It has been a long time since I've coloured with my Copic markers, my friends. I've lost a few subscribers lately and I wonder if that's why?? I think a good blogger (teacher, wife, mother, HUMAN) has to constantly be evaluating oneself to make sure they're being the best they can be. In the last year-or-so I've really come to love and treasure my mixed media work. I get something different out of it than I do card-making and the practical side of me says: Do I really need to make 100s of cards every year that I don't send (because I don't send them to anyone!) and realistically don't sell??? Mixed media and art journalling is different - it's self-contained in a journal or it's functional, like on a canvas on a wall. Deep thoughts...

All that to say I still really love colouring and making cards, I am perhaps just being too practical. Maybe it was when we started packing for our move to China that I started to come face-to-face with how many cards I had. Literally thousands.. It's sickening. Art journals? A few, and each one is like flipping through a little book of my life. I brought a butt-load of stuff to China and I actually really like my little craft area and it's breathed a new life into me creativity-wise.

I finally unearthed my Copic markers and had an actual, real thought that I might not be as good as I once was... OH THE HORROR!!!! But I grabbed a cute little image and coloured her up like I've taught countless thousands of people to do and it worked!! And I had fun!!



I searched around the interweb for a challenge that inspired me and I saw Teri's Fabulous Friday post and was like, YES!

Before I left for China I was able to get a few weeks of lessons from Donna Downey's 48 Weeks class completed, and I've got one more done while here. I am loving this class, I just wish I had more room to get messy... This book is HUGE!!!

And as if the inspiration isn’t enough – you can also win THREE spools (winner’s choice!) of The Twinery’s fabulous baker’s twine: