Self Care Sunday - Winson Newman Cotman Watercolour Set

Self Care Sunday is about taking care of yourself and being able to allow yourself to do activities that you enjoy, to relax and to build resilience.  

This week for Self Care Sunday, I went to Michaels Craft Store and bought myself the Winson Newman Cotman Watercolour Set.  Keep in mind that Michaels will often have 50% off coupons so check that out before you buy, or you can also pick it up on Amazon.  It's a small watercolour pocket set that is easy to bring with you.  I'm a minimalist so a compact set was perfect for my needs.  

The Postman's Knock had a Retro Floral Thank You Card that I wanted to do and many of the tutorials on the Postman's Knock blog asks for watercolours.  I have to admit that the Winson Newman Cotman set is soo much better than my dollar store set of watercolours.  With these watercolours a little goes a long way.  I'm impressed and I can't wait to start creating and painting and doing more tutorials from The Postman's Knock.  


I find that art is very freeing and soothing for me so that is why it is a part of my own self care and Self Care Sunday.  What do you do for self care?

Christmas Crafts - Calligraphy Cards and Reindeer Hot Chocolate

Christmas is around the corners and even though in Vancouver we have slush and ice left and not much snow, it is still Christmas time.  It is not too late to make some calligraphy cards and reindeer hot chocolate for gift giving.  

With the calligraphy holiday cards, they have one word each on the front.  LOVE, PEACE, JOY.

Supplies:  blank cards from the dollar store, calligraphy pen, and ink.  

I have taken calligraphy classes in Vancouver from Fox & Flourish, and the Westcoast Odessey of Letters conference.  

I have also found the calligraphy tutorials and practice sheets on the Postman's Knock to be helpful.  

Once you have the tools then it just takes practice and the best is to make the card with love instead of perfectionism.  After all they are handmade card and that's already ready more personalized than store bought.

Next are these cute hot chocolate reindeer.  I was lucky because my girlfriend was already making 50 of these for her family and friends and had already bought the supplies when I decided to make a few.  She kindly said we could just make them together as he didn't need 50 reindeer and since I only needed 8 reindeer, it worked out perfectly.  It was great to be a part of the factory line and learn how to make these Hot Chocolate Reindeer cones.  

Supplies:  hot chocolate mix, mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, brown pipe cleaners, googly eyes, red pom poms, treat piping bags.  

There are several blogs that have the full how to for making these hot chocolate reindeer and also free printables which I should have included as not everyone actually knew what they were.  Ahh, it is the thought that counts. It's an added bonus that they look super cute!  

Reindeer Hot Chocolate Printable
Reindeer Hot Chocolate Instructions

Vancouver Workshop - Fox and Flourish Modern Calligraphy

Hello Vancity Girlfriends,

I had the pleasure of taking the Meditation and Calligraphy series of classes which was a collaboration between Social Yoga and Fox and Flourish.  It was the perfect combination.  I loved it so much that I wanted to share the experience with you!

This week I'll focus on Fox and Flourish Modern Calligraphy classes.  I was super lucky because my Introduction to Modern Calligraphy Class was broken up into three one hour mini lessons instead of the usual 2.5 hour workshop at one time.  I learn much better in smaller chunks and it gave me time to build the skills and confidence for the next mini lesson.  

Meditation and Calligraphy Class

The studio is in a beautiful elegant space in Gastown and the class size is small.  It was perfect to learn and practice modern calligraphy.  Christina teaches well and goes step by step.  She also gives extra hands correction of pen positioning and posture.  It is an excellent learning environment and I love her ease and knowledge of calligraphy.  

It was such a creative and positive experience that I am looking at what I could learn next.  She has an Introduction to Brush Lettering Class and offers an Advanced Calligraphy Class only twice a year.  

If you are looking for a new skill to learn and all the tools to go with it, I highly recommend Fox and Flourish workshops.  Your supplies are packaged up beautifully and you will leave the class with all the skills you need to practice and do your own calligraphy at home.  I feel this was much easier than learning from blogs or YouTube.  That's the type of learner I am and I'm happy that I had the opportunity to finally take the Introduction to Modern Calligraphy Class packaged up with Meditation. My biggest challenge now will be finding things to write about using my Modern Calligraphy skills.  

Find out more - #foxandflourishworkshops