It’s kind of funny, because the closer and closer we get to our due date of sweet baby Lizzie, the more and more I value my alone time. It’s like I know that my “me” time is going to be minimal so I’m trying to enjoy it while I can. Believe me, I am SO excited for our little babe, but we all need some self care time.
My “me” time these days looks like a little bit of early morning prenatal yoga, 10 minutes of mediation and pulling a pregnancy affirmation card from the Renegade Mama deck. If you are looking for a gift for a soon to be mama, honestly these are the PERFECT gift. I am OBSESSED. Each one has a meaningful affirmation to help you focus on the positive aspects of pregnancy + labor.
But they also have affirmation cards for women + new mama’s as well. I have become so infatuated with my pregnancy affirmation cards that I actually reached out to the creators of the cards to chat about stemmed their creation. Grab a Kombucha and enjoy my interview with renegade mamas, Lauren Tannehill and Shayna Sharke.
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What exactly are pregnancy affirmation cards?
RM: Our Pregnancy and Birthing Affirmation Cards are visual, positive and empowering messages that help reprogram negative or fearful thoughts surrounding birth. They are hand painted with original artwork and designed to help Mamas stay positive and feel supported.
Who are your affirmation cards meant for?
RM: We currently offer 4 different Affirmation Card Decks- Pregnancy & Birthing- created for birthing Mothers who are looking for a quick, yet meaningful way to prepare for their birth, Postpartum- designed for the first two years after baby is born, oh man, that can be such are tough time. I feel so connected to this particular deck because the only other support out there is pharmaceutical intervention and we truly need so much more than that.
Our Women’s Affirmation Cards are created for the woman who seeks a deeper connection to life and to one’s self. These cards really focus on emotional acceptance and clearing to help women move forward and feel less stagnant in life. We also include cards that talk about day to day struggles like laundry or simply drinking enough water. We tried to make them spiritually practical and cover all aspects of daily life. The Kid’s Affirmation Card Deck has an emphasis on self love and self confidence. We talk about work ethic, family team work, and simply getting outside. When we were creating these cards we didn’t realize how important these cards actually are- they are filling a gap in our fast pace culture that is leaving behind a lot of basic family values and ethics. Our goal is to help children create a healthy inner dialogue and develop a language to communicate their feelings that can benefit them for a lifetime.
How did you come up with the idea to create affirmation cards?
RM: As an artist, I naturally created birth art with all of my pregnancies (I have had 5 pregnancies and I have 3 children). When I became pregnant with my third daughter, Banyan, I was really struggling to keep up and feel connected to my growing baby. I needed something quick and easy to use to help me prepare for my home birth, while I was staying so busy with my other two daughters. When I couldn’t find birth affirmations that I felt fit my needs, I decided to create my own for personal use. I started posting them on my Instagram account (@LaurenTannehillART) which at the time was where I posting all my surf lifestyle art. My Instagram followers started asking where they could purchase the cards. I then decided to run a Kickstarter Campaign where I funded my first large order of decks. I have created 4 editions of the Pregnancy and Birthing Affirmation Cards, and we are always trying to improve them and change out affirmations to be as relevant as possible. My first Kickstarter finished August 2015, and now less than 3 years later, we are shipping all over the world. Last year Shayna became my partner for Renegade Mama, and I feel so grateful for that because she has taken RM to the next level.
I LOVE that story!!!! How do you go about creating each affirmation?
RM: We create the cards from our own experiences. The raddest thing about our partnership is how different Shayna and my our journeys have been. We connected instantly as friends because we both have a passion for being genuine and authentic people. That alone has allowed us to blossom together and help create affirmations that we both need on different levels! We usually start each affirmation with a real life issue we are struggling with then work it from there. We get a great laugh with some of the shit we come up with, we have a lot of fun with it.
Do you do the artwork yourself?
RM: Yes, I have been creating art my whole life and started selling my surf art (Lauren Tannehill ART) on Etsy after my second daughter Meadow was born in 2013. But Shayna is also an artist and really excels on the digital end. Shayna’s creative visions are modern, clean and fresh, which is a good balance for my hippie dippie style.
What is your favorite way to use affirmation cards?
RM: I personally have two favorite ways to use our Affirmation Cards- I love pulling three of my Angel oracle cards, one Keepers of the Light cards by Kyle Gray, and then pulling two of our Women’s Affirmation Cards for insight on daily life. The other way I like to use our cards is with my daughters. We all pull one card and discuss what their card mean to them. I am a believer that you will pull the card that you need the most in that moment. I have an amazing sisStar (@_elisenicole_) that does really beautiful readings with our cards as well.
What other affirmation cards do you make?
And…
We are slowly starting to work on our fifth deck which is a Gentle Parenting Affirmation Deck. Shayna and I are both working Mamas and struggle to keep up as mothers. We really want to create a deck that can help parents just like us be the best parent they can be. Gentle, kind and practical reminders that make it easy!
If you are interested in purchasing your own Renegade Mama deck you can find them on amazon or here. If you use the code KOMBUCHA15 you’ll get a sweet discount as well.
xo Erica
Thank you SO much for this! You are so sweet! Thank you for the support. Shayna and I loved this fun interview!