Side by Side Beauty Collage

Dear Diary,

I have posted a few pictures of some of the girls with their "Beauty within and the Beauty around us" collages. It was a fun 45 minutes! The girls had to finish theirs at home but they got a good start at the meeting. Ms. Schammel gave a riveting speech about inner beauty. She almost moved me to tears as only an elementary school councilor can with her zestful views on the subject. I did get to speak briefly before starting the girls on the project. I chose my words carefully so as not to scar any of them with the cold reality of the subject but at the last minute I just showed them my collage and told them how beautiful I feel when my dog Buddy greets me in the afternoon after school, and about how he loves me and loves to spend time with me and vise versa. Oh and the Spring, when the flowers start to bloom what a wonderous time that is.... and hobbies are so important. I believe they broaden your horizons, they get you out collecting or whatever where you can meet new people and have new experiences and our families the love that binds us together through good times and bad... Then, I paused reflectively and noticed that their eyes were glazing over so I quickly mumbled a conclusion and we started our project.

Beauty Collage

Front

Center

Back

Dear Diary,

I finally finished the beauty collage. It still has some rough edges but the paper was wearing thin from all the gluing and pulling off I have done. The back has a baby with wings inspired by Marsha at Tumble Fish's fairies. My little butterfly baby does not compare to her fairies but it sure was fun to make. Marsha also uses the black and white checked strip on her fairy art. I temporarily borrowed this idea too but, as you can see I drew mine on but it is a little crude so I'm going to cover it when I can with something else. Our girls club meeting is next Thursday after school. 48 girls have signed up! Today is the first meeting so we will have a more accurate number this afternoon. I can't wait to see how they turn out!

Not Picasso

Dear Diary,

Some time my best intentions get me into doing things I'd rather not do. Like teach a class on self esteem to 30 fourth through 6th graders. It seems that at our neighborhood elementary school we have children who are actually suffering from low self esteem. I don't recall suffering from low self esteem until I was in the 8th grade. If I had not been so immature I might have suffered earlier in life because looking back at the family pictures you could open a soda bottle with my front teeth and my momma pulled my hair back so tight my eyes slanted and my nostrils flared. But back then models and beautiful young actresses where not on the covers of every magazine and on TV. The models I remember seeing where in the Sears or Penny's catalog and they were really nothing to aspire to.

My good friend that is the social worker/councilor got a grant for this 6 week after school girls' club. One of the planned activities is a collage. That's where I come in. I thought it would be fun and oh so symbolic to make a collage similar to the one below but with more one sentence journaling. I'm still working on the idea but the collage will fold in like a book and will be tied together by ribbon. The outside theme will be the beauty around us and the inside theme is the beauty within us. As for our little "talk" with the girls - What do I say? I ran a few things by my friend but I couldn't recite them with out pursing my lips while I talked in a high pitched womanly tone. She didn't think many of my ideas were appropriate for the age group and decided that she would do the talking if I would lead the craft.

When I was in college there were a group of girls on campus that were on the "Modeling Squad". These girls always looked so nice! Their hair, make up and outfits were always perfect. The modeling squad where never seen without pantyhose, heels and matching assessories. You would never see one alone. They traveled in a pack. I think because they made a bigger impression that way. A couple of other things set them apart from the rest of us girls - they never wore their pajamas in public and never rolled into class smelling like stale beer and cigarettes. Their teacher was tall, thin and dressed elegantly. Her hair, a perfect shade of red, looked as if she went to the beauty shop every day instead of once a week. She greeted the public with a parade wave and a huge smile. Thinking about it now, I kind of recall that years after I graduated she was involved in some sort of shop lifting scandal. I'll have to find out more about that.

Pre-Teen Journal