DIY AFFIRMATION CARDS FOR INNER HEALING

Originally written for and published by Ethel Studio on February 27, 2021

There are many affirmation cards, oracle decks, and all kinds of decks out there these days for good reason. We can radically change our relationship to ourselves by changing the way we speak to ourselves. Making your own affirmation cards allows you to tailor your messages to yourself. They serve as a great complement to a meditation practice to help us go deeper to remind us of concepts or parts of ourselves that we can easily get disconnected from. They are a great way to help us focus on what we want to cultivate in your lives, instead of dwelling on what we’re lacking or on what other people say you should do. Purchasing an affirmation deck is great, but what about making your own? You can curate exactly what you’re wanting and needing in your life for your own healing journey while tapping into your creative energy while you’re making them! (And they cost next to nothing!)

Over the years I have had to transform the way I speak to myself. I have been raised and conditioned to criticize myself, not trust myself. The inner critic in my mind was strengthened and fed by people around me and the systems I live within. We are constantly being convinced that we need to look outside of ourselves to find joy, happiness, and understanding, when actually all those elements are found within us— they are our own experiences after all.

Equipped with thick paper, scissors, and a pen, we can write anything we want for ourselves, anything we need, to become our own healers. Think of these cards as love notes to yourself, daily reminders, or whatever you want them to be. Explore and have some fun! You can always add or subtract from your deck anytime. Just do what feels right.

MATERIALS

  • Thick paper: reused cereal boxes, cardstock, cover stock, or anything you see fit.

  • Scissors

  • Ruler (but not necessary if you can cut in more or less a straight line)

  • Rubber cement or adhesive of choice

  • Pens or markers

  • Magazine pages for collage or any art-making device to decorate the opposite side of your cards

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Take a look at your cardstock (or card surface of choice) and divide the page up into reasonable sections for your cards. You can make them jumbo or petite and pocket sized. Oh! Or make multiple decks of different sizes! (okay, I might be getting carried away). Here are a few dimension options for 8.5” x 11” letter paper:

  1. Quaint: Make three columns of 2.75” with a bit off to the side as waste to be recycled. Then rows every 2” with a bit to spare at the end. OR 2.5” x 2.25” as I used in the video.

  2. Square: 3.5” x 3.5” squares, again with some extra paper for recycling. Or adjust your measurements to make any size square.

  3. Big messages: two columns of 4.25”, two rows of 5.5” - this is also easy to just fold your card stock in half twice if you don’t have a ruler.

  4. Free for all: cut them in whatever shape and size you please! Circles? Trapezoids? Crescent moons? They are yours and yours only!

  • Next, write your affirmations! Either write them all out as they come to you, or write them all out first, then copy them down once you get a sense of all that you want in your deck. Look to your favorite meditation teachers, books, mantras, songs, or anywhere. (If “I Am….” statements aren’t clicking for you, try quotes from inspiring people or texts.) Some affirmations may feel out of reach, (do I really love myself unconditionally?), but that’s okay, we can leave room for personal growth along our path. Here’s inspiration to get you started, but let yourself be inspired by a variety of sources.

  • I have everything I need

  • I allow myself to just be

  • BE > DO

  • I allow myself to feel my feelings fully

  • I embrace new beginnings

  • My career does not define me

  • All my experiences are a part of my life’s journey

  • I let go of the illusion of control

  • I can forgive myself, I can forgive others

  • I embrace my future, even though I may not know what it looks like

  • I enjoy spending time with myself

  • I allow myself to let go

  • I am not broken, I am human

  • I am a creator, I tune into my full creative potential

  • I am open to trying new things

  • I allow my light to shine

  • I notice my fears, and I don’t push them away

  • My fear does not define me

  • My wounds are a part of me, but they do not define me

  • I embrace my current experience moment to moment

  • I allow myself to be the change I want to see in the world

  • One day, I will die

  • I am always healing

  • I allow others to help me when I am in need

  • I am whole

  • Fear is not my identity

  • I love myself unconditionally

  • I accept all parts of myself

  • I feel safe in my body

  • I live each day as it may be my last

  • I can trust myself and trust others

  • I allow my heart to be open

  • I deserve rest

  • Everything has an ending

  • I find refuge in nature

  • I am grounded

  • The only constant is change

  • It’s okay of someone else doesn’t like me

  • I enjoy the present moment

  • I am honest with myself

  • I listen to my body

  • I release the pain in my heart

  • I am not alone

  • Stress is an experience, my stress does not define me (insert any difficult emotion!)

  • I nourish myself

  • I let go of my resistance to my current reality

  • I am gentle with myself

  • I am grateful

  • growth > comfort

  • I allow myself to grieve my losses

Next, get decorating the opposite side of your cards in which ever way you feel called. I love searching through magazine pages and finding the textures, images, and colors that call to me for each card’s message. I then mark on the back of the page roughly where I want to glue the card, glue it down with some rubber cement, and cut away the paper from around the card to reveal a finished card. Drawing or painting images or shapes on your cards can be great too! Explore what you want for the personality of each card, and remember that these cards are for YOU.

When you’ve got your whole deck ready, you can wrap them up in a piece of fabric or place them in an old gift box or any kind of container for safe keeping. Pull a card each day as a way of reconnecting with yourself. By saying an affirmation to myself each day, it started to transform my thinking and way of being beyond what I can even describe to you. I even made a deck for my mom to focus on her transition into retirement, which has been a great tool for her to focus on crafting her new post-career life and sense of Self.

Enjoy, and let us know how you’re liking your cards!