Intro
Summer’s final hurrahs
I've always felt a degree of dread when summer ends, even though this year I hardly noticed the season beginning; everything was the same except it was just suddenly piping hot all the time. Maybe it has something to do with school starting—no matter that I haven't been a student in decades. This surprises Tom; he figured I'd be pumped to stock up on all sorts of stationery supplies, which is fair to assume. I'll stave off these anxious feelings with a Trapper Keeper and Yikes pencils and Lisa Frank folders. Speaking of which, I once had this LF design on a folder, and it's still so beautiful to me that it's been my phone wallpaper for years:
RADIANT
Before running out to stock up on Pilot Precise pens (they are the best), I'll make note of some summer highlights:
Eating poutine, tromping up Mont Royal, and going too many times from the hot tub to the cold plunge at the spa to the point I warped my glasses in Montreal
Dabbling in the world of merchandising by putting together tinker kits at the creative reuse center (I've been daydreaming what kind of other kits I can assemble during my next volunteer shift.)
They're full of all sorts of this n that!
Taking the pupper on more special strolls at various parks
It's not a muzzle, just a Gentle Leader
Being wildly disappointed by Panda Fest in DC (No more food fests that I have to pay to get into only to eat tiny, expensive snacks! I put my foot down!)
Bopping around the Swords, Brooms, and Magical Beasts event in the picturesque Occoquan
Encouraging the cat to use his new hot dog bed
My sweet snack
And, of course, making stuff. Let me tell you about it!
Behind the scenes
Propaganda portraits, part 2
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Recent projects
Artsapalooza
I've not done much drawing this month (my brain has been too cooked to create by evening time), and I'm woefully behind in my attempt to create a sort of study guide to The Artist's Way. (Patreon losing my last AW post when I was nearly finished writing it really took the wind out of my sails.)
That said, I've been still shakin' and makin'! I compiled and sent fifty-one mini zine/collage kits to Indiana for a zine workshop that will take place in September, and created more digital downloads, which are free for Patreon subscribers. These digital downloads are like electronic versions of the collage/zine kits: you can make digital collages and other content or print the doc, cut out the bric-a-brac, and do it analog style.
I've also been pecking at some Sweet Valley High art that I started ages ago but never completed—until now! Actually, the SVH love map is still very much a draft, but I did finally share the results of my research on social media, and it seemed to delight Sweet Valley fans, so I'd like to clean this up and make an attractive, balanced map.
Another SVH piece is one I'm premiering right here, right now! I started in 2024 when I learned series creator Francine Pascal passed away—I call it Francine the Queen. Perhaps I'll share more details about it next newsletter!
Inspiration sources
Givin' off the sparks
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Shop highlight
DIY large collage and zine kits
In the last newsletter, I shared that I had a bounty of paper ephemera that was too large to fit into the mini collage and tiny zine kits, so I was making larger versions of such kits. Originally there were eighteen kits, but that number somehow became thirty-two, and they all went live in the STORF shop just this month!
The large kits contain four times as much content as their mini counterparts and come in a clear sleeve originally designed to protect scrapbook pages. They include recycled cardboard for collage-creating and a blank zine for DIY publication-making as well! Pursue samples of these collections here.
That’s all for now!
Thanks for the read! Enjoy the rest of your August and the start of September, and I'll see you back here next month!
Stef Mates
^ Me at work ^