Make A SoulCollage Card
Step-by-Step Instructions

The most important thing to remember while you are making SoulCollage® cards is to Honor Your Own Process.

So..... please keep in mind while you are reading the steps below that they are only guidelines. Feel free to deviate from them at any time and in any way!

3. Gather your materials and put them on the table in front of you. You should have the following: a piece of 5” x 8” mat board, a pair of scissors, an acid-free glue stick or jar of rubber cement (acid-free, of course!), your frame, and several magazines or images that are already torn out.

4. Spend a generous amount of time (at least one hour) going through the magazines. Tear out any images that you like, that seem to appeal to you for ANY REASON. Don’t question WHY you might be drawn to the images. Simply rip them out of the magazines! It will be helpful to have large images that completely fill the frame, and smaller ones as well. You can use the larger ones for backgrounds.

5. Once you have 50-100 images torn out, take a few deep breaths and pause a moment. Give yourself a little space. Drink some water or make a cup of tea if you like.

6. Spread the images out around you as much as you can. Gather them into smaller piles, sorting them by colors, energies, themes, or patterns. For instance, you might notice that you have lots of images of stairways, or windows, or birds, or people who are frowning. You might have several images that show a great deal of movement/action, or stillness. You might see several images that just seem to go together for some reason. You don’t need to verbalize a reason for grouping some images together. Remember: trust the process. There is no right way to do this!!!

7. When you have a few different piles sorted by theme, choose one of them. Choose the theme that intrigue you the most. Or choose the pile of images that you already know the meaning of. It doesn't matter which pictures you work with first. Just choose some so you can begin to make your first SoulCollage card.

8. Push the rest of the images aside or put them in a manilla folder or other storage device. Move them off of your workspace so they don’t distract you.

9. Start playing around with the images that you have chosen. Lay them on top of one another, or beside each other. Arrange and rearrange them until you come to a layout that you like. Trust your intuition. You will know when it looks “right.” Use the Frame if you like so that you can see how it will look on the card.

10. When the images are arranged “just right,” you can glue them onto the 5" x 8" mat board. If you are using the Frame, you might want to mark the corners of the images in the upper right and left, and lower right and left corners of the frame, to make placement more easy for you.

11. If you have a brayer, use it to smooth out the images.

12. There! You have made your first SoulCollage® card!

13. Now you might want to go ahead and make another one. Or two or three or…?

14. You might want to read Seena Frost's article: 15 Hints (Not Rules) On Creating SoulCollage Cards for some more great ideas and suggestions.

15. Another great resource for you is the e-book, 102 Tips and Tricks for Creating SoulCollage Cards with Beauty and Meaning

16. Now it’s time to do the I am the one who… exercise with one of your cards to deepen your experience with it, and to begin to integrate its meaning into your life.

Click on any of these three images to see written examples of the I am the one who... exercise:

• You will need some paper and a pen (or pencil) for this part of the process. OR you will need a tape recorder to speak into. Gather these first.
• Keep the candle lit.
• Turn off the music if you think it might be distracting to you. Leave it on if you find it relaxing.
• Begin by taking a few deep breaths.
• Stretch and move for a few minutes. It's time to get out of your head and into your body.
• Open your eyes and look at your SoulCollage® card for a moment. Really, really look at it. Admire it. Hold it to your heart and bless it if you like. It is a beautiful expression of some part of your self. Honor it. Respect it.
• You’re going to use your imagination for this next part. Pretend that you are actually entering the image. Become the main figure in the image. Even if it’s a flower, or a tree, or a big yellow box. Become it. You are going to speak as if you are the image.
• If you are doing this exercise in writing, write the words I am the one who on your paper and then finish the sentence as if you are the image, reporting back to you. Continue this process until you feel as if you have run out of things to say.
• If you are doing this exercise using a tape recorder, speak the I am the one who statements into the microphone, continuing as many times as needed until you feel that there is nothing left to say.
• Continue this exercise, either in writing or using the tape player, with the following questions:
• 1. What do you have to give me?
• 2. What do you want from me?
• 3. Is there anything else you want to tell me?
• 4. How will I remember?
• Take a few more deep breaths and do some movement if you need to get back out of your head and into your body.
• By now you will have a better idea of what this SoulCollage® card is all about. Keep your writing in a safe place. If you are using a tape player, you might want to play it back and transcribe your words into your journal or in a special notebook that you will keep your card meanings in.
• You can choose to do this exercise with another card (if you’ve made more than one) or you might decide you’ve had enough for today.
• Either way, make it your choice.

Doing the Exercise With a partner:

• You will need some paper and a pen or pencil for this part of the process. Gather these before you begin.
• Keep the candle lit.
• Turn off the music if you think it might be distracting to you. Leave it on if you find it relaxing.
• Begin by taking a few deep breaths.
• Stretch and move for a few minutes. It's time to get out of your head and into your body.
• Open your eyes and look at your SoulCollage® card for a moment. Really, really look at it. Admire it. Hold it to your heart and bless it if you like. It is a beautiful expression of some part of your self. Honor it. Respect it.
• You’re going to use your imagination for this next part. Pretend that you are actually entering the image. Become the main figure in the image. Even if it’s a flower, or a tree, or a big yellow box. Become it. You are going to speak as if you are the image.
• Say out loud I am the one who and finish this sentence as if you were the central image in your card. Say it as many times as you like (each time with a different ending), until you feel that you have no more to say. Your partner writes down everything you say so that you will have a record of it afterwards.
• Continue this exercise with the following questions:
• 1. What do you have to give me?
• 2. What do you want from me?
• 3. Is there anything else you want to tell me?
• 4. How will I remember?
• Ask your partner to read your words back to you. Sometimes new insight is gained as you hear your statements in someone else’s voice.
• Take a few more deep breaths and do some movement if you need to get back out of your head and into your body.
• By now you will have a better idea of what this SoulCollage® card is all about. Keep your writing in a safe place.
• Exchange with your partner and write down her I am the one who statements about her card, as well as her answers to the other questions. Read them back to her when she is finished.
• You can choose to do this exercise again now with another card (if you’ve made more than one) or you might decide you’ve had enough for today.
• Either way, make it your choice.

SoulCollage® is about much more than making cards! Save 60% on the complete Introduction to SoulCollage® Workshop. Click here to sign up now!

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