Mantras For Mommas- a guest post and free coloring pages!

I am so to be excited to be able to present this guest blog with you. When I connected with Elly we were eager to find a way to share her work of a specially created a Mantras For Mommas Coloring

Book and Journal and she has generously included 2 pages from the book in this post.
You can download them from here
The following post is by Elly Blanco Rowe... and it embraces so many elements we usually discuss here. I'm excited to see what a perfect fit this is.
Be well and enjoy.

My goodness, as parents we are stressed and stretched beyond belief. We set these unrealistic expectations for ourselves and others. I say we because I have done the same. I grew up believing everything had to be a certain way for the outcome to be perfect. It took me a long time to figure out there is no perfect result.

We raise our children in the best way that we can but at the end of the day our toddlers will still have tantrums at the most inappropriate time our preteens will roll their eyes at us, and our teenagers will leave home to create their life.

Our children grow, and we grow with them.

After starting my coaching business, I knew that I wasn’t alone in thinking I was a horrible mother. I wasn’t alone in believing that I could no longer do for myself because my children came first. My thinking was wrong, but I knew I wasn’t alone in thinking this way.

As I brainstormed the details for my coloring book, Mantras for Mommas, I thought about all the challenging moments we face as women/mothers and all the negative conversations we have with ourselves. I realized that women don’t take time out for themselves to rest and rejuvenate because our primary concern is our children.

Yes, we need to care for our children. Yes, we need to make sure they are healthy and happy but who refills our love bucket? Who makes sure that our needs are met? Who makes certain that we are happy?

Well, I quickly realized that we need to do this for ourselves. When we do focus on loving ourselves, promoting positive self-talk and creating moments that fill our love bucket, we feel more in control of our lives so that we can make better choices.

In Mantras for Mommas - A Coloring Book and Journal, I share with you over 40 pages of images with affirmations that align with what women who are mothers face in their daily lives. The affirmations are meant to counteract the negative messages we tell ourselves while giving us a creative outlet to express our feelings. I am sharing with you two free pages for you to try:

Affirmation: “Life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful.”

Affirmation: “There is no such thing as a perfect mom, but I am their perfect mom.”

I want you to use these affirmations to remind yourself that the word perfect only holds the definition we give it. What I mean is that being perfect in this world doesn’t exist, we only exist in our version of perfect lives. A perfect life for you can mean having a messy house, but tons of fun at the playground, or it can mean being a working mom who spends 3 hours of solid quality time with her children. You define what perfect means for you.

After you print your image, set aside 20 minutes for yourself. Get out your favorite coloring tools and sit in a space that allows you to be reflective. Take a deep breathe and release your breath into the page. Before you start to color, read the affirmation at the top of the page. Allow the message to sit with you for a minute or two, then begin coloring. As you color, repeat the messaging to yourself so that it vibrates with your soul as you color.

I hope you enjoy these pages. I would love to see your creations unfold; please send me pictures of your artwork to elly@chooseyoulove.com. I will post them on Instagram and my website.

THE ART KIT- a review

Sometimes things just line up.

My daughters have been wanting to improve their art techniques. I’ve been wanting to improve their art education. And then there’s boy-o. He suddenly LOVES art, so that needs encouraging and new supplies. Well, I didn’t even know that we were focusing in that direction, but when I heard about the Art Kit and was suddenly, seamlessly doing a review of one of the kits, it was obvious the Universe knows what its doing.

The shrieks of “THE ART KIT” coming from the children when it arrived was only topped by the “Ohs and Ahs” when they opened the box.

It suddenly made sense for a kit that is about ART to be beautiful. This taught me a lot about Art as an experience, just opening the box.

With Tissue paper and lots of shredded purple and white stripes of naturally dyed heavy stock paper, the children enthusiastically unwrapped each, paperbag wrapped item. And what beautifully chose items.

The Art Kit isn’t just about Making Art, this is about art appreciation and experience.

When you subscribe, each month your child receives a box like one of these, and each box has its own theme. Our box was themed with Georges Seurat’s A Sunday on La Grande Jette painting.

In our box of wonders was a Puzzle, sticker books (with reusable stickers), natural paint sachets wit circle sponges to imitate Seurat’s circle techniques, circle stickers to do a circle (dotted) painting, a book about George Seurat and various Art Kit Pencils and heavy stock paper and  accessories.

As we have three children, we had the kit and two more sibling add-ons, basically providing each child with their own supplies for the crafts, but sharing the puzzle and the book. It worked perfectly.

The experience of this kit, and art itself, has been very well thought out. Each item helps you experience the painting a little deeper from different angles. As a homeschooler I found it balanced, as with three children, all different ages and learning types, I was surprised how all three were interested. I would possibly say the kit would work best for the 7-11 age range, as I watched my children work through it, but all three were well occupied and I can tell came out of it looking at art in a different light.

One thing I will point out. Although it’s called The ART KIT, this isn’t what we perceive as an art kit. It is a Kit ABOUT ART (I like how when I explained this to my family they all did a unison “OHHH” and agreed from that perspective it was a masterpiece in itself. Think of it as art education for children in a box, a box that has lots of ways for them to get into a technique, an artist and a piece with all their senses.

It reminds us all that art is an experience and from the moment The Art Kit arrives at the door, you and your children will be enjoying the ride.

Now... all I have to do to top the experience off is find a copy of Sunday in the Park with George by Sondheim  so the children can have some follow up to these wonderful projects!

Now here’s one of my daughters reviews;

I love the way that the art kit is packaged so carefully and beautifully. It’s really inspiring.

The Make-a- masterpiece sticker book helped me learn a lot about the painting. I love how this kit is so freely put together. The puzzle was a bit easy for me, but that is a good thing because it meant my brother was interested in doing it. I love the way the paints slide over the paper. I never would have thought that natural paints would be that bright.

My son... he gave it a zillion stars out of 5.

Check out www.theartkit.com for more information!