Surprising myself!

When I was preparing this post, I thought I didn't have much and that I would focus on one piece for the whole post. (Lar and I enjoyed a week of staycation to celebrate our 26th anniversary. A couple day trips, lots of reading time, 2 rest days all slowed things down. My usual daily art practice just didn't fit in. I wanted to spend as much time as possible with Lar.) Then I opened the photos app to review some of our fun this week and SURPRISE! I had lots to share! So here we go!

Happy Belated Halloween wishes!

I did a Halloween/vacation countdown for Lar with a mystery card every day for a week. This was a folio project from Pink Monarch Prints, using junk journaling techniques.

The daily mystery cards are tucked into little pockets in the folio.

The actual folio arrived on Halloween.

CZT master class social on Zoom

About 25 participants in the western hemisphere gathered to spend an evening together.

We shared our progress on the master class (CZT AE 2023) and tangled the totes

that came with our supply kits. I love the Pentel fabric gel pen that we used. It is so smooth!

Inktober Tangles 2023

I wrote in my last post that my schedule was falling apart. Apparently that was truer than I knew! I totally missed the first two weeks of Inktober, and that's okay. But I did  two pieces with the prompts for the first eighteen or so days. I used some faux eco-print paper I had made.

"Travels with Lar"

This was a small "junk journal" using papers from Pink Monarch Prints' November kit subscription. (This subscription includes 50 pages of vintage papers with a travel theme. I think it's my favorite so far.) The base is an envelope with a hand-sewn journal, with some pockets and tags. We kept our memories and mementos in it this week. I hope to make more of these for our adventures to come. It's kind of like a scrapbook, but so much easier! This was my first go at journal making without using the tutorials. I'm starting to get it!

Love the red balloon!

CZT AE 2023 class with Annie Taylor, CZT: My Comfort String

In this class, we imagined drawing a blanket to wrap around us when we need some self-love and self-nurturing. The center gemstone: "me". Such a lovely meditation!

Finally, a "just because" piece. I had planned to create a fourth tile in the yellow leaf print series. But then I picked up my craft knife and cut out the leaf for a pocket. (See the junk journal influence?) I noticed a ghost-like face in my bits and bobs collection, then went looking for some used coffee filters, pictures of trees, my handmade paper, pine needles and finally some cottonwood bark. (My workspace was a happy mess!) I love how this turned out, and how it reminds me of my connection with trees. I photographed it on a pile of leaves in the yard.

I hope you found something to make you smile or ponder!