While I have a little “real” work to do, it can be done in an hour or so a day or a one-day sprint, which is my preferred approach. My syllabus is ready for my graduate class, I have finished up a project for a client and I get to spend next week vacationing with family and friends.

I have committed to do some kind of creative work each day: doodling, journaling and lots of paper craft from books to cards to gell printing. Being part of a monthly book making group has provided inspiration and motivation as we share resources and then do show and tell at our meetings.

This week, I worked on my art journal, using a combination of paper and sewing to create quilt-inspired art:

I also ended up making an accidental craft: I planned to sew together some crochet squares to make a box. But I thought it might benefit from some cardboard on the inside. Then, I thought it would be nice to at least cover the cardboard. By the time I did that and assembled the box using my own design, I realized it was too cool to cover up. It needs some tweaking so the lid is either held in place with side pieces or can go all the way back. That’s the beauty of making: designing and tweaking things using knowledge you have gained from others and other projects. Here’s the box:

At our August book club meeting, we made books using Japanese stab binding. I brought the directions and everyone worked on their own project. I didn’t take a picture of my little notebook but here are other examples of these kinds of books I have made:

I am grateful to have the time to lose myself in this kind of work.