Happy Monday! I hope this is finding you well. We are having gorgeous weather today and I have been spending some time out in the garden. There is lots to do (isn’t there always) and I still have lots to plant out. Zinnia seeds, snapdragon plants I picked up and so much more.
I wanted to give you a little update about my mini creative retreat. I ended up having-in essence 3 days in the house all to myself something I haven’t had in close to 8 years maybe? Hubby took the little ones on an adventure looking at dinosaurs, snakes and owls. Then swimming in the pool and riding amusement park rides. It would seem our 3 year-old has quite the adventurous spirit when it comes to the rides so I am hopeful I will have another friend to ride the roller coasters with.
Everyone hit the road just around noon on Thursday and I spent the day at home. I did some of my free writing which was a practice I let fall away the past few months. It never ceases to amaze me how the practices I love the most and that replenish and fill me the most are the first things I let go of. Still it felt wonderful to be back with my daily writing journal and just letting the thoughts flow out. It was from this exercise that I decided I wanted to make myself a treasure box and I wanted to do it out of paper mache. Now I have never made a box using paper mache but it sounded like it could be a fun project. I did a little search to see if there were any tips and I found a wonderful video and a blog showing how to make exactly what I wanted to make. Sadly neither the channel nor the blog have been updated in 8 years or so but I still enjoyed looking around. There is something I am just loving about blogs again and I feel there is going to be more and more of them coming back in the purest of forms. Here’s hoping anyway.
So I made up my paper mache box and set it out to dry. Can I just say how much fun it was to do? I love getting messy and I find this kind of creativity so therapeutic. I also had do a minor repair on my paper mache project from Sarah Hand’s class that I mentioned last week. I had them both sitting on the kitchen table under the ceiling fan drying. I did quite a bit of art journalling too and really just relaxing and playing. At night I was looking for a movie to watch and found “Groundhog Day,” which I had actually never seen before. It was a nice light movie to end the day with.
On Friday I woke early (well early for me anyway) and video chatted with the family. The weather was gray and not overly inviting to work outside so I spent time prepping and sanding my paper mache pieces. I think the best part of this little retreat was just floating around and doing things as and when I wanted them. I took a little drive to the craft store and picked up some paints for gelli printing and a few other miscellaneous items for other projects. I enjoyed sushi for lunch and made quite a few gelli prints following on of Carla Sonheim’s classes I just signed up for. It was a lot of fun and I have some plans for these prints that I am looking forward to exploring. I did manage some gardening and planted up some hanging baskets and a pot for the front porch that I am pretty proud of.
On Saturday I napped in the afternoon. I was tired and just needed a nap and thought, “why not nap?” The family came home around 8pm so the house was chaotic with luggage and laundry and things to be put away and stories to hear. Sunday was my son’s birthday and we celebrated at home just us. He asked for a treasure hunt to find his presents and pizza for dinner. I had picked up his cake on Saturday which was delicious. Unfortunately the family is dealing with colds now-seems to be a bit of a norm when they travel. Nothing serious just running noses and laying around. Most are already feeling better and on the mend but I think any plans for the rest of the vacation will be on hold.
I am grateful to be writing this blog post on our patio under the tent. The afternoon sun floods the garden and I am enjoying a cup of tea, 2 pieces of dark chocolate and writing to you.
I feel I learned a lot from my mini retreat. Namely how important time like this is for me, my mental health and my creativity. I am hoping to make these happen regularly and to also bring into each day some of the best parts of my retreat. Making my creative a priority is not only healing for me it’s a gift I have been given that needs to be nourished.
I hope you are having a nice start to your week. I would love to hear about your creative retreats if you take any and how you go about it. I prefer to do my retreats at home but I think the mobile minivan studio will be coming out again soon.
Wishing you a beautiful week!
Until next time…
-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante
I love making books.
Welcome to another WIWOW! I have really been enjoying this series. It’s nice to look back and be reminded of some of the projects I am working on.
turned out and I did something different with the inside. I covered 2 pieces of cardboard in coordinating fabric to match the spine and then adhered them on the inside. I love how it looks and it adds some nice weight to the book. I also tried out a new binding technique I found on 
If you remember we decided that instead of filling the album with photos from the last 50 years we are going to make it a bit of a challenge journal. My husband came up with the idea inspired by my daughter’s love for her Wreck this Journal by Kerri Smith. His idea was to add challenges for his parents to complete such as taking a photo in front of a mountain or a photo with a stranger.
the shape and the color but I am not as in love with the eyes. I am may try some dimensional eyes instead of painting them on to give it a bit more interest. I was able to sculpt some feet and I decided I really wanted him to be whimsical like my 
The last little item on my desk is a mixed media piece I started Thursday during my Artist Date in