Don’t iron your Four Leaf Clover

My clarity comes in the form of writing. When all else fails, when I don’t know which step to take next, or how to hold myself up any longer, all that I do know, is that i need to write. Writing is the work I need to do.
Silvia deVries [*]

I get nice things in the mail. A while back I got this Chinese book from the very kind and generous Amy in Texas:

She wrote that she bought this accordion fold book in Shanghai, China in 2002 when she lived there for work for four and a half months. It?s covered with red silk brocade and has paper inside which is meant to be used for Chinese calligraphy and watercolor. It should be good for regular watercolor and for drawing. It?s 8 1/2″ x 8 1/2″. Isn’t it beautiful?!

This week I also got a handbound little cutie notebook from Katie:

Katie has made many pretty mini books, she has an assembly line going with little books filled with recycled papers. I adore mine and will dedicate it somehow to the cutest cat ever; miss Smilla. See, she is already in it. Just seeing the images of handmade books made me start on a journal myself, cutting pages and punching holes. It’s not finished yet though. But it’s sooo cute!

I think it’s the beginning of a collection. A collection and a love of handmade and handbound notebooks. I have made books myself, so I know how much time and love goes into making books. And maybe this something I will keep collecting throughout my life? I think so, because I like to collect things that I can use, over and over again. A notebook is something that is not just beautiful when it arrives, it will be more beautiful later when I myself have filled it with meaning. If you haven’t read Roz Stendahl’s series on Journaling Superstitions I think you should. She writes

These “shoulds,” “musts,” and comments aren’t rules. Regard them with great suspicion. There is only one rule in journaling, as far as I am concerned, and that’s are you doing what you need to do to speak in your voice.? (Or variations of that, like “Are you getting the job done?”)

Superstition #1 is You must finish the journal you?re working in before starting a new one.

Haha, what a silly myth that is, right?

Don’t iron your four leaf clover, you don’t want to press your luck!

More luck

• So lucky – Michelle Ward got a Finnish hymnal from me. She is making a tribute to her favorite band and she is using a hymnal as her altered book. Can’t wait to see what she makes!
• Commenting on Taj’s blog the art journal and got a very nice respond where she links to my self-published book in her post iHanna! Thanks!
• Got a very nice email from a girl called Ali that said she found me though Dawn’s book ! It’s a first, and a very nice one as she like my art, bought my book and asked for my 2009 calendar which reminded me that I actually did post it for sale online, but forgot about it. It’s at Lulu just as my book A Creative Year. You can still get both!
• TJ in Germany posted about the heArt Quilt she bought from me see her fun post Ugly phone cover up!
• I’ve added some more books that I really love to my book page – check them out!

Thanks for everything! You are the best.