Hi Friend -
I hope you’ve stayed cool in the Northern Hemisphere this week. It’s been hot and sticky in my neck of the woods and even this Texan is staying inside and away from the Michigan humidity.
This week has actually been pretty transformational for me. I’m doing The Artist’s Way (again, lol) and will talk about it further down in the Crafts section, but spoiler alert, I’m attempting phone deprivation this week. Specifically social media/infinite scroll deprivation. It has been so hard and so good!
More about that in a minute! For now, dig in:
Tomoe River Paper - This is the paper that Hobonichi uses and I don’t understand how it’s so thin, but hardly anything bleeds through!? Only my favorite broad Ohto pen can defeat it.
Kinusaiga - I finished my huge piece this week and I’m obsessed!
Quiet Mornings - Getting up early and puttering around by myself is essential.
Poll results! You can still share your input here, but after a week and a handful of votes, the answer was that y’all wanted to hear about All of the Above 🥹.
That includes: Crafts, journaling, book reports and home decor. Sounds good to me! You know I’ve really been experimenting in this space for the last couple of years and figuring out what kinds of things I want to make now.
Podcasts, videos, old school blog posts.
For this multi-passionate maker, I can bounce between all of those mediums and ping pong between subjects at the drop of a hat! Thanks for hanging out and being up for anything!
Also, just a reminder that I still have a bitty shop and Andy and I are adding to it sporadically. It’s print on demand, minus a couple of my 100 Days Project necklaces.
This is my favorite thing right now!
Don’t Forget the Small Business Archive!
Peko Puff - I cannot deal with how cute this tomato monkey is omg 😭
Karepango - Everything in this shop is incredible, but this maneki neko bucket hat has my heart.
Little Red House Shop - How precious is this cat stamp washi?! I love the sweet illustrations!
Banana Split Lilly - I love this idea of Reminder Stickies as stickers! The stickers are sold out, but they have them as magnets, too!
Carly Quinn Designs - She’s based out of Arizona and these tile art pieces are stunning!! This Poppy design is my favorite.
Motawi Tile - Speaking of tile, have I mentioned Motawi yet? They’re based in Ann Arbor and we’ve been to their open house! I love their style and I thought this piece went well with Carly’s design.
I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but OMG I LOVE IT!!
This was a huge learning experience. I committed to using only scraps and fabric I had in the house, which did make it more difficult as my Ruby Star Society charm packs are dwindling and thrifted material is precious. But I think the combos turned out well and it feels very me.
When I finished it, I swore to never do a kinusaiga project this big again, but I fear the itch has already returned 😬. I really want to try another quilt design, but mimic strips of fabric instead of all patchwork (because that how it really works lol). I realized I made way too much work for myself with all the little squares, but the texture is really beautiful.
More more more!
The Artist’s Way Progress!
Week Four had a very specific assignment that I interpreted a little differently from the text.
This book was originally published in 1992 and during the fourth week, she asks folks to practice “reading deprivation”. Basically, not getting sucked into a book/another world and instead, participate in the world you actually inhabit.
In my 2026 mind, I decided that she would’ve been adamant about putting down the smart phone during this week. Reading is not a problem for me. In fact, I want to do more of it! But the phone? I’m not sharing my screen pre-exercise because it’s truly embarrassing how many hours per day I spent scrolling.
But after really leaning into it this week, believe me when I say that the drop in hours was dramatic! I did use my laptop more often, but that’s easier to close and the endless scroll just doesn’t happen there for me.
I also started tracking my time halfway through the week and, looking back, putting down the phone is the only reason I was able to finish that kinusaiga quilt piece. I’m so glad I jumped into this book again and can’t recommend it enough!
Also, don’t forget about Snart if you’re looking for some crafty ideas!
Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry (hardback) - My reading is slow going during the summer, but I’m hoping to really power through this one over the weekend. They’re still traveling and our girl Odessa is still in the dark and I’m suspicious of The Guardian and Zavier’s connection 🤨. This is a fun one and I need some concentrated time with it!
*Book links are affiliates where I get a small portion of the sale and it helps to support The Fox and the Feather, my favorite woman-owned, indie bookshop near me!
The cats have been soaking the summer sun and baking their beans in the bay window.
Flowers are still blooming all over the neighborhood and I can’t get over how beautiful it is here.
WE SAW A BEAVER!!! It dug out a bunch of grass and zoomed away!!! I saw it’s little tail and I’m so proud of how hard it’s working!
Beans, my studio assistant being unhelpful lol.
I cleaned out my closet and organized my jewelry box and found my cluster of phone charms from the early 2000s!!! Imagine a brick of a cell phone stuck in my back pocket, it’s clear vinyl case tinged pink from hair dye, jingling with every step (the very sad Rilakkuma is a bell!) as I walked through the Annapolis mall going to twist pretzels at the Auntie Anne’s 😝. What a time to be alive.
It has been such a full week and I only have less screen time to thank. The extra time does come with it’s challenges, though. Now that I have more time to play with, I’m fighting the need to be “productive” as opposed to just enjoying the time. There’s got to be a balance in there somewhere!
Thanks for letting me ramble at you again!
K, love you, byeeee!
♡ Becky
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