Video: New DigiKit Reveal & Journal Play

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I have some really exciting news today. I have finally launched my first digital art journaling kit! I am so excited to share this kit with you in today’s video along with an entire process video to give you some ideas on how to use this kit.

If you aren’t familiar, digital kits are kits you purchase once and can then print out as many times as you would like to use in your projects. The kit I am sharing today is perfect for spring with butterflies, birds and lots of flowers. You receive 10 pages along with 3 pages of tags. I had so much fun creating this kit and I have 2 more that are almost ready to share-hopefully within in the next week. If you are interested you can watch the video to see all the kit has and visit my shop here to purchase.

I started out by making the tag. I printed the kit on regular weight copy paper and then backed the tags onto some chip board I had. Then I took different elements from the kit to collage on the tag finishing off with a ribbon and a handmade journal charm.

Starting in my journal I added some soft pink and blue gray acryllic paint and then tore up some more pages and glued them down. I added lace and a few more charms along with a pocket to hold my very thick journaling tag.

I am so happy with how the page turned out! If you have any questions about the kit please do comment below and if you happen to make a purchase let me know how you end up using the kit.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Video: Pretty Pink Journal Page

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(Please note this post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links you don’t pay anything more but I earn a small commission)

I wanted to create something pretty, soft and pink today.

Originally I hadn’t planned on filming but decided to hit record just in case and I’m glad I did. I don’t often sit down to my art journal with an particular idea in mind. I hardly ever know what I am going to create before hand but today I had a theme in mind.

I wanted to create something to go on the flyer for my new in-person art journaling class. I wanted it to be bright and soft and really convey a feeling of peace and calm so I turned to my favorite color-soft pink.

I began by adding gesso to the pages and then dried it with my heat tool Once it was dry I added some old book pages I had in my scraps drawer with matte Mod Podge (affiliate link). I then wen through some old magazines and chose a pretty pink photo of some dahlias to add along the bottom. The rest of the images I struggled with but in the end I think it’s the addition of lace and pink sari silk that really pulled the page together.

I hope you enjoy the video and that you maybe even create alongside me. If you do be sure to comment below and let me know what you made!

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

 

Music by Saint Stephen – 50’s Milkshake – https://thmatc.co/?l=352EAE2D
Music by Eli Lev – Dancin’ on the Lawn – https://thmatc.co/?l=9EA04504

Gardening, Books & Dollhouses

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(Please note this post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links you don’t pay anything more but I earn a small commission)

Happy Thursday!

I am sitting in my studio after having spent some time today in the garden! Oh it feels so good to be out in the sunshine! I planted my lettuce seeds and cleared out 2 beds and had a nice long sit, petting the dogs, and thinking about what my plans are for the garden this year.

I am really excited that after 20+ years of wanting we are finally purchasing privacy trees for the back border of our yard. This is something I have always wanted to do but at first our yard was already full of trees that cast it in full shade so growing anything like evergreens wasn’t going to work. Sadly most of those trees died, the upside is that our backyard is now full sun-yay! I have also been able to replace almost all of the trees we have lost and just put them in more appropriate spots.

The other thing I did was had a good swing on the swing set. Last year my husband built one for the kids and I had requested that he build it sturdy enough so that I could also use it as swings were my favorite as a child. I have to ask the last time you were on a swing set? Can I just say that I forgot how amazing it feels! I told my husband that from now on whenever we are grumbly we should just come out and swing for 5 minutes and suddenly all is right with the world. Really it was pretty awesome.

In other, more blog-focused news I will be hosting my first in-person class this June! I am so excited and really can’t wait to get everything pulled together. I already have lists and ideas and I am planning a goody bag-including a brand new art journal-for each participant. It’s going to be so much fun! I will be sure to keep you updated and I do plan on offering an online version of the class so be sure to keep an eye out for that.

With the gorgeous weather today my husband was kind enough to help me transport my dollhouse to the studio. Originally I was excited to work on it at home but other than the very first steps I just haven’t been able to find the time. I spent this past week designing a digital planner so I could plot out my studio time with my current projects. I was able to use it to carve out time each week to work on the dollhouse and the content creation that goes along with it.

If you read this post you know I am dipping my toe into the world of miniatures and I have begun my first project-renovating my childhood dollhouse. I have quite a bit of footage filmed and wanted to see how I was going to do with it before deciding if it was content I was prepared to create and share on a regular basis. I feel ready now and I am going to spend the rest of April filming some videos and then launch a separate YouTube channel just for the dollhouse.

I will keep the same format here which is writing a blog post and sharing the YouTube video. I’ll create a separate link that takes your right to the dollhouse content and all the appropriate videos but I didn’t want the videos on YouTube to be under my art journaling channel. I really thought it would be confusing for subscribers and probably make some algorithm somewhere cranky. I have designated Sundays as my dollhouse day to share all things miniature. Currently I post content here on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday so I thought adding Sundays would help you know what to expect and when here on the blog.

That brings me to another thought-my podcast. I have loved making podcasts in the past but lately I have been struggling to find topics to share about. I have some ideas and things I might do-including taking a step back all-together but I would love to hear your thoughts. Do you listen to the podcasts? If so what would you like me to talk about? For now, I am going to take the rest of April off and see what comes up for May.

Lastly I did want to give you a Book Club update. I finished 1 mini book this week-“A Christmas Tartan” by Paige Shelton (affiliate link). It was really good-her Scottish Bookshop Mysteries (affiliate link) are one of my favorites. I am currently reading the next book, “Lost Books and Old Bones” (affiliate link) along with “Emerald Isle” (affiliate link) Stacy Justice Mysteries Book #5 by Barbara Annino. I started this book last year and then just stopped reading on my kindle for a bit. I am hoping to finish both of these books this week along with the audio book I am currently listening to which is “The Secret Adversary” by Agatha Christie.  I mentioned in the last book club update that I am working on The Agatha Christie Mystery Challenge and I really enjoy listening to them in my studio. They are so well produced. If you are interested in the version I am listening to it’s on Audible here (affiliate link).

So that is the news for me! It’s funny I didn’t know how much I would have to share with you this week but it turns out it’s been quite a bit! I would love to hear what you are up to so please do share a comment below. If you share about your reading adventures on your own blog you can join my link part (see below) and we can all come and see what you have been reading. One day I hope to host a virtual book club-does that sound fun? Let me know!

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

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Video: Interactive Journal Page: Create a Door with a Secret Message

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I thought it would be fun to break in my new handmade journal with an interactive page at the back. It’s really a simple process and you can place pretty much anything in your little secret door. I am thinking of writing an inspirational message on the back of my heart but you could put a photo, a focal image-anything!

I kept my image loose but you could glue it in if you want.

I began by cutting out my heart shape twice from a piece of chipboard and gluing them together. Then I began gluing several pages together. I added gesso to the heart since I wasn’t sure if I was going to paint and collage or just collage. Then I added gesso to the journal pages, some paint and some stamped images for a background. I also added a focal image from a book I have on birds and flowers. I glued all my images down with mod podge and then used mod podge to add some dictionary pages and tissue paper to the heart. I then used the heart to get an idea of how big to make the door and cut through all the layers on three sides. I put a cutting mat behind them to protect my journal cover.

I ended up adding a bit of ribbon to the door with a button for decoration. I am so happy with how it turned out and it was really fun to make! I can’t wait to get some more done in this journal.

You can watch the video below and maybe make an interactive page in your own journal.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Music by Julia Pauletti – You Are Mine – https://thmatc.co/?l=63BE6B37
Music by Eli Lev – Dancin’ on the Lawn – https://thmatc.co/?l=9EA04504
Music by Saint Stephen – 50’s Milkshake – https://thmatc.co/?l=352EAE2D

Video: Making Journal Jewelry

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Happy Monday! I hope you had a nice weekend.

We spent time with family on Saturday celebrating a belated Easter. The kids hunted eggs and ate way too much chocolate and the adults sat outside and chatted. It was a relaxing way to spend the day.

I did manage to get to the studio over the weekend and had a play with making some journal jewelry. I just recently heard the term although I have added embellishments and dangles my journals for years. I wanted to find a way to use some of the charms we made together as well as my stash of ribbons. If you would like to add some embellishments to your journals but don’t have a lot of found items to add then you might like to give this a try.

I started by picking out some ribbons I like and tying them together. Then I added a bulb safety pin (Amazon Affiliate Link) so that I could clip it through the top of the spine of my journal. I then added some of our handmade charms by tying them on to the individual ribbons. You could really go crazy and add so many things! You could add old charms from necklaces that are broken, beads, bells-you name it! I liked the idea of using elements I could make but I am definitely going to be making a lot more of these.

I hope you enjoy the video and try making these charms for yourself. If you do please let me know how you make out!

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

 

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This does not cost you any more money but helps support my site and my work.

Music by Julia Pauletti – You Are Mine – https://thmatc.co/?l=63BE6B37

The Case of the Two Agathas aka Book Club Thursday

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This post contains affiliate links. When you make a purchase using one of my affiliate links I earn a small commission but you do not pay anything more.

Welcome to another Book Club Thursday. I hope you have been enjoying some quality reading time the past 2 weeks. I have finished two books since my last update and have really been enjoying the extra time spent with a book in my hand. I thought it would be fun to share what I have read and some of the books I hope to dig into reading the next few weeks. So let’s get started!

I finished “The Quiche of Death” by M.C. Beaton (affiliate link) the first book in the Agatha Raisin series. I picked up a used copy of the first 3 books combined in one volume a while back. I really love the the Agatha Raisin movies and television series so I thought it would be fun to read the books as well. If I am being honest, I like the shows better. The novel in and of itself is a good one and if I wasn’t comparing it the television series I am sure I would have enjoyed it more. I found the characters of Agatha and Roy to not be nearly as likeable as they are on TV but I am going to keep on and at least finish the volume and see how the characters develop from there. The story itself, a cozy-mystery (my favorites) is a really great “who-dun-it” set in a cozy English village.

The next book I finished was Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind by Joyce Meyer (affiliate link). This book is by a Christian author and while some of the, shall we say gender specific roles are not something I personally agree with I did find the overall message extremely helpful. More so than “think positive” the book goes into Biblical examples of how we are to focus our mind on the good, the loving and the true. It offers some really solid examples of training your mind but is definitely a book focused on Biblical Christianity so if that isn’t something you resonate with than this wouldn’t be something I would recommend.

I am going to also add a separate category here for audio books that I listened to. I have trouble considering audio books, well, books. I understand they are but I guess for me it’s not about just a story but the act of reading I enjoy. Still, I love audio books as their own category and have started listening to them when working in my studio. This week I listened to “The Mysterious Affair at Styles” by Agatha Christie. I have purchased a used copy of some of her books but decided to go for an audio version of her first book. I am doing this as a part of the challenge with the 52 Book Club’s Agatha Christie Challenge. I am working on all the books in the order of which they were written. I really enjoyed the audio version. The narrator was fabulous and I felt as if I was transported into the story. I am excited to start the next in the series, “The Secret Adversary” and I will be doing this as an audio book as well.

Now as for some of the books I am hoping to read in April. I would like to finish “Emerald Isle a Stacy Justice Mystery” by Barbara Annino. I started this book, I think the beginning of last year on my Kindle and am about half way through. They are fun stories about witches, mysteries and magical lands-some of my favorite reads. I am hoping to finish this one next week if I can.  I would also like to read “Steeping Secrets: The Magical Tea Room Mysteries” by Erin Johnson. This series is so much fun about an American in Bath, England who ends up working at a tea room run by vampires and shape shifters only to find out that she herself is a witch. Add in some sleuthing and murders and it’s a really fun cast of characters and really like and fun read. This is another book I plan to read on my kindle as well as the next book in the series, “Save the Last Dance for Tea.” (You gotta love the puns 🙂

Another Kindle read is “A Christmas Tartan” by Paige Shelton.  I started this series I think last year or 2021 and it’s a lot of fun. Again about an American who is living in Scotland and working at a very unique old book store. As in all cozy mysteries you have a wonderful cast of characters and lots of mysteries thrown in. I have also put a request in at the library for “Lost Books and Old Bones” by Paige Shelton which is the book that follows “A Christmas Tartan.”

If I am able to read all these I will hit my 2 books/week goal. As I mentioned before I have set a goal to read 52 books this year and am currently 7 books behind schedule. In truth, I would love to hit the goal but really the goal is just a reminder to me that I want to spend more time reading each day. I always feel so good when I am making time to read each day and I am trying to keep that at the forefront of my day.

Well that feels like a lot! I would love to hear what you are reading or your favorite types of books to read. Please comment below so we can all find our next TBR.

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Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante