Choice Cards

“It’s all in how you look at it”

Choice Cards

Project overview:

Choice cards are a creative tool to use for remembering we always have a choice. They give us a tactile focus and process when we want to look at a situation or ourselves from a different perspective.

The example above shows the front and back of a card. Each side represents the opposite of the other. In this case, it is Heaven and Hell.

When you seem to be stuck in a situation that feels like “hell”, you can pick up your card, remember you can always choose to look at the situation in a different way, and turn the card over. Now focus on “heaven”. Decide to look at the situation from this perspective and see what choices you have.

Changing the way you look at something is an empowering process that can open your mind to new perspectives and it increases your ability to make different choices. It can also change the way you feel about the situation by giving you more awareness and clarity.

We live in a dualistic environment where we can’t have light without the darkness; pleasure without pain; black without white; and so on. You can’t have one without the other, so when you are feeling the negative aspect of something, you also have the positive aspect available to you. It’s all in how you look at it. These cards are a creative reminder that all we have to do is change our perspective to shift how we respond to any given situation. We have our answers within ourselves. 

In addition to the cards themselves, the process of making them allows you to explore new perspectives and get clearer within your current awareness. 

Materials:

3x5 note cards

magazines to cut images from

clear packing tape or clear contact paper (used to line shelves)

glue stick

scissors

exacto knife

Instructions:

1.    Select a topic you are working on or find challenging. ie “Sobriety” or “Wisdom” or “Abundance”.

2.    Select its opposite. ie “Sobriety- Addiction” or “Wisdom- Ignorance”.

3.    Brainstorm a list for each aspect of your topic that includes images, colors, or designs that remind you of your topic.  (I think of owls and the color purple when I think of “wisdom”. I think of dark colors and an empty skull when I think of “ignorance”)

4.    Browse through magazines looking for images, areas of color, and designs to represent both aspects of your topic. You can use words too. (note: images or areas of color large enough to fill the card work great as a background. You can then layer other images over it.)

5.    Starting with the background, arrange your images, exploring different compositions. When you are happy with your layout, attach the images using a glue stick. (note: You only need enough glue to hold the images in place until you laminate the surface. If you have paper hanging over the edges of your card, go ahead and glue it anyway. You can trim it once you are done with gluing your objects)

6.    Collage the reverse side of your card.

7.    Trim the edges of your card if you have any paper past the edge of the card.

8.    Laminate your card using one of 2 methods:

a.     Use the clear box tape and cover each side of the card, making sure to overlap the edges of the card. (note: the overlap of tape helps hold it all together. You can trim it if you want, just leave approximately 1/8 inch of tape around the edges of the card.)

b.    Use the clear contact paper to cover each side of the card. Leave approximately 1/8 inch of contact paper around the edges of the card.

CONGRATULATIONS!

          You now have a completed choice card. Make as many as you want! Have fun and enjoy the process. Put your cards up on the refridgerator or use a card as a book marker.

          Choice Cards make great gifts!

Variations:

          You can collage images and words to support an affirmation you are using.

Goals you are working on make great themes for Choice Cards.

Your passion, collaged onto a card, could inspire you to feed your passion even more.

Have fun and play with the process! Use your creativity and see what other awesome ideas you come up with!

Possible themes for your Choice Card:

Happiness          Energy                       Journey                 Health

Solitude              Love                          Life                       Relationship

Peace                  Motion                       Abundance           Divinity

Joy                      Growth                      Passion                 Youth

Excitement         Stillness                     Gratitude               Security

Calm                   Transformation          Appreciation         Freedom