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Cotton Paper

One of my favourite notebooks (pictured above) that I own is bound in leather with cotton pages and I have such an urge to try painting on them. I haven’t yet, though I have tried drawing on them. I’m hoping when my new ‘White Nights’ watercolour paint shows up this week, I’ll get brave enough to give it a shot.

The pages are made to look aged on purpose, and it is such a tactile way of writing on them. At first I didn’t know what I could possibly write that would be ‘worthy’ of such a book – but in the end I realized none of that matters, what matters is USING the book. So use it I shall.

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ATC – 3

This Artist Trading Card was actually painted with acrylic markers – which have quickly become one of my favourite things to paint with – if – they are good quality. There are plenty of these markers that are NOT great quality, and these are easy to tell because they will not layer nicely over one another.

Anyway. I love how this little card turned out!

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Participation in Blaugust – and more ATC

I normally participate in the Blaugust event where you attempt to post on a blog for all 30 days of August on my main site. However. This year I decided to roll with it on my creative site here, so that I could find motivation and inspiration to actually post more frequently. With the death of Belghast and the turmoil surrounding the event this year, I’m feeling some mixed emotions about it all. That being said, I am still going to post, and I’m still excited. It’s just.. quieter.

Anyway. Above is my second ATC (artist trading card) done in watercolour on cotton paper. Right now the ‘collection’ (can it even be called that) is only 4 pieces, but I’m hoping to grow that over time. I love doing watercolour paintings even though at this point I do not think I am any good at it. Still, if you WANT to get good at that sort of thing, you need to practice. So practice I shall.

Working smaller always feels better to me, a larger blank piece of paper somehow seems intimidating. Plus these little cards are just so cute!

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Artist Trading Cards (ATC)

There is a subreddit that is all about ATC – artist trading cards. They are cards that measure 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches, and people decorate them with original art in all sorts of media. People sell them, trade them, or just create their own little collections of these trading cards and I think it’s fascinating. I decided to get into it myself, as a way of motivating myself to actually do art, and to see where it goes.

Pictured above is my very first ATC – it’s watercolour on 100% cotton paper. I have absolutely no idea what I will do with these little cards yet, if you’re interested in buying any you can always contact me: sm.stargrace@gmail.com and I’m sure we can work something out. In the meantime, it’s just fun to create.

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Tour De Fleece (2026) – Day 1

Today is day 1 of the 2026 Tour de Fleece. This year I’m on a team where if you don’t end up spinning every day, that is OK. I mean, it’s really always OK because it’s just for fun – but every year I try – and every year I do not succeed. I am hoping this year will be different. I’m currently spinning a very lovely grey alpaca, and I’m hoping to ply it with some merino. I figure I will spin one bobbin of each, and then on my 3rd bobbin I’ll ply. I’m debating if I want to do a 2ply or a 3ply, but I only have three bobbins – maybe I will order some new ones.