About

About Me and Journal Breeze

A very warm welcome to you!! Thank you for stopping by. Please take a look at the Gallery if you desire inspiration, and to see my current work, I regularly post on Instagram @journalbreeze and YouTube  Journal Breeze. And, I plan to have a small shop with journals and embellishments that I make, as well as fabrics, and vintage items for your journals and homes.

In Chapter 19 of the newly released book (June 14, 2022): The Great Book of Journaling: How Journal Writing Can Support a Life of Wellness, Creativity, Meaning and Purpose, edited by by Eric Maisel PhD and Lynda Monk MSW RSW CPCC, you’ll find my article on journaling. Eric and Lynda gathered writings from 40 of the top journal experts in the world to explain exactly what journal writing can do for you. This book is full of practical tips, evidence-based research, and rich anecdotes from their coaching, teaching, therapy work with journal writers, or their personal journal writing. 

Junk journals and embellishments are what I’ve been exclusively making for the last 3+ years. Collaging came first, starting 9 years ago, taking classes from a collage artist for 3 years. And, before that, I taught quilting, textile history, and lifestyle workshops in person across the US for many years, as well as having curated a few museum antique quilt exhibits.

I gathered together many vintage and antique items over the years and now pull from these collections to make themed journals. I love the vintage look and to tell a historical story sometimes. Other times, I like fresh, clean, colorful pages. It’s all good, isn’t it?!

Journal Breeze launched on July 25, 2020; I had begun developing the idea of it after the start of the COVID-19 lockdown in California, March 2020. Journal Breeze was born out of my desire to connect with other women, to create, make journals, and write. I am in many FB groups, on Instagram @journalbreeze and started a YouTube channel Journal Breeze, but meeting with you on Zoom is entirely different, and that’s what I wanted to develop here and make available to all who wanted to do the same. You forget you are on Zoom after a while; it feels personal and warm to be together. 😊

In addition to Zooming with friends and loved ones, crafting, journal writing, meditating, reading, and gentle yoga are my main coping tools pre- and now during the Covid-19 pandemic, once requiring, and now urging us to stay home to stay safest. 

As a result of the pandemic conditions as well as a love of journaling and crafting with others, I launched Journal Breeze on Zoom on July 25, 2020, to a group of incredible women from as far away as New Zealand and Ireland. How many time zones is that? Today, I offer live workshops on Zoom, so we can gather together, talk face to face, and show our work as we go. My setup allows two views for viewing pleasure for teaching and the group at large. You can see my desktop from above but close for the teaching parts, with thumbnails of each other on the side, and then gallery and speaker views when sharing in the group. So far the women have loved it they tell me. We’ve all had fun together and learned from each other. And women are finishing their projects!! This warms my heart because most of us have too many unfinished projects that we love but just don’t get to finish. Well, think of JB as the fun place to do that in my Create, Chat & Ask workshops.

Through Journal Breeze salons I also invite your inner space to explore and find here an easier and freer experience of your own creative expression through paper crafting, collaging, journal-making, and journal writing. I like to practice mindfully whatever I’m focusing on to develop it further and grow my skill and creative expression. I like to help others do the same.

What do I mean by that? I mean helping you get outside your comfort zone without so much anxiety or avoidance that it stops your creating from flowing freely. When you’re in a live group of encouraging paper lovers, with a little instruction, a visual for self-guidance, and your stash nearby, you can spread your wings, work through the stressful parts, and make different choices than you otherwise might.

Or maybe you are a creative who doesn’t believe failure exists, you could do it in your sleep, and however it turns out is OK with you, but in truth, you don’t love everything you make.

Not all accidents are happy ones. I think “mistakes” or slips are waving at you to pause and reconsider that decision. Sometimes this slower, thoughtful approach can cause anxiety to come up or lead you to stop and walk away, or to eat, or shop, or to quickly glue something, anything that’s handy to move you past the uncomfortable feeling that can arise when you’re trying to make what you envisioned.

I believe the way we create is the way we live and vice versa. I choose to live creatively in any number of ways not only in journaling, and I imagine you do, too. I want to grow and grow my creative acuity and width, and be fearless to try new things and have them turn out as I imagine they can. I find when I grow my expression through journal writing and making, other areas of my creative life also grow and expand.

Thank you for reading to the end! If this appeals to you, please be a part of Journal Breeze. Also, sign up for my newsletter to get first notice of everything, and a free download to add vintage ephemera to your stash.

May you be healthy, safe, and creative during these unusual days we find ourselves in.

A gift for you!
When you join my email list, you’ll get these 5 images, example tags, and 11 journaling prompts.
* I’ll never share your information with a 3rd party.
* I only send emails occasionally for new classes and store updates.
Check your email for the Gift download page.

Name Email Address     “>