New Online Journaling Class!
Join me for this fun class in October!
I will be teaching The Art of the Word — an altered book journaling class again this fall!
October 21 and 28: 1-4 pm MST
Online via Zoom
This is an online class through Two Hands Paperie. The course cost includes all class materials, and we will do lots of great journaling exercises and fun activities. It’s a relaxing way to spend the day, and I would LOVE to see you there!
To register, click the link below.
Class description:
Give an old book a new calling by transforming it into an altered book! The paper in older hardbacks is perfect for art, and an old book can become a treasured place for sketching, painting, writing, and collage. An altered book is also fantastic for journaling on the go – easy to take traveling or to tuck in a bag for moments of inspiration.
Angela K. Nickerson, a writer and inveterate journaler, enjoys using an altered book for her art. She introduces you to the work of art journalers she admires and shares remarkable examples from other creatives. Whether you’re new to art journaling or do it regularly, their examples can infuse your practice with inspiration and new ideas.
In the first meeting of this two-session class, Angela shows how to prepare and transform a vintage book. Use her simple method to cut out, paste, and mark up the pages. She’ll also introduce you to a number of techniques, one of which is layering cutouts through several pages to build up a scene. By the end of the session you’ll have christened your altered book with an exercise or two.
The intervening week provides time for you to personalize the cover and work more on the pages inside. Everyone shares what they’ve done in the final session, then Angela demonstrates some more techniques to expand your repertoire. We’re particularly drawn to the way she uses words and phases on the page. She is a writer, after all!
This online class will be recorded and made available to class participants for 10 days after the class.
March without the Madness
In this edition:
New! Growing Fruit Trees Group! Join us!
Gardening without Peat
Pots of Bulbs: It’s not too late!
and more! Keep reading!
Hello, friends! Here we are on the other side of winter. In Colorado March and April are our two snowiest months, but I found my first daffodils tentatively peeking out of the ground this week, so I know that spring is coming.
I have lots of goodness for you to begin your month as we slip toward the Vernal Equinox and the first days of spring.
New Group: Grow a Little Orchard Together!
It all started with an Instagram post. I wrote about the fact that I’m planting about a dozen fruit trees this spring in what I hope will be a small, high-yield orchard on the side of our house. So many people chimed in and said they were going to do the same, that I decided it was time to start a group.
And you are invited, too!
Grow a Little Orchard will bring together gardeners from all over who want to share ideas and experiences growing fruit trees. I’m using Grow a Little Fruit Tree by Ann Ralph as a guide — a pruning manual to keep my trees very small but very productive. It’s a big science experiment, and I’m excited to invite you along!
Membership costs $5 per month which covers the cost of maintaining the group on the Retrieve site.
You’ll find registration information and everything else on the group page. Click the link!
New! Gardening Group
Whether you are planning to plant a dozen fruit trees or just begin with one, I hope you'll enjoy connecting with other gardeners, sharing resources, and supporting each other in our growing endeavors. Click below to be redirected to my class storefront!
In 2023 Ditch the Peat
As our minds begin to turn to plants and spring, I would love for you to consider my new guide to Gardening without Peat. If you make one change as a gardener this year — no matter how much or how little gardening you do — the best thing you could possibly do is stop using peat. Why? In a nutshell: harvesting peat is a terrible ecological practice, and there are lots of good alternatives. Click the link below to learn all about why and how we as gardeners need to give up peat asap:
Easy Potted Bulbs
And it’s not too late to start some bulbs! I’ve been forcing bulbs for the last month, and they are starting to bloom. Glorious! But pre-chilled bulbs are still available, and if you start them now, they will be perfect for your Easter or Passover tables. Check out my guide for all of the details!
I’ll be starting seeds this month and getting the orchard prepared for trees which will come at the end of the month. So much going on here! And I’m so excited for a little more daylight, a little more warmth, and more time outside.
Here’s to a wonderful March for you all!
xoxo
Angela
Your Early-Owl Access to Garden Notes is here!
Get early access to order the Garden Notes collection!
Introducing the Owl and Ember Garden Notes Collection!
I have teamed up with Owl and Ember for a new collection just for gardeners. As small, woman-owned businesses we want to reward our loyal supporters, so we are giving you early-owl access to the new Garden Notes Collection! We are thrilled to introduce you to Garden Notes, our new gardening journal and planner! And to go with Garden Notes, we have three all new exclusive sticker sheets — perfect for Garden Notes or any planner!
Right now, this collection is available exclusively for MMM and Owl and Ember subscribers!
If you are already a subscriber, you should have recieved an Early-Owl access email. If you aren’t a subscriber yet, sign up below, and you will get the link to order right away:
I’m so excited to introduce you to Garden Notes — truly a labor of love!
As always, let me know if you have any questions. And thank you for your love and support! Happy gardening!
Cheers!
Angela
Garden Notes: a New Journal/Planner
a sneak peek into my latest journal/planner coming soon!
Happy March! I hope you are well. We had a wonderful week of warm weather last week, and now we are snowed in once more. But that’s spring here in Colorado — and I can’t complain. We are thankful for every drop of moisture here!
Big News! I have created another journal/planner, and I’m so excited to share it with you! It’s called Garden Notes — and it is the perfect little notebook for gardeners of all types. I have been using a garden journal for a few years, but none of them were quite right. They were either too detailed, not detailed enough, too fancy or too basic. I needed something practical. So I created one myself, and it seems to be JUST RIGHT!
Garden Notes next to some of my seedlings which are thriving in the Greenhouse.
Technically, this won’t be available until April in the Owl and Ember shop. However, I know many people, like me, are getting their gardens going now! So, for our subscribers, we are offering Early Bird Access. On March 15 (yes, the Ides of March — no reason to beware), subscribers to Mid Modern Mama and Owl and Ember will recieve a early-ordering link. Our early order supplies are limited, but we want our gardening friends to be able to use Garden Notes as soon as possible!
From the Garden Notes product description:
Garden Notes
Garden Notes is a simple notebook: a place to make notes about your garden. It looks both forward and backward: both journal and planner. It’s a place to mark the months and the sowing which lies ahead as well as to reflect on the blossoms and harvests as the weeks of your growing season slip past. As you garden, year upon year, it also becomes a record. What flourished? What perished? When did the tulips emerge? The carrots ripen? The dahlias sing?
Whether you are a beginning gardener, a small flower farmer, or a dabbler with pots on a balcony, Garden Notes gives you a place to noodle about your plot of earth. With blank space for sketching, spots for list-making, lines and dots, and lots of freedom, this notebook leaves room for making it your own while providing just enough suggestions to help you get started, too.
Garden Notes is the perfect gardening journal – created by Angela, a passionate gardener, and designed by Holly. In creating this journal, Angela looked at the scribbled notes she keeps about her own garden – pasted into a not-perfect journal. She considered the notes she and other gardeners want to keep:
What is planted where?
When was it planted?
When was it harvested?How well did it do?
What should we change next year?
Those big questions are particularly important when a garden is buried in snow, but the gardener like Angela is ordering seeds and plotting for spring. Frustrated by gardening journals that just didn’t quite work, she created her own. The result is Garden Notes – a beautiful, simple notebook with room for everything.
Garden Notes is designed for every plant-lover on your list! I’ll be creating a video sneak peek later this week, so be sure to watch for that to come, too!
So, if you aren’t subscribed, be sure to drop your email below. I will never spam you nor will I sell your information. Promise!
Looking for some gardening inspiration? Be sure to check out these links. And if you aren’t following me on Instagram, do it! I share all kinds of gardening goodness on my feed.
So what are you planting? Let me know in the comments!
Cheers!
Angela
Happy January!
A January update from Angela
My nasturtiums are living their best life in The Greenhouse!
Happy January, friends! I hope you are well and are enjoying some good, winter weather! We have had some really good snow here in Colorado — much needed! And it is finally cold, snuggly, build-a-fire weather which we have missed!
If you are still working on your thank you notes from the holidays — or need some help getting started — check out my guide to writing a fabulous thank you note! I’m still working on mine. I’m not perfect, but I certainly make a good effort!
Perhaps you are feeling a need to get back to planning or journaling — or even to make a start.
I have some guides and ideas for planning and journaling — processes which I see working together, but many people do one or the other as a practice. Check out the resources below for ideas, tips, and some of my favorites, too.
And if you are working on some simple home improvement — reorganizing, decluttering, or repurposing, I have some thoughts and ideas for you. I’ve done it all and hopefully learned a bit along the way. Hopefully these ideas will help you, too!
Lastly, Valentine’s Day is just a month away! Eek! If you are starting to think about Valentine’s projects and crafts, decorations, or gifts, check out my Valentine’s Day guide for ideas.
If you are on Instagram, be sure to check out my 2021 highlight reels. 2021 was a great year for projects, and it was fun to go back and chronicle them all!
And, if you missed my earlier announcement, I am taking two classes this year which I’m sure will spur all kinds of interesting conversations. First, I am taking Wanderlust, a year-long art journaling class. It’s really my first introduction to painting techniques and tools. I am just thrilled about everything we are learning so far and look forward to my Friday lessons.
Additionally, I am beginning the Colorado Master Gardener program this week! I am thrilled to embark upon this adventure in learning and volunteer work. More on that at a later date!
What adventures await you this year? Always learning; always growing.
Lots of love!
Angela
Make Your Holidays Merrier!
The all-new version of The Nice List is here!
The All-New Nice List is here!
Introducing The Nice List All Year and The Nice List Christmas Workbook!
THE NICE LIST: PAPER EDITIONS
The Nice List includes two separate notebooks:
The Nice List All Year: a gift-giving tracker to last for years to come
The Nice List Christmas Workbook: a planner for the entire Christmas season to keep you organized and help bring a little sanity to your holiday season
Both are available individually or together as a bundle and are designed to be used in a traveler’s notebook or independently.
FREE GIFT WITH PURCHASE:
The Nice List books are designed so that they can be used in a traveler’s notebook -- a simple way to keep them together. For a limited time we will include a FREE handmade, upcycled traveler’s notebook with each purchase of The Nice List Bundle (while supplies last).
THE NICE LIST CHRISTMAS WORKBOOK INCLUDES:
How to Use The Nice List
How to Use The Christmas Workbook
November Calendars: weekly and monthly (undated)
December Calendars: weekly and monthly (undated)
Weekly To Do Lists for November and December (undated)
What Sparks Joy for You? Setting priorities for the holiday season
Budgeting worksheets: to establish a budget for your Christmas season — and for each gift, too
Coupons & Codes: tracker for holiday sales and discount codes
Giving Lists: to help you prioritize where you spend your money and on whom
Thoughts on Thoughtful Giving: ideas for gift giving and reducing the stress of the holidays
Thank You Note Tracker
Holiday Card Tracker
Menu Planners
Baking Planners
Shopping Lists
Blank pages for notes and planning
With a little planning and some careful thought before a gift is ever purchased, The Nice List can help you keep Christmas from spinning out of control and help you find the perspective you need. The Nice List helps you set deadlines to avoid high shipping charges and has a tool for tracking all of those promo codes and sale codes that start to flood your email inbox, too.
The Nice List All Year gives you a place to track all of the gifts you give the loved ones in your life -- not just at Christmas time. It is designed to be used for multiple years and can be purchased separately if you have more than 15 people in your life to track.
THE NICE LIST ALL YEAR INCLUDES:
How to use The Nice List
How to use The Nice List All Year
Giving Records for 15 people covering multiple years
The Nice List All Year is also designed to be used by anyone -- not just people who celebrate Christmas. From Hanukkah to Lunar New Year, Kwanzaa to Eid, and birthdays, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day and more -- record every gift you give and make notes for coming occasions, too.
Plus, when you use The Nice List All Year year after year, you develop a record of your gift-giving, so you never give the same gift twice!
A BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS PLANNER
Not only is The Nice List a beautiful planner, but it also comes with online tools including an extensive giving guide with gift suggestions in every budget for every person on your list — parents, inlaws, kids, friends, teachers. We have suggestions for them all and exclusive discount codes as well.
I love the Christmas season so much I have written what my husband described as my “love letter to Christmas” — The Nice List!
Order your copy of The Nice List today, and give yourself the gift of a very organized and holiday season!
All-New Version of The Nice List Coming Soon
The Nice List is coming soon — with lots of changes and great updates!
Happy Fall! I hope wherever you are the season’s changes are welcome and rejuvenating. I am delighting in the fact that I am wearing an Owl and Ember sweatshirt as I write this. Did you know we have swag? We do! It’s cute, and cozy!
Owl and Ember gear is available in a wide range of colors and sizes — all sporting our cute little owl of inspiration!
You may be wondering, “What the heck is Owl and Ember?” Let me enlighten you! Owl and Ember is a joint venture with my dear friend, Holly Kennedy. Holly, @messymamaholly, is a graphic designer and creative thinker. We worked together for years when I lived in California, and about 9 months ago, we decided to make good on our long-held promise to “do something together someday.” Right now, Owl and Ember is a small sticker and stationery shop on Etsy, but we have big, big plans! We recently bought a Risograph printer -- a Japanese technology which is perhaps best described as a printing press that silkscreens paper. That’s completely inaccurate, but the end result is yummy, artsy printing on toothy paper and a handcrafted product.
The Owl and Ember owl combines the wisdom of planning with the spark of creativity.
Our first joint venture: the publication of my Christmas planner and journal: The Nice List. We have outsourced the printing of The Nice List for years, but the pandemic made that cost-prohibitive and unpredictable. For 2020, we only produced The Nice List as a digital edition, and we were filled with trepidation as we readied the files for 2021. In fact we were all ready to send them off last summer when it became clear that we needed an alternative.
So in that moment of frustration, we opted for a huge change both in design and in production. We redesigned The Nice List which is now two separate volumes:
The Nice List All Year: a gift-giving tracker to last for years to come
The Nice List Christmas Workbook: a planner for the entire Christmas season to keep you organized and help bring a little sanity to your holiday season
Both are available individually or together as a bundle.
The all-new editions of The Nice List Christmas Workbook and The Nice List All Year
We are so excited about this change, and we hope you are, too! The Nice List will now be available in three different formats: print, digital, and as a printable PDF.
The Nice List is, at its heart, still the same tool for reducing stress and increasing the joy of the holiday season. But if you have used The Nice List before, you’ll notice some key improvements:
Two Notebooks: we divided the functions of The Nice List into two separate volumes.
The Nice List All Year is exclusively gift tracking and is designed to be used for many years. AND you don’t have to celebrate Christmas to use The Nice List All Year -- it is designed for anyone who ever gives gifts!
The Nice List Christmas Workbook is an even better planner for the holiday season. It includes shopping lists and meal planners, gift tracking for one season, gift giving suggestions, a Christmas card list, thank you note tracker, and so much more! You’ll need a new Workbook each year, but they are undated, so they are simple to restock.
More Blank Space: while we loved working with artists to illustrate The Nice List, we learned that many people wanted more blank space. So for those of you who love to add stickers and washi tape, drawings and notes, there’s plenty of room for that. And for those who like a cleaner, clearer page: this is for you, too!
A Traveler’s Notebook Insert: some of you are probably devotees of the traveler’s notebook format already, but if you aren’t, this is one of my favorite new features of The Nice List. The new notebooks can fit into a traveler’s notebook-style cover. So, you can, for example, keep your copy of The Nice List All Year in a cover and then switch out The Nice List Christmas Workbook each year -- or even keep several workbooks together for reference if you want! There’s so much more flexibility now!
Eco-friendly: with our new printing capabilities, The Nice List is now printed on recycled paper with soy-based inks. They are also not being shipped from overseas, so we have dramatically reduced the carbon footprint of our product. Additionally, we are choosing shipping materials with the environment in mind, too. And with the longevity of The Nice List All Year, you’ll be consuming fewer resources as that piece can be used for many years to come. Plus, The Nice List Christmas Workbook is fully recyclable if you desire.
Less Expensive: one of the other advantages to taking our production in-house, is that we can reduce the price of The Nice List. Both The Christmas Workbook and The Nice List All Year will be $10 each with a $20 bundle for a set of two. Additionally, we will be able to offer discounts if you order 3, 5, or more sets of the bundles. That’s good for everyone!
In all, I am thrilled with the newest iteration of The Nice List, and I hope you will love it, too! It is a tool intended to help you find more peace and joy each holiday season while preserving memories and organizing your time as well.
The Nice List will be available to purchase on November 3, 2021 with pre-orders for people on my mailing list starting on October 30!
Plus, we have a free gift for early orders while supplies last. More details on that to come!
So, get ready for the best holiday season yet! And watch for the pre-order information for The Nice List. You don’t want to miss it!
Documenting Your COVID-19 Experience
Ideas for documenting and preserving your COVID-19 experiences.
Here we are, friends, a year into the COVID-19 pandemic. Depending on where you live, it may be longer than that for you. For our family, our pandemic experience started just over a year ago with a final trip to the grocery store, a new refrigerator, and the end of in-person school. I’ve been thinking a lot about the changes that have happened over the last year, and that led me to develop a project I’m excited to share with you:
The Stay at Home Club: a COVID-19 Journaling Project
Whether you are a regular journal keeper or a complete novice, this is a historic opportunity to document your experiences for yourself — and for posterity.
This journaling project is very simple. All you need is a blank book, something to write with, and the PDF of questions and prompts — a free download which I’ve created to help you. Our family is working on the journaling project together. I want to include everyone’s perspectives and experiences. But this could be a solo project as well.
You’ll find all of the details at the link below. It includes some videos that can help you get started, a few photos of what we have started, and suggestions for supplies, too.
Not only is this an exciting project, but it is also my first collaboration with Owl and Ember! Owl and Ember is a new enterprise I am beginning with a dear friend, Holly Kennedy. We are starting small — an Etsy sticker shop — but we have really big ideas!
The shop just launched, and we have the cutest COVID badges for The Stay at Home Club! How did you earn your crafting badge this year? What about cooking? Check out The Stay at Home Club badges and all of the cute stickers at Owl and Ember by clicking the link below!
Be well! Stay safe!
XO
Angela