After being Inspired to Declutter, last week, we had a Family Decluttering Session, over the weekend.  Not that all the kids were overly inspired to participate but they did help us with clearing out the tops of their wardrobes. 

David and I decided to choose just a couple of areas which could be cleaned out ~ I am notorious for getting inspired by a project and going all out with it.  David’s wisdom (and previous experience) tempered that for me and we only worked on a selection of areas.  We had to do all the tops of the wardrobes because we needed all the space to put things back.  We have almost no storage area in our house as we are built on a concrete slab and have cathedral ceilings.

A few hours later, toys and games and junk were strewn across the loungeroom floor.  I called a family meeting and everyone was instructed to vote Yes or No about keeping different things in the piles.  Mostly we cleaned out old board games and jigsaws.  The kids were fantastic remembering their ’special’ keepsakes which had all been stashed into one or two boxes together and therefore beyond my memory of which thing belonged to whom.

After time off for lunch, David, Kels and I popped out to buy 6 large plastic tubs with lids and came home to pack up the ’goodies’ we had decided to keep.  Now they are sitting neatly in the tops of the wardrobes, safe and tidy.  We have 2 large garbage bags of rubbish to throw out and a few tubs of keepsakes for the kids to take with them when they start their ‘independent’ lives.  All in all, a job well done.

But, most importantly, the energy in those areas is Clean and Crisp and Energised.  It’s just like putting the crystals outside for a Full Moon Energy Bath … they come back in sparkling with health and wellbeing.  Now our ‘dark’ corners of the house are experiencing the same thing.  And, WE are feeling better, too!

I spent Saturday at Lovely Norma’s, participating in a SoulCollage workshop.  Basically, SoulCollage is about making your own cards, cards which are created by You and for You.  They are your own personal Oracle Cards.   

Norma spent some time explaining the process, after we’d done a meditation to ‘get in the groove’, then we each chose a magazine picture from a huge stash spread out on her table.  We were to choose one which ‘called’ to us ~ in a positive or a negative way.  Then we had to look at the image, imagine ourselves inside the image and answer the question “I am the one who …”.  Wow!

It’s a bit tricky until you get comfortable with the process but once you are there it’s like asking your own Soul for answers to all your questions.  Definitely working from the Heart Space and hugely authentic!

Basically, the card making process involves collecting images from magazines or the internet, or wherever, and cutting them out to make a collage on a card 5″x8″ in size.  I started with a main image each time I began a new card  then fossicked in my stash of images for others which ‘called’ to me.  And they do ‘call’.  The image and the energy of the card really develops a ‘voice’ and that voice tells you which images to include and whether you are finished with the creation. 

Once the card is made, you go through a question and answer session, asking the card (your Soul) and receiving answers from the card (your Soul) about whatever you need to know from that card.  We did a partner exercise asking these questions and it was profound.  It was like going through a journey where I connected with the card, was given gifts from the card, then knowledge, then acceptance.  I learned about Nurturing Myself by listening to my Heart.  It was incredibly Empowering.

And, boy!  Norma knows how to nurture us!!!  We had lots of time to make our cards, with lovely morning tea provided to sustain us ~ SoulCollage uses a LOT of energy ~ then we had lunch of vegatarian food cooked and prepared with LOVE (we even had champagne flutes as our water glasses!!), followed by dessert delivered to us while we went back to card making.    The scrumptious dessert was served in a teacup!!!  Ooh La La!  Then, to top it all off ~ and for a bit of a reward (I think of it like that because we had to work really hard right before afternoon tea) we had cake!

We finished the day with asking a question and taking one of Norma’s cards to find the answer.  After quite an emotional partner exercise, I chose to ask an upbeat question ~ How Grand Am I?  Decided I was a bit cocky for doing it, but then decided ‘who cares?’   I Was Blown Away.  Did you know that my Soul told me that I am GRAND IN ALL WAYS?!

Visit Norma’s website and check out SoulCollage (make sure you check out her Gallery, too).  You will Be Inspired!

I Love preparing for NEW things and NEW events.  I Love creating NEW projects for stamping, like this week’s Pot Luck Stamp-A-Stack cards, and NEW ways to inspire things I am already doing.

My recent stamping projects are very reflective of this process.  I have used up a lot of my stash of cards, in recent times, and noticed that, apart from birthday cards, the category in my stash which was most depleted was the ‘miscellaneous’ selection.  They’re the cards I use to Say Hello … or Thank You … or to Acknowledge a Friend.  The next MOTHER EARTH DREAMING workshop is all about Sacred Space and Norma and I will be sharing tips and processes for Decluttering.  As is the way when I am planning a workshop, the process is one which I seem to have to actually participate in, too.  Very appropriate at the moment because I have heaps of stuff in my Stampin’ Stash which really needs to be used up ~ so there is plenty of space for the NEW product available in the Autumn Winter Mini Catalog arriving in April!

I decided to create a bunch of ‘Pot Luck’ cards.  I call them ‘Pot Luck’ because I thought if I was offering a workshop for this project we would use whatever Designer Series Paper was in my stash, regardless of whether it was old or current product.  I chose a layout I liked, the stamp set which coordinated with the paper and Voila!  8 cards, 4 different sentiments, 2 colour combos.  Instant supply of Friendship Cards!

The Cleansing part of life involves sifting through ’stuff’ – physical and emotional – and working out which things need to be ‘decluttered’, which need to be ‘deleted’ (like all the old posts on Joy Express, or all the scrappy bits of paper and cardstock in my Stampin’ Stash), and which can be ‘recycled’ into something purposeful (like new cards from old product, or new ways of seeing old situations).

I LOVE Decluttering!  I’ve decluttered some ’symbolic’ things, this week; things which represent emotional baggage – Very Empowering!  In fact, at lunch yesterday, I gave Lovely Bernie an Archangel Oracle Cards Deck and suggested the ladies all took a card for themselves as the first part of readings over our meal.  My card was “Take Back Your Power” – Woo Hoo!  A timely reminder!  After a while, clutter builds up, in the craft room especially, and I find myself less able to think clearly.  So, a DECLUTTER is called for and, after a flurry of activity, peace and harmony reign supreme … and clear thoughts present themselves again.

Clear space and cleansed energy is the recipe for NEW ideas.  They formulate like seeds germinating in rich soil … they inspire a journey into new areas.  I really, really enJOYed creating one of the projects from UStamp With Love 2010 that I was inspired by at the time, but hadn’t made ~ a Designer Series Paper Card Holder and Matching Note Cards by Jenn Picard.  The process was new and challenging and thought provoking and a little bit complex but also very simple.  The outcome was FANTASTIC!  And, I think I have Fallen in Love all over again with the Pink Flamingo DSP from Stampin’ Up!

The same energy is going into my Angel Business.  This week, a flyer came from my local printing business and I am formulating new business cards.  I have decided to incorporate Fundraising for Charity into my events, to Give Back to Mother Earth and support the Environment and the Animals.  I have 3 one day workshops planned, with fabulous co-facilitators, to take place during the next 6 months, and meetings have been arranged so we can organise content and processes.  I have a wish list of Events to Attend ~ other people’s workshops which interest me and will allow me to access a whole lot of new information and concepts.  And, I have tentative dates for “Michelle Time”  which involve time out, nurturing & pampering sessions, and TRAVEL!

Cleansing and Clearing are a necessary part of Good Health and WellBeing.  They are a constant process … just when you get comfortable with the harmonious space, the cleansing and clearing process seems to need doing again.  I do think that comes from being a craft indulgent person.  LOL.  So, I put on some Fabulous Music, grab my Feather Duster, and dance through the cleansing/clearing/decluttering process ~ knowing I am actively working on Being JOYful!

My Week of Angels has been fabulous ~ as always.   

Lunch was lovely, gentle, inspiring and uplifting.  All of us had great readings, both those we received and those we gave.  And, our meals were Superb!    We are so Blessed to have such a fabulous venue in our local area and I am thrilled that we can support the Eltham Glasshouse, in return.

The key message of my reading, from lunch, is that I am over the worst of the grieving process.  YAY!  It’s amazing just how a little message like that can give you Hope.  I shared with the ladies that a couple of us were grieving, therefore totally not responsible for any outbursts of tears – LOL – should they appear at inopportune moments throughout lunch.  Lots of the messages which came through for all of us, time and again, involved “Divine Magic” and “Positive Energy” and “Worthiness”. 

In the ‘old’ days, before I had folks who are interested in what I am interested in, in my life, I use to struggle so much with being positive and happy, and self worth?  What was that?  Now, I can hang out with like-minded people who are happy to spend time talking about Angels and sharing messages of Love and Hope and JOY.  We really are all Blessed.  It’s so comforting to know that there are a bunch of us out there who think alike!  Each month, when we have Angel Lunch, it’s like meeting a whole lot of new friends, and reconnecting with a whole lot of old friends.  Ahh, Bliss.

So, following on from the messages I received at lunch, I have really started planning my next 6 months of events.  I am very excited!  The first ‘change’ I am incorporating into my schedule is Donations to Charity.  My charity for this period is the World Wildlife Fund.  I was So Excited to be able to send off a donation this week, for over $60!  Woo Hoo!  That money was raised from the Sale of my Handmade Cards (check out the Gallery to see what I’ve been creating) and donations from the ladies at Angel Lunch.  Thank You!

I LOVE what I do!  And, I do what I LOVE!  Woo Hoo!

Today is one of those amazing days where I can indulge in things I LOVE.  I LOVE Stampin’ Up!  I LOVE Angel Events! 

I copied this cute card from the Summer Mini Catalog – Gosh, there are so many great ideas in our catalogs!  I confess to this design ‘doing my head in’, a bit, to start with but I love the end result.  I sent it off to Lovely Jenny who has just signed her first Stampin’ Recruit.  YAY! 

There are lots of things I love about Stampin’ Up!  One which fits really well with attending Angel Lunch, today, is the fabulous energy which ‘pops’ out of the box when I open product I’ve ordered.  I find a HUGE SMILE crossing my face whenever a box arrives from Stampin’ Up!  Being ‘energy sensitive’, I LOVE finding Great Energy to bask in.  It’s really obvious when I receive mail from someone in an emotionally tumultuous state – the mail carries it through to me.  That’s why my cards are always given or posted with Great Deliberation … so only positive and loving energy is attached.

Another thing I love about Stampin’ Up! is the Statement of the Heart:

To Love what we do and Share what we love,

as we help others enjoy creativity and worthwhile accomplishments …

in this we make a difference!

Isn’t that fabulous?!

While I don’t ‘teach’ others about Stamping, I do “Love what we do” and I do “Share what we love” … in the making of my cards, and in the giving of them, too.   I also apply this Statement of the Heart to my Angel world:

To LOVE what I do and Share what I LOVE,

as we Share the Warmth and Strength of Journeys Travelled

Hand in Hand.

Cool, huh?

Living Your Passion involves LOVING what you do; Doing Something which Makes Your Heart Sing.  It’s what comes through Stampin’ Up!  It’s what I share when I “Talk Angels”.  I am Living My Passion.