Monday, January 11, 2016

Journey to the Heart/Mixed Media Monthly Challenge

Don’t try to present your art by making other people read or hear or see or touch it; make them feel it. Wear your art like your heart on your sleeve and keep it alive by making people feel a little better. Feel a little lighter. Create art in order for yourself to become yourself
and let your very existence be your song, your poem, your story.
Let your very identity be your book.
Let the way people say your name sound like the sweetest melody. - Charlotte Eriksson


This is our last week of "Journey to the Heart"....I can't believe 7 weeks has gone by so fast! The very best part of any Challenge for me is the amazing PEOPLE I meet...the art you all create and SHARE in our FB group is so inspiring!

Thank you for sharing your art and your hearts with me, girls!

Today's Challenge was so FUN for me!! Each year I create a New Year canvas...something I can hang in my studio (or bedroom, or kitchen...wherever you will see it the most) that inspires me to stay on the path...stick with my Big Dreams. Sometimes I incorporate my Word in the piece, sometimes I don't. It's a bit like a Dream Board but more generalized...here is my New Year canvas from 2015...


This cute chunky 6x6 canvas hung in my studio all year reminding me to love MY art...to go for it...to FLY!

As I thought about my canvas for this year I was inspired by an amazing group of ladies over at the Mixed-Media Monthly Challenge Blog. I first heard about them from a FB group celebrating the art of my favorite art journaler Dina Wakley. I would peek around their blog, admiring all of the gorgeous work I saw. A big part of me wanted to enter their challenges...but a big part of me was too scared. You know that Fear/Doubt Monster we all have telling us we are not good enough? Yeah, well I listened to him then...but I have promised myself in 2016 I am kicking him to the curb!

So here I am today...sharing our Challenge for Week 7 of "Journey to the Heart" that I am also going to share with the Mixed-Media Challenge Blog....GO me:)

Their theme for January is "Time Flies".

As I thought about this theme this saying popped in my head... "Time Flies So Why Don't We?" I mean each one of us is given the EXACT same 24 hours a day!


As I began putting my 8x11 canvas together I KNEW I had to use an image of Audrey Hepburn...she is just put together and cute! I added a butterfly wing to remind me to FLY...


Then added a wooden cut-out BELIEVE I painted with gold acrylic paint then rubbed black ink for depth. Birds are very symbolic to me and turn up in lots of my work...


I had this cute little guy forever! Once he was perching perfectly on my canvas I knew he needed something to further get my point across..."She sprouted wings" was exactly the ideal fit!

Audrey still looked bare to me so I thought about adding a crown yet didn't think a crown fit what I was trying to say...

Before I set out to add elements to my work I had spread out various different treasures on my work desk including a wooden birdcage...


As soon as I placed it on her head I KNEW it was meant for this piece!! I covered it in Mod Podge and poured dark golden sparkles all over it.

I am SO PLEASED with the results!! It is 100% ME and gives me a visual to look at daily to GO AFTER MY BIG DREAMS!!!


So girls...I want you to take all that you have worked on these past 7 weeks...your lists, your journal pages...your goals/Big Dreams and create a canvas. It can be a 6x6, 8x11, 11x14...whatever you have. No canvas? No worries....create in your journals. You can always take the page our and frame it to hang or place on a cork board.

If you would like to see how other artists interpreted this challenge or participate in it yourselves here is the link...

Go here

Friday, January 8, 2016

Journey to the Heart:Shake it Up/Do What it Takes to Listen

Never be afraid to try something newRemember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.” – Dave Barry

There are times when I just want to think.


 I don't want my mind cluttered. 

I don't want to worry about others...
I just want to think.

Yesterday was a day like that. I woke up with a Heart filled with anxiety and fear. Instead of seeing the bright side of everything I was only seeing the negative. From the clothes hanging in my closet (I have NOTHING to wear/I look fat in EVERYTHING) to my hair (I threatened to cut it all off....LOL) I was a big, ugly ball of negativity. 




One of my first mixed-media pieces. I create so differently now!



As I continued to spew pessimistic sarcasm throughout our home I suddenly stopped. What the HECK was I doing?? 

I went to the kitchen, made myself a healthy lunch and sat at the table. As I looked around at our clutter I could feel my heart tighten...I knew what I needed to do...

This may sound crazy to you but when I am so over the top unwilling to even crack a smile I know what I NEED...I need to put some of my favorite tunes on and CLEAN!

Yep!
Clean!

There are few things more rewarding to me than an orderly,  fresh-smelling home. And while I am sweeping, mopping and putting things away I am thinking. I am submersing myself and connecting to my Heart. It's one of the few times in my week when I don't check my phone, stop by the computer, sit down to watch a favorite show. 

I just clean.
And think.

I have had some of my best ideas while scrubbing the toilet!

What My Heart Told Me

During my Scrub Fest I heard my Heart tell me I need to bust out of a rut. It is the New Year after all and I have Big Dreams to Dream, goals to reach, blog posts to write! I thought about what NEW Challenges I have started and what practices I want to keep in 2016. There are quite a few...maybe almost too many...and yet this is the year I want Grow and CONNECT to people, to my art, to my body...to my Big Dreams. 

Today's Challenge

This weekend take a few hours to break out of your rut. Try something NEW...Find something NEW! Sometimes it's just fun to Google a new art technique or head over to YouTube and watch a few videos. Here are MY NEW Challenges for 2016...I am so excited to try them all!!


Here is what I am working on for their January Challenge...Time Flies.



His Kingdom Come
I have been a member of this faith-based group for a year but never participated in their challenges. My intention this year is to complete each monthly challenge and post on their site. Shonna is a wonderful leader! If you want to enrich your relationship with God I encourage you to check this out!

52 Card Pick Up

My cousin actually told me about this and I loved it! A fun and very easy challenge creating ATC's (I am using index cards) with their weekly prompts. Here is mine from last week...





I have ALWAYS loved lists so it's a natural for me to participate in the Reset Girl's Lister's Gotta List Challenge!!   Cori even has FREE downloads that fit perfectly in your planner or in an art journal. I am using a small journal for my lists...all I need is a pen or marker and I am good! Super simple and VERY do-able!!!

Girls, the bottom line is this...if your Heart is telling you to be creative...then BE CREATIVE. I found mixed-media art 8 years ago...and even thought I DID create...it wasn't much when I look back. I thought about it, I made plans to do it...but I always put something ahead of MY TIME. In the past 2 years I rarely make excuses for my art time...I just DO IT! And this year I am SUPER EXCITED about these challenges...they will hold me accountable to my ART! When we create we become more creative...it's TRUE!!

So take time...find a new challenge to shake it up a bit. Listen to your Heart...scrub a toilet...do whatever it takes to HEAR those Heart Whispers. It will be so worth it!

Monday, January 4, 2016

Journey to the Heart:Just Be and See What Happens

“I have to be alone very often. I'd be quite happy if I spent from Saturday night until Monday morning alone in my apartment. That's how I refuel."
(Audrey Hepburn: Many-Sided Charmer, LIFE Magazine, December 7, 1953)” 


One of the best ways I know to get to the Heart of my Heart is to spend time by myself. Not only is it a time of peace and relaxation but also one of restoration. A time to reflect, to dream, to contemplate on our life. Today's challenge will help you in those ways while having lots of fun, too!



Today's Challenge 

Let's face it...we don't always have time to finish a project. We may go into our studio's, our bedrooms, our kitchen tables...with every intention of working on a project from start to finish. But through the years I have learned that for me, I work best when I have several different projects going at once. And there are many times when I feel creative but don't necessarily want to work on anything tedious like journaling or even putting pages together...I simply want to get messy and let go.

That's where today's Challenge comes from...that idea of just SIMPLY being in your space, favorite tunes on (or not) paint brush in hand....creating.


Circles were make using a shish-ka-bob wooden stick.


We are going to have FUN creating backgrounds in our journals. I have at least three journals going at all times...so on my background days I gesso, paint, stamp at least 2 pages in each book.

Don't you just LOVE all that texture?! It looks so old and beat up! Again I used the shish-ka-bob wooden stick to scrape shapes into the gesso before it dries.

Before you get started you will need....

gesso (if you don't use already you are missing out! Gesso adds strength to your pages and allows lots           of texture!!!)
acrylic paint (just pick a few favorite colors)
stamps
paint brushes (various sizes)
plastic fork
pipe cleaners
bottle caps
palette knife
spray ink
alcohol ink
wooden shish-ka-bob picks or toothpicks
old credit card or motel keys (to spread the gesso and add marks)
water
*anything else that adds texture!


My process is like this...

cover page in gesso using old credit card/motel key
take wooden stick to make marks (circles, lines, zig-zags)
stamp into the gesso with my favorite word or shape stamps


For this page I applied the gesso on thick then stamped Beautiful You into it while still wet.


Before applying gesso to this page I sprayed blue Dylusions ink to page (one squirt) then poured gesso on top of that. Next I took an old motel key and spread the gesso through the ink. I really like how the gesso turned a light blue. Then I stamped into it with a diamond foam stamp (look at top left). I also wrote a few words in the gesso with wooden pick. The orange stencil was already sprayed on page before I started.

Not sure what I will end up doing with this page but I like it!

This page was a mess up at first. But after looking at it awhile I realized it had potential.  I stamped gold acrylic onto the page using an old foam stamp of mine.


During the creating of these backgrounds I let my mind wander. I thought about my goals, ways to better implement them AND I came up with a Big Dream Goal that had been stirring in my heart but I had been too busy to hear!! AMAZING what can happen when you just let go....

Other Things

Last week one of our Face Book girls asked what the best way was to use her new vintage images she received for Christmas. She said they were just too pretty to cut up/use. Kassity this post is for you and anyone else that LOVES vintage images like I do!! I hope these ideas inspire you to start creating!

I bought these LOVELY cards at my local Hobby Lobby...they are from Tim Holtz  I was just like Kassity and could not use them. They are very think first of all, like a card AND the fact I could see myself using them again again...I just couldn't bring myself to use them! So I took the cards that really spoke to me, taped them lightly to a piece of copy paper and made copies...that way I can re-use them over and over!


Here are a few pages to show you what I did with them....You will notice I usually cut the girl out of the background...





And my fave girl...


You can embellish them, color their outfits with water color, add crowns, words...so many uses!!

I use vintage girls in almost all of my art and have found some gorgeous photos! This next set is from Reminscince Magazine. I was fortunate to find dozens of them at a yard sale...all for under a DOLLAR! I took the images I loved, cut them out, put on copy paper and re-use them in everything!


Here are some pages...
 This little peanut reminds me to live with JOY!


How cook is that she just happens to be holding a heart?:)


I also use images from the internet. This one is a girl I found from Woodstock.


There are SOOO many ways you can incorporate these girls into your art! I hope you have enjoyed!!


Thursday, December 31, 2015

Week 4: Lesson 2: 30 Things

"I went skydiving
I went Rocky Mountain climbing
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fumanchu
And I loved deeper
And I spoke sweeter
And I gave forgiveness I'd been denying"
And he said
"Someday I hope you get the chance
To live like you were dying"


-Tim McGraw

When the song "Live Like You Were Dying" came out a few years ago I immediatly ran out and bought the single. I swear I listened to it over and over again until I knew every word by heart. With each word I would think of my sweet Daddy who was taken much too soon by Leukemia. As I write this I am listening to this beautiful song once again and thinking about my life...wanting to make such a beautiful impact on my world in 2016. So many Big Dreams for myself this year.

I am IN LOVE with my Word this year....

CONNECT

to join, link, or fasten together; unite or bind: Informal. to relate to or be in harmony with another person, one'swork, etc.

I want to CONNECT myself to my HEART (and we are working on that through this challenge)....my BODY...my GOD.  I look forward to making CONNECTions with many of YOU through our Mind.Body.Soul FaceBook group. 

Today's Lesson

I want you to think about your life...all of it. From the time you were a little girl to now. What have you accomplished? Where have you been? Where do you want to go next? 


Remember in the movie The Bucket List with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson when they are both dying of cancer and they decide to start making out a Bucket List? I LOVE that movie!! And I bet YOU have thought about your OWN Bucket List, right? 

Take the next few days and answer this question...

If you had 6 months to live...what would be on your Bucket List?


Here are a few things on mine...

Take my family to Normandy France to see Omaha Beach
Throw a huge outdoor party for friends and family
Emma and I go on an art retreat
Take Jacks to the Harry Potter Theme Park 
Write down as many memories as possible

There are 30 in all.
And that's how many things I want YOU to write down, too.


Like tomorrow was a gift
And you've got eternity
To think about
What you'd do with it
What could you do with it
What did I do with it?
What would I do with it?

-Tim McGraw

Monday, December 28, 2015

Week 4-Lesson 1: What's Your Word?

“The chief beauty about time
is that you cannot waste it in advance.
The next year, the next day, the next hour are lying ready for you,
as perfect, as unspoiled,
as if you had never wasted or misapplied
a single moment in all your life.
You can turn over a new leaf every hour
if you choose.” 
― Arnold Bennett


I absolutely LOVE new beginnings. Mondays, the start of a new month...there is something about a FRESH start that fires me up. And this Friday is the beginning of a whole new YEAR! And not just any year, mind you. 

I
turn
FIFTY
in
2016!!

So I MUST do something BIG, right? Follow my Heart! Reach my Goals! Live like there is no tomorrow!

For the past ten years or so I have chosen ONE WORD to act as my Guide throughout the year...a compass to keep me on track and remind me of where I want to go. Some of my past have Words have been...

Possibilities
Reinvent
Story
True
Move

My Word last year was COMMIT. My intention with that Word was to actually STAY committed to my weight loss goals, art goals and house goals. What ended up happening was unexpected but in the very best way possible!! Even though my weight is still on (ugh, I have gained, too) and my house isn't anywhere NEAR organized (although I DID clear out quite a bit) and I never got around to sending in that album I created for Somerset Studios (THIS YEAR!) what I DID Commit to and STICK with was finding the very best place for my girl. Anasazi proved to be the guiding force in our life that has healed us and made us whole again. My girl has PEACE in her Heart and plans for an outstanding future!!

My Word for 2016

This year I thought long and hard about my Word and was CERTAIN I had it picked out! The Word JOY kept coming up...actually it has come up throughout 2015 and has become my secondary Word this year!! I have tried to implement JOY in my Heart daily (not always succeeding!) so I thought I would just extend JOY into 2016. 

But
then
as 
ALWAYS
happens...

I decided to brainstorm Word ideas cause the more I thought about JOY the more I wanted to be SURE. I take this One Word thing VERY seriously! So I created a list of Words...

Consistent
Heart
Receive (I ALMOST chose this one)
Joy
Alive
Connected
Awake
Present
Open
Perservere

And then it HIT me!!

What do I want this year?

More friendships
Closer to my husband
Really listening to my Heart when it comes to my Art
Closer to my Mama
More writing
Etc....

I want CONNECTIONS...

to my Heart
my Art
Friends
Dave
Mama

My Word for 2016 is 

CONNECT

I have let that sit with me for a week now and the more I think about it the more excited I get!!

YOUR Challenge this week

If you haven't all ready...take out your journals and start listing Words that resonate with you. Think about what you want MORE of. Go back to your collages from a few weeks ago and LOOK at what you gathered on your page...here was mine again...



By the end of the week try to have your 2016 Word picked out and ready to create with!! 

And remember to join me here Thursday for our second Challenge of the week. 

Thanks for being here girls!!!

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Living Authentically-Journey to the Heart

The most exhausting thing you can do is to be inauthentic.  -Anne Morrow Lindbergh

My Life Lately

The closer we get to Christmas the crazier my life is becoming. The world is spinning and spinning and me right along with it. Between my kid's oral surgeries a few weeks ago, a bout of strep, a specialist visit for my daughter (she has serious tummy issues), an unplanned trip to St. Louis (in like an hour), another surgery this Tuesday (very minor but still)...good grief there is NO time for anything. Oh and THEN on the 23rd we leave for Omaha for two days then back by Christmas to spend with my Mama. The 27th is my son's 21st Birthday then he is BEST MAN is his BEST FRIENDS wedding January 2nd...and of course we are going to that, too and it's several hours away.

WHEW!!!! I am worn out just thinking about it all.

But you know what is keeping me sane in all of it? My family. My art. My Savior Jesus Christ. I am so blessed and GRATEFUL for living my life!!! Thought I would share a few projects I have been enjoying in between our hectic lives...

I started keeping a planner last summer and LOVE it!! I have ALWAYS had a planner and loved it but had not jumped into the planner craze until I found this Happy Planner from Me and My Big Ideas. It's a weekly ritual and one I look forward to!! I use my planner mostly for memory keeping.




In October my family gave me a Bible Journal and after being scared half out of my wits to try it I finally got around to it!! This is my second page...


What Bible Journaling does for me is allows me to take a COMPLETE quiet break from the crazies and just submerse myself in His Word. I LOVE it and look forward to this time with the Lord in 2016.

My studio is a MESS...


...and this is just one small part of it. You do NOT want to see the rest of it...lol. Stuff is everywhere!!! But I am creating and that's what is important!! Making time for ART is time well spent, girls!!!! Just get in your studios, on the kitchen tables, in your bedrooms...wherever you create and do it!!!:)


Today's Challenge

So today I want you to take all those words and quotes and whatever else you may have found while looking at magazines and books and put them into an ABUNDANCE COLLAGE. What do you want MORE of in YOUR life? What good, amazing, beautiful things do you want to FILL up your Heart with??


I love my collage!! Especially the picture of the younger woman with the older woman. It reminds me of the ME I want to ALWAYS be and the ME I could turn into (or DO turn into) when I am not living Authentically and listening to my Heart.



Girls...I wanted to share the rest of the Path of Water with you but time has gotten away from me. I need to shower then we leave for St. Louis. It's a 6 hour trip one way and we are making it QUICK. Coming back later tonight!!

You ALL are so important to me!! THANK YOU for being here!!

Monday, December 14, 2015

Journey to the Heart:Week Three-Path of Water

"There was no abundance in my Soul because my well had run dry." -Good Buffalo Eagle, The Seven Paths





Girls, my Heart is so FULL seeing all of you participating and sharing your journeys with me!!! THANK YOU so very much!!!


Week Three is here!


This week we are on the Path of Water. What in the heck does water have to do with our hearts?? PLENTY:) The following is an excerpt from The Seven Paths...

"Think about water for a moment. Have you ever considered all it does for us? I have learned to walk near water, for beside it the earth springs forth to provide shade and refreshment. I bathe in water, for it cleanses and invigorates the skin. When traveling in dry places, I pack up water to take on my journey. I have learned from dry journeys that deserts can be weathered only by those who are sustained by deep waters. I know the feeling of walking too long without water. I have felt the thirsty fingers of death constricting around my soul. As is common with so much in life, I failed to understand how much I needed water until I was without it."

Think to a time when you were so happy and on top of the world you thought NOTHING could bring you down. There were no worries, no stress, no real struggles that were placed on your Heart. Life was goooooodddddd.

Until it wasn't.

Bills needed to be paid, there was an illness in the family, a death, a lost job, a messy house to clean, children to take care of, an accident, a loss of friendship....whatever the stress was...it weighed so heavy on your Heart. And life was HARD. So hard and unfair. Your thirst for happiness was undeniable but it seemed out of reach. There was a real drought in your Heart. 

That's exactly where I was for years. My Heart was crying out for something to change it...I knew it had become so parched I was scared it was just withering away...and just like the quote I started this post out with...my well had run dry.

Today's Challenge

Our Challenge today is quite fun and relaxing and will continue to help us with our projects in the coming weeks. I hope you enjoy it!

I want you to get cozy in your bed, the couch, your studio...wherever you feel comfy and start flipping through magazines, old books, junk mail, etc and find WORDS and phrases that speak to you and cut them out. These are just a small sample of words I have found in various places. 



99% of the time I don't know how or where I am going to use them...I just know they speak to me and make me think. Many times they motivate and inspire me. 



As you search for these words and phrases I want you to let your mind wander. Think about what's causing a drought in your Soul. What do you need MORE of?



Why not create your own words and phrases for your projects? This is so simple and costs pennies!
These are Word sheets I created on my MAC using words that inspire and touch my Heart. 


I keep word sheets on hand all the time!


Be sure and use various fonts and sizes when making your sheets...so FUN!

I use a gallon size Zip-loc bag to keep my cut-out words in...it's so inspiring when you have a full bag to sift through when working on projects!! 

Girls, I LOVE that you are here!! Join me Thursday for our next Challenge and find out how Water is not only for refreshing our bodies but healing our Hearts.


Thursday, December 10, 2015

Letting Go (Week 2, Lesson 4)

"One way or another we all have to find what best fosters the flowering of our humanity in this contemporary life and dedicate ourselves to that."  -Joseph Campbell


It's Week Two of our "Journey to the Heart" Challenge. It warms MY Heart to see so many of you sharing in our FB community!! I want to shay THANK YOU for watching my first video...not sure it was the best way to present Monday's Challenge...but I enjoyed sharing it with you!! Thanks for the feedback, too.:)

In case you didn't want to take 23 minutes to watch it (it's ok if you didn't) I am sharing photos of my Truth Cards and Beautiful Moment Cards...

An example of a Truth Card...remember this is just a simple 4x6 index card cut in half and decorated.


TRUTH CARDS



Another one only this time using a manila tag from Ranger...




BEAUTIFUL MOMENT CARDS


My Beautiful Moment Cards are all on Project Life Cards...you can purchase a pack of 50 for less than 5 bucks at most craft stores.

Here is the back of one of my cards...


And now the front...using alphabet stamps...


And now using my own handwriting...


More decorated Beautiful Moment Cards...






ANGER IS A WHAT?

If you take a good long look at what's in your heart and try to assess why it's so hard to hear it (because let's face it...many times it's EXTREMELY hard to hear anything good coming from it) I am going to say it's because you are holding on so tight to anger and bitterness. And when we REALLY stop to think about anger and bitterness...it's truly just a secondary emotion. 

Yep.

You heard me...
ANGER IS A SECONDARY EMOTION.

I truly understood this just a few short months ago from our amazing Shadow (counselor) from Anasazi...Sulay. Did I say she was AMAZING? Oh my I could write a whole, big, long blog post about her!!

Anyways...Sulay was the one who introduced me to this idea of anger being a secondary emotion. Think back to a time when you were MAD. Now forget the anger and start listing what you were TRULY feeling...Let me give you an example...

For years I had been so angry at a loved one in my life for their poor (possibly dangerous) behavior. When I truly began looking at my anger towards this person and started listing what I was feeling besides anger it looked like this...

*fear
*resentment
*disappointment
*tired
*embarrassed
*hopeless
*drained
*worried

And ALL those feelings...those were just things I DIDN'T want to feel so I just felt ANGER...it was easier to express that. I mean who honestly wants to feel hopeless? For me that meant long bouts of crying and I didn't want that. I HID behind my ANGER. Which, in turn, hardened my Heart so I couldn't hear it anymore. I didn't want to. Hearing meant feeling.

It's time to recognize that anger in your hearts...see it for what it REALLY is and start letting go....


TODAYS CHALLENGE


Create an art journal page about Letting Go of your anger...your fears...all the stuff that's holding you back from HEARING YOUR HEART. Make a list, write a journal entry...get it ALL out so you can MOVE FORWARD!!


Please share your work in our FB group if you can!! 

Monday, December 7, 2015

Journey to the Heart: Lesson Three-Truth Cards & More

So I tried something new today...I created a video. Oh boy...it's long and I apologize...lots to learn but I truly wanted to share in another way:)

Click here for the video (it's in my FB group!!)

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Journey to the Heart Lesson Two: What I Like About Me

"Begin where you are..work where you are...the hour which you are now wasting, dreaming of some far off success may be crowded with grand possibilities."  -Orison Swett Marden


I have so LOVED seeing all your art work this week with our first challenge!! Each of you has had a unique spin on the challenge and I am so inspired!!

More of the Story

As my life continued to get messier, the challenges bearing down hard on me...I withdrew not only from my family and friends but myself. I ceased seeing anything good in myself. Whatever Light I had...was gone.

In my last post I shared the following from Anasazi... 

"We who lose the light within have lost our way....Does YOUR Heart Walk FORWARD in the Light?"

I had lost my way. And friends let me tell you...as I am sure most of you have experienced or are in the midst of experiencing right now...once we lose our way...it's nearly impossible to see the Light...agreed?

Think back to a time sweet girls when your Soul felt Light. During those dark years I would go back to the moment my children were born...the day I married my sweet husband or Holiday memories from my childhood. I had to be reminded of what Light even looked like!

"As great as is the Light above us, greater by far is the Light within. The outward Light is but a reflection of the inner." -The Seven Paths


Today's Challenge

Grab a piece of paper and start listing 50 things you LOVE about YOU. 

Yes I said 50.

I know that may seem like too much. After all if you are right in the middle of darkness...it's so very hard to see the Light. But believe me as you start thinking about what you really LOVE about yourself and WRITE THEM DOWN...more will come. The longer your list goes...the more Light will be let in.

After you have your list (if you write down more than 50...use them, too!! You ROCK!!) take out your art journal and begin creating a page with your list. Here is my page...




In my typical fashion I had to use a girl that represents me...I chose a hippie girl from Woodstock:). Instead of journaling directly on the page I took 5 journal cards and randomly added my "Likes".




Some of the things on my list include...

My eyes
Optimistic
I admit when I 'm wrong
I love to decorate to make my home cozy
I give good hugs
Always choose JOY
My love of all things retro




“When the heart speaks, the mind finds it indecent to object.” 
― Milan KunderaThe Unbearable Lightness of Being