BRAVE GIRLS CAMP...part three

this is the beautiful and talented kathy wilkins

this is beautiful kathy.s stage

this is her, dancing on her stage...

...and choreographing with daphne.

...and some of her stage hands, sweet mallory and wise therese.

...and her teacher...we lovingly call her grandma!

below, the art she created for us each day speaks volumes for itself...

my all time favorite piece of kathy art was the homemade creme brulee...

it was a sort of "hands on" art number

we each got to torch our own sugary little treat.

{how brave of us...right!}

it didn.t take any bravery at all to eat it all gone however and look for extras.

kathy.s art certainly gave us wings to soar each day!

in my opinion, one of the truest artful ways we knew we were loved at brave girls camp was through our tummies.   honestly.  i am not even kidding when i say that i have never eaten better food in my life...you guys are totally missing out on kathy.s brownies too, i ate them too fast to snap any pictures sorry.

the food alone is a good enough reason to sign up for 

brave girls camp

you can read melody.s blog post about camp....here

cul*ti*vate good food to show love to those around you

BRAVE GIRLS CAMP...part two

what would be your ideal art room?
a place where you could escape into creation...

what would it look like?

what wonderful supplies would fill your special space

so that you could create anything your artful soul desired?

 

 

 

well friends, i lived  my dream last week

the women at brave girls camp are miracle workers i tell ya.
honestly....i never thought a garage, um i mean an "art room", could look so beautiful! {and inviting.  and vibrant.  and inspiring. and. and. and.}

everywhere i turned there was something new to try.  some kind of product or idea i had never even seen or thought of before.  and it was all there just for us!
lately you may have read stories about how art heals...how it saves!
i truly believe this.

photo by jen osborn

the beautiful melody ross shared with us a personal story from her book of life.  a chapter where everything was turned upside down and inside out.
it left her doubting who she was.  what her purpose was.
it made her doubt the "truths" she had always believed in.
sound familiar?
every single woman at brave girls camp could relate to melody.s story in one way or another.  i have yet to meet a woman who has never had a negative thought cross her mind.  who hasn.t had a trial or a backward stumble in life... and with these setbacks come the "lies".
you can call them gremlins
or darkness
or satan
or negative talk from the universe
but lies they are.
melody taught each of us how to combat these "lies" with
truth.
through art, we were able to make tangible tools that we could take home with us to work on and to remind us that we should always focus on the truth.
whether it was a canvas
or a bracelet...

  a book full of truthful letters to ourselves...

a timeline of our lives...

a book for those "rough days"...

full of uplifting reminders...

 to be brave and in the face of adversity...

..."do it anyway"
every minute spent working in our art room was full of fun and creativity and positive energy.  i was surrounded by lovable, accepting, wise women...each delving into the truths about herself...in her own beautifully individual way.
saying over and over...

  say it with me....
"i am brave!"




cul*ti*vate the brave truths about yourself!

BRAVE GIRLS CAMP...part one

looking back on it, i have to giggle a bit... a friend had questioned why in the world i was going to a brave girl "camp"...when i HATE camping.  

brave girl camp was anything but roughin it in the wild outdoors friends.

...for me it was reuniting with two creative soul sisters.

...and adding many more to my family.

{photo by marq via lara.s camera}

...it was being pampered from the very first moment

and knowing you were special and loved.

...it was a contemplative and chattery bus ride to mc.call idaho.

conversations buzzing around me like busy little bees,

each telling their stories of honey and hives.

...it was a collective commitment to gather all our worries

...and toss them to the birds for the week.

{photo by the talented maria}

...it wasn.t hard to spot the serene place we would call home for the next 

five days.  twinkling lights and jar captured candlelight lit our pathway.

a hug from a different beautiful brave girl for each forward step we took.

i felt a bit like "charley" when he very first stepped into the "chocolate factory",

my eyes glazed wide in unbelief at the magic that was created just for us!

...there was family and friends and sisterhood 

gently and lovingly stitched into every tender seam.

 ...it was time to rest our souls.

...and we did feel safe.

...as we embarked on a deliciously brave new journey.

...to

fill

our

lives

with

love

in

bravery!

{my heart is overflowing with affection for this place where women can come to find their 

own individual path.  to sum it up in one blog post just wasn.t going to do it justice.  please indulge me 

as i string my tales of bravery out over the next few days.  i promise you will want to return

... and by the end of my story you will be begging to know where you too, can sign up to be so brave}

cul*ti*vate a space in your heart to listen to the truth

soaking in it...

home from mc.call, idaho

safe.

sound.

satisfied.

soaking it in.

stay tuned for details.

xo

chrissy

flying to bravery.....

i.m off to be brave with a heaping handful of courageous women

in the beautiful cool mountains of idaho today.

i am sure i will have

 bold

 daring

 fearless

 hardy

heroic

valiant

 adventurous

 tales to share with you all next week.

...

while i.m away

so something undaunted

then tell me all about it.

i can.t wait to compare our stories.

xo

cul*ti*vate bravery

an anniversary of gratitude...

6 years ago today, my dear sweet mom took her last breath.

it was a surprise to all who knew and loved her.

carolyn ann spurrier  early 1960's

in the days between her passing and her funeral, 

i flew to utah to be by my heartbroken dad.s side.

they were high school sweethearts right up till the very end.

october is always a beautiful time in utah.  

the changing leaves make the mountains look like they are on fire 

and the air is crisp, the evenings cool.

together my dad and i harvested my moms pumpkins from her garden

and set them up on her front porch with hay bales and scarecrows...

just like she would have done.

it was such a tender experience to participate in with my dad.

my mom was thee queen of holidays.

she loved them.  every single one. 

she decorated to the hilt. 

and always made sure that family & friends fully participated in the fun.

she could throw a mean party that amazing woman could.

she had such a funny sense of humor too.

for example...

every year she was the easter bunny the whole day, even while she baked.

check out her fluffy tail...she cracks me up.

you gotta love a lady who rolls through holidays with such reckless abandon.

my mom carried this wonderful attribute into her daily life...

with everything she did.  every word she spoke.  every life she touched.  

i am grateful from the top of my head to the tips of my toes to be her daughter.

her only daughter.

i am grateful once again, to be in beautiful utah
with my dad on this anniversary.

as i am getting stronger year by year, i have decided to place a focus on this day.

today, amidst so many other tender blessings she brought to my life...

i am especially grateful that she taught me how to play.

how to enjoy life.

how to grab the hands of others around me ,

and bring them into the celebration of this existence. 

and

how to smile that contagious smile 

through every little tinsy tiny step of the journey.

thank you mom!
i miss you!

cul*ti*vate a playful attitude for life.