Do you love or hate summer? It’s not that you have to choose, but most people have very strong feelings one way or another. Me? I love seeing each shade of green peak during summer, but I hate the heat. Do you do well in hot temperatures? Because I do not. 

If you’re like me and you’re also looking for activities that don’t require you or the family to be out in the heat, you may enjoy one of these collage activities.

• Create a business card that you feel represents who you are, or where you are in this season of your life, if you had to fit it on a 2 ½ by 3 ½ piece of cardstock or posterboard. You can make your card with magazines, scrapbook paper, stickers, washi tape, paint, markers, colored pencils, etc. Use whichever artistic mediums you feel drawn to, and don’t be afraid to have fun with it! Use scented or sparkly gel pens, the stickers or stationery you’ve collected but never used because they’re too pretty, or whatever your inner child wants. Kids can enjoy this activity by making a collage they feel represents who they currently are or who they want to be when they grow up. Or, if you feel called to collage who you want to be when you grow up, go for it! You’re never too old to become who you are. 
• Make a soul collage using two to four images that really speak to you. For example, you might find a page from a magazine you like for your background, then you might cut a couple other pieces that you’re drawn to and arrange them in whatever way feels good. The goal is to choose pages/images without too much forethought, planning or wondering why. Try to let this collage be whatever it wants to be. It could be meaningful to have everyone in the family make a soul collage and then share with each other! But it can be just as special to soul collage with friends or on your own.
• Use fresh flowers and/or fallen leaves to collage. If you have flowers planted that you’re okay picking, you could use those or you could go to the store and get a bouquet – or even a single flower will do! Don’t overthink the flower or what you’ll end up making. Just go with whatever you feel most drawn to. It can be helpful to use cardstock or posterboard for the background, but this collage can also be done on the ground in nature. When collaging, you can remove the petals to make a mandala, an animal, a landscape or you could keep the flowers whole and let their shape guide your collage. And don’t forget the leaves and stems! Those can be helpful to shape your collage and add more color and texture. Just use caution with the stems, or discard them altogether if you’re using roses or another flower with thorns.
• Collage a vision board for the second half of the year, something to be put in a journal or displayed where you can see and be motivated by it. It’s stressful thinking about all the things you have to do or all the things that would have to happen for you to reach your goals. But it can make it a little less daunting to add colors that relax you and are easy on the eyes, to find images that excite you and give you hope and to keep the collage focused on one goal, in one area of your life. We don’t have to have met our New Year’s Resolutions just yet – or at all. It’s okay to start over, make another goal. Sometimes, doing reflective activities like this with kids can bring out your inner child and remind you it’s okay to keep dreaming.

Happy collaging! I hope that whatever you make speaks to you in a way only something that you created could.