00:00 Preview

00:39 Opening

01:14 Introduction

02:15 The Interview Begins with Jamie Schumann

03:18 Working with Grace and the Other CYDC Members

08:10 The Deck Creation Process

12:39 Creating Self Trust Within Yourself

14:51 Inviting Your Inner Child and Having Fun

20:24 Vision for Your Deck

27:10 Hopes and Aspirations for Your Deck

32:23 Other Deck Creation Courses

36:41 Inviting Others to Join the Club

39:02 Wrapping Up the Episode

40:06 End of Episode – Make Sure to Leave a Podcast Review!

40:22 End Screen

Welcome to the GRACED Podcast! A space for everyday magic for your everyday life. We do this through rituals, aligning yourself to your soul’s purpose, and creating Alchemy to heal our mind, body, and spirits so that you can bring in more love and joy, manifest your desires, and believe in your dreams. Listen and watch over at grace.com/podcast and on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, Instagram, TikTok and all the places you can find me on social media. Now let’s dive into today’s episode.

💖 Introduction

Grace:  Welcome to the GRACED podcast where we talk about how we can infuse more everyday magic into your everyday life!

We’re doing something a little different today and talking to one of the Create Your Deck Club members, Jamie, to hear about her experience inside the Create Your Deck Club.

Unbeknownst to me, Jamie had actually taken another deck making course but actually had trouble making progress, and she actually struggled for years in making her own deck…that is, until she joined the Create your Deck club!

And if you want to know what the Create Your Deck Club is, it is a course membership where I provide mentorship, monthly coaching calls, and course lessons on how to make your own deck from start to finish. 

Find out more info at www.mysticmondays.com.

Now let’s dive into today’s episode!

✨ The Interview Begins with Jamie Schumann

Grace: Hi Jamie, thanks for being here.

Jamie: Hi Grace, thanks for having me.

Grace: Yeah, definitely. So we’re here today to talk about your Create Your Deck Club experience and what it’s been like being a member of the club. So to start off, what drew you to join the Create Your Deck Club?

Jamie: Oh yeah, there were a few things that drew me to join the club. I think the first was I had a deck idea that I had been sitting on for a couple of years, actually, but was really struggling to find resources that felt right and aligned with where I was at in starting my deck and bringing it into the world. And so, when I got the email, it just felt like an invitation to join something really special.

And although it was something I had to kind of sit on and think about for a minute, it did feel right to me and one of the things particularly that I said yes to about was working with you. I just felt really drawn to your decks and to your work and I knew that it was going to be a helpful experience.

✨ Working with Grace and the Other CYDC Members

Grace: Yeah, and so in what way specifically has being a part of the club been positive for you, and I’m really glad you joined, and I think you’re a really special light in the group, bringing really thought provoking comments, but also I feel like really special insights that only you can bring, and I also feel like because of that, you’re bringing it into your deck, and I feel like every time you show up, you’re showing us really beautiful paintings and it’s evolved into like two decks which we’ll talk about, but I’d love to hear about just how this process has been working with other members of the Create Your Deck Club and working with me.

What has that been like?

Jamie: It’s been so healing, like that’s really the first word that comes to mind for me because I’ve been an artist for a really long time, but I’ve always felt reluctant to share my work because it’s always felt so private to me, and it’s always felt so personal, and sometimes if you see yourself as an artist, you have fears about how other people will see you, and I feel like this deck club was I knew it was going to be a really great opportunity for me to just dip my toe in the water and start sharing with other people in a really I don’t want to say safe environment it feels very safe but there’s still ways that I can push myself to show up and so although it feels really safe it also feels like there’s opportunity to expand into like my growing edge and challenge myself each month and I think the participants have really helped with that because we’re all going through very similar things in our own processes, even though some of us maybe are at different places, it really, really helped to celebrate what people have done, to see their unique art and their unique experience with their journey through whether they’re creating like a Tarot or an Oracle deck, and then to look at my own experience and say, yeah, I really see myself in this process and I see it coming to life and it’s just so amazing to be able to share that with other people. I feel like for sure one of the big things for me was overcoming this mentality or this ingrained belief that I just have to do it alone. I think that’s something that came up in one of our meetings and you had touched on like the, I don’t remember if you said like, but you’re never alone.

It’s really this process of co-creating with this great divine spirit of creativity and having a relationship with that and so there’s a spiritual aspect that comes into play too, which I feel like we’re all moving through together and it’s been a really beautiful experience to share that with people and it’s amazing how even though it’s been like a month, there’s just so much synergy to come back to.

It doesn’t feel like we’re strangers, it feels like we all come back together and we all have this shared experience that we’re touching base on each other with and then we have time to retreat into our own process. That’s so motivating to be able to do that and to be on our own timeline and to say, okay, I’m discovering the pace of what I’m doing.

And for me, I think a big part of that, that I’ve learned through experiencing this with the other group members is like, it’s real to have blocks. It’s real to feel like you’re not doing something right, or it’s real to feel like you’re doing a crappy job. Those things aren’t true, it’s just part of the process and so to be able to have people to share that with and to experience like, oh yeah, like this person is struggling with this thing and I’m struggling with something similar or maybe they have something that they’re struggling with that I can see down the road I might struggle with, something that I haven’t thought of.

Having those insights and being able to bounce the experience off of each other and have that reflection opportunity, it’s just been so enriching to my life personally and to creating my deck. It makes me feel like I’m part of a bigger process. I think.

Grace: Yeah, absolutely. And I feel like whatever is meant to come through in those monthly meetings is exactly whatever the attendees need to hear.

It’s like you and whoever else is showing up has this theme around, it could be like what it means to identify as an artist, what it means to find your creative flow, what it means to insert your identity into your deck, and perhaps your creative process is changing as you’re changing. And I do feel like it’s a personal process where as you’re going along, you’re learning the lessons of the cards, and I know you’re making an Oracle deck, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t apply if someone else is making a Tarot deck, because I feel like, in general, it’s the lessons of life. And that’s a really big, amorphous thing but I feel like that’s another thing that ties us together is that we’re all soulful beings putting ourselves into our work and creating purpose out of what we do and really desiring to make a positive impact. And I think a healing impact, I think that’s also something that ties us together is just wanting to heal ourselves. So that we can also make something that can be healing for other people and for other people to learn through our experiences by experiencing our decks.decks.

✨ The Deck Creation Process

Grace: I would love to hear about your creative process so far and what has it been like having this identity of being an artist and moving through it by creating your own decks because you mentioned it has been healing, so how does that tie into your personal story?

Jamie: Yeah, so I think I mentioned that I have been doing art and I’m also a poet. I’m a writer too. I’ve been doing art and poetry since I was probably like 10 years old, like really young, and that came out of just a lot of traumatic events and things kind of falling apart at that time in my life. And so I saw it as an outlet, not really as a process or as something to share with other people.

And I always came back to it even though it was something that I saw as a hobby or as an outlet. It was something I always returned to even when I was in college. I wasn’t majoring in art. I wasn’t doing any art classes and it just kept coming back to it and then I found myself working full time and feeling like I was really burning out in my real world nine to five job and just feeling like I wanted more out of my life.

And I started a business and then I came back to like my art and so what’s really cool is even though I’ve been doing this practice for so long this is like the first time I’ve felt like I’m actually developing a deeper relationship with it because I’m developing this consciousness around my process while I’m making the art and writing, I think my process is something that, right now, it feels like it’s always evolving. You know, when I created my first card, I got the vision in my head for what it would look like, and that came with, like, the word for the first Oracle. And then I painted it, and it was sort of like a prototype, because I didn’t even know what medium I wanted to use.

I didn’t know, I knew I wanted to do like hand painted cards, but I hadn’t made any choices or decisions about what kind of tools I would use, and so I just got it out on the paper, I ended up painting it, and then I went on a walk later that day, and I was just repeating the Oracle, which is the seed, over and over and over in my head, like a mantra, and then all of a sudden, I had this flood of, this is what it means, To have a seed in your life, like this is what a seed is.

And then I came home and I did a voice recording of that and it just all came out. And I was hoping that that would be how all the cards would be coming out, but that’s not how it’s happening. It’s just happening in different ways. I think part of the process for me is getting in the right environment.

Like we talked a lot about that in the club is like, what does it mean to have your environment be really supportive to like your process? And what does it look like? Having things set up, my easel set up, my paint set up, my paintbrush set up, brushes accessible, even having like water in my painting space, like readily available so I don’t have to like go downstairs and get a cup of water, like having everything so I don’t have excuses to not get it on the canvas.

But it usually starts out with like a vision of something and a word coming through and then I get that out and I just, yeah, like I like to sit with that word and I sit with it for a while now and I just kind of like find rhythm in it and then things start to come and to flow out and that might be different than some of the other participants in their process and it might change for me too.

Like, I think the more I learn to trust what’s coming through and actually make that transition where I’m getting it out of my body and out of my head and like onto something tangible that I can see and feel and look at. And have it be expressed visually. I think the more that I do that, the more trust I cultivate.

It’s like one thing after another, like baby steps.

Grace: Yeah, that’s really beautiful. There’s definitely a magic to ritualizing your creative process and finding that flow. And I feel like, you know, just setting yourself up. For success, like, even having the water in your, you know, paint container ready to go is removing that resistance to finding another thing for you to not get into your creative flow.

So I think that’s really smart, because I think that the human mind can come up with a million excuses to not do something, especially if you’re not comfortable doing it yet, meaning that if it’s something new and we’re not like familiar with that process yet, we might find that like, well, it’s uncomfortable, it’s something new, and I don’t know if I feel like going through that whole thing.

✨ Creating Self Trust Within Yourself

Grace: Doing something new can be quite scary when you’re not necessarily sure of what’s on the other side of it, and I think part of this process, too, is just feeling safe within yourself of being able to trust yourself that you will show up for yourself, and you mentioned trusting your process, but I’d also like to know, has creating your deck created self trust within yourself?

Jamie: Yeah, absolutely. I think, oh gosh, that’s created so much more of my experience with self trust because I’ve been cultivating that in connection to like my body wisdom and my intuition, which I feel like are the same things. I’ve been cultivating that and having a relationship with that and trying to be in like right relationship with that for many years now.

And especially for me, it’s really important. Because I suffered from chronic illness in the past, and so I at one point felt very disconnected from my body because I was getting sick all the time, and I felt like it was out of my control, and I was really struggling with life and with my well being for a number of years.

And so I do think that this act of self trust, it’s just like, I don’t know, it’s like, it’s also reconnecting me with almost my original form of self, if that makes sense, because not only is it self trust, but it’s like fun, and it’s adventurous, and I feel my soul being expressed through this process, like, when I paint, I’m not just painting.

Putting color on a canvas, I’m emoting and I’m feeling it and it’s fun and usually I play music and I have like a tea or a coffee or like a fun beverage that I can enjoy and it almost feels like care, like really, really luxurious care that is fun and I think something for me, it’s like this idea of self care has always been taught to me, at least from this lens of it’s work.

It takes work to take care of yourself. You have to do X, Y, and Z. You have to take care of your body. You have to take care of your mind. And those things are all really important. And self care, it can take work, it can take discipline, it can take action. But this type of care, it just feels nourishing in a very different way.

And so I guess in this process. Discovering or rediscovering self trust in a way that feels fun and playful and easy and like life giving and energy giving. It’s a very different experience than what I’ve had before with cultivating self trust in other ways.

Grace: Yeah, and I also feel like with this trust, you know, trusting your body, trusting the process of creating, I do feel like you are trusting the process, but also you’re using all these different aspects of yourself to be in the moment.

✨ Inviting Your Inner Child and Having Fun

Grace: And I’m so glad to hear that you’re having so much fun because I know something that we have talked about in the club is inviting your inner child to be a part of this process. So what has it been like having fun and evoking these different parts of yourself, whether it is your inner child or your higher self or all these different parts of you being integrated in the moment and also in your creation process?

Jamie: Oh, yeah. I mean, it’s been a wild ride so far, because I know in the past, in the group, I’ve talked about resistance I’ve had. I don’t know any person who creates things that don’t experience resistance. And for me, resistance has been more of, like, this feeling, indescribable. I don’t know what this is, you know, I can’t name it, but it’s something that’s there that is just very hard to move through and I think in one of the meetings you had mentioned like you’re bringing up all the parts having all of yourself aligned and on board with like what you’re creating and what you’re doing and for me doing that while holding the vision I think has been an ongoing part of my process that I feel like I get more welcoming at every single time I make a card.

And I’m still holding a lot of fear and I’m still experiencing resistance. It’s just maybe showing up in different ways than it was before. And I think there’s something really powerful when you begin something because when you begin something, like when I started my paintings and I started writing out the cards, I felt almost like I was signing a contract with all the parts of myself.

Okay, inner child, I see you. We’re going to have a conversation that’s going to be ongoing about what this is going to feel like and what this is going to look like. And you’re going to tell me what you need. I think I made my second card, and I tried to make it, and it just looked so ugly.

I was like, this is not what I wanted it to be. And my inner child was like, why isn’t this fun right now? This isn’t what I wanted. And then I had like a teenage self too, that was like, oh girl, like you need to toss that. That’s so ugly. And then I had to regroup all myself and be like, okay, what’s not aligned with this?

Like what, what is not like, maybe this was the first draft. Maybe this was like what we needed to get out and we needed to work with this concept and understand this particular oracle in a different way. And so I think a big part of that inviting all of your parts of yourself is like the listening piece, really hearing what all those parts are saying and what they’re feeling and experiencing in the moment as you’re being like present with what you’re making and following through on like their needs, their commands, their desires, and I think too like allowing it to be a process that’s just like an ongoing conversation because yeah, like there’s been times where not everybody’s on board with something and then I’m like, that’s okay. Let’s have some compassion. Let’s be gentle and let’s check in with all these parts of myself. And am I feeling scared? Does this feel really scary? I think a big part of me is like when I come up with an Oracle word and a vision, I know it’s going to work, but I always ask myself, how have I embodied this?

Because that’s really important to me in my work is feeling embodied in what I’m making. Like I’ve learned something that I can share and pass on that feels really sacred. And so I have those core self inquiry moments with like my breath where I come back to those parts of myself and have to check in and assess like are we being compassionate? Are we being authentic? Are we experiencing this in a way that feels rich and real? And I know usually like if I’m shedding some tears too like I’m like that’s gold like I’m like yeah if I’m like really emoting in myself that feels like alignment when I am making a card.

Grace: Yeah, I’m so glad you mentioned alignment because that is what you’re doing.

You’re aligning all these different parts of yourself in your creation process and I do believe everything is energy at the end of the day so when you’re putting this energy into your deck it’s going to be felt from the other people that are using your deck and I also feel like a lot of the Dis ease or discomfort that people may feel in their lives is from shutting those parts of yourself down, from not listening to your inner child, your inner teenager, or parts of yourself that want to be expressed that we might find bubbling up later in life because We’re not like listening to those parts of ourselves and so I really want to commend you for that because it’s a really big deal to like take the time, really listen and involve all these different parts of yourself because it’s a healing process.

It’s not just like you’re making a deck and you’re just shipping it off to whatever, you’re making a deck because it matters to you. It matters to your inner child. It matters to your inner teenager. It matters to your present day self. It matters to your future self, and I do feel like creating a deck is like this very, like, multi dimensional experience because, even as you’re describing it, it’s like, in the present moment, you may be your adult self, but your inner child from your past is there with you.

Your future self with all of your hopes and ambitions are there with you, and when you’re done creating your deck, you’ll have all of that multidimensional knowledge and healing that you’ve gone through because you went through that whole entire process and you’re embedding it into your deck and that energy will live on beyond what you’ve created and will help heal other people who have gone through something similar.

✨ Vision for Your Deck

Grace: So I do want to hear from you because I know you facilitate circles and I know you’re also a healer in your own right and I’d love to hear about your vision for your deck.

Jamie: Yeah, like when you say vision, tell me more about that. I’m very detail oriented, so I’m like, vision, big vision, like completed, or the impact that I see it making, or…

Grace: I guess all of the above.

I suppose, will you be using your deck in your own practice? Do you see yourself doing that? Is that part of the motivation behind creating a deck? And also, you’re making two decks now! So I’d love to hear how that creative process has expanded for you to, like, realize in your experimentation because you were using different mediums and then you discovered that, oh, this feels like a completely different deck. So, there’s two questions here.

Let’s talk about the two decks first, like how that started, and then let’s talk about how you see you using your decks, like, in your practice, big vision, like, what you’re really hoping for.

Jamie: Yeah, well, when I actually, I’ll go back to, like, the original concept of the deck that I had written down in 2020, that I had, like, all done on paper, ready to go.

That actually is, it’s a completely different deck. Like the oracles I’m making with my canvas art, that’s totally changing. That’s totally different now. And so this deck that I’m making with my canvas art, it’s called the Nurture Oracle deck, and it’s. It’s very much about just nurturing yourself through the process of life, through these human experiences, like what you’re talking about, we, we share in the group.

A lot of the concept for the cards and the art, it does come from my own experiences of what I’ve struggled with. And it’s a deck that I see being very, I don’t want to say abstract, because oracles are very straightforward. So there’s the word, but then the art is very much an emotion. When I see my completed deck, I see myself and people using it to connect with themselves on a very deep level, something where they’re like, I’m going to be thinking about that for days, that question or that oracle, and then there’s that visual representation that goes with it.

I had always dreamed of having an oracle deck that people could put card on like their nightstand or their altar or their desk, or just like a little portal of art, like something that they could just connect to it and remember. And so that deck is something that I see people getting pulled into very deeply in themselves too, of like this connection with self, connection with what they’re going through as far as a human experience.

And it’s funny because as I make that deck, I feel very connected to what I’m coming up with. It’s almost like I’m using the deck now as I’m creating it, if that makes sense. Like it’s like something that, and I will continue to use that one for sure, absolutely. Most likely in circles and with others. And yeah, I like to see myself even like gifting it to my niece who’s turning 11 this week.

And so yeah, like that is one deck. Initially, I always started with acrylic paint. And so that was like my medium of choice for many years. And acrylic felt really natural, but I didn’t capture visually the look that I wanted. And so I moved to a different medium. And I’ve been using I think it’s called gouache, it’s pronounced.

So that’s been working really well for the Nurture Oracle deck. And then after I started making that first card for the Nurture Oracle deck, I got a taste of what it really felt like to be engulfed in art and making art and I just love it so much. And so I thought if I can’t bring myself to stand in front of my easel and make these cards, I think I was thinking about the pace.

The canvas cards are coming out a little bit slower, which is, I’m okay with. It’s just, they’re bigger, they feel deeper, and they’re more expansive, and that takes a lot of emotional energy for me. It’s almost like meditation, like a big meditation session, or like, I feel like I’m going to like a big wellness retreat or something when I do a card, like, for that deck, and so I’ve accepted the pace of that.

But I still had this hunger to connect with art outside of these visuals I was getting, downloading for these paintings. And so, I thought, like, why don’t you just do with some watercolors, like, just mess around with watercolors. And I started doing that weekly, one or two times a week, even, because it just felt like a great way to relieve stress, a really great, fun way to, like, stay connected to my creativity and that sense of ease and flow.

And then I was showing other people these watercolors and they were like, these are so beautiful. Like, is this your deck? And I was like, no, like, this isn’t actually the deck that I’m working on. And they were like, that should be your deck. And I was like, yeah, these are coming out quite a bit faster. And so then I was like, well, maybe these are two decks.

And I think that was something that I was bringing to the group in the last meeting we were in, because I was like, Is this really two decks? Is this what’s happening? And I didn’t want it to be something that I was overthinking. Like, what’s going on? It wasn’t a block. It was just like a moment of like, let’s stop and reassess what’s happening because it was very unexpected.

And I’m, I’m a Virgo Sun. So I’m very like, I like to plan things out. I like to stay organized, like to see the vision. But I also have this Pisces Moon that’s very flowy and dreamy. And, and so, yeah, I think when we had that conversation about like, this is probably two decks and they probably will complement each other in different ways.

Like this watercolor deck is very light. It’s very airy. I’m thinking it’s going to be an affirmation deck because I work a lot with affirmations in my business with breathwork and, and the zodiac and the new moon and the full moon. I’ve been doing that for a while and that feels so natural. And so, yeah, so I have these two different decks that are emerging that have, I really believe now they both have strong voices I think it’s the, like, how am I carrying these voices forward next to them together, side by side, because I have the idea of them being very complementary to each other now, with one being very deep, and very thought provoking, and very emotional, and visceral, and the other one being still a little visceral, but a little bit lighter in terms of the feel of it.

Grace: It’s beautiful how they’re coming out, they feel very organic to your process, which I think also brings like the surprise element to it, where it’s just like flowing, you’re not forcing anything, you’re not trying to like make it look like anything other than what it’s supposed to look like in the moment, you’re also integrating different energies into the process. I also feel like you’re bringing in this divine creation energy as well and just really invoking that into your process too. So I know something that we’ve talked about in the meetings and that you’ve mentioned is your Aries North node.

✨ Hopes and Aspirations for Your Deck

Grace: So I’d love to hear about how you feel like you’re stepping into your Aries North node with your deck creation process and how that ties into your overall vision for how you will use your decks, like how you see your decks being in the world and what your biggest hopes and aspirations are for your decks.

Jamie: Yeah, so when I think about my North Node in Aries, Aries to me is this sign that is very like, leadership oriented in a way that is, I’m just gonna do it, like I’m gonna mess around and find out, who cares what anybody else thinks, this is what I want, this is what I like, this is what I see, if it doesn’t work, I’ll make it work somehow, like it’s gonna work, and I’m in my Nodal Return right now, which is so fitting and so divinely timed for being in this club and doing this deck and I see it as like this truest authentic expression of myself and my soul. That’s really what’s coming through for me and in my process with my Aries North node I do feel like it’s kind of crafting me as I’m engaging with the creation process of this deck. It’s like my inner warrior is coming out.

I don’t care what other people are going to think about this. I think many of us are afraid of judgment and being judged for art. I know I am. I have that fear of like, what if people don’t like this? What if people don’t buy it? What if it’s all these what ifs about, which is really just, I think for me, a desire to connect with people and with my art.

That’s what I see it as. And kind of being in the attitude of like, I don’t really care. Like this is just something that I feel I have to do. It feels like this unshakeable journey I have to take for myself, like there really is no other path right now for me, and that feels really undeniably Aries too, of like, I know this is right, I’m gonna follow it, following like my passion, that’s like a big part of it too, and I guess, and thinking about the bigger vision of my deck and how people will use it and how it will connect with other people, I’m hoping that it will inspire them to do the same, to be undeniably who they are, even in the face of judgment, because the reality is that we can’t control other people’s opinions about us or our work, and we can’t control how they express those opinions too and what that looks like.

And there’s this whole other, I just thought about this this morning, there’s like this whole other group of people that are going to love it, that I know are going to really connect with it, that are going to be looking for it as it’s going to print. I just envision that like the hearts of the people who are gonna be arriving at this place where they’re gonna be like, I wish I had a deck that I could nurture myself with.

Or, I wish I had a deck that had this type of art. And so, yeah, I feel like that’s that, that piece of connection, of feeling this desire to connect with others. And in that process, feel seen and feel heard. And that’s important to me as an artist and as a healer. And I want other people to feel seen and heard as well.

Grace: Absolutely, yeah. So Jamie, how has it been watching the course lessons within the course portal?

Jamie: Yeah, I mean, for me, I’ve really loved doing the course. It felt so helpful. I know I’m very studious, and so I had my notebook and my pens and I went through the majority of the lessons right away in the first week.

I just dove in, and I was just so impressed at Just the blend that you created of like this, it felt very spiritual and very self inquiry focused, very reflective about the deck that you want to create. But then there were also these components that I had never thought of in terms of designing that I think you presented them in a way that was very approachable and very helpful because I’m not a technical artist.

I’m not, I didn’t do any graphic design courses or work. And in fact, all that stuff feels kind of daunting and scary to me because I’m very much more of like go with the flow, create versus like technical pieces. But I was so impressed with how you incorporated those into the course because it was so easy to understand and it was so fun, too, to learn about it.

And I like how you used that. Different examples to illustrate those components as well because I never would have known what that looked like in the creative process because I didn’t do any kind of design or anything like that. And so, yeah, I just really loved going through those lessons and it felt very motivating for me too to be able to do the activities, to like vision my deck out and like connect with its true meaning and its flavor.

Like, how is it going to feel combined with What are the actual techniques that you can use to artistically try to like make it and make it in a way that is the art that you want to create, but then adding that additional layer of what does shape mean, like what is all those kind of technical components just felt very approachable and so fun and yeah, I love doing that and I can’t wait to go back and review the lessons so that I can continue to apply what I’m learning to making my deck and it just creates like this whole other level of design that I never would have thought possible.

Thought of, and it wasn’t intimidating at all. I’ve taken other Create Your Deck courses that were just very intimidating, very too technical. That’s just not my jam. I can figure it out if I tinker with it, but it’s just if it’s not approachable, I just, I’m like, no, I’m not gonna spend my time on it.

And yours was just so approachable and so fun. And yeah, it was really, really good.

✨ Other Deck Creation Courses

Grace: That’s awesome. So I actually didn’t know that you took another deck creation course before this. So, comparing to that, what was your experience like? Like, you felt like you needed more, it sounds like.

Jamie: Yeah, I think it wasn’t that I felt like I needed more.

I think it was very driven. It felt very monotone or mono, I don’t know if monolithic is the right word, because it was something that was, like, all about how to use Adobe Illustrator. Which I feel like will be helpful, but I just had a hard time connecting with it because it didn’t have all these other components.

It didn’t feel very expansive to me. I mean, yeah, I guess I felt like I needed more because it just felt like I don’t want to say boring. It was just hard to learn from. It was hard to learn from because it was too monotone feeling like there wasn’t anything more to it than this is like how you use Adobe Illustrator and maybe that was how it was marketed to me.

I don’t think there’s a huge market out there for these things, right? Like I feel like yours and that one was the only ones that I had found and yours just felt more expansive, like multilithic. I don’t know if that’s a word because it just is monolithic but it just felt multifaceted in terms of like layers overly technical or overly complicated.

There’s a lot you can learn, things that you might not know about design if you’ve never taken a design course, but it’s all presented in a way that is approachable and useful in a way of like, okay, at my most basic level of understanding, I can apply this because it doesn’t feel like overbearing or daunting or it doesn’t feel like out of my league with someone, you know, with no experience.

Yeah. And I think the well roundedness of it, like including those self inquiry components, the big questions, like the vision, how does your deck want to feel, or how do you want it to feel, I don’t remember if that’s the questions that you asked, but that was like, the vision, that really helped me stay motivated to the process of creating it, and in the course, because it’s something that I kept returning to, of like, yeah, I’m applying these technical things, but there’s this larger vision I’m holding for myself.

So they’re all these moving components working together to support each other and it’s colorful! You’re so colorful, your branding and your color palette. It’s just so fun to look at, and Yeah, I think you did a really wonderful job of teaching and explaining and making it fun and accessible and spiritual and I could tell it was thoughtful. Yeah.

Grace: Thank you. I’m really glad you enjoyed the lessons within the course portal and there was a lot of time, effort, and all of the above to these lessons, so I’m really glad that you went through it. You know, I think I’ve mentioned this several times, but not just about creating a deck, because I feel like it’s a very personal experience.

But I also want to give you all the practical tips that you actually need to know in order to create a deck. What is Bleed? What is Margin? And I know, within traditional art, you’re not really taught those things about, like, how to transfer physical art to digital. Because You would eventually have to put it within a digital program to send to the printer.

So there are some definite technical aspects of creating a deck too that I think people might be intimidated by if they’re not of indie design background or anything like that. So I’m glad that you’re enjoying

Jamie: the lessons! Yeah, and then some of the things that I, like, when you’re talking about bleed, I’ve taken those lessons, but as far as the process of where I’m at in my deck, I’m not completely at that point, but I’m thinking about it, and I’m taking it into consideration, and anything that I don’t understand, what I love is like, then you could ask it in the group.

And for me too, I don’t know if I mentioned this, but I’m not a very technical person, like I can tinker with things and figure it out. But for me, it just gets to the point where like, I just need help with that. And that was a hard thing that I had to admit was like, I just don’t know these things and I really need help.

And I don’t want to be wasting my resources, if I can find help to make it a little bit better for myself. Yeah, even though those things are a little bit intimidating, they still kind of intimidate me. I still feel like I have support in the club and in the meetings, and I know that people are going through these experiences too, and it makes it more real for me.

Okay, I can do this. I can achieve this, because there’s someone right now printing their cards. They’re doing it, and so Yeah, that’s why I love both of those components together too. That’s awesome.

✨ Inviting Others to Join the Club

Grace: So last question, if there’s anyone on the fence about joining the Create Your Deck Club, what would you say to them?

Jamie: Oh, I would say really ask yourself about why you’re on the fence about it. Like really think about deeply like what is it and just uncover the reality of it because it’s most likely fear. And I just think that there’s nothing better than saying, yes, and taking the risk and going for it, putting all those thoughts aside, that mental chatter that’s gonna tell you, like, you can’t do it, or it’s not gonna be, it’s not a good time right now, like, I’m thinking of all the things I told myself, like, it’s not a good time, I don’t have the time for it, or what if it doesn’t work out, like, all those questions, that’s usually what’s happening while you’re, like, sitting on the fence, and I just feel like at some point, We’ll You have to get off the fence and you have to get in the game and I feel like this club for me it’s been so beneficial, not just even the group experiences, but the content itself.

One of the things that really made me feel like I knew it was going to be a good investment. because that was what my gut was telling me was right at the time. But when I started taking the course, it’s just like the knowledge that you share about creating from like a graphic design perspective, it’s so amazingly helpful and it doesn’t come off in a way that feels too technical, like it feels very grounded in the specifics of the technicality of it, but it didn’t feel at all overwhelming. And that’s something that I’d struggled with in the past with like, other particular deck creation programs. It’s just got this beautiful blend of like spiritual and practical and technical and fun and yeah, I just know that if people sign up for it, there’s just so much support.

I can’t say enough about it. You won’t regret it for sure.

Grace: Yay, that’s awesome! There has been a lot of effort putting together all the courses, all the lessons, and making sure that everyone is supported no matter where they are in the deck creation process. Like, for example, we have someone in the club who’s been making their deck for like a decade, and they just joined the group and they’ve just been chugging along, and likewise, like, you joined the group and you started creating your deck from joining the group.

So everyone’s at different points in their deck creation process, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t benefit in some way. And I think it’s really awesome. I can’t wait to see more.

✨ Wrapping Up the Episode

Grace: So thank you so much, Jamie, for sharing your authentic light. Sharing your healing and creation process with us because I do think it’s important to note that this isn’t just creating some old product that doesn’t matter to you or you’re integrating a lot of really deep things and it’s something that I think if you’re done well and done in a way that feels authentic to you can help you expand in so many ways that you can’t even see right now because you’re doing a lot of deep inner work as well.

So I just want to applaud you for doing that work and for taking this journey with me and with us and for sharing your insights today.

Jamie: Thank you so much for having me and allowing me to share my story. Yeah, I’m excited for the rest of this journey, and I can’t wait to, like, have my deck in my hands, and to share it with you, and to share it with everybody. So, yeah.

Grace: I can’t wait. I know it’s gonna be awesome.

Jamie: Yeah, yeah. It’s gonna feel amazing.

Grace: For sure. Okay, bye!

Jamie: Bye! Thank you!

✨ End of episode – remember to leave a podcast review on Apple Podcasts!

Grace: Thanks for tuning in to today’s episode with Jamie and hearing about her experience being a member inside the Create Your Deck Club.

Check out the Create Your Deck Club and more info about it at www.mysticmondays.com.

Grace: Thanks for tuning in to this episode! Make sure to subscribe to the GRACED podcast on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and anywhere you like to listen to podcasts! 

Leave a comment and let me know, what were some of your biggest takeaways? I want to hear how you’re feeling and what you think about this episode.

If you loved this episode, Check out some other of these GRACED podcast episodes where we talk about how to apply everyday magic to your everyday life. See you next time!

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