At the beginning of November, I took part in a mini book exchange in the Micro Art Journal group on Facebook. I made two mini books and sent them both off to my exchange partner. Although it wasn’t required, my partner, Misty Palek, filled one of the books I sent her with passport/mail art and sent it back! She also included this wonderful antique card that you see above.

I decided to add this to the inside of the back cover. That area wasn’t reserved for any particular day. I was digging through some previously stamped pieces that were in a drawer in the studio and I found both the cutout, embossed moon and a piece that had been embossed with stars. I’ve had them for about 20 years ago, when I used to do a lot of stamping.

Left side: Christmas is the time of music and singing. Kokopelli represents music. He is often found in petroglyphs holding a flute. I was a bit tired of red and green and just wanted to play with painting some other colors. The background just called for this musical trio! Right side: Mamacita, ¿Dónde está Santa Claus? Where in the world is Santa Clause? It’s pretty obvious that he’s hiding out someplace nice and warm!

I love the way gingerbread smells as it’s baking. It fills the house with warmth, happiness and excited anticipation. That said, I’ve never made gingerbread cookies or a gingerbread house. I think it would be really fun to make them and decorate them. Not sure if I would want to eat them, though! LOL! So instead, I’ve created a dream of a gingerbread village with houses, people and even a bush!

The prompt for this day was “Christmas lights”. All I could think of is how everyone decorates their yards this time of year. It’s one of my favorite things about the season. I could ride around and look at them all night long. On the other hand, I find most of the blow-up-style yard decorations bizarre. I’ve seen yards full of them. One of the new-ish ones around here is Santa’s Food Truck.

The prompt for this day was “candles”. Because my book is nano-sized, I thought that just one candle would suffice. I wasn’t sure how I would handle having a white candle, but I think this worked to give that impression! In addition to watercolor, I used gel pens on this for the lettering and the metallic touches. It’s sometimes hard to get a lot of detail on something small.

I saw in a report last week that black Christmas trees are a thing now days. That got me to thinking what color I would like for a tree. Black isn’t for me, but I did think about a hot pink tree with black, silver and white decorations. I might kind of like that! So, on this day, the art prompt was “christmas tree”. I decided to give my pink tree idea a go.

Bringing Home the Tree. Sharing another double-spread because the art went across both pages. The prompts for today didn’t really have anything to do with this picture. I just felt it was appropriate! I just had to customize the VW because of the way the stamp was. There were lines, indicating panels. I don’t know if this is what the creator had in mind… But it was certainly what popped into My mind!

Today I’m showing you a full, double-page day in my nano Traveler’s Notebook. I mentioned yesterday that I journal on one side and art on the other. Now you can see how I do that. For what I keep track of, there’s plenty of room on the left side. On this day, there was enough space left that I did a random color mix. (I select the colors from a “random jar”.

This is the title page of the first book in my December nano art journal. I’ve set up my tiny Traveler’s notebook so that there are 4 inserts, each one having enough pages for one week. I began by stamping some trees and the deer on the page. I added a stamp for the month, and numbers for the first and last day for this insert. A cute holly and berry stamp substituted for the dash between the numbers.

I have several large watercolor palettes. The key word here is: large! They actually work fine in the big studio when I am working on a large painting, but they are really impractical for my tiny corner desk where I generally work every day. I also have several tubes of watercolor paint. The brands vary, but most are either Daniel Smith or Winsor & Newton. What I really want is something portable, easy to use, cheap, and that works on my desk when I’m doing micro art.

Soft greys, light peach, white… the colors of a quiet winter morning are what this nano Traveler’s set reminds me of. It could be used for December, January or Feburary journaling with this calm color combination! The inserts are just under 3" high and 2" wide. Here, you can see the inside of the wraps and the inside of the cover. I love the size of these.

There are so many things that signify the Christmas season to various people. Everything from trees to ice skates come to mind. Poinsettia flowers, holiday lights and mittens might appeal to you or a friend. For this nano Traveler’s set I tried to pick designs that have universal appeal! The inserts are just under 3" high and 2" wide. Here, you can see the inside of the wraps and the inside of the cover.

Blue and gold is a really elegant holiday color combination. It reminds me of night skies, twinkling lights and peacefulness. The addition of a bright, lighter blue gives this combination a nice modern touch without overwhelming the elegance! The inserts are just under 3" high and 2" wide. Here, you can see the inside of the wraps and the inside of the cover. I love the size of these.

Red and green plaids are always popular around Christmas. To me, they have a “country” feel to them. I chose prints for the accessories for this one based on the “little bit country” idea! The inserts are just under 3" high and 2" wide. Here, you can see the inside of the wraps and the inside of the cover. I love the size of these. They are a perfect pocket size!