WLTL Lyons Township High Schools Radio Station — one of the number one high school radio stations in the country – is having it’s annual Rock-A-Thon this weekend to raise funds for the station. Donations are being accepted at 708.482.9585

The station is broadcasting live thanks to LTTV

My son now studying Radio Production at Columbia, got his humble beginnings at this station, his freshman year, on a dare. He proceeded to land a DJ slot for a really funny monologue about road rage. He went on to Radio Management and to win significant several awards for the station.

My daughter too has participated in radio as a DJ, WLTL presents, and gets quite involved in the antics and hype for the rock-a-thon. Last year they organized a survivor show, this year promises to be a blast.

Below her T-Shirt design was picked for this years T-Shirt

While this isn’t really a collage, it’s close enough!!

spontaneous scanner collage here.

the inside little zippered part of my coin purse is host to these tokens

it all began at thanksgiving at jenny’s 2 yrs ago. each of us got an angel from her trip to ireland.
at the time i needed an angel to watch over me – this was the beginning of my collection

as a friend jenny encourages boldness in me, she’s a no nonsense friend and one of the most authentic people I know – we always always laugh when we are together, she’s really the angel

the inspire piece came next from margaret, she told me I was an inpiration to her oh my gosh she of course is a bigger inspiration to me, not to minimize her thoughts of me, it’s just true.  She is one of the best listeners on the planet, when I have different sides to an equation she sees them as a whole, she has the uncanny abilty to advocate what’s best in a very non-judgemental way – on the back is a butterfly – her signature and logo for the what if organization she founded that feeds families in Haiti

in st louis with jenny on a trek to take her boys to camp we found the cool cat and other great novelty pins, Since, i love cats, i wear glasses, and i’m cool -  the cool cat pin was a must to add to my collection of tokens

“things happen for a reason”  i purchased after my divorce this past june …in my head and heart I thought remind me please why this needs to happen – I didn’t want my relationship with him to be over, of course the saying has meaning in all kinds of ways and can be applied to much much more than an end of something, I just have to believe it’s message.  This particular token has a silky sheen to it (see the swirls the scanner picked up on?) and a wonderful weight to it 
 
the pewter heart I gave to myself also after the divorce …it was as if to say hey love yourself darlin everything’s going to be OK…these little love icons comes from sundance- I give these to folks who mean something to me, but giving myself one reminded me I need to start with me. They get really warm when you hold them in your hand.

I also collect rocks,shells, beads and other odd things that warm my heart or connect me to nature or remind me of occasions gone by 

Do you?? 

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^{Karen Hanrahan ~ Wellness Educator/Nutritional Consultant/Blog Author
708.482.0678 ~ Websites: Nutrition, Weight Loss, and Green Clean as seen on Oprah}

^{Member of BNI – West Suburban BNI: “Chapter Mentor”
Member, Board Member and Programming Chair of West Suburban Women Entrepreneurs}

 

Creating Career through Collage (1996)

This collage is something I created when I was building my nutrition practice over 10 years ago, up until then I knew inside that I was clever, creative, smart and sassy, but have never really brought all of that to an expression that could earn me a living. I was a stay at home mom, about to raise 2 kids solo, frightened at the idea of being self supporting and yet beginning to see and believe that I had what it took to move my life forward.

I remember making this and how the words were exactly what I needed at the time.

Words that didn’t scan ( because they just didn’t fit ) include: free, this woman never gave up, heroes, home safe and sound, people helping people

What I love about this collage is that everything about it is pointing up, the window, the fingers crossed for good luck, all the words, I love that the angel and colorful dove had wings of flight, that my future was in the palm of my hand (right hand corner), I absolutely adore the colors in it – the ever present blue and green and the amazing birch trees reaching to the sky in autumn , my favorite time of year and taking all seriousness aside I love the the silly little dog with it’s tongue out.

The most amazing thing about this piece is that compared to what I was then and who I am now. ALL of this came true.

Pretty darn cool.

<sup>Karen Hanrahan ~ Wellness Educator/Nutritional Consultant/Blog Author
708.482.0678 ~ Websites: Nutrition, Weight Loss, and Green Clean as seen on Oprah

Member of BNI – West Suburban BNI: “Chapter Mentor”
Member, Board Member and Programming Chair of West Suburban Women Entrepreneurs</sup>

I didn’t quite have it in me last weekend to put the holiday decor away. A wet basement, from a minor flood this week, had me get it complete and put away yesterday.

It feels good. My decor was shifted here in my move and part of my separation. I didn’t touch it last year so this year in addition to seeing what was in all the boxes I decided to sort and donate things I am no longer interested in. I reduced the whole thing by 2 large bins.   We might ask ourselves why do we have all of this stuff in the first place?  Yet when putting the trees and decorations up this year I admit the process was delightful, celebratory and treasured.

I have a friend who says that Jan 15th  is the politically correct date to keep the tree up etc, after that your then a slovenly slob about it all.

Laughingly I have other friends who never take the tree down and other holiday decor gets mixed in, Valentines Day, Easter and 4th of July.  I think it’s a riot. I really don’t think it’s right to judge someone by whether or not there holiday decorations are put away by a certain time. Seriously who cares.

It’s been rather gloomy here, winter graydom ( a Karen word ) has set in. I am grateful for the weekend and the gloominess so I can putz around

This morning it was raining with small itsy snowflakes mixed in, very mini and nothing that would speak to snow reality. Just a reminder – oh yeah winter
 
Earlier in the month I shared a collage of santa’s that I had craftily put into a frame, this is the snowman version and I love it. I adore all the carrot noses, the pink glitter one on the bottom left and the humor of the snowman couple depicting the famous painting that at the moment the name of escapes me.

Some years I will keep the snowman themed stuff out until March. This year I decided to put it away. I am hoping the landlord will paint the bathroom and the clutter of all the snowman stuff would get in the way.
I was thinking tangerine for a paint color!

The crafty diddy below came with a gift from my friend sue years ago, one year she actually gave me some of these to use as gift tags as a gift. Those are all gone. I couldn’t wait to share them. She makes many of her own gift tags and gifts and I have to say that I admire that. I admire crafters from afar. I frequent quite a few craft blogs actually. I support them by purchasing their work – handmade gifts are so cool.

This little card is something I pull out each and every year and set it in with all the other snowman stuff. It just makes me smile 

I am creative in different ways.   Mostly I am afraid if I get involved in a craft I might get buried in the stuff that comes along with the project. I could swim in buttons, they make me smile ever so, and yet I seriously have to consider that I will never actually sit down and produce something like this.

I did think baby blue buttons on a navy card stock, it’s end dipped in silver glitter would look really cool – a nighttime snowman scene – I’m the idea person. Not the crafter.

^{K a r e n     H a n r a h a n
Wellness Educator/Nutritional Consultant
Mentoring YOU to Health Success
708.482.0678}

Wellness Consulting Websites:
^{Nutrition and Weight Loss}
Green Clean as seen on Oprah!

<sup>Blog Authoring : Bringing Your Voice to the Internet – Examples of Work

Member of BNI – West Suburban BNI: “Chapter Mentor”
Member of West Suburban Women Entrepreneurs www.wswe.org
WSWE Board Member and Programming Chair</sup> 

^{Causes I donate to:  Green Belt Movement, Global Warming 101, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, What if Foundation, American Forests Campaign} 

This is a collage I did in 1999. It’s my most favorite of all.

I was divorced the first time in 1996 and in process with that for almost 4 years.  Those were some pretty rough times. In 1998 I remarried and the year and a half prior was this amazing whirlwind of new love and excitement.

Come January of 1999 we encountered some major pitfalls. It wasn’t us per say, it was stupid circumstances and it was a really stupid situation, yet it definitely tested us as a couple.

Everyone knew me as the woman who pulled herself together from nothing, attracted this wonderful man and who was striving forward. I was all about creating future. I had been meeting with this group of woman and collaging and writing for several years. I always brought a cheerful I can do – ness to the group.

Yet when all this situation and circumstance hit I went to my monday morning class with gloom and doom in my heart and a black cloud over my head. I cried, I was scared and I couldn’t see past it. Too upset to collage. Forget it

My group, as loving as they always were showed concern and care for me. My mentor at the time, leader of our group and collage artist Ann Kleboe, coached me and said you’re here to collage let’s find a way to do that. With that she asked me what color was I feeling?  I said BLUE, which happens to be my favorite color. Yet this was about being blue – about being knocked down.

She said in her brilliance, “so collage blue then”.

Be reminded that this is a specific technique that is about tapping into your subconscious mind. With my blue funk in mind I tore for 20 minutes and found the above images. What unfolded when I put them together completely amazed me.

Thus the power of collage.

I hope you see blue hope and possibility in this collage. It’s been an inspiration for me ever since.

K a r e n     H a n r a h a n
Wellness Educator/Nutritional Consultant
Mentoring YOU to Health Success
708.482.0678

Websites:
Nutrition
Weight Loss

Member of BNI – West Suburban BNI: “Chapter Mentor”
Member of West Suburban Women Entrepreneurs www.wswe.org
WSWE Board Member and Programming Chair

60% of affiliate funds earned from this site are donated to cause –
currently to the what if foundation and the american forests campaign

P.S I have been working on a freelance blog writing and design project. Check it out