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!

I am excited to share a fellow CZT's blog.

You may remember that I had created some mandalas for Heal the Love project (you can refer back to that posting 12/31/12). Denyse is the CZT that started the project for all the CZT's to enter. We were not able to send the project to Sandy Hook school. Denyse is in the process of posting all the work on her blog beezen.blogspot.com. Look for the Love Heals event-under construction tab, to view the pieces she received for this event.

Take time to check out her site as she has many really beautiful creations, including the instructions to some patterns she has created & more. There is inspiration to be found there!

I am working on adding other sites (web, blogs) onto my site here for you to be able to find real information, real CZT info, etc. I really want to be sure that you get educated about what real zentangle® is. I hope soon, to learn how to make my site easier to link to these other sites for you. I am a late bloomer in the land of technology.  

I continue to hear more about doodling being substituted, compared inaccurately, even interwoven for zentangle. They are NOT the same. Do not be mislead by all those new titles popping up.  There are so many physical & mental health benefits from zentangle. I have experienced many for myself after taking classes with a CZT. Research is finding these benefits to be true. Researchers continue to investigate & understand just what is happening while being involved with this practice.

 I want to empower you to the fact that even after checking out all the videos, books, web sites, etc. that you will find on zentangle, you will greatly benefit from taking some classes with a real CZT. I started out with a book, then worked up to on-line info. I then sought out a CZT & took classes. It was like magic! The experience was unlike the other options. It was so wonderful, it inspired me to become a CZT. Now I am able to pass on the magic!

Enriching our lives through uncovering pathways!