Brave Girls Trip - the conclusion

I apologize profusely for having taken so long to post this conclusion to our trip!

We've been having frustrating internet connection problems, out here in the country,

so now we are attempting to go wireless.  Setting this up has occupied WAY too much of my time......

but now I'm back and - hopefully - online and carefree!!!!

So the last full day of the camp was capped off by a wonderful party.

We all wore white shirts and beautiful necklaces - and we were all BEAUTIFUL!!!

All us women are beautiful, inside and out, aren't we?

Isn't this group shop fantastic?  Can you find Michelle, Kelli and I?

I love each and every one of these girls, truly.

The festivities included music and singing and dancing (natch!), along with our own gallery of all the art we had created, plus dinner and goodies and photo ops and hugs and love and laughter.

Here is one of my favorite collage's by Melody.  

Her words and images always reinforce each other.  And they're BEAUTIFUL!

We displayed the projects we had done, all of which were the outcomes of the lessons Melody had taught us.  We made truth books, truth cards, art journaling, collages, books, canvas' and we even learned how to tool leather (thanks to Melody's swell husband, Marq, using her Chip Art tools).

Above is the cover of my Truth Book.  Due to my unfamiliarity with all the potions and glazes and mediums that were available, I experimented and played and my cover has at least 12 layers of stuff on it - never to be re-created again, that's for sure!

Below is are 2 of the truth cards inside the book.

Truth cards are messages to ourselves.

Here is my tooled leather bracelet.  It was so much fun to make!  I've worn it every day since my return.

The message is "LISTEN" and that's one I need to constantly work on - to really listen to others, without my own ego getting in the way - and to really listen to my own heart and soul - and to my TT.

I believe that is what gives me an authentic loving peaceful life.

Listening is an art which must be practiced to be successful.

The funny thing about making this bracelet, for me, was that it brought back long-forgotten memories of one of my hippie summer jobs while in college.  I was living in Isla Vista, going to UCSB, and found a job tooling leather belts in a studio run by a French artist.  And we sold them at craft fairs.  It was fun to do and fun to work in a studio with others, making art and making a living at it.

I'm so thrilled that Melody has brought these tools and techniques into the crafting world with her Chip Art line.  Besides leather, these tools can be used on chipboard, metal, and more.

Definitely something new to invest time and $$ into!!!!!

Below is a group photo of the staff  at BGC - yes, all those girls!

Can you now see why we were so pampered?

The next morning, it was up for breakfast, packing and goodbyes.

Here I am with the AWESOME & AMAZING Kathy Wilkins - den mother extraordinaire.

Kathy is always calm, full of grace and good cheer.  The definition of a "centered"  person.

I want to be like Kathy when I grow up!

Here are just a few of the handmade gifts we received:  tote and portfolio and journal and books and personal messages and nametags and clip art and cute little things, plus a BG hoodie (now wearing), treats, etc., etc., etc.

And our parting gift was my favorite thing of all (well, OK, besides the tote bag and the journal).

It's a beautiful wall plaque, with a collage by Melody, under beveled glass, and it reads:

"courage is not a lack of fear, it is moving forward in spite of fear"

Wise words from a wise lady.

So we said our sad goodbyes to all the staff, hopped on the bus for an exciting ride back down the hill to Boise, and then said our even sadder goodbyes to our fellow campers.  

But I know its not goodbye, it's see you later.  Because many real friendships were forged in these 4 days.

So Kelli and Michelle and I hopped into the Brave Girls-mobile and headed out to Winnemucca, through Oregon and Nevada. 

And you know what, the dreary ride we experienced on the way up turned out to be a

glorious gorgeous ride on the way back.  Clear and beautiful scenery and sky.

Could our new-found good moods have anything to do with that?

Of the many beautiful songs we learned and sang and listened to, the one that became the theme of the camp was "Life Uncommon" by Jewel.  I had never heard it before, but now it plays constantly in my head, even after all this time.  The words are so powerful and true.  I can barely stand to hear it on my iphone, without crying!  And coming back home, to our home, our California, reminded us of how blessed we are to be living right here, right now. 

A LIFE UNCOMMON!!!!!!