I dreamt about wings last night.  Large, gorgeous butterfly wings.  I was walking down a gravel lane in the woods along a creek, and there were two stacks of them.  Of course, I gathered them all up as carefully as I could.  Upon waking, I knew I wanted to share about wings today.  I've been interested in winged creatures since I was young.  Angels in particular. I recall a couple of years ago complaining about my shoulders hurting and saying that my wings were coming in.  When I was 18, I wanted wings tattooed on my back. I wanted big wings.  I had medium-sized wings my freshman year in college.  I wore them to dances, Halloween parties, and random get-togethers for years.  Last month, I found myself creating fabric cocoons, hanging from a branch.  Beautifully fragile.  Potential.  Waiting.  That was December.  Then on New Year’s Eve, I found myself desiring wings again.  I wanted to bring in the New Year wearing them.  While that did not happen physically, I did find that I wore them energetically.  If you were there, you probably saw them.  They were real in their own way.  What I didn't realize at the time was that they were setting the tone for my New Year's intentions.  Let me just say that New Year's is my favorite holiday. I love the symbolism of starting fresh and recreating who you want to be, letting the parts of you go that did not serve you well.  Usually, I reflect a lot going into January, and it's not that I didn't this year.  However, it was different.  I was quieter within myself.  I didn't rush into figuring out how I wanted to change.  I realized that what I wanted was intentions, and I meditatively waited for those to come.  Several came in soft whispers throughout the first few weeks of January.  Here are a couple that I want to share...

Intentions

Transform: This brings to mind the image of a cocoon as well as the wings that emerge from it and all the capabilities they offer.  This year, I want to give birth (and transform) into an even truer version of myself, embracing my own power and "bigness".  

Be gentle with yourself: I have a tendency to be a bit of a slave-driver towards myself and be too harsh a critic.  With this, I want to give permission to life being easier and not always something I have to fight through.  I continue to also become aware that I don't have to suffer anymore.

What are your intentions for 2012?

As an English major and avid book lover, I have an affinity for old books.  One of the first types of journals I began making were out of used book covers.  Here's what I found out that made me even more adamant about re-using old book covers:  all book covers get thrown away!  That's right, only the inside of books can be recycled.  The insides getting recycled is the best case scenario (and even in this case think of all the lovely, awesome book covers that are getting tossed).  If you take your old books to a recycling center that cannot afford a book cutter (ie cannot pay someone to cut out the insides so those can be recycled), the whole book gets thrown away.  Bam.  Just like that, tons of books are finding themselves in landfills.  And have you ever peeked into the dumpster of a bookstore used or otherwise?  It's quite unbelievable all the books that are in them.  I find book covers many places, often with the pages still at least somewhat in them.  I look for books that are stacked in corners and overlooked or that are literally about to be thrown away.  They come from individuals, garage sales, antique stores, outlets, etc.  Its rare that I use books that I think should still be being read.  This mostly happens when the books are falling apart.  Thus, the books I generally have are a bit obscure with varying fun titles and/or fabulous covers.  I recycled their insides and...voila!  A super cool, unique journal or sketchbook.

lots of books easily fill up the back of jessica's mini!

 

voila!

Everywhere I go, there are a handful of folks asking if I create books with lined paper.  

I feel quite strongly about using recycled paper that has great texture and high quality.  My handbound books currently come with two different types of paper.  A recycled, thin brown paper that is akin to a drawing paper, and a thicker, more textured recycled white paper that is also acid free.  Both papers handle inky pens well.  These papers are blank and great for sketching and brainstorming and writing variously sized letters; however, I know that there are those who prefer some good old fashioned lines for ease during their writing experience.  While I haven't been able to find recycled, high-quality lined paper that I can bind, I have found a happy medium- refillable notebooks!  

Now, I have been creating these for custom orders for awhile, but I have officially decided to make lined paper more accessible on a regular basis.  They come in two sizes (small and medium) unless you custom order them. The covers come with notebooks that have 100% recycled lined paper.  There is still another benefit to these refillable notebooks.  One of the backhanded compliments I get from time to time is that my books are too beautiful to write in and people are afraid of messing them up.  While this does defeat the reason I make them, these more hesitant folks can write freely in these new refillable notebooks, conscious that they can replace the pages anytime and still enjoy a great cover design.  I hope to have them available online in the next several weeks.  They are selling so fast at shows that I can't seem to keep up with them.  This is a good thing.