Atiliay noun, a play off the French word “atelier”; a workshop/studio, esp of an artist or designer; my creative space

Notes plural noun, a brief record of facts, topics, thoughts written down as an aid to memory; a short informal letter

 

Happy New Year! I hope you've been easing into 2024 and that your month is off to a very good start. As we begin a new yet familiar journey into the next 12 months, the idea of laying a foundation has been coming up for me. So in this first newsletter of the year, I wanted to start with some basics and let you know what you can expect from these notes, what my word of the year is, offer a PDF, and give an update on my road trip!

 

I so appreciate you taking your time to receive my words and thoughts--I love writing to you and this is a very personal and special space to me. Thank you for letting me share and I hope in each note you'll find something that resonates, is helpful or encouraging, or sparks a creative idea or two.

 

 

I feel like it sets the tone for the upcoming months, serves as an anchor in challenging times, and is our own true north, guiding us forward and making sure we stay on course.

 

My past words have been: Serve (2019), Self Integrity (2020), Fearless (2021), Zero (2022), Focus (2023).

For 2024 I settled on 2 words:

The first is PROCESS. I truly believe that if nothing changes, nothing changes and that the small things we do daily is what adds up and makes our lives the way they are. 

 

I'd really like to get better processes in place for both my personal and professional life to help manage my time (time blocking, Pomodoro Technique), my finances ( budgeting, tracking--will be trying the Mint app, thank you Kristen for the suggestion! :)), and my creative work (a YouTube video involves filming, editing, adding text, adding music, creating a thumbnail, writing a description, posting it, sharing on social media, blog, and newsletter, etc. and I want to write down and organize all those steps!) 

 

I really liked PROCESS but it also felt very practical and I wanted a fun word too :)

 

Which led me to DISCOVERY. Discovery of self, of new places, of art, of creativity, of what makes me curious.

 

 

If you haven't picked one yet or want to try it for the first time (I hope you do! :)), the way I approach it is to think about…

 

I took a step back from it to explore other forms of art but this year, I'm ready to make space for both! So the first PDF I have for you is lettering inspired and it's a set of worksheets that show you how to letter your word of the year 5 ways. There are instructions for each section, practice worksheets and examples, and a blank worksheet for you to fill in (shown above).

 

 

These worksheets were created with a beginner brush letterer in mind who has some basic lettering knowledge. If this is brand new to you, try your regular print handwriting in box 1 and your cursive writing in box 2. If you're interested in more lettering worksheet, sign up for Better Letters In 15 to access that library!

 

 

The end of this year marks 3 months since Val and I hit the road! When I started this journey I had no idea how long we’d be traveling, how I’d feel without a home base, or where my final destination would be. But as we go, things have become a little bit clearer.

The plan that's formed is for us to travel the US for 1 year until October 2024. I want to continue visiting states we've never been to (I got my eye on New Mexico & Texas for the winter!) and make our way to the east coast! I decided on a year because I think I’ll be over driving by that point lol

After that, I want to head back to WA and live there through all 4 seasons in different neighborhoods. If we can survive winter, I am 95% sure that’s where I’d like to settle down.

We’ll see how things go and I’m keeping an open mind! A lot of the traveling depends on Valentine and making sure it’s comfortable for her and that she is healthy and happy.

We are currently in CA for a short trip to visit the vet. Val had her 5 month check up to monitor her Cushing’s Disease. I am hoping to get results today so I can make plans accordingly. Fingers crossed! (Val has been doing great thought so I hope the results reflect that!)

It‘s been amazing getting to do this with Valentine! I’m proud of us for being able to adapt and adjust, for traveling solo and being independent, for living in alignment with my beliefs, and for driving with chains for the first time! We really don’t know what we are capable of doing until we do it.

I am excited to continue on this adventure and look forward to what the future holds!

 

To new beginnings and a fresh start each and every day.

Talk to you soon,

PS: Because of the mystery dog illness that's been going around, I have held off on taking Val to the groomer's. But she finally got a haircut at her trusted groomer here in CA (Lucky Dawg Pet Grooming if you're in the area!) Below is a before/after picture. And while she was at the groomer's, I stopped by South Coast Botanical Garden nearby to find some trolls! One of my travel goals is to find as many of these trolls as possible so I was excited to catch them while they were here! (This group of trolls is a traveling set. They will be disassembled and head to Philly next!)

The Creative Spark Newsletter provides thoughtfully curated prompts and ideas, a flexible & loose schedule, and gentle encouragement to help support your creative practice all year round. 

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