Art Therapy 2015 - Lesson One: Vision Board

 I hinted to a new adventure that I wanted to take on for the new year and today I wanted to share with you what it is. Over the last 10 plus years I have always made resolutions that I never followed through on. Losing weight was always at the top of that list. Several years I made it to my "goal weight" but found that I still felt fat. I realized this year that what I needed to do was work on what was going on in my brain and on how I felt about myself regardless of what size I am.

There is another part of me that misses working and as a licensed therapist I miss that part of my life so dearly. In the past I ran several art therapy groups with at risk teens. It was amazing to watch how hard core they were when they entered the door and to see the layers just shed off through some of the exercises we did.

I have also been a scrapbooker or memory keeper as some will call us now for over a decade. I have noticed though that since starting the Project Life I scrapbook less about my feelings and thoughts than I did in the past. I do love PL don't get me wrong. I love watching how our lives have changed week to week and having a little one its a super way to chart her growth and watch how she reached her milestones. I do miss the other stuff though.

So I had the idea to marry all of these things to create a new adventure for this year. I decided to start an Art Therapy Journal and I would like you to join*. I want to push myself this year to become the healthiest that I have been, not just in the physical sense but in the emotional as well.

 So, what is this Art Therapy Journal going to entail you may be asking yourself. So, once a week I will post a challenge centered around helping you to find personal growth and to discovery yourself in a way that (hopefully) will push you beyond your limits. The end results will be a year full of challenges focused on you. I mean, I am sure you are the last person you ever think of (I see you nodding yes).

What I am working in:
Over the years I have noticed that I am a 8.5 x 11 girl. I love this size and I find it hard to work in any other size. At Michael's I found a super deal on some Smashbook (3 ring binder) that I purchased on clearance for $2 plus I had a coupon on Black Friday which means I nearly got it for free. Win Win. I Modge Podged some book paper that I had (its a Lady and the Tramp book so you will see the word Tramp all over which makes me laugh hysterically) all over it. I also added some pattern paper from who knows where and some wood numbers that I got from one of my PL Studio Calico Kits (no clue which one). So there you have it. My book. My place to store all things me. The good. The bad and the progress.

 Assignment One:

Make your 2015 Vision Board.

If you have ever watch the movie "The Secret" then you are no stranger to what a Vision Board is. A vision board is literally a visual item where you place all that you want in your life. The purpose is to place it somewhere where you can see it daily and see yourself already having these items. The theory of the law of attraction is that what you put out into the universe is what you will get back. In other words, if you are miserable all the time and negative only negative things will be attracted to your life. 

Back in March 2010 I was single and had been for quite some time. I was sad and felt like "the one" was never going to come around. I met a few guys, but they were all about playing the "game" rather looking for anything real. I remember coming across the movie "The Secret" late one night when I could sleep on Netflix. It was 4 am. I had been crying my eyes out. I felt deflated. Lost. Alone. So I watched. It completely changed my life. I went out right away (my local CVS was open 24 hours) and made my vision board that day. I wrote that I wanted to be married, pass grad school, travel, I wanted to start a family, I wanted to lose weight and I wanted to publish a book. 

I was exhausted and I went to bed. When I got up I joined Match.com. Two weeks later I went on a date with a guy named Gilbert. We got married Two years later and we now have one baby girl. I graduated with my Masters degree in Social Work and before the vision board I had not been on a plane since I was 12. After I added that I wanted to travel I have been on 20 flights (2 countries and several states). Its amazing how it worked for me. So I know firsthand the power of positive thinking. 

Join me on this journey. Along the way we will have a giveaway or two and some fun.

I would love to see your visions for 2015. Link me to them in your comments.

*please note that there will not be any actually therapy just challenges that you will do on your own.