CELEBRATE YOURSELF - A CREATIVE SELF CARE JOURNALING TUTORIAL
indulge in 15 minutes of creative self care
CELEBRATE YOURSELF ON THE PAGE WITH THIS MINDFUL CREATIVE JOURNALING TUTORIAL
This is all about celebrating yourself and creating a simple reminder for times when you might experience a little self doubt (because we all do and that’s ok!) Art making and journaling is my go-to for self care and healing in times of stress, anxiety or self doubt.
For me, creative journaling is about story-telling - remembering, documenting and reflecting - this tutorial encompasses all of these.
(I’ll share the story behind my journal page but you can skip straight to the tutorial below if you wish).
the story behind my journal page
This journal page came into being after I had a particularly wakeful night with my newborn. As a new Mum struggling to settle her I was aware of the self doubt lurking on the outer edges of life - so I decided to do something about it and turned to my trusted journal.
I reminded myself of a compliment I had received just last week from the maternal health nurse about how my little girl is just thriving - proof that I am doing a good job, evidence to silence the self doubt.
I documented this compliment on the page.
I practiced creative mindfulness to allow my mind to open to reflecting on my feelings in this moment, while finding a message from my heart to take forward and support me in the future. I added a small keepsake to the page - flowers from a bouquet I was given when my daughter was born. This became a small and gentle celebration of myself on the page - no room for self doubt here!
YOUR TURN!
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
Paint
Tape (washi tape or masking tape)
Scraps of paper (from an old book or collage paper)
A ‘found’ object that has meaning to your compliment and celebration
A pen
Background below printed out (optional)
A compliment that you have received lately
step one:
Create your background. Splash a layer or two of paint across your page in the way you enjoy most. If you are new to creative journaling and not sure where to start with creating backgrounds then why not download the background I created here to use as a starting point in your journal.
step two:
Tear some paper into strips, I have used some old brown paper and graph paper, tape them onto the page - anywhere that ‘feels right’.
step three:
Do some mindful mark making.
Allow your mind to become fully present as you mindfully make marks across the page . . . the idea is not to think about this at all . . . just go with what comes to you. For me this time it was small circles at the top and lines at the bottom.
Pay attention though - does your hand move fast or slow, does the pen or pencil make noises as it moves across the page, are you pressing hard or lightly . . . what is happening in this precise moment?
Why mindful mark making?
Evidence suggests that certain areas of the brain can shrink or expand in response to a mindfulness practice! For example, the grey matter in your brains amygdala - the region responsible for stress - can reduce. The grey matter in the pre-frontal cortex - the region responsible for planning and problem solving and emotion control can increase. While the grey matter in the part of the brain called the hippocampus - the region that helps with memory and learning - can also increase with a regular mindfulness practice.
Step four:
Write your compliment/celebration of you close to and across the layers of torn paper. I like to pick out the keyword and write that in a bold way.
Then take a few minutes to journal a short statement about this compliment/celebration. Perhaps it could be why it is important, what you want to remember about this compliment, who said it to you - what is the message you might need to read again in the future?
Tell it to yourself now.
(It will come with clarity now that you are in a calm and open minded state - trust your heart whispers here!)
Step five:
Add a your found object/meaningful item to the page. You can glue it, tape, it, paperclip it depending on what it is.
step six:
Share your journal page with me - especially if you used my background I would love to see how you got creative with it! Just tag me @creative_heart_healer in your Instagram posts and stories and use #creativehearthealer
Let me know in the comments if you enjoyed and found value in this creative self care journaling tutorial and why not share it with a creative friend (using the links to the side or below) who you think would love to create something like this too!