ALL BLOGS

I’ve been writing in plain A5 notebooks for years — the kind you pick up on Amazon with blank white pages. But recently, I had a thought.

What if the journal I write in felt more me? More soulful. More beautiful. Something I actually created with my hands?

So I finally sat down to make one.

This handmade book is stitched using a binding style called Link and Long Stitch. I learned it from the lovely Jeanne Oliver inside her course Poets and Misfits, and I’ve been wanting to try it ever since.

Let’s rewind to 2016. There I was, brushes in hand, teaching my 100th landscape painting workshop.

Fast-forward a decade, and I’d guided over 20,000 students online and 700+ in-person workshops—all about capturing skies, mountains, and forests.

But here’s the thing no one tells you: Passion evolves.

A quiet curiosity pulled me beyond paint. At first, it felt wild and messy. But soon, those unpredictable textures and playful marks revealed a whole new language of creativity.

Now, after countless experiments in my studio, I’m thrilled to say I’m officially teaching mixed media—and I want you to join me at

There’s something deeply satisfying about shrinking your art practice down to a tiny journal you can hold in the palm of your hand.

In today’s blog, I’ll share how I transformed scraps and prints into a 4×4″ mini art journal, complete with a sturdy 5×5″ collaged cover and a mish‑mash of “junk” pages begging to be personalized.

This project is perfect for using up leftover mark‑making papers, fabric bits, and vintage ephemera—all while staying present and intuitive in the process.