Be Mindful of Your Shenpa...and Choose Your Daily Happiness - SU Travels Abroad

Poking through more boxes, I found a few more large ziplock bags of left over scrapbook layout materials.  I tend to like to keep all coordinated items together because it's just that much easier to dive right in and continue using it up.

These patterned paper from Glitz were left over from a layout I made in May 2009 for my Book of Me (BOM) projects to address my feelings of low self esteem.  I still love these patterned papers and wish I had bought more of it at the time, but I guess I have tons more of others to keep me occupied for a lifetime.

I started off with making some quick candles by trimming some mustard colored cardstock scraps down and distressing them with SU Only Orange.  (Sigh, my TH Distress Ink pads are in storage and so are my sponges.)  The flames were just free hand cut and I was originally going to pop dot them on top of each other for a dimensional look.

But rediscovering these scraps made me go back to my shabby chic / collagey style preference so I decided to pull out the Buddha image from the SU Travels Abroad set to make a birthday card for one of my best friends.  He and I chat a lot about Buddhist and New Age philosophies for self help/development purposes as we often try to support each other through life's many trials. 

Lately, I'm on a kick with the Buddhist nun, Pema Chodron, and her video speeches on the concept of Shenpa.  Basically, (in my own attempt to understand this) how we get in our own way by subconsciously falling into repeated patterns of either self sabotage/self soothing.

Shenpa is the urge, the hook, that triggers our habitual tendency to close down. We get hooked in that moment of tightening when we reach for relief. To get unhooked we begin by recognizing that moment of unease and learn to relax in that moment.

If you'd like to read more about the concept of Shenpa, click here.

So I made a Birthday card for my good friend to always be mindful of his own Shenpa tendencies and to avoid his own self manufactured habitual traps that only serve to bring him down.

I wish I had my sponges, and my matte gold liquid pearls to create a faux Mala Bead look around the edges of the purple decorative label edges to further the theme.

The card above ended up being a shaker card per this SCS Happy VSN Event Challenge:

Challenge Title:Choose Happiness DailyHostess: Sassy (Joan7356)Keyword: JUN15VSNF

"I am in charge of how I feel and today I choose happiness." ~ unknown

"I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it." ~ Groucho Marx

"Deep down inside she knew that the choice was hers - so she chose happiness" ~Queenisms

My challenge for you today:

So often when happy events occur you see confetti, streamers, balloons. For this challenge you will make a shaker card with the theme of "Choose Happiness Daily".

Something that when you or anyone else looks at it a smile and sense of happiness comes over them. Fill that shaker with confetti, sequins, etc. A "Happy" sentiment should be included.

So my card says "Shenpa" on the outside, and on the inside, I printed out through my printer to say "Be mindful of your shenpa so you can prioritize choosing your daily happiness because you deserve it.  Happy Birthday my friend." 

This should be interesting to post in the mail to him. Lol, hope the beads don't explode during transit when I mail this. 

Thanks for visiting!





"Be Mindful of Your Shenpa...and Choose Your Daily Happiness" 
Paper: Glitz "Sparrow" PP; Bazzil CS; Michael's Metallic Gold CS
Stamps: SU Travels Aboard
Ink: Memories Artprint Brown; TH Distress Inks Old Paper & Worn Lipstick; SU Only Orange
Embellishments: Misc Seed Beads (from a swap return); 
Accessories: QK Lemonade Alpha Dies; MFT Bracket Tab Die; Dimensional Foam Tape
Size: 4.25" x 5.5" rectangular