December and the year in review

As the year draws to a close so do a couple of my long-term projects. I shared my JIYA journal completed yesterday, and now I've finished my weekly #52cards2024 : to create a card that reflects the past week (ending Sunday). I must include stitch, the colour turquoise and a word. These are my December cards : 

And here's the last quarter of cards together (see the first 3/4 here)

I decided to make a snippet roll to cover the box 

I wonder what will replace this project in 2025? I have loved having something that has kept me creating every week even if that's all I've monaged some months. I am percolating ideas at present...

December is my month for Mum, Mum-in-law, and Auntys' birthdays. I always create their cards as a set. This year I combined some bases from when I taught in October with florals created in May. I think they've made very joyful cards.

I have read some great books this month, but have to smile cos looks like I've been following a colour theme. Recommend all of these for holiday reading

It's been a bit of a rocky year overall for us and the result has been less creativity. I have found this difficult because usually I use art to help keep me grounded and uplifted. On the bright side, I made progress in my Flowers Magic journal, made some lovely birthday cards, had fun with parts of Fodder School 3 lessons, had some rewarding creative teaching experiences, and do have a few finished projects to celebrate : This quilt for my sister-in-laws 60th birthday : 

And these projects that still live at my house : 

Affirmation deck "Advice from the Sea" inspired by Fodder School lesson with Megan Quinlan, Summer Journal, Fodder School 3 Portfolio with Susanne Randers, JIYA journal including December Daily-ish project, and my #52cards2024 project above. 

We added 2 beautiful kittens to our family at the beginning of the year and became empty nesters in November. This has meant more space in my studio as my husband has moved his music gear inside to the vacated room, and Oscar is now a regular studio supervisor for me ♥ 

Obi is also cute but keeps more to himself

As my thoughts turn to possible projects for 2025 I want to thank you so much for continuing to visit. Talk to you very soon.

December Daily-ish and my JIYA journal is complete

I love a December daily-ish project and this year I decided to take part in the combined inspiration of Care December with Kasia Avery and Art Journal Advent with Michelle (@raspberrybluesky) and Tamara (@marakreativstudio). I wondered if I might make myself a new journal, but as I was thinking about the pink theme for Care December, I realised that I had 24 spreads left in my JIYA journal.  I started it at the beginning of 2023 so decided I would love to finish it before the end of 2024. Check out some of the "before" spreads here. I did my gatherings...

So fun to tie on some embellishments today and get the journal finished 

These are a few of my favourite December pages.

You can see the rest on my Instagram or Facebook Artist's page. See the rest of my JIYA blog postings here.

January Art Inspirations

It's that time of year when my thoughts are turning towards what I might do in the new year. There are a couple of free offerings to begin the year that I thought I'd share now so you can get a journal prepared. I am so looking forward to participating in Junk Journal January 2025. Find out all about it on YouTube with Meg Journals. Check out the Junk Journal July project I did in 2023 and a similar idea of using mixed papers was my Summer Journal this year.

Each day throughout the month, watch a new video from 30 different creators on YouTube - this is the Collaboration Playlist in response to these prompts :

Get some journal construction ideas on Youtube with MegJournals - she did a challenge last month called No Sew November which has great journal making ideas combining different papers. And if you are completely new to junk journaling - she created this video about how to start.

There's also a Collage Joy Taster popping up in my Instagram feed lately : 

Find out all about it here. In this FREE 10-day workshop, you'll learn the foundational skills to create collages that spark joy, every single time. Looks like a mix of recorded and live sessions so not sure how that will be in New Zealand but it's free so no complaints here.

Woman Unleashed is back for it's 20th Season. I have done this before and there are some lovely art offerings to help you connect or reconnect with your creativity.

This retreat began on December 21st in line with the Solstice but you can still join. I'm a bit late sharing but the retreat runs through to January 1st and all sessions will be open and available to watch through January 7th. All the info is here.

And this one's not free but looks like so much fun : 

Read all about it here. It's US$36 which is around NZ$66 - and it will already be New Year's Day for us cos of time differences. I read that when you register you'll get instant access to journal making tutorials and a few other goodies. Then a few days AFTER the event, you'll get access to all the other lessons from 2025. Then, each month of the first three months you'll get new lessons unlocking from previous marathons, and recordings of 2025 are available for the first 3 months of the year. So many artists here I love and others that would be new to me. Not sure yet, but probably see you there...

November Review

November has been a month of big changes for us. Our youngest son (and his dog) has moved out to be with his girlfriend, and they are expecting a baby in April so more changes ahead. We are excited to be empty-nesters after 24 years. We know it will take some adjustment, but my husband has already moved from the room we shared into the vacated bedroom and turned it into a music room. This means I now have a lot more space to organise things in my studio so hopefully that will lead to more creativity. Progress so far : 

As I post this we are heading into December and while it will be busy, it's almost summer school holidays for me and I am looking forward to the break from work and fresh ideas for new projects. 

Only a few weeks to go to finish my year-long challenge of #52cards2024 : to create a card that reflects the past week (ending Sunday). I must include stitch, the colour turquoise and a word. These are my November cards : 

You will realise why the last is more pink themed when you read what I'm planning for December. I post these individually with a bit more info about the theme each week on my Instagram and Facebook Artist's page.

I started November by teaching arty junk journals to a group of students at school for "Be Brave" - a 2 hour session to try something different out of their comfort zone. They created a journal with recycled materials and I talked to them about using art to support positive self-talk and as a way to destress by spending time creating something for themselves. Thrilled with how they were engaged and what they took home with them. 

I love a December Daily or Daily-ish journal. 

Last year's evolved into a Summer Journal that lasted from December to March. It became what it needed to become. This year there are once again some free online offerings to take some self-care time and focus on yourself amongst the busy of December. 

Care December 2024 with Kasia Avery -the theme this year is Pink. 

Care December is 15 days of mindful, intuitive mixed-media art journaling. 

Then there's Art Journal Advent 2024 - an instagram offering with Michelle and Tamara.

Read more about it on Michelle's website. There's a prompt a day, and this year some other artists sharing their interpretation of the prompt. 

Also check out journal construction ideas on Youtube with MegJournals - she's one of the organisers of the Junk Journal January and July projects I've participated in previously. She's been doing a challenge called No Sew November which has great journal making ideas to create the base for a December Daily or Junk Journal January (fingers crossed she does it again in 2025). 

And not free, but a small price of US$18 is December Pause with LIz Lamoreux. Explore the creative practice of writing lists to anchor you in the midst of daily life. 

I wondered if I might make myself a new journal, but as I was thinking about the pink theme for Care December, I realised that I have 24 spreads left in my JIYA journal 

- last seen in March this year, I started it at the beginning of 2023 so it would be fabulous to finish it before the end of 2024. Not sure how it will evolve, but as I said above - It will become what it needs to become. If you haven't seen this journal, these are a couple of empty spreads

and a couple that already have something as a starter

And I've made pink gatherings - although obviously I'll need some other colours for contrast.

I have got quite excited writing this and can't wait to share more in December. Make sure to follow my FB Artist page or my Instagram for {hopefully} regular page posting. 

Another class which is available for Free for one month access from when you sign up is Wendy Solganik's Phone Photography and Editing Webinar 

It sounds good but I am waiting to access it until mid-December in the hope that I can make good use of it through those days that stretch between Christmas and New Year.

Now it's Summer and some of my stresses have lifted, you can expect to see me posting more regularly on my Instagram and my Facebook Artist's page too. Wishing you some pockets of creativity and peace in December. Take care of yourself ♥