Look to the Books

I needed a trip to the bookstore. I haven't been in a long time. It's something I need every now and then, and I was not disappointed. I came home with a couple of great books.

One is this one, "Good Mail Day". What a trip down memory lane, remembering the old days of fun mail art. This book even has blank post cards and stickers in the back so you can mail some mail art. I had heard of these two authors before and had been to their web site.

You can't go wrong with two ladies who have respectable jobs by day and dress like this in their off time! (Note their merit badges for 'zine making, correspondence, etc., which they sell at their website.)

I also got "Nature Inspired" by Tracie Lyn Huskamp. I've been wanting to do some nature journaling, and I think this one may inspire me, especially since the books pictured have so much old lace and fabric on the pages, plus lots of technique tips. I especially like how she used lace on bird wings in a lot of places.

There were a multitude of new books on visual journaling. The pages were a feast for the eyes. To be honest, though, I looked through them and was tempted to bring some home, but I realized that I really need to spend less time looking at pretty pictures and more time getting paint on my hands making my own pages. I love being inspired by other people's work, but I don't want that to become an excuse for never making my own art. It was an a-ha moment for me. Maybe I will actually follow through on it one of these days too!