Dare I say that my plans for the upcoming year are... boring?!
In this post you'll find:
✓ Why I'm digging in and repeating ♻️
✓ My detailed plans for 2025 🗓️
✓ Studio news and 📸 photos of my current project 🧵🪡
Okay okay, boring is not the right word. Let me explain...
It goes something like this. I missed my made-up "deadline" because I've been putting off writing to you. I kept thinking, "I don't have anything new or interesting to say!" My thoughts have still been consumed with taking small steps versus always going for the big leaps. So instead of making my brain and thoughts divert - I'm going to stay with this fixation a little longer. And I'm going to take you along with me.
So often this time of year is full of social media posts with people declaring their resolutions. "New year, new me!" (Do people even say that anymore?? 😂) It seems like it's all about becoming something different than you already are. And your 2024 self is left standing there all alone - wondering why all the hard work they did wasn't good enough. My 2025 looks a lot like continuing with what my 2024 self began building. I'll get to the specifics in a second, keep hanging with me.
There were a couple of "signs" that lit me up and gave me the hug of encouragement I needed to reassure myself that the plans I had made were indeed in the right direction.
→ First, I saw this post from Amie McNee of @inspiredtowrite on Instagram that said "Maybe you don't need to fix or change anything this year! Just keep doing what you're doing + let time do the work."
→ Second, we started going through The Artist's Way / Walking in this World by Julia Cameron last week in Andrea's Watch Learn Play membership and this stood out to me. A passage reads, "We get a lot further creatively by staying put and doing something small and do-able daily in the life we already have."
2025 will be filled with building upon and repeating what I did in 2024.
And let me tell you - I am SO excited and am looking forward to it. Take a look 👀
The BB Bash -
that's right, coming to you for the 2nd time! An online event that is full of inspiration, connection, and ways to take action! And this year we are going beyond mixed media techniques and tutorials. We'll be digging into one of the biggest things that can either enable or hinder our art practice - MINDSET. Because we all know that it takes more than knowing how to make art in order to actually make art! I'll be showing you specific tips and exercises that I use on a regular basis that help me to free my mind from creative blocks. {Last Half of March}
The BB Art Journals Masterclass -
a 12-week experience that goes so far beyond creating an awesome art journal. I'm pinching myself when I say this will be the 3rd time I'm opening the doors and welcoming in new students. With our weekly calls and play dates, we become such a tight-knit community. It's heartwarming to see how everyone supports each other. This is a course that carries you forward so far beyond the 12 weeks. One of my students last year said on a call, "It's an amazing course, so comprehensive, from a very supportive and wonderful teacher. I will enjoy the things I've learned in this class for the rest of my life. I mean, seriously!" The waitlist is now open. {Enrollment Begins in April}
An In-Person Collaborative Retreat -
Yes!! That's right - play time together in person. And not just with me, but with another incredible teacher as well. I can hardly believe it; I'm so excited already. It's probably technically too early to announce this because I don't have any "official" information yet. But... put a little pencil asterisk in your calendar for October. You'll be the first to know when I have more details. Spots will be very limited, so I know you'll want to jump on it as soon as you can 😉
I think that about covers the big things that I have planned for the next year! Of course, other things will come up, and my year will be full of small steps that will help get me to those goals.
Let's just say, the state of my studio right now could be described as chaos, a disaster, a giant mess, overwhelming, disorganized, SO MUCH STUFF EVERYWHERE!
And instead of dealing with the issue 😂 of having no tabletop space and stuff covering every surface, I pivoted this week and have been cozying up by the fireplace. My days have been filled with deep-focus computer work, but in the evenings I have been stitching. You may have seen a preview if you follow along with my Instagram stories. But I have been stitching intuitively on a piece that is bringing me so much joy. I was initially inspired by some photos I saw on Pinterest.
As I was doing my morning pages this morning (this marked day 21 of doing them every morning - let me know if you want to hear more about how that's going and why I've fallen in love with them.) I had to snap a photo of my project as the morning light was catching every gorgeous detail.
At the beginning of last week, I couldn't help myself (I'm also very impatient) so I scanned in this project before stitching was done. I wanted to see what this would look like as a digital download. And let me tell you - it did not disappoint! I was so inspired by it that I used it for the cover of my latest journal - one that I'm using for note-taking as I go through The Artist's Way.
To be honest, I don’t think the amazing print would be the same if I hadn't used this paper.
I also used this tool to drill the holes in the chipboard spine and it was so slick.
xxBB
