my origami dove curtain from the death defying stage rafters. Thanks honey!

I love being able to support other creative-types and was overjoyed to run across Yun & Yoonie, on Etsy – another great online resource. I fell in love with Yoonie's custom linen projects and contracted her to create our "One Day" banners. The craftsmanship and quality of her work is impeccable. Look at these Instagram pics of this sweet new Mom from Brooklyn in the process of making the banners for me!

Create

I love being hands-on so I took on the bird challenge (I mean the origami dove curtain). The thought of making 500 doves seemed daunting, yet it turns out that making the doves was actually the easy part. It took me roughly 2 minutes per dove. Here's how you do it:

Stringing the doves is slightly more challenging, especially if your strands are each 20 FEET LONG! You'll need thin, clear string (I used fishing line), scissors, a large needle, beads (to serve as a bottom weight) and lots and lots of birds! 1) Begin by cutting a single strand of string and tying the bead to one end. Thread the other end of the string through the needle and pull it straight up through the bottom of the bird. 2) Keep pulling the string all the way through until the bead hits the bottom of the dove. 3) Loop the needle and string through the top of the dove (across the original hole) to secure the bird in place. 4) Position the next dove to the string by pulling the needle up through the bottom of the second bird. 5) Repeat Step 3 by looping the needle and string across the top of the second bird to ensure that it stays in place. 6) Continue to equally space out the doves until you reach the other end of the string.

The most difficult part of the entire process was figuring out how to store and transport the strands without getting them completely tangled. There's very little advice out there for getting these things from point A to point B so I wanted to share a couple of ideas that saved the day for me! If your strands are (unlike mine) a rational size in length, you can use wooden dowels from your local craft store to individually hang each strand as shown below. For longer curtains, I recommend winding each strand around cardboard and securing the beginning and end with small clips. This method will ensure that the strands don't become a tangled mess during transport. (Thank goodness we kept most of our small moving boxes!)

There's lots of ways you can adapt this project for your very own. Here's a few of my favorite ideas floating around out there on Pinterest – nursery mobile, place setting, photo backdrop, wall or window decor, table top centerpiece, ornament, and even jewelry! Have fun, huckleberries!