alis volat propiis

One of my traveling destinations earlier this year lead me to a weekend that had a huge impact on my life. I went there to learn how to art journal, paint, tool leather, meet new friends and eat promised gourmet goodies. I went to Brave Girl Camp in the beautiful mountains of Idaho. Yes, Idaho. I was expecting potato fields! Honestly, I mostly went to learn how to make the very cool leather cuff bracelets that were advertised as a mini class on the camp information page! Brave Girl Camp turned out to be so much more than art techniques and good food. I got so much more out of it than a leather bracelet. The art journal prompts were designed to encourage us to dig deep and examine the things in our lives that might be holding us back from realizing our full potential as artists. As women. As human beings. It occurred to me that we are really all artists in the sense that we are always designing, dreaming and creating our own journey. To me, the question is, are we impressionists or are our lives original works of our own imagination. After my weekend revelation I decided that I am much more interested in originality! And bravery.  Brave Girl Camp is part of an amazing on-line community of thousands of incredible women. 

                               It is called Brave Girls Club.

Brave Girls Club is the brain child of two sisters, Melody Ross and Kathy Wilkins. It is designed to encourage women and girls to move beyond fear, negative experiences and insecurity in order to find peace and confidence. Brave Girls is not a religion based community. It is a sisterhood of women supporting women. I met Melanie, Kathy and many of the staff members at camp and I can tell you that they are authentically some of the most compassionate dedicated women I have ever met. The results of my trip? Life-long friendships with some very talented loving women and a new attitude! Alis Volat Propiis!  

" She flies with her own wings." In other words, shed the expectations, roles, labels and definitions of self worth that others have clothed us in and discover the beauty of who we are and what we can accomplish in our own skin. To see just how far and high we can fly with our own wings! Exciting, right? Check out Brave Girls Club on-line by following this link. www.bravegirlsclub.com. I love the Daily Truth e-mails available to  sign up for called "A Little Bird Told Me" These are great little reminders of just how valuable we each are. There are also daily truths and encouragement for girls called "A Little Butterfly Told Me".The website has even more to offer with on-line workshops, art projects and  even mother-daughter classes to list a few. Check it out because, seriously, who couldn't use a little nudge or some encouragement from time to time!

 Now, I am off to my craft studio to prepare for a fun announcement that I plan for tomorrow. Stay tuned!