monsbrick

If I send you mail that has postage due please let me know! ~~~~

Happy July! Is it summer where you are? What is that like for you?

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers and mail! I am having a super rough month. It is making my faith stronger and my immediate family is ok but this has been rough on many levels.

For the upcoming recipe swap and journal. I am open to all recipes and all size journals. Thank you in advance for sharing your recipes with me.

Today I started listening to a new audiobook Navola by Paolo Bacigalupi. Not sure if I like it yet but probably I will. I have read all of his books and some I have also listened to on audio. You would find them in the Dystopian section. There’s often an edge between the people who have resources like water, energy, food and characters or people in his books who are trying to get these basic needs met. But I also love his odd characters. Like the Wind Up Girl.

I'm currently reading about 5 books. Will settle down and focus on one of them soon.

On audiobooks, listening to the latest by Paolo Bacigalupi. I want to like it. But it is a challenge so far.

My reading goal for 2024 is about 52-55 books. And I’ve read less than 20 books this year so far. But I do love books and reading.

On the writing side. I keep a few notebooks for the various parts of my life. Work, church, exercise.

Recently I started a recipe notebook for my step-daughter though we never cook together. Our kitchen is smaller than her university apartment kitchen! But she is starting to learn how to cook. Her boyfriend is from Ukraine and started teaching her how to make his family recipes and I suppose that gives her a deeper appreciation for family recipes and holiday traditions. He has such different stories and practices. His Mom is still in Kyiv well she is not in that city as it is under attack and this week a children’s hospital was bombed.

In college, I studied history and anthropology and was very interested in family and oral history.

All that to say, I am putting together a recipe journal. I don’t have any of my Mom or Grandmothers recipes. But I remember what they made. And have tried to put together recipes and notebooks for what that was like. They traveled quite a lot surviving wars and boats back and forth across the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

♻️

Paper: I love paper!! Any kind of paper, stationery, loose pieces of paper, letter sets, postcards, notecards, ephemera.

Arts & crafts I’m into are journals, book pages like old books including illustrated flowers and plants, washi tape, wrapping paper, home made paper, yarn, tissue, packaging, found objects, and more.

Thank you for all the extras and gifts from you all!!!

Likes: [I'm always trying new styles and techniques. I don't think there's a single style that defines me unless maybe eclectic is a way to define. Though there are times I want more of a simple austere look. Then there are times I want a more busy collaged and contrasting look.]

Vintage or new but in a vintage style

Junk journals and fodder for them

Art all kinds and every style of art and crafts

Die cuts

Doodles

ephemera, any

Lace

Ribbons

Rice paper

Sari ribbon

Stationery anything

Stamped images

Stickers

Washi tape

Found objects

Dyed by ink or store bought or hand dyed fabric or yarn

Recipes

In general I like all colors.

** For Journals **

I’m making art journals, junk journals, scrapbooks and more. I use planners for work and church and include some other financial and other details in these.

For junk journals, any size works for me.

And I like all themes. To give you a few ideas, here are some: sea, nautical, floral, circus, antique or vintage even if it's new but in the vintage style, Asian theme or French style. Grunge or distressed are also good for me. I often think of French as distressed though there is the sleek French style too. I’m really all over the place.

Any theme is good as I like eclectic or putting various themes together in more a mix! Ha ha!

I have been collecting things to put into a junk journal but I haven't actually started making the journal itself. I've no doubt it'll happen. I'm having a ton of itself and enjoying the process. I hope you enjoy your process too!

Been watching lots of tv or streaming shows.

Watching the tv series Tracker. And finished eatching The Crown on Netflix.

After all these decades I o my recently started watching Law & Order but I am slowly catching up. I watch all 3 variations: the original, Special Victims, and also Organized Crime. Plus police and detective shows from Europe such as the Paris Murders, Van der walk, Murder in Sweden, and Prime Suspect the old ones with Helen Mirren.

And on Amazon, I’ve watched and rewatched The Peripheral. I even relistened to William Gibson’s audio version. I’d read the book in print too.

I think we used to call this cyberpunk fiction but I don’t know what it’s called anymore. I just like it.

And the Amazon series based on Tolkien’s Silmarillion which is ambitious don’t you think? If you’ve ever paged through this collection of myths and songs and stories. But I did enjoy the show on Amazon, it’s called The Rings of Power.

I watch the Jesus Image and EWTN. My life feels so fragile. Well it is for all of us. It can be all gone on a moment. And that makes me push myself very hard and always has. Since I was a little thing. My caretakers died when well one of my caretakers was murdered. And it sort of jaded me but I’ve been through lots and lots of therapy and prayer and 12 step programs. Art is therapy now. But I try to not make everything cathartic. Sometimes a doodle really is just a doodle!

Here are a few of the artists and makers I watch at YouTube:

My newest discovery is Caroline on the Hillside.

I’ve been adding lots of new channels I can’t keep up with them but I’m watching more reels and shorts and love all the creative inspiration!

iMarcy’s Misadventures in Mixed Media on YouTube.

Ana Bondu she works in French mostly and her specialty is Gelli prints

Barbara at 49dragonflies who makes grunge and other fun styles of journals

Claire at art_journal love

Cathy’s Garden

Denise Love aka @2lilowlsstudio and she makes intuitive abstract art very colorful

Tim Holtz

Dina Wakely

Maremi Small Art

Amity Bloom

Gayle Agostinelli

Helen Colebrook

Jackie Bernardi

Jane Davenport

Louise Heinzl

Mystele

Niamh Baly

Nicole Relax.Cut.Glue

Nik the Booksmith

Pink Odd Bird

Roxy Creations

Shabbydabbydoodah

ShanoukiArt

Shawn Petite

Susanne Rose Art

Teal and Tattered Journal

The Paper Outpost

TiffanySmplySharpe

Willowing

These are my favorites!!!