Grid Zine 2019!

Phew I got a little bit behind on the order of all my posts! This is such a busy time with projects, birthdays and holidays! Anyways I wanted to do a little post about Grid Zine! My history with Grid Zine is one of the loveliest. I tabled at my very first zine festival is 2017! Since then I've built some great friendships with the other tablers at grid zine festival. This is the one event where I'm able to shed my layers of doubt and really put myself out there and share art and stories with beautiful creatives. I've made zines for years and years but I never really understood the amazingness they held until attending Grid Zine. 3 years later and I'm still enamored by all love that encapsulates this event. I didn't put too much pressure on myself to create a THOUSAND new things, but I just focused on a few and making those few really mean a lot to me. Its been just about 2 weeks and I'm still glowing from all the creative vibes I was able to absorb! If you want to see creatives in their best form I highly recommend a zine festival!! 

Heres a the new babies I made! I'm sure they'll each get their own post eventually once I get all caught up!

My zine haul! You can go HERE to see the post where I tagged all the wonderful creators of these zines! There was SO many good ones this year! This is probably the most I've spent and traded a festival.

Lastly I made these really cute lil' envelopes full of plantable confetti that I made out of the seeded hand made paper I made a few weeks ago. 

Write_On Week 3!

I'm doing my best at keeping caught up with this challenge! I'm very elated to report that I only got 2 behind BUT I did some postcards to make sure I got caught up this week! I'm sure I'm accidentally sending people the wrong things, but so it goes. Keeping things organized has never been a strong trait of mine. I do enjoy that this challenge is making me actively think about mail, art and how I can send more beautiful things though the post. The #write_on has been insanely inspiring! I've also been using up bits of random stationery that had been lost in my stash. I'm happy it winding down but excited to push myself to send more mail!

 Layered collage style will always be my favorite!

 I had these leftover red envelopes that turned out way more wintery then I thought they would.

 I've also been trying to watercolor more to build that skill up so I did a few postcards!

 This second batch was better than the first but I still have a ways to go!

Happy Easter!

I can't believe how fast April is going by! Easter has always been one of my favorite holidays. I really hope you all have a lovely weekend filled with soft days of sunshine. I'm ready for some sunny afternoons, good food and a few giggles. Holidays get a bit strange as you get older. Not strange in a bad sense, but different I suppose. Holidays more and more become about taking a moment and soaking up all the goodness in everything around you. A small chance to slow down and find an excuse to be more present. My goal for this spring weekend is to savor little glimmers of loveliness I get from my loved ones! Have a good Easter weekend! Whatever that means to you.

Lovely Things: Easter!

Easter is almost here! I've a strange relationship with this holiday. I think to most it seems like an overly religious pastel burden. Maybe people don't even think about it all that much? Ever since I was little Easter was the mark and the reminder of life and the resilience of the earth and people. Plus I have great memories of sweet treats, sunshine and hours of giggles. So of course this odd holiday still resonates with me even as an adult! Here are some colorful Eastery finds! 

Natural dying methods by Mommypotamus

I bought one of these the other day and it is as luxurious as it seem! Found at Lush

The tiniest of bunny ceramics! Made by Tramai Ceramics

I love the idea of preserving spring flowers to hang on the wall! Found at Mariaela

Super simple DIY that I'm book marking for the year I decide to throw a Easter brunch party! 

Found on Oh Happy Day

I really want to start collecting egg cups! There are so many wonderful ones! 

Made by FICH Ceramics

Write_On Week Two!

I've had quite the busy week! I still somehow managed to keep up (kinda) with sending a letter a day! (well 7 letters a week) AND this week I only sent 6. Ok so maybe I'm not doing super but I've high hopes for the rest of the month! Just a little bit of catch up is all. I made these quick little collage envelopes and I enjoy the way they turned out. I'll be definitely be doing more of these!

Song and Doodle #76

Today's song and doodle is The Barrel by Aldous Harding. I wasn't a very big fan of Aldous until this song was released then finally I feel like I get her music. Ok, so maybe not but I do have a new found fondness for her strangeness. The more I listen the more it feels like a sad soft poem. A poem in which I don't really fully understand but feels like it lays heavy in the heart. Which I realize sounds like it might be a bad quality, but there is something really comforting and lovely about it. I'm not sure I fully know what it is I'm trying to say. Listen to the song and see what feels you can discover for yourself! P.S I'm also getting better at my iPad doodle backgrounds!

"The wave of love is a transient hunt

Water's the shell and we are the nut

But I saw a match struck 

Outside the barrel"

March Art Journal

I was super busy during the month of March so I kept my art journal super tiny. I'm loving these accordion folds lately. I'm looking forward to the summer when I can get some large art journaling done! I've been up to my knees in letter writing and zine making so I'll be nice to change it up a lil' bit BUT until I have the time I'll keep to using these mini scraps to document my spring!

Write_On Mail Week One!

I've decided to take on the Write_On challenge and send 30 letters in 30 days! Now I am cheating a little bit and making a goal of 7 a week. That way if I need to skip days I can or if I'm feeling ultra productive I can do multiple. I seem to always take on extra challenges in April for some reason? Maybe something about the spring makes me over ambitious! I'm loving how these first few turned out. I'm glad I'm getting back to creating more mail. I've been focusing on zines a lot more lately so shifting back to mail art has been a nice balance. The only thing getting left behind is my art journal. Hopefully I can find time for that too! 

Paper Making!

I made some paper this last weekend! This is only my second time making homemade paper from recycled materials. The first time was AGES ago so it mostly felt like the first time undertaking this crafty project. Its a lot of steps which can seem daunting but once you're actually doing it I found it to be quite simple. This time around I bought a few additives (you can find them HERE) I was also more picky about the recycled paper I used mostly because I didn't want grey paper like the first time. Also I knew I needed to fix the sizing of the paper and I found THIS to be very helpful!

This time around I added some wildflower seeds to my pulp to make some plantable paper! They turned out quite chunky but in a lovely way. My original plan was to make some plantable calling cards for Grid Zine but they turned out too bulky. SO I think I'm going to punch out shapes and give them out as plantable confetti. I don't have a final plan but I do feel like there are lots of possibilities!

My second round was just some plain white paper. I've been collecting the trimmings off of the zines I've been compiling which left me with a lot of white scraps! I'd love to turn these into a zine somehow. I adore the idea of zines turning into zines. Its a beautiful endless paper cycle! I haven't quite figured out all the things I'm going to do with my new paper but I love trying to come up with new ideas and ways to use it. I always get excited over new art supplies! 

Overall I had a very lovely weekend. I highly recommended making your own paper! I got to spend a lot of time outside and soak up a lot of sunshine. There is something relaxingly beautiful about playing in water and paper pulp in breezy sunshine rays. I finally felt refreshed and c o n n e c t e d to Spring and everything that is coming! 

List of Thoughts + LINKS!

LIST OF THOUGHTS AS OF LATE:

1. Its officially April! April is my favorite month and also the busiest out of all the months. 
2. It is also National Letter Writing Month and I'm doing (well going to attempt) the Write_On challenge! I'm sure I'll post more about it during the month. 
3. Grid Zine is coming up this month. I've been busy preparing some new zines and little bits to share with the good people of Salt Lake!
4. In preparation for the zine fest I've been trying to create some new calling cards. I never know if this is something I should bring with me or not, but as always its better to have them and not need them then to not have them at all! I found THIS post with tons of inspiration. 
5. Of course any time I decide to put my art out there I get waves of insecurity that pile on like blankets. I know that zine festivals are good for me but everything else in my brain says you're not good enough. Its silly I know, but a hurdle none the less!
6. I'm completely over the moon about the artist Marija Tiurina. Her work makes me want to better my watercolor skills. Find her work HERE and THERE!
7. Since I'm on the quest to better my water coloring skills I thought THESE pencils might be helpful? At the very least they look hella interesting and worth putting on the wish list!
8. Its finally feeling like spring here in Utah. Its chilly but warm sun rays creep up on you and thaw chilled bones. April is always terribly rainy and spring rain happens to be my favorite! 
9. I've been book marking a lot of recipes to try out and THIS one is on the top of the list.
10. Spring never fails to being waves of worry, love and excitement! My heart feels heavy but hopeful. Spring is the best at bringing hope, isn't it?

Baking!

One of my new year goals was to cook something new! I started finding some interesting bakes that I wanted to try and have been baking all kinds of things. I find working with dough to be challenging but in a very soothing way. I didn't like it at first, but having everyone enjoy something that I made me want to try a second time. After the second time went much smoother I think I'm hooked! So far I've made some pork filled buns, panipopo and just recently a PIE!

My first pie from scratch is a peach, strawberry and basil pie. I found the recipe HERE. It turned out so yummy! Theres a few things that I would do differently with the crust. Now that I know what it is I'm looking for. I think next I'm going to make a blueberry-strawberry pie or a pineapple-apple pie! I still need to find more dinner and lunch ideas to cook. I imagine if I ever live alone I won't survive long off of bread and pies. BUT once I get over my baking bug I'll have to find some better things to cook!