Strawberries, July roundup, and volleying between

I’ve been volleying between doing young lady things and old lady things. Is this what it means to be middle aged? I mean, I can still rock the ponytail, but also I’m a sucker for making jam.

Gooseberry jam! A delicious old lady vibe.

Going to the STFU Janice party in Toronto hosted by Drake and featured in a publication was definitely a young lady vibe! Here I am in line…

Then we went strawberry picking:

And on a tractor ride at the strawberry farm that included this breathtaking view:

I also attended a pool party that ended with a photo sent out to participants of the lost and found collection. Mine is the towel.

You could make an entire person out of what was left at that pool party. This photo is almost poetic.

All these experiences, plus a few others, culminated in this month’s Cottage Letter which features STRAWBERRIES in both a print and STICKERS… plus a fabric closure reminiscent of pretty jam jars.

These art pieces often start out so questionable. Will it work out? Will it???

So many art supplies. I bought a new set of gouache this week to go along with my new set of oil pastels so we have a torturous month of experimentation ahead. YA! UGH! I don’t know! It gets pretty messy around here on the art table:

A few nasturtiums as a practice round with the gouache. I volleyed between gouache and watercolour paints.

I also volleyed between being inside to avoid wildfire smoke and outside on the porch to read letters from some wonderful penpals. If you want to send me a letter, I’d love to get one. My return address is on every piece of mail I send you. I also read everything. There are no minions doing my bidding. I’m a one woman band here at Cottage Letters Inc.

Taking the load of June Mail Club letters to the post office. That’s always a fun day. Then it’s back home to be tortured by more art supplies. This time I added pencil crayons like in the olden days:

I’m also FLOORED by the response in a previous post about what it actually feels like to write a book. Thank you! Some of you left comments, others sent me messages. That is another area of my life where I am back and forthing. I have TWO books I’m toying with. One is manuscripty… as in words words words. Another is more visual, partly based on my new gorgeous lovely relationship with Chronicle Books who is not only one of my Dream Team publishers but who also published this series of notecards and notebooks featuring my art:

More info here.

I mean… those notebooks are tied with a string just like food in a French market. Be still my heart!

So there has been a lot of back and forth in a lot of aspects of my life lately. The only thing I’m really sure of is the mail club, which is getting better and better so please sign up so I can send you fun, cozy mail.

A year ago (and since 2012) my mail club was just a letter (well crafted and amazing, but just one thing). Then it was a letter + art print. Now it’s a letter + art print + sticker. Who knows what it will include a year from now.

All fuelled by your support and enthusiasm. So thanks, dear reader. Thanks for sticking with me through all this figuring out. And if you have some ideas about a dreamy next book you’d like to read, written by me, let me know. I feel lately I need to ask outside of myself for feedback to help lead me in the right direction. Otherwise I’ll just keep volleying back and forth like a caffeine-jacked pinball.

-Janice