Make it Monday // Printable Positive Affirmation Cards

I've been working hard this year on being more mindful.  Part of that is meditating and releasing negative energy I always seem to have around myself.  I'm always down on myself, stressed, moving too fast - part of being mindful is being aware of and living in the present.  I've tried to adopt things that can allow me to be more positive and let things go. 

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A few weeks ago I shared how I made a few Mantra Vision Boards for my Vision Planner.  This week I thought I needed something more positive to go along with my morning meditations....something that I could pull from to remind me that I am enough.  I'm already using Tarot Cards (my current favorite deck is this one and my new obsession is this one) to tap into some positivity and be aware of what energies I should expect through my day.  A positivity card would allow me to focus on a degree of my muchness as the Mad Hatter would say.  Enter a DIY.

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supplies // printable affirmation PDF files, laminator, printer, printer paper, laminating sheets, paper trimmer

Begin by printing the 6 PDFs on the front of your chosen paper.  I chose regular weight printer paper as I often do when I am going to laminate something like this.  Following your printer's instructions for double sided printing, print the constellation image on the back of each page.  This will give you something that resembles a true deck of cards.

Laminate the pages using 3 mil laminating sheets and trim to size.  Each card measures 3 inches by 3 inches.  I specifically made this project with out using my cutting machines because I wanted it to be something accessible to all.  It is super quick to make these and trim by hand.  Sometimes that's all you really, really need in life!

There are more than 30 of these cards so you can pull one a day for a month.  You can also use the Mantra Vision Board DIY to make your own affirmation cards.  Choose your own quotes and your own affirmations to make this a personal experience.  Make a set of 52 to choose one each week or make a set of 31+ to pull one a day each month.  If you're really ambitious make 365!

I have added this deck to my personal altar.  A place I come for solitude, meditation, and some quality me time.  My altar isn't an altar to any deity or god, it is an altar to the person I want to become.  It is an altar to my best self!

I hope these affirmation cards give you some positive vibes through the days and weeks you use them.  Please let me know if you make them!

How do you stay positive?  How to do you get rid of negativity?

xoxo, Moe

Fortune Favors the Brave // On Sharing Stories

I love my life, I regret none of my choices...the challenges I have faced & the choices I have made to overcome them have made me who I am today.

I regret nothing.

Yesterday I had a guest post up over on the Sole Sisters Film website about how a pair of cheap-o sandals got me to where I am today.  The Sole Sisters Film is a documentary focused on women's lives based on the stories their shoes would tell of them.  Their site outlines ways you can volunteer, read stories, share your own, & learn more about the film maker.  When I was approached to do this I thought about how wonderful an opportunity this would be to connect with others! If you've been around here on Five Sixteenths for long you may know that I am interested in how we as humans interact with each other & how, even though we may feel alone, we are more like others than we are different.  I am so passionate about this that this idea is reflected in my Artist Statement.  I was amazed at how the stories our shoes may share about us to help each other learn that we are not alone.

I shared insight on how a specific pair of cheap-o sandals got me to where I am today: feeling successful as a post grad even though I am not in the traditional sense successful.  I know I talk a lot about how I feel my journey post grad is going for me & I do hope you aren't getting tired of it!

The other day I put in my notice that in 3 weeks I will be leaving my current job & heading up north.  Something utterly terrifying.  But then I remembered this quote that I found through miss Kaelah's blog:

picture from my Lake Trip 2012, edited in Instagram, text added in Phoster

Fortune favors the brave.  I have always believed that once you take charge of the things you can control you will be successful & proud of yourself.  I've been stressing for the past month or so over jumping into starting a business.  I've had loads of help from others who are doing or have done the same & wish that one day I will be able to help out someone else going through the same journey.  Before Zach left, I filled out an interest form online for small business help in the new state I'll be moving to.  Tuesday I got a call from them following up on my interest form.  It was so nice to hear a kind voice on the other end telling me that they do this all the time (get people straight for starting their own business) & she'd like to set up a meeting.  After I told her that I wouldn't be in town until at least August, she told me she'd send me some info & that she'd love to meet with me when I moved.  This short conversation made me feel so relieved.  Perhaps, I thought, my dreams would be realized.

I've always told people to do one thing (with in reason) a day that scares you.  Lately I've been doing a thousand things a day that scare me & have seen how brave I've become.  Fortune comes when you shed your fears & try.  It is only through trying & failing that we succeed.  Ever tried. Ever Failed. No Matter.  Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

Over a year ago I packed up my bags & headed to a town where I'd be sleeping on a friends couch for the first few weeks or so.  It was a challenge I accepted months in advance.  I interviewed as many weekends as I could & finally landed an ok job.  I wrote in my Sole Sisters post about feeling like a failure after realizing that I couldn't meet the financial burden of moving on my own.  But if it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you. I am excited to put one foot in front of the other & challenge myself in order to learn more about myself.

I am excited to see where this adventure takes me & I hope I can remember all the shoes that have gotten me there when I get there, where ever there is.

In this past week I've hit some speed bumps, road blocks, & shed some tears...but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? Hopefully it will all turn out for the best.

If you'd like to, I'd love to hear how you've felt successful or how you've dealt with challenge or change.  I'd love to share in your experiences!

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Things to Remember // Advice I Give Myself

Things are going to change in my life over the next few months.  Some I am in total control of & somethings I am not.  I am hoping to jump deeper into blogging, into handmade, & into another project here soon.  So, today (this week, this month, the rest of the year!) I need to remember:

purchase print from here {EMIGES shop}

It's super important to realize that the only thing holding you back from doing what you want is YOU!  I can't get past my nervousness or the fact that I feel I am not qualified to do the things I try to do.  There are so many people out there who know more right? Who am I to say that I am up to their level?

The fact is that we all started out as amateurs! Everyone picked up a pencil for the first time.  Every artist started somewhere.  Well, I've decided that the start for me will be 2012.  I have to keep this saying in mind too!

I've got some goals I need to write out & put down.  Even though I am not sure where to start, I know I have to.  I'm going to keep in mind the posts from last year's Goal Week in mind as I go through this year!

What expectations do you have for yourself this year?

Hello Monday

So since I have switched to using just one blog, I thought I'd still keep some features from Cross My Hooks onto Five Sixteenths.  Mainly the 'Hello Monday!' posts.

I think it's good to start off a Monday with a quote.  Something the chew on while you're going through the week.

source

Truth!

Taking risks is a big part of life.  Not only do you have to decide whether to look stupid or not, but you have to choose whether you are willing to fail or not.

So this week, my goal is to choose to look stupid & to be willing to accept failure.

Without these, how do we grow?

Side Note:

My last day of my first real people job was yesterday.  I am now only working one job 4 days a week.  I am hoping to make blogging, art/crafts, etsy a second job.  So far, Mondays are looking brighter!

I'd also love it if you have instagram to follow me! I just started! @withlovecrochet (just like twitter!)

What are your goals for the week?

Fully Packed & Waiting

Since I, like I assume like most college students, do not have a car (although nearly everyone I worked with this summer did), I am patiently waiting for my father to pick me up from my last day of being on campus for work.  I am leaving around 11am, which I thought would give me just enough time to pack & stay busy until he arrived. I woke up at 8am & was packed up by 9:30am.  So much for keeping busy.

So for now I am sitting in my bed, still with the sheets on it because I hate naked beds, watching youtube videos.  I've found this one here that I am in love with.  I've posted a few other videos on andyradofman's channel because they are so inspiring!



I love hearing inspiring words spoken by a beautiful voice.  And being alone is something I pride myself in. Well, not the fact of being absent of company, but being able to sit alone by myself.  Most of the time I like being with my thoughts.  I like to hang out with just me because I like to make things & unless I am in the studio its a lot easier for me to do it alone.  If I make things around people sometimes they have the urge to comment or criticize before I've finished & I like to make my own mistakes & fix them myself.  When I am done, then I will ask for an opinion.  Don't get me wrong, I can take criticism & ask for it because criticism is how we progress.  But what I do not like is someone assuming that they know better than I do when they may not understand the process or the reason or even what is actually happening.

My friends think I am weird because I will often go in my room and close the door and just play around for a minute. I'll get online, I'll read for a bit or pick up an old crochet project & then I'll head right back out.  I think myself likes to hang out with me & just me too sometimes :)

I've posted a few videos on Cross My Hooks but I can't find them right now. But go here & here to listen to these awesome songs/poems.

It is now 10:03am....I only have an hour-ish to wait. Boy to I hope that my puppy comes too!

PS. Tempted Tuesdays will be posted later on today when I get home :)