Mirror mirror on the wall who’s the fairest of them all? or Magic Mirror on the wall if you are talking about the original Snow White. This is one of the most memorable lines from the movie.
IT’S EAST TO PICK OUT THE FLAWS
We seem to be our worst critics. Maybe it’s the blemish on your skin the imperfect eyebrows maybe even the tinsel-y roots that are coming in. That’s my code word for gray hair. I am sure you don’t have to think too hard to find an “issue” or something that bothers you about yourself.
We have to stop just looking for what’s wrong and start looking at what is right. We have to be kinder to ourselves! It’s tough to remind ourselves sometimes that what we see, or rather who we see looking back at us in the mirror is really great.
When our brains interpret what our lips say… you are ugly, your lips are too small, your hair is too wild (or thin or long, short any other derogatory thing bothering us at the moment) or any other shade or hate we can throw at ourselves. What our brains hear… they believe is the reality and in turn, we then believe it to be the truth. Here’s a little secret… there are a lot of people in the world who might say unkind things about us. So we have to do a better job of not speaking negatively.
BE NICE… BE KIND
No questions asked we must be kinder to ourselves. No matter where you are on the path of self-love, I know you can be doing better. Personally, this isn’t something that comes naturally to me. This takes work; It takes practice. And it is one of those things that there is truly no finish line for.
We have to be sure to say kind things to ourselves. I started thinking about what could I do to remind myself to do this? Some of the things I came up with were… I could put sticky notes on my mirror, record a message, and play it back to myself (but I’d probably criticize my self over the sound of my own voice.) Sign up for an app or a daily text. But, these just don’t feel right. I wanted something more unique.
HOW CAN I REMIND MYSELF TO DO THIS?
How can I encourage the people I love to do this? I decided to make some special gifts for my friends. I wanted them to have some Magic Mirrors, that were special and personal for each person I was making these for. I didn’t want to make up generic affirmations or reminders. At first, I was reluctant to have anyone think I was trying to tell them something.
So I worked in questions to my normal conversations. For the most part people weren’t on to my inquisitive digging for answers. Here were some of the questions I asked… and not all at once.
- “What’s the nicest thing you have said to yourself?”
- “Oh man, what do you wish you could hear someone say to you every day?”
- “Whats the best advice you have ever heard?”
- “The line that makes you smile?”
My super sneaky ways paid off. I got some pretty good responses from my friends, so I got to work making mirrors. I simply wanted to put what they said, what they needed to hear on the mirror. Like a big sticker so that when they held it up and they looked at their beautiful face and saw the message in the mirror looking back at them that they too would see those words speak those words and hear those words.
I wanted those words to be seen with love, heard with love, spoke with love, and filled with love.
YOU ARE ENOUGH
I didn’t tell people what I thought that they needed to hear. I told my friends what they thought they needed which was great. I helped create an affirmation that they enjoyed seeing and hearing that they believed in and then they took part in creating. People were quite emotional opening up this gift.
But the more I thought about this… after I had given the first round of mirrors out. I thought all of the affirmations that I put on those mirrors could have applied to all of us. While I am sure some will resonate more than others we all need a friendly reminder that we are enough.
AFFIRMATIONS
Here are some affirmations if you feel stuck creating your own or if you want a little inspiration.
- I can do anything I put my mind to.
- I am brave.
- My voice is wise.
- I am strong.
- I love and I am loved.
- I am awesome.
- I am enough.
- I know what I am doing.
- I have the freedom and power to create the life I desire.
- I am lovable.
- I am resilient.
- I am worth it.
- I am smart.
- I can do anything I put my mind to.
TUTORIAL
Use your creativity to design your unique piece of art. For mine, I picked up some mirrors at Dollar Tree. I used Cricut Permanent Premium Vinyl and Effloresce Font, Size 40pts in Cricut Design Space. After I cut the file, I weeded around the letters. (I use these weeding tools.) Next, use Cricut Transfer Tape over the letters. Before applying the letters, wipe down the mirror surface with Isopropyl Alcohol to remove any debris, dust, or oil. Now you are ready to place your transfer tape along with the affirmation. Rub each of the letters under the transfer tape to be sure you have adhesion. Then, slowly pull back the transfer tape peeling it back tight to the mirror.
This is a pretty easy craft and makes a big impact. It won’t take you very long once you have selected the message you want to write.
TROUBLESHOOTING & NOTES
- On one of the mirrors, I made my application of the affirmation was crooked. I was able to use 100% acetone to wipe on the mirror to remove the vinyl. First I wiped the mirror and loosened the glue, then I scraped the letters, and finally using the acetone to remove the remaining glue residue off. Give it a final wipe with Isopropyl Alcohol before you re-apply the affirmation again.
- On another, I didn’t estimate the size of my letters correctly. My message was too big for the mirror. No worries, I was able to cut in between then lines and reduce the spaces before I applied it to the mirror.