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We. have. been. BUSY!!!!
We are excited and exhausted and amazed and overwhelmed and mostly BLOWN AWAY by everything that is happening. I am telling you, dreams are powerful. IDEAS are powerful.
We have been working on a million things, but mostly we have been working on the NEW Brave Girl Clubhouse!!! Our official headquarters! We’re all moved in, and we’re making it our own. In true Brave Girl style it is HUGE and FUNKY and UNBELIEVABLE! 
This is how it started….an empty, echoey, ugly warehouse…cold…with huge fluorescent lights that take like 10 minutes to warm up and light the place.
BUT we have plenty of vision…and Mr. Ross.
We started by asking Mr. Amazing to build three 3-sided rooms that will be video sets… (side note: oh. my. gosh…can you FEEL my excitement through the screen?? I can hardly hold still long enough to type this…it is SO EXCITING!)…
Awesome or what?
Then we asked Mr. Ross to hang a BAJILLION beautiful twinkling lights…he and Brock kindly obliged….they’re so good to us.
This is what Melody looks like when she’s SUPER excited…I call it her giddy stance.
Meanwhile, we took all the art supplies that we had gathered up from Melody’s house and Kathy’s house and the Brave Girl storage units…and everywhere else they were scattered…
and Kim organized it. We’re talking fabric and embellishments and paper and ribbon and scraps and paint and ooooohh so many lovely things. Just look at all those jars of loveliness – it’s like a grown-up candy store!
This will be our ART studio!
BUT WAIT – THERE’S MORE! (It’s like a BG infomercial!)
We’ve been wallpapering…
and painting walls…
And furniture
And garbage cans…
We’ve been making HUGE ruffles…
and HUGE art…
And other stuff…(yay for our awesome friends who are ALWAYS there when we need help!!! We LOVE you!)
And at the end of a loooong day, the clubhouse looks like this…
And we feel like DANCING!
Well actually at the end of the day we are tired and we don’t feel like we can take another step. But if we could move, this is what we would do. We are so excited we can hardly contain it. Can’t wait to show you more…and to get even further down the road and find out how much MORE this incredible dream holds! We will keep you updated, but NOW we want to hear from YOU!!
YOUR TURN – the GIVEAWAY!!!
What incredible, huge, exciting, amazing thing
are YOU working on right now????
Post your answer in the comments and be entered to
win tuition for Soul Restoration Part I which starts on April 5th!
We will choose one winner per day from now until April 4th – that’s TWELVE WINNERS!!! Post as many times as you need to in order to tell us all the incredible things you’re doing.Check back often to see if you’ve WON!
{CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS!!}
Winners: please email Kallie – kallie@bravegirlsclub.com with your contact info.
3/24 – comment #35 – Tammy McClain
3/25 – comment #72 – Kimberly
3/26 – comment #369 – Beth B
3/27 – comment #558 – Carisa
3/28 – comment #293 – Kathy Stutzman
3/29 – comment #717 – Sharon Marchbanks
3/30 – comment #12 – Manda Kay
3/31 – comment #76 – Lesley Langdon
4/1 – comment # – Lisa Arana
4/2 – comment #779 – Toni Maddox
4/3 – comment #826 – Sherri Boyce
4/4 – comment #326 – Rebecca Menk
We can’t wait to hear what you’re up to – we LOVE IDEAS (big and small)!!! We love em like this:
And remember, sweet girl…there are lots of reasons not to go through with your big plans, but we promise it’s worth it. This world needs you…WE need you. Tell us about it, and go for it (or keep going for it), lovely. It matters.
We love you SO much!!
xoxo
ps If you win and you’re already registered for Soul Restoration I, we will refund your money. If you win and you’ve already taken Soul Restoration I, you will win tuition for Soul Restoration II! xoxo
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Wish I could possibly express what the first class meant to me — and that I could win a spot in the second class:)
Today I am working on projects that help others feel not so overwhelemed at doing it all by themselves..I am feeding my soul by doing this. it is a true joy to lend a hand where needed.
Not really huge and maybe not exciting but my mantra or word for this year is healing/nurturing. Taking the time to remember how to take care of me. Making a list filled with the most basic of things which maybe most would find ridiculous or silly. Drink water, put lotion on before bed and do it slowly with thought, brush your teeth before bed, write your gratitude list, put chapstick on. Seems like such simple things but sometimes life seems to be so large that even the most simple, basic things are forgotten. I have to give and take care of myself before I can help anyone else. I deserve these simple yet important things. So my intention is to lovingly nourish myself and send lovingly healing messages and actions to myself. As a start I am doing a two week ayurvedic cleanse and them I am doing Soul Restoration. I find these things a little frightening and overwhelming but that’s only because I am stepping outside of my box and I know that no matter what I am taking steps to heal and that is what is important. I am worth it and yes I am a Brave Girl.
Can’t wait for this class to start..happy and a bit scared.
Wonderful morning in worship. Then spent the evening planning for a techniques class I’m doing this week. Can’t believe this week is finally here… So looking forward to SR!!!
The clubhouse is so bright and delightful. I can’t imagine a better place to be inspiration and take a deep creative breath. At the moment, I am a single mother to a fun and courageous 5 year old. I went through a year and a half divorce, after being with this man for 10 years. I went from a stay at home mommy to being a little of everything…I was whoever the situation called for. Unfortuanetly the passion and the time had disappeared from my life. It was a hard divorce…the things that I found out where any women’s worst nightmare…then some. What have I been up to…I’ve been busy rebuilding my life.
The cronic pain I was having..as well as raising a child left me without the ability to work on creative projects. Now that I am resurfacing, I’m learning art is a critical part of healing from the inside out. I have just finished my first painting in almost 3 years. It was magic for me. I could feel passion and joy and my heart buzzed with excitement. I can’t return to the type of work I used to do. I am trying to find a way to support my son and I. Being creative..and a mommy, fills my soul in a way nothing does. So in rebuilding my life….that is where I would like to start. I feel like this retreat and the women in it would be life changing for me.
Congratulations to all the winners. Looking forward to creating with all of you!
I’m taking Soul Restoration I again
how cool is this????!!! thanks for a chance to win such an amazing prize. I love what you are doing, it makes my heart smile. I’m always working on so many things….need to get crafty each day, if even for a little bit. I just finished a layout all about ME and while it was very intimidating to share, I LOVED how it turned out. I live a blessed life and while it may not be a perfect life, it sure is a blessed one.
My soul is so happy to have this chance!!! I can’t wait to get started and to be BRAVE! Thanks so much!!!!
This may be too late for the contest, but I wanted to share the fact that we are doing something similar in Hailey (Sun Valley), Idaho, in that we also took a big warehouse that looked exactly like yours and transformed it into something wonderful. Ours was built in the 30′s by the Forest Service and used as their big machine shop. When we got it a year and a half ago the floor had been concreted over, the walls were a horrible dirty grayish white and it was just one giant shell. We painted it with loads of color and named it The Wood River Sustainability Center. We provide farmers – big and back yard small – a place to sell their produce and value added products year round, we teach gardening classes, chicken raising classes, seed saving, etc., etc., etc. We are in the process of installing a commercial kitchen so people can come in and preserve the food they grow in their gardens. It is a good place
I am working on developing better coping skills. In the past 2 weeks, both of my grandmothers have been diagnosed with cancer. My Granny has breast cancer, and will be having surgery tomorrow to remove the tumor, as well as some of her lymph nodes to see if it’s spread. My Grandma has Multiple Myeloma (cancer of the plasma cells), and will begin chemo this week. This has been a lot for me to process, and usually I would do something destructive (like binge eat) in order to handle my emotions. Instead, I’ve been trying to just express myself through art, as a more healthy way of dealing with the pain.
I am finishing up my 2010 annual photo album. Things seem to come and go so fast that I like to record events in pictures and words. My teenage kids love to go through them and say “remember when…” On those not so exciting days it’s good for all of us to “remember when…”
Confession; I have gone completely digital on my scrapbooking. I am a little nervous to actually get out the “real” scrapbooking supplies for soul restoration. Honestly, I’ve kind of missed it.
I am making art. Canvases with a message. Inspirational. It’s been percolating for a LONG time…just wanting and hoping and dreaming but never DOING. Need to pay the bills, you know? Need to come to terms with a difficult relationship, you know?
But now, it’s happening. I am getting a job only to pay bills, but my LIFE is becoming ART. 
I have been moving across the country for the last six months. Literally – moving – GA to ND, ND to NC and then NC to NM. It has been exhausting and I have been sick most of the time and somewhere along the way I lost my creativity…until recently. We moved into a little apartment with our three kids and it was imperative that I have some space of my own to get crafty. I am holed up in a walk-in closet like Harry Potter under the stairs and couldn’t be happier. My current project is an altered art scrapbook. It’s my first go at hybrid scrapping and I am loving the options available. It has been a great way to heal and get to know myself again. I am looking forward to taking Soul Restoration and would love the opportunity to put the cost of tuition toward some fresh art supplies.
Brave Girls SR1 has given me such a different outlook on life! I now feel like I have the skills to make positive changes in my life and so that’s what I’m doing. I’m making small, positive changes in my life every day, little by little and all that positiveness is rubbing off on my family and friends and it’s WONDERFUL! I’m so thankful to have found this class and to have given the gift of SR1 to myself. I’ve learned things that I’ll use over and over and over again. Looking forward to the gifts and rewards that SR2 will bring!
I have already signed up for Soul Restoration I for tomorrow’s class and am SOOOOOOOOO excited!! I went to Michael’s yesterday and got some supplies & it really made it seem more “real.” But I spent WAYYYYY more $$ than I planned (it was so fun to spend $ on myself for a change, tho!!) so getting reimbursed for the tuition would certainly help out! Love to you all & can’t wait to start class!!
~Kim
I am creating getting ready for a craft fair on May 7th. I am finding it hard to limit myself to what I create, but I am creating and that is fun.
i cant wait til soul restoration starts tomorrow! yay!
i love looking at all these pics as well! soooo fun! xo
I am heading over to the craft store this afternoon and have decided to incorporate working on art with my 21 month old. Letting her get messy and have fun creating will be a huge challange for me. Its all part of me working on “letting go”. Messes can be cleaned, right? Its the process and the fun that is more important. (wish I believed that)! 2 more winners to go —-whoo hoo! fingers crossed,
Thanks for the opportunity, don’t know how I’ll get there or even where it is yet, but if I win, I’ll be there.
Definitely something I need to look into, even if I’m a bit late to the bandwagon. I have some vague plans…. ideas…. a dim vision…. and it tends to get drowned in the day-to-day bustle of life with 2 special needs girls. Motivation, where art thou?
hope its not too late to enter!!
Sniffle Sniffle. Still wearing my fuzzy slippers and doing the pick me for the last spot dance!!!!!
I am so inspired to go farther, dig deeper, and explore the beauty that is within me. Given by the giver of life the breath He has given I hope to not waste but to enrich my family and the people who I meet on my journey to Restoration. Love you girls. Can’t wait till tomorrow.
What crazy huge things am I working on right now? I’m working on making a Flat Stanley project as fun and educating as it can be for my niece… I’m working on finding the pieces of my heart that have shattered over the death of my dog, so that I can begin to create a tribute to him (so far I just can’t bring myself to it)… I’m working on opening up my heart and mind so that my marriage can grow and become more full of love rather than being stifled… I’m working on being the best stepmother I can be when the kids are very challenging teenagers and just-past-teens.
And I’m still working on the lessons I learned in SR1 and struggling with journaling, and working very, very hard to break through that barrier.
And I’m working at hearing my truth teller, being kind and gentle to myself…
And I’m loving all of the results I’ve already had with the SR1 lessons… and can’t wait to keep working on them.
Not sure if that’s what you wanted, as I’m only really creating me, and not an art object… but that’s what I’m working on, in a nutshell.
LOVE you guys!!
I am SO excited for Soul Restoration to start tomorrow! My soul is ready to be restored.. much needed!!! Can’t wait!!!
Shoot! Missed it by a minute! Does that count???
Up at 3:30 am EST, busy mind, unable to sleep, I gave up on sleep, got up and went into my studio. I started with prepping my truth cards. Next, I mounted some stamps I’d gotten in 2000 at a Stampin’ Up party and had never used. Then, I started to play. At some point in the wee hours, I felt overwhelmed with gratitude. My soul rejoiced in the knowledge that I have never been alone. Even at the lowest points in my life, I have been loved and supported. In my mind, it is God I think of who is always there. Not the God of my childhood, but the God I have come to know over the course of my life. It is love. I worry about naming it or trying to identify it–it’s different for each of us. The labels, names and titles come with so many trappings. For me, it’s the most personal relationship, perhaps my most honest. It is the one where all my secrets are revealed. Where I am my most vulnerable, where I dare to dream, hope and also where I take my wounds, my hurts, needs and quake from my fears. In the end, it is my relationship with myself. The one where I acknowledge my truth, and allow love to be present.
I took one of my cards and painted it. Next, I got out my set of Thank You stamps and my seldom used embossing kit. I wrote a Thank You card to God, to myself, to the love that has sustained and carried me to this moment. I am so grateful for the constant presence of that love–whether I am always conscious of it or not, it is there. Expecting nothing, given freely–May this restoration experience help me to remember just how marvelous and wonderful this life is!
To the Brave Girl Home Team: Thank you for this opportunity. May you find an unending source of energy and support in the weeks ahead as you share your gifts with us. I can barely wait for the workday to end so I can come home and watch the video!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for doing this online where I can restore my soul from down under
xxx
Leeann
It looks amazing Melody! Congratulations on seeing your vision come true!
This is so great! I absolutely love it! Everytime I feel sad, frustrated, exhausted, depressed or uninspired I look at the all the picures of the clubhouse and feel so refreshed and inspired.