Project Valentine Craft Day 1

Project Valentine Craft Day 1 was a success!! We made 18 stress balls, that will be helping cancer patients. My church has 6 other girls come tonight plus leaders! It was great. Everyone thought the craft was so cool that they actually thought service could be fun and that was my goal. Everyone loves crafts, whether it is for them or not. Here is what the stress balls looked like;

My next Project Valentine Craft Day will be at my house on December 16th. I am going to have other kids come so that they can work on CAS as well, and I will have different project stations set up. The washer necklaces seem hard for a group, so I know I am for sure doing the stress balls. Then a few others. I think I am really working great with other people on this, and taking indicative to call cooperate companies like Dove. Keep You Up To Date!

Shimmer Sparkle Shine Project

I got in contact with Dove and they sent me for free handbooks for younger girls to do with their moms to build their self esteem from the Dove Self Esteem Campaign! I plan on adding this to my gift bags. I hope to do my next girl within the next month. She is a friend of a family member...and she is so adorable and so needs it!! I hope that girls everywhere can SHIMMER SPARKLE SHINE!

Shimmer Sparkle Shine Project Behind the Scenes

I have a 2nd girl in mind right now, but my mom brought to my attention Dove's Self Esteem Program. I went to their websites to find tool books to build girls confidence. http://www.dove.us/Social-Mission/Self-Esteem-Toolkit-And-Resources/
They have them for all age groups, and I love their ideas. For the 8 - 12 girls they had some great ideas. So from now on for each girl, we are going to do an activity or two to help build the confidence inside, as well as the outside part. My favorite for the 8 - 12 girls is Boost Book;
Decorate a notebook or sketchpad together and keep a log of inspiring quotations, compliments and positive comments other people have made about the girl in your life. Tuck in a few favorite photos or mementos that remind her of moments when she felt confident and beautiful or just had a great time. Whenever she has a moment of uncertainty, bring out the book to get her self-esteem back on track..
I like this for all age groups, and I think I may start my own to set an example that everyone has problems of confidence so the girls understand.
A link to that self esteem book is; http://www.dove.us/Social-Mission/Self-Esteem-Toolkit-And-Resources/Activities-for-Girls-8-12.aspx
In the 13 - 18 I like the activity of Positive Playlist;
Create a soundtrack of songs that she enjoys and that make her feel good. She can listen to it to get pumped up for an important event like a soccer game or dance recital, or turn it on whenever she needs a lift.
The link for this book is; http://www.dove.us/Social-Mission/Self-Esteem-Toolkit-And-Resources/1-On-1-Activities-for-Girls-13-18.aspx

They also gave some great statics on Self Esteem Problems. People don't think of it as an issue, but these facts will help stress the global impact of this issue. Only 4% of women around the world consider themselves beautiful (up from 2% in 2004)
• Only 11% of girls globally are comfortable using the word beautiful to describe themselves
• 72% of girls feel tremendous pressure to be beautiful
• 80% of women agree that every woman has something about her that is beautiful but do not see their own beauty
• More than half (54%) of women globally agree that when it comes to how they look, they are their own worst beauty critic
It is a GLOBAL problem, and it is something I deeply care about. Through CAS I want to make the Shimmer Sparkle Shine Project amazing! and something I might do forever.
In the morning I plan on contacting Dove to see if they could help me in anyway. They are a big organization, but it is worth a chance.
One last thing, if I want this organization to get somewhere I need a logo. So here it is!

Stress Ball Saying Card

Thanks to Creative Memories Storybook I made the cards we will be using with the stress balls. Here is what it looks like;
Just Wanted To Share,
Ciara

Taekwondo Error

Sometimes, life can throw you of course, and you have to adapt. I had a set plan with my master on when I was going to get certain belts, and ect. Well. I fell and broke a weird bone in my ankle/foot. I was put into a cast, to where I couldn't do Taekwondo for 3 weeks. I recently just got my walking cast boot, and I was told I can't do Taekwondo for another 2-3 months. Well... I was really upset. I still wanted to be involved. I therefore went to the Taekwondo Belt test at the park to cheer my team on, and to still watch. Here is a picture of who tested;
I have learned that by me watching, I can still learn, so that is what I did for a while. Yesterday I returned to Taekwondo, in my boot, even thought I am not supposed to for another 2 months... I don't run, and I don't kick the bags. I can do everything else pretty much. This is helping me to stick to something even with a problem. Life happens, and it is okay to readjust your plan. I do still hope on earning my black belt by next summer. :) I love CTA!
Ciara

Project Valentine Craft Day 1

Last week I discussed with my church youth group about project valentine. They said they would be interested in helping me, which I am very thankful for. Therefore on Aug 31st we are doing a project valentine craft. My mom's best friend is a recent cancer survivor, and I asked her what she liked in her Project Valentine Bag, and what would be good ideas. She like the non scented organic body products, because lots of cancer chemo patients are really sensitive. I am planning on contacting some organization to donate that kind of stuff. Anyways, on to my craft day with church. Shari said that stress balls are awesome to squeeze when they are putting the needles in you during chemo. I loved that idea, so my youth group is going to make stress ball attached with cute sayings. I love this idea so much. Here is the link I am going to use to teach the stress balls, but I am going to use rice instead of cornstarch; http://www.mystressmanagement.net/how-to-make-stress-balls.html
As I had mentioned, I planned on attaching a saying card to the stress balls. The saying I want to use is; “Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths.” Etty Hillesum
Hope this even goes great. Pictures to Follow.
Ciara