Happy Valentine's!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's day. Even if you did not have a significant other to celebrate with, I hope you did something good for yourself.

I found heart shaped card stock at Michael's craft store. They had a pink cord attached at the top of each one. This way they can be hung up. They also have slits in the card so you can fold the sections outward. When you bend those areas & hang it the breeze will make the cards spin around. One side is a bit waxy or slick so the micron I used was the brush pens.

Two weeks before Valentine's day I gave my class a Valentine project. The class was able to create on both sides of the cards. Here are the views of both sides of the card. You can click on the images to see them larger.

                                   Finished on 2/10/13

Where the patterns change is where the slits are in the cards. I showed how the pink string looks that come on the cards. I hope you enjoy seeing my example from my class!

Enriching our lives through uncovering pathways!

What's in your tool box?

This is a new series I will be posting on.
  
Topic for today is self-esteem.

How do you rate your level of self-esteem? Would you say it is great, good, fine, low or nonexistent? Maybe you don't even think about it. Anyone working on recovery needs to access their level of self-esteem. Most people with drug or alcohol addictions have poor self-esteem, as do people with mental health challenges.

People with good self-esteem have more confidence & are happier.   Good self-esteem is an empowering tool. It provides strength. When we feel good about ourselves, we can work through challenges in our lives much easier. Why?  We have confidence that we can overcome or work through things, we deserve good things in our lives, we are worth it. 

When people work on recovery, with each step we develop better self-esteem, which in turn strengthens are resolve to over come our challenges. One feeds the other, back & forth. Many people with drug & or alcohol addiction are "using" to escape. They do not feel good about themselves. As they begin to work on recovery it is important for them to celebrate each step along that path. Here comes self-esteem, building their strength.

Whether you have any of these challenges or not, self-esteem is important. I have a short exercise for you. I created this form a few years ago. You can get creative & create your own if you'd like.

I use this when working with people on building self-esteem. Some people have sat & looked at this saying they had no strengths. If you find yourself saying this, then start by using what your friends say they like about you. If you have poor self-esteem start each new line with "I am". Some examples > I am friendly. I am a good listener. I am a great cook.

You do not have to fill up all 10 lines right away, but I hope you do. Plus you can keep going, adding as many things as you feel are important to describe your strengths. Post this on the wall where you can see it everyday, especially if you need to improve your self-esteem. Be creative, type it up & frame it. As your self-esteem grows, keep this list growing.

When I was growing up, we were taught not to talk about ourselves in these ways. We were told "that is being conceited or having a big head". Basically, good girls don't talk like that. Then as I got older, someone told me "I need to toot my own horn because I am the only one that knows the tune". Wow, what a different message! Now I toot toot! I learned to let go of that old negative message. It hindered my self-esteem & did not serve me. Tooting my own horn does not mean that I am conceited or my head is to big.

                      Now to share a few mandalas I created. 
                 You can click on the picture to enlarge them.
                                I did this one on 12/6/12.

                          I did this one below on 12/8/12.

                        I did this one below on 12/6/12.
                    I used Micron pens in black & sepia.

Thank you for letting me share with you. Toot your own horn & tell me what you did on the self-esteem exercise. I would love to hear what you think about it. Feel free to comment about anything on my blog.

            Enriching our lives through uncovering pathways!