There are seasons when our creativity feels clear and alive — when we know what we want to say, what we want to make, how we want to show up.

And then there are the other seasons:
The in-between.
The tender.
The uncertain.
The layered.

A Creative Journey Through Artistry & Alchemy

There comes a moment—often quiet, sometimes sudden—when the urge to prove or perfect begins to soften. In its place, something deeper begins to stir: a gentle call to turn inward, to create without urgency, and to honor the wisdom etched into your becoming.

There’s a certain kind of beauty that doesn’t shout.
It gathers slowly. Softly.
It doesn’t demand attention—it invites presence.

Lately, I’ve found myself drawn to that kind of beauty.

Not everything begins with a bang.
Sometimes, the beginning is a whisper.

A rustle in the leaves.
A half-formed sentence in the dark.
A longing that arrives before you have words for it.

If you’ve been feeling it too—the pull to slow down, to gather what’s been scattered, to return to something ancient and quietly yours—you’re not alone.

We don’t always tell our stories in straight lines.
Sometimes, they emerge through torn paper and soft edges, through marks made slowly, intuitively.
Sometimes, the story needs space to unfold—not in bold declarations, but in quiet gestures and subtle textures.

This is the language of layers.

Have you ever felt drawn to vintage materials—the timeworn pages, the delicate textures, the whispers of forgotten stories? There’s something magical about layering old and new, blending ephemera with paint, ink, and intuition to create something uniquely yours. If you’ve been yearning to infuse your art journaling practice with a deeper sense of meaning and creative play, my new Found & Layered workbook is just what you need.

There’s something alchemic about stepping into a new country, breathing in unfamiliar air, and letting your senses guide your creativity. My art workshops in Portugal and Paris weren’t just about making beautiful travel journals—they were about becoming more fully ourselves through the act of creating in places steeped in history, charm, and inspiration.

So much of life passes by without pause. We rush through days, to-do lists, and distractions. But somewhere within you lives the part that notices—the glint of a weathered button, the quiet ache of a forgotten melody, the way light filters through old lace.

Each May, artists around the globe gather—virtually and in studio spaces—to celebrate World Collage Day, a joyful nod to the timeless, tactile magic of cutting, layering, and storytelling through scraps and fragments.

Somewhere along a cobblestone alley in Lisbon, with the scent of blooming wisteria in the air and the hum of Portuguese conversation floating past us, I realized something beautiful: we were all becoming magpies.

Layers of Light, History, and Ink

Paris greeted us with soft gray skies and the shimmer of morning on the Seine. From the first breath of croissant-laced air, we knew we had stepped into a dream. Each arrondissement had its own rhythm, its own palette—and we chased them all with hungry eyes and open hearts.

Setúbal wraps around you slowly, like linen in a breeze. Mornings began with a walk to the waterfront, past fishing boats bobbing lazily in the harbor and market stalls bursting with color—plump oranges, wildflowers, hand-painted tiles. The air was laced with salt and sunshine, and the pace of life invited us to breathe a little deeper, move a little slower.

Visiting Italy is one of life’s greatest pleasures. Imagine spending a week at Lake Como in the springtime—making art, creating connection, and seeing the beautiful sights of this special part of northern Italy! This is your chance to awaken your senses, embrace the unexpected, and create lasting memories.

Join me for a week of creativity in Italy inspired by the beautiful Lake Como, back roads and serene lifestyle, creating a gorgeous travel diary that you’ll treasure always.

This is your invitation to join us in an immersive 10-day all-inclusive creative journey in collaboration with Perigord Retreats. We will be staying in the Dordogne and Lot regions of southwestern France, a place full of exquisite beauty, fascinating history & endless inspiration!

There’s something deeply satisfying about the act of gathering—the hunt, the discovery, the thrill of finding just the right piece. In vintage art journaling, this process isn’t just a preliminary step; it’s a foundational ritual, a practice that invites inspiration before you even put pen, paint, or collage to paper.

Color is more than just paint on a page—it’s emotion, memory, and storytelling wrapped into one. When creating a vintage art journal, the colors you choose become an extension of your creative voice. They set the mood, evoke nostalgia, and guide the visual rhythm of your pages. But where do you begin? Should you embrace the soft elegance of a monochrome palette, the harmony of a limited selection, or the exuberance of all the colors?

Torn, Stitched, and Layered

Vintage art journaling is a sensory experience—one that invites you to build layers of history, emotion, and artistry onto each page. By incorporating texture through torn papers, stitched fabrics, and layered elements, you create depth and dimension that make your pages feel alive.

Art journaling is more than just an exercise in creativity; it is a visual form of storytelling. Every torn page, every brushstroke, every carefully placed piece of ephemera whispers a fragment of your personal narrative. In vintage art journaling, storytelling is deeply intertwined with composition—how you arrange elements on a page determines the mood, meaning, and magic of your piece.

In the world of art journaling, there’s a quiet kind of magic in the marks we make—those personal gestures that dance across a page, whispering fragments of our stories without ever needing words. Whether it's a splatter of ink, a scratch of pencil, or the gentle press of a handmade stamp, these marks are more than decoration. They’re the beginnings of a visual language—one as unique as your fingerprint.

Embracing Wabi-Sabi in Art Journaling

In a world that often celebrates perfection, symmetry, and polish, there’s a quiet philosophy that whispers something far more liberating: wabi-sabi.

Rooted in Japanese aesthetics, wabi-sabi is the art of finding beauty in imperfection, impermanence, and the natural flow of things. It honors the weathered, the worn, the cracked edges, and the quiet grace of things as they are. A chipped teacup, a faded photograph, a torn page—each tells a story not in spite of its flaws, but because of them.