The holidays can be extremely difficult when you are dealing with addiction, abuse, and trauma. It’s the time of year when I need to double down on my self-care efforts. With that in mind here are the very best Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, etc. Deals that I can find! I’ll keep this…
Art Journaling
Creating a Journal Jar with 100+ Prompts
How many times have you just stared at a blank page and not known what to create. Whether you’re writing or art journaling we all get blocked. This is where prompts can be magical. Prompts can be one word, or full sentences. A prompt doesn’t have to be taken literally. It is merely meant to…
Allowing Gratitude to Change Your Physical and Mental Health
When I was 19 years old I was in the passenger seat driving through Oklahoma. After dinner it was a little misty, but we decided to keep driving rather than stop for the night. Suddenly we had to slam on our breaks as our visibility was reduced to no more than 6 feet in front…
Four Compelling Reasons to Keep a Journal
I have found journaling to be an essential part of my healing from betrayal trauma and PTSD. Journals help me to process emotions, organize my thoughts, and keep myself grounded in truth. Let’s be honest, keeping a journal my not sound like the most exciting thing you can do for your healing. For years I’ve…
Serenity Prayer Zentangle Doodle Drawing
What is Zentangle? I have recently discovered and fallen in love with doodle drawings also commonly called Zentangle or doodle drawing. This type of art has been around since the beginning of man, but has recently experienced a resurgence in popularity due to Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas giving it the name Zentangle and dictating…
I Am Determined to Rise- Choosing my 2019 Word of the Year
Last year I decided to skip the resolutions…ok who am I kidding…every year I skip the resolutions. Instead I did something new. I chose a focus word of the year. My 2018 word of the year was Enough, and you can read about it in this blog post. As I have focused on this word…
I Am Broken and That Makes Me Beautiful
Have you ever heard of the Japanese art of Kintsugi? Artists will take a broken piece of pottery and repair it with a special lacquer that is dusted with silver, gold, or platinum. The broken piece becomes even more beautiful as the precious metals gleam through the seams which were once broken. Kintsugi is a…
Getting Started with Art Journaling
Recently, as part of my healing from betrayal trauma, I have started an art journal. Now I don’t work in it nearly as often as I’d like, but such is life as a mom of young children. It has definitely been a hugely therapeutic thing for me. I’ve shed tears more than once while creating….
My 2018 Word of the Year- Enough
A new year is a time for resolutions. I’ll be honest, I haven’t made one in years because I know I won’t manage to do it perfectly and I really don’t need one more thing in my life to feel like a failure about. Yep, that’s right, I often feel like a failure. You may…
I am an Artist: Breaking The Chains of Fear and Self Doubt
I have always had a love for art. Museums were far more enjoyable for me than most of my peers. A beautiful photograph or painting made me want to just stop and stare. I never created though. I was not an artist. An Unintended Art Lesson When I was in Kindergarten my teacher had…