102 Tips & Tricks

for Creating

SoulCollage® Cards Full of Beauty & Meaning

by

Anne Marie Bennett

Brought to you by…..........KaleidoSoul Spinning the fragments of your world

into wholeness and beauty through SoulCollage®.

Come Home To Your Self Through SoulCollage, copyright 2006 by Anne Marie Bennett. All rights reserved. Please do not forward or reproduce this material in any manner.

SoulCollage® is a trademarked process, created by Seena Frost. For more information about Seena, SoulCollage® and Facilitator Trainings,

please visit www.SoulCollage.com.

Tablof Contents

Introduction 3 Resources/Support 5 Images 8 Making the Cards 11 A Final Word 19 More SoulCollage Fun! 20

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Introduction Welcome! Perhaps you have been practicing SoulCollage® for a while now, and have already made 10, 20, 30 or more cards for your own deck. If so, may this book bring you a few tips and tricks you hadn’t already thought of, and a creative banquet of inspiration that moves you forward on the next stage of your SoulCollage® journey. Pick and choose among the generous bouquet of ideas in these pages. Take what you like and leave the rest. Or perhaps you are new to the art and practice of SoulCollage® and haven’t even attempted your first card yet. In that case, may you find the encouragement and motivation that you need to begin. Let the suggestions within this e-book speak to your heart, your mind, and your soul as you begin making your first SoulCollage® cards. Whichever category you fall into, you might need a refresher course on the basics of SoulCollage®. (For example, one of the tips mentions Community Cards. You might have forgotten what Community Cards are all about.) Here is a list of reference links you might find helpful while using this e-book:

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SoulCollage- Overview of the process SoulCollage- Overview of a SoulCollage® deck SoulCollage- Committee Suit SoulCollage- Community Suit SoulCollage- Companions Suit SoulCollage- Council Suit SoulCollage- Making Your First Card You also might be interested in purchasing everything you need to make your first 15 SoulCollage® cards in the fabulous Getting Started With SoulCollage Workshop Package, shipped conveniently to your doorstep! Click here for details. Please enjoy these 102 Tips and Tricks, and may you allow the process to work its magic and mystery in your own life, starting right now! I wish you peace and joy on your journey, Anne Marie Bennett SoulCollage® Facilitator

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Resources & Support

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Be gentle with yourself. It’s important to trust the process. Use the book SoulCollage, by Seena Frost as the ultimate guide and resource for making your cards. Seena is a psychotherapist in California. She created SoulCollage® in the late 1980’s while working with friends and clients in her practice. This is the only definitive book written about SoulCollage® and if you don’t have it yet, you should definitely consider investing in it!

3. SoulCollage® is a trademarked name used only by officially trained

SoulCollage® Facilitators for their groups. Check out the Principles of SoulCollage® for a description of what SoulCollage® is and isn’t, and how to honor the trademark even before you have completed a Facilitator Training.

4. Consider making cards in community. Practicing SoulCollage® in a

group is both powerful and empowering. If you can’t find anyone interested in creating SoulCollage® cards with you, join the rapidly-growing KaleidoSoul Community Group over at Yahoo. Once there, you will find immediate connection to other SoulCollagers, be able to view some of their cards and share yours as well. You’ll also receive a Midweek Blessing every Wednesday, chosen to uplift your spirits, and a Weekly SoulCollage Challenge every weekend which you can choose to try or not.

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Keep in mind that you don’t have to know the meaning of a card as you are making it. Sometimes it’s better not to know, and to simply follow your intuition as you put the images together.

Always, always, always…. trust your own inner wisdom.

Read articles about SoulCollage® by Seena Frost and be inspired with a card reading by surfing over to www.SoulCollage.com.

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8. Ask for help when you need it. You can do this by posting a note on the KaleidoSoul Community Board, emailing Anne Marie, or getting in touch with your own SoulCollage buddies and/or facilitator.

9. Subscribe to the free monthly newsletter, Soul Songs. Each month in

your email box, you’ll receive a fun, colorful issue jam-packed with more SoulCollage® ideas, information and resources to keep your creative juices flowing.

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. Give yourself time off when you need it. There may be times when you find yourself making lots and lots of cards, and times when you just don’t feel as interested. Give yourself permission to go with the ebb and flow of your own process, whatever this may be.

Make this your new mantra: There is no right way. Remember, there are suggestions and guidelines for making SoulCollage® cards, but only one rule (see #12).

The only rule in SoulCollage® is that we don’t sell, trade, or barter our cards for any reason. One of the reasons behind this is the law of copyright, because you are using images from artists/photographers/graphic designers other than yourself. The other reason is that the deck is yours, and yours alone. It is a gift that you are giving to yourself.

Nurture your creative soul with an e-book from the website Artella, Words and Art. Click here to see a rainbow of choices!

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A daily practice of some sort will be a valuable asset to you in discovering your own Committee of inner voices. This practice could be meditation, yoga, prayer, creative visualization, walking, running… or anything else that allows you a time set apart (even if it’s only 5 minutes!) for inner quiet.

Eliminate the word SHOULD from your vocabulary. As Seena says on page 22 of the book SoulCollage, “There is no right or wrong way to do…cards- only your own way.”

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Don’t forget to have fun! If there is a part of you that tends to take everything too seriously, don’t forget to make a card for that part too!

If you want a little help discerning those inner voices (for your Committee Cards), try taking this popular e-course from Self Healing Expressions: Personal Power through Self-Awareness. This course will also help you tap into your intuition more freely.

18. Go to a framing store and ask for scrap mat board. See if they will cut it

for you into 5” x 8” pieces for your cards. You can also purchase professionally cut mat boards at the KaleidoSoul Shop or at the SoulCollage.com website. This is an easy way to begin!

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If you’re still having trouble naming some of the voices of your inner Committee, here are a few questions to get you started:

• What do I like about myself? • What gets in the way of being who I really am? • What would my friends say are my 3 best qualities? • Name some qualities that you admire in others.

Listen to the way you speak to yourself. Would you say those words to a loved one, a child? Set an intention to always speak to yourself with kindness and compassion.

Practice positive self-talk. Here are some examples of things to say

to yourself that will help you immensely with this process: I can do this. My own process is the best for me. I am creative. I am getting to know my inner self by doing this. This is fun! My cards are beautiful!

If you find yourself stuck, or creatively “blocked,” try taking the free KaleidoSoul e-course Creative BlockBusters for SoulCollage Artists.

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Images 23.

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Ask your family members and friends for old magazines that you can use for images. Offices are also great resources for used magazines. Try your: dentist, doctor, manicurist, beauty salon, acupuncturist, travel agent…. or any office that has a waiting area! Most will be delighted to give magazines to you because they don’t like throwing them away. Waiting at the dentist’s office with nothing to do? Go through a magazine and see if there are any images that call out to you. Ask the receptionist if you can take the magazine with you.

Trim an image right up to its edges so that the original background doesn’t distract from its meaning and power. Think of it as “blessing the image.” (This idea has been passed down through the SoulCollage® facilitator circles over the years and was shared with me by Noelle Remington from Seattle.)

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Library book sales are a great place to find really inexpensive books and magazines full of awesome images.

When searching through magazines for images, go slowly. Look at the individual components of a picture: an eye, a hand, an open window, a corner of the sky that glows with a color you particularly like….etc. Take only what you like and leave the rest. This is a great technique to use, especially on images that don’t appeal to you on first glance. Don’t forget to take a second look! Seena has been known to say, “Go back and get it, if you have turned a page, but an image still calls to you.”

When it comes to choosing magazines, don’t discriminate! If someone gives you a stack of Sports Illustrated or Forbes magazines, don’t immediately dismiss them simply because they’re not like Oprah or National Geographic. They might sound boring to you, but an ad is an ad

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is an ad, and advertisers use all sorts of interesting images to sell things, even in the “boring” magazines!

30. Beautiful images can also be found on rubber stamps. Use your own or

borrow some from a friend. Addicted to Rubber Stamps is a great place to search for images on stamps of any type or theme.

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Be sure to collect background images as well as images of people and animals. Background images are usually full-page images that will cover the entire 5”x 8” mat board with some left over. They can be: scenery, patterns, flowers, interiors, house exteriors, landscapes, and more!

. Listen to music when you are gathering images. Listen to whatever it is that really inspires you: classical, New Age, jazz, rock, hip hop, salsa…. whatever it is that makes your soul sing!

Take a trip to a local bookstore and check out the discounted book section. You will find great deals on books with beautiful images here: be sure to look at these categories: travel, gardening, science and nature. Hint: once I found a discounted book on dreams that had very interesting images! You will find great deals in book/gift stores on leftover calendars in January. Calendars often have wonderful background images.

Don’t judge yourself when choosing images. Instead, as Seena Frost says, “gather the images that call to you.” (page 58, SoulCollage.) You might not know why you are drawn to a certain image, and you might not even use it for several months….. but you can always trust that when the time is right, the image will be there for you.

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Spend a weekend morning making the rounds of Yard Sales/Tag Sales and see what you can dig up for great images.

Tell other people if you are looking for a certain image. You can tell your SoulCollage® friends and they will look for you while searching for their own images. It’s also a good idea to put the word out that

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you’re looking for a particular kind of image to anyone who reads magazines.

Find the image you’re looking for at Google. Simply click on “images” (over the empty search box) instead of the default “web.” Then type in what you are looking for. Hint: You can right click on any image that you see online and save it in your pictures file.

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39. You can also find awesome images at IStockPhoto (don’t let the image

on the home page turn you off). 40.

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Spend a rainy afternoon going through old family photo albums. Choose some pictures of family members, friends and pets to use in your Community Suit cards, even if you’re not ready to make them just yet..

Take a trip to a greeting card store and let some images call out to you from the thousands of cards there.

Use file folders or large envelopes to organize your rapidly-multiplying stack of images. Group them by how you think they go together: color, theme, essence, energy, idea, or no reason at all!

You can also use accordion style folders for organizing your images.

OR….. let yourself not be organized, if that is what you need!

Need some help getting organized? Try taking the Artella e-course, DeCluttering for Creatives.

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Look for images for your cards in the junk mail that you receive every day.

Tired of looking at the same old images? Swap a pile of pictures or magazines with a buddy. You can do this at home, or online at the KaleidoSoul Community Board over at Yahoo.

48. You can also purchase a Surprise Pack of images at the

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KaleidoSoul Shop.

Making the Cards

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If you’re having trouble fitting the images on the mat board vertically, try holding the card horizontally for the layout. Take a few smaller images that seem to “go together,” and try laying them against different background images until you find a layout that you like.

Remember, YOU are the only one who knows if certain images “go together” or not. You don’t need to explain or define the “why” of it to anyone!

Keep a wastebasket or empty brown paper bag near your work area so your paper scraps don’t make a mess on the floor.

Use Fiskars Micro-Tip scissors (or the yellow Cutter-Bees) for very close, detailed cutting work (particularly good for “blessing the image,” see Tip #26)

Use a brayer to roll out any wrinkles and bumps in your card immediately after gluing.

You can also use an old credit card or hotel room key to smooth out the wrinkles.

And in case you don’t have access to a brayer or old credit card, simply use the flat edge of a pair of scissors to smooth out your image.

Karen Mann, a SoulCollage® facilitator in Australia suggests making a card or two completely in black and white. Or…

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Try mixing color images with black and white images for an even more interesting look.

Another great idea from Karen Mann: All of your images don’t have to have straight edges from using scissors. Try ripping some of your images so they have a softer, torn-edge look. Make an entire card with ripped images instead of scissor-trimmed images or…..

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Try making a card that has a mixed of torn edges and scissor-trimmed edges. See if the different edges can make a statement of some sort about the part of your soul you are expressing.

Listen to music when you are making cards. Listen to whatever it is that really inspires you: classical, New Age, jazz, rock, hip hop, salsa…. whatever it is that makes your soul sing! Or… for a change of pace, try listening to music that you don’t ordinarily listen to, and see if it makes a difference in your creativity quotient!

Create a little ritual to begin each card-making session. Here are some ideas: pause while lighting a small candle and take 3 deep breaths; listen to the same song each time; recite the same short poem or prayer each time before you begin. Turning your SoulCollage® time into a ritual like this reminds your spirit that this is sacred time, just for you. Try using a piece of textured paper as a background for one of your cards. Add some ribbon or charms, along with your images, then photocopy it so that it is a one-dimensional piece with a three-dimensional look.

Spread all of your images out on the floor or a large table. Mix them all up and spread them out. What do you see? Have any interesting combinations been created? What images have ended up beside each other that you wouldn’t have considered putting together before this? I guarantee that you will see new relationships between images that you hadn’t noticed before.

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It’s okay to add images to a card, even after you think you’ve “finished” it. The card can evolve just as you can!

If your cards have a lot of ragged edges, color copy them and glue the copy onto a new mat board for a smooth, clean new look. (see page 71, in SoulCollage by Seena Frost).

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You don’t necessarily need to create your cards on mat board. You can create them on pieces of cardstock, index cards, or file folders. When you’re done, you can have them laminated, which will protect them and give them a little more weight.

If you’re struggling with the layout of a certain card, put the pieces away and come back to it at a later time. In the meantime, you might have an idea (or a dream) about that card, or you might even find another image that makes it all come together for you.

Remember, you are making these SoulCollage® cards to please yourself and only yourself!

Paint a mat board with acrylics for a unique background. Experiment with different colors, including metallic. Give yourself permission to do this even if you don’t consider yourself an “artist.” The relationship between you and your card is what is important, not what you or anyone else thinks of the “art” of it.

Play around with watercolors on some watercolor paper. Photocopy your favorite pages and use them as backgrounds for your cards.

Use a photo of yourself on some of your Committee cards.

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73. Cover the backs of your cards with various decorative papers or

wrapping papers. Remember to use the same backing for all of your Committee Cards, a different backing for all of your Community cards… and so on with the various suits. Other suggestions for differentiating the suits on the backs of your cards can be found on page 70 of Seena Frost’s book, SoulCollage:

• Paint or use metallic marker to draw a different symbol/design on the backs of each suit.

• Use stickers.

• Use a different corner rounder punch on the corners of each suit.

(Click here to see what a corner rounder punch looks like.)

• Use a different color mat board for each suit. 74.

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And don’t forget a separate, special backing for your Source Card. Try aromatherapy while you are creating your cards and see if it makes a difference in your mood. Place a few drops of an essential oil in a ceramic or electric diffuser, and allow the scent to flow around you while you create. Some scents used for brightening, awakening energy, and helping us to center: lemon, frankincense, orange, rose, and rosemary. To see a list of aromatherapy essential oils and their healing qualities, click here. For some clever ways to use essential oils, click here.

76. It’s okay to make a Community card to honor someone in your life even

if you don’t have a photo of them (your therapist, or someone from your childhood memories…). Simply gather images that remind you of that

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person, and images that express the essence of that person and your relationship.

77. Give yourself permission to make cards for the sheer joy of making

them, without knowing what they mean. This will be the basis for some of the most powerful cards in your deck. In time, these intuitively-made cards will reveal their meanings to you. Remember, there is no rush. Be patient, and your inner self will let you know the meaning when the time is right. A great resource on this topic is Chapter 11, Tapping Into Your Inner Wisdom, in SoulCollage by Seena Frost.

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Try out different kinds of adhesives and use what suits your own process best. Keep in mind that glue sticks leave you no time to change your placement, while rubber cement is more forgiving in that it takes more time to dry. Always remember to read the precaution label on your adhesives (and other art materials you use) and make sure your work space is well ventilated. Scotch (3-M) makes a repositionable glue stick that is a particular blessing for the SoulCollage® artist who uses lots of images on a card. It’s kindof like a pile sticky notes in a glue stick! You could also try Liquid Sticky Note glue by Wackytac.

81. Don’t forget to use your frame! If you don’t have one because you

haven’t taken a SoulCollage® workshop, you can make your own by tracing a 5”x 8” mat board onto a piece of heavy cardstock and then cutting out the opening. This is the best tool for laying out your images before gluing them onto the mat board. You can see exactly what will fit and what won’t be visible. (see page 69, in SoulCollage by Seena Frost).

82. Photoshop Elements is a great tool for altering images and creating

SoulCollage® cards digitally. Sharry Teague is a good resource for this. You can contact Sharry and see some of her cards at her blog, SoulCollage TalkAbout.

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83. Or try making some SoulCollage® cards digitally with CollageMaker Software by Galleria. There is a 30 day free trial so

you can play around with it first before you decide to buy (it costs less than $30).

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. Use a mat knife (or sharp scissors) to mark the corners of images under the frame so that you know where to lay them as you transfer them over to the actual mat board. You can also use your mat knife to carefully make slots in order to insert an image “behind” a piece of your background. See an example/explanation here. (Thank you, Karen Mann, for another awesome idea!)

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Place a magazine (that you’ve already taken images out of) underneath your individual images and/or mat board when brushing glue on them. This way you can be sure to place enough glue on the edges and not have to worry about the excess glue getting on your table or other images. Keep turning the pages…. One magazine will last you a while!

Glue your images on the colored side of the mat board and let some of the color show around the edges to create a frame. (see page 67, in SoulCollage by Seena Frost).

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You don’t have to cover the entire mat board when you are laying out your cards. It’s perfectly okay to leave some color showing between images.

Use a gold or silver metallic marker to create an interesting border on a particular card. (see page 67, in SoulCollage by Seena Frost).

90. Tear lots of small pieces of different colors of textured paper and glue

them down on your mat board for an interesting background effect.

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91. The color copier at your local office supply store is your best friend! Use it to enlarge or reduce images so that they “fit” into the design you have in mind. (see page 69, in SoulCollage by Seena Frost).

92. If you like to “work big,” create your SoulCollage® images on large

pieces of paper or even artists’ canvases. Then reduce their size on a color copier to fit your deck-sized cards. (see page 69, in SoulCollage by Seena Frost).

93. Brush Mod Podge, gel medium (the Liquitex brand is good), or acrylic

varnish over a finished card to create a smooth look and get rid of ragged edges. Allow it to dry completely before picking it up again, and be sure to work in a well-ventilated area. (see page 69, in SoulCollage by Seena Frost).

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Use glitter glue for a special accent on a card.

Use stickers as part of your collage layout. There are some really artistic-looking ones in scrapbooking stores now. Take a look here to get started, and see if there are any that sing to you.

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Turn off your phone and cell phone during your SoulCollage® cardmaking time. This will give you more depth of focus, and less distraction.

Use words on your cards as little as possible. Allow the images to speak for you. Words tend to limit the meaning of a card, whereas using only images opens them up forever to endless possibility of meaning.

Try positioning an image so that part of it is off the edge. See an example here. Look carefully at the owl on Karen Mann’s card, and notice how different this card would look if the entire owl’s head had been placed inside the parameters of the card instead of just a part.

99. Use a small suitcase on wheels for keeping all of your SoulCollage®

cardmaking supplies and images and works-in-progress together. This comes in handy if you get together with friends to make cards.

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100. You could also use a scrapbooking tote on wheels to store your materials. These can be found in craft stores or online, and are even better than a suitcase because they have all sorts of built-in dividers and pockets…etc.

101. Don’t forget your body when you are creating cards. Remember to breathe, stretch, walk outside for a moment, dance to the music while you are working. 102. Seena Frost, author of the book SoulCollage, suggests this last (but surely not final) idea: Chose one or more of your favorite cards from your own deck. Enlarge 200-400% on a color copier. Mount or frame, and hang on your wall as a constant reminder to yourself of your own wholeness and beauty.

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A Final Word I hope that you enjoyed these 102 Tips and Tricks, and that any you choose to incorporate into your own process will bring more beauty, joy and meaning to your life as well as to your SoulCollage® deck! Please email me at the address below if you have any questions, or if you would like to add a tip (or two….) of your own to any upcoming editions of this e-book. Peace and joy on your journey, Anne Marie Bennett annemarie@KaleidoSoul.com P.S. Don’t forget to check out the next page for more fun, valuable SoulCollage® resources at www.KaleidoSoul.com and www.SoulCollage.com.

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More SoulCollage®

Fun Find a SoulCollage® facilitator near you.

Find out about becoming a SoulCollage® facilitator. Sign up for Soul Songs, the free monthly SoulCollage® newsletter. Take a peek at the KaleidoSoul Community Group over at Yahoo. Sign up for a free e-book or e-course at KaleidoSoul. Try out one of our popular SoulCollage® e-courses. Get in touch with your inner artist, explore one of the SoulCollage® suits in more detail. Get to know yourself better! See what’s for sale at the KaleidoSoul Shop. Great deals on mat boards, e-courses, and images await you. Go shopping at the SoulCollage® Shop. Here you’ll find Seena’s book and audio tapes, mat boards, SoulCollage® t-shirts, and wooden boxes made just for holding your deck.

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