Hi Reader!

What a few weeks it has been since my last newsletter. Fall is normally a slower season, but it has felt more chaotic than usual. I've officially committed to buy a new car... still waiting for it to arrive before it's official official. I got through my last on-site programming at the museum and am looking forward to a couple quiet weeks at the end of the month before summer camp registration opens in January... yup you heard me right, summer camp. Oh and the covid finally got me. I didn't get it while working with kids in May 2020, or traveling, or at a concert, or a wedding. I have no idea how I got it and was miserable for over a week, but here we are. I really thought I was going to be one of those covid unicorns who never got it, but NOPE!

Also can we talk about how it is December? When did that happen? Also can you remember a December when you didn't say I can't believe it's December? Has anybody ever gotten to December and said, thank goodness, I love December, I finished my holiday shopping in July and I've baked all the cookies to give to all the people already, and I am ready for the new year. I hope you are reading this the way I am typing it, a mile a minute.

Breath.

Despite the craziness, I have managed to paint a little. I decided to try a new kind of watercolor ornament and I love them. I love them because they are mini and I got to paint smaller than ever. I also love them because assembling them was as easy as open and closing the tiny little frames I found.

If you want to learn more about the process, you can check out my blog Watercolor Ornaments - I know my gift with titles is unmatched. If you wanted to put your own spin on it, these little frames could be used to frame a photograph, a tiny art print, flower or leaves that you dried, a handwritten family recipe, the list could go on. I love ornaments because they are small, they do not take up a lot of room, and I'm always excited to see them each year. It was so fun to pull out the ornaments I made last year and remember the events they commemorated. Also, I feel like everybody who has ornaments has that weird ornament that somebody gave them that they don't really like, but feel guilty getting rid of. If you have an ornament like that, I'd love to hear about it.

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New on the Blog

Watercolor Ornaments Read article

How I Frame on a Budget Read article

Photo Inspiration

What I'm Watching

As I mentioned earlier, I was sick a little bit ago. When I am sick, I love to rewatch movies. I am still somebody with a DVD collection and when I am stressed, sick, sad, whatever, I love my movies. While being sick on the couch, I rewatched all of the Harry Potter movies. I was about the same age of the characters when the first of the books came out and read them all as they came out. I have watched the movies as a set a few times and seriously they just warm my heart. To have a cast that basically stayed the same for the duration of the movies is amazing. Also, it's just fun watching the characters as little kids dealing with the things all little kids go through and all of the angst that comes when they are teenagers. It just makes me happy every time. In case you were wondering my other favorite rewatches are Star Wars and Jurassic Park.

What I'm Reading

Honestly this was a bit of a random pick up for me. I remember hearing about Mariah Carey's Memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey on my Keep It podcast when it first came out and then it became top of mind again when the same podcast was talking about another artist memoir (Britney Spears). In my brain, I thought Mariah Carey was a bit before my time, but nope. I was going down YouTube rabbit holes as I read and I couldn't believe how much music she has created and how much of it I knew. I thought reading about her life was really inspiring and heartbreaking at times. I was also amazed at her songwriting ability and how her music has remained so iconic. Let's also not forget, it's that time of year where All I Want for Christmas is about to dominate the airways yet again.

Did you miss a newsletter?

You can find past editions on my website now under Insider's Club.

Until next time!