On my online workbook this week: Is this new…?

Dear

This week's inspiration is new... but not so new that it is no longer what made it fun to begin with.

How fun that wherever you are we are having this new in-between weather right now before it tips into the warm days of summer and the cold of winter. A little bit warm right now… a little bit cold just a while ago. And my favourite indulgence… I have the fireplace going AND I open the balcony door the slightest bit to let the fresh but still cold Spring air swirl in. Delicious!

I often find I am at my most comfortable at the place where two extremes meet. "I am both" that is my answer to those questions people ask people. I am made up of opposite things that are simultaneously true.

I am drawn to exceptional craftsmanship and beautiful things AND I am a minimalist.

I am not shy, I am introverted.

I am logical AND creative.

I dream... and then I go do.

Which is where I find myself with the work that I share with you every week. I am both excited… and frustrated. Excited to share another new design with you. But I am also frustrated because there are so many layers of new designs that the great older ideas are completely hidden.

So I have come up with a plan. We are turning the My Creative Workbook into your Creative Workbook. Your free online workbook that turns the My Creative Workbook website into your personal design coach that will help you keep track of designs you love, discover great ideas that you might want to try next and have access to the weekly tips without having to refer back to the emails- all personalized to nurture and develop your effortless design style.

I also want to connect with you in a more meaningful way. And by building up your Workbook it gives me better clues to what you might like to explore further and I can then make sure to add more of what you love in the future. So by building up your design resource you are helping other designers by mapping a learning path for them. And for signed up members I will be able to give one on one workshop guidance (and compliments!) general design and custom project advice and even provide you with some helpful Tutorial links when you have questions.

But in order to do this… and to make sure I keep what you already love, I need your help. Could you please tell me:

How do you use the My Creative Workbook website?

What is your favourite thing about the My Creative Workbook website?

What do you wish were on the My Creative Workbook website that is not there yet?

What is your favourite thing about the weekly email?

What do you wish were/were not included in the email?

***BOOK GIVEAWAY*** As a special thank you for taking the time to help me, your email will be entered into a draw to win one of three signed copies of the craftsmanship edition of my book- to keep for yourself or if you already have a copy you love, to share with a friend. Please add your postal address to your reply email to indicate that you want to be entered into the draw.

Thanks for being here and following along, flower buddies!

Every good wish,

Christine

Ps: This week’s design technique came as a surprise to me. I wanted to adjust the cellophane trick (see page 139 of my book) to submerged flowers to accommodate a pretty stem… and I could do that with the cellophane tube but what came as a surprise was how many design options it opened for us to still discover. Here are a few notes:

Easy to take out - simply use a tweezer and the entire roll lifts out. You can rinse it off and it’s ready to use again!

No cracks or crumple effect visible. This was a benefit when the first discovered the crumpled cellophane idea but it's so widely known that it’s no longer a surprise technique. This is so clear that you can hardly… if… see the cut edge.

Scalable… if you want to use this on a larger scale I would suggest you buy acetate from art shops. It is stronger and available in roll form and will easily stand up even in a much larger container.

Can transport the flowers without it moving and shaking around. This really is a huge benefit. Place the design and then fill it with water.

Enjoy!