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Seemed fitting for World Postcard Day. We love camping at Sue-meg State Park! It’s just 20 minutes north, so it’s easy for an overnight trip. There are many beautiful places to explore, like Agate Beach and Ceremonial Rock, but the traditional Yurok Village is one of my favorites.

This park used to be called Patrick’s Point but was recently renamed to Sue-meg. It had this name long before western settlers arrived!

What’s your favorite place to explore at Sue-meg?

Here are some things that have been helping me get more done lately. I struggle with context switching so I often don’t want to start something if I don’t have a lot of time to devote to it in the moment.

Making a list and even setting an allotted amount of time to each activity helps me structure a wide open space of time.

It’s easier to start something if I allow myself to stop if I’m not feeling it creatively.

Getting out of the house and going to a coffee shop or even sitting in my car can also help get the creative juices flowing. Sometimes it’s as easy as just going to a different room.

And I always try to remember that creating something is better than nothing. Things will rarely ever end up perfect anyway, so that shouldn’t be the end goal of the project!

Is there something you’re trying to complete today? What helps you stay focused?

In case you can’t make it to Old Town Eureka before the end of October, I’m bringing the show to you!

This was a challenging one since I had never worked with this type of hanging system and the brick walls weren’t even, but I’m happy with the end result. It’s cool to see how things look against a background other than a white wall.

I’ve been getting a lot of vintage frames in the last few months so it was exciting to finish framing some of my original screen prints and custom matts.

p.s. Everything is for sale, so if you see something you like, let me know!

Another full weekend! I managed to fit in North Country Fair on Saturday morning and then drove down to Fort Bragg to see my family. My aunt and cousin came to visit from Idaho. I took a solo walk around Fort Bragg yesterday and of course popped into Piaci. I also visited the old train cars I used to love sneaking into for lunch breaks back in 2006. I didn’t try the door, but I imagine it’s locked up now. I also learned that Jacky sacks are back in stock at Spunky Skunk. Are they making a comeback?

Here’s a recap of everything in the September edition of the Love Club! Join by the end of the month to get the October letter.

Trade bills and junk mail for a moment of quiet inspiration. Every month, the Love Club delivers a curated botanical care package featuring original art, plant lore, and interactive surprises, designed to brighten your day, your desk, and your mailbox.

What’s Inside Each Monthly Letter:

Exclusive Botanical Notecard: An original plant illustration release, available to Love Club members first (envelope included).

Mini Art Print: Perfect for hanging, display, or gifting.

Interactive Bonus: A fresh monthly surprise—think seasonal recipes, custom playlists, punch cards, or DIY art activities.

Personal Letter & Plant Lore: Fun facts, care notes, and insights about the month’s featured plant.

Growing up in Fort Bragg, California the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens was always a special place for our family to visit. My dad actually worked here before I was born.

When we visited during Covid, I snapped a photo. I snapped this photo and ended up using it as a basis for the illustration you’ll see in the last slide.

The botanical gardens became even more special to me as I began to participate in Art In The Gardens, starting in 2022. I love that my parents can help me at my booth.

Year round, you can find some of my products in the garden store. Take a look next time you visit!

I took a lovely hike over the holiday weekend and visited a favorite spot that inspired one of my cards! This spot is in the Arcata Community Forest on trail 8. It’s a long hike from my house, so I usually park at to the end of California Avenue and hike in from there. From there, take trail 5 and make a left onto trail 8.

On this day I followed the Arcata Ridge Trail all the way to where it crosses Fickle Hill Road, 4 miles round trip. This was a perfect pit stop for a snack and some huckleberry picking.

I’ve always thought this would be a fun place for a party, but honestly it hasn’t been a very good seller. I think maybe I should print it in a different color since black doesn’t really scream party. Any other ideas??

I don’t use Pantone formulas or scales when mixing ink. I just mix until the color looks right. Here are a couple tips I have learned along the way. You really can’t mess it up, since you can always add more ink, but you run the risk of wasting ink if it’s too much for your project.

One last tip…it will usually dry a bit darker than it looks.

Don’t you love the look of it when it’s being mixed? I always want to take lots of pictures.

I include something interactive in each Love Club letter that is different every month. This month I added tips for flower arranging. It loosely related to the featured plant since artichokes are technically flowers.

I used some of my own tips when refreshing this porch bouquet. I love having flowers on the porch because they last longer, and I don’t have to clean up the dead blooms that drop.

Thanks to RedwoodRootsFarmCooperative for supplying the beautiful blooms!

I’m pretty convinced the Arcata Community Forest is magical. I first started exploring the extensive trail network when I was trail running. I would follow my running partners, hoping we wouldn’t get lost, and eventually learned to navigate the trails myself.

This image I used for the postcard is from the lower half of trail 8, which is a loop. I love how the trails meander in such a way that you constantly turn a corner to another beautiful scene.

When we bought our house a half mile from the forest, I started taking hikes at least once a week! Today I hiked a new part of the Ridge Trail I hadn’t been in.

The postcard has some information about the history of the forest, so the person you send it to can learn a little bit, too. These are currently available at the Arcata Co-op, ACV Airport, and online.

Here are a couple more views. It’s always hard not to take lots of photos, even of the same places.

Have you hiked here? What’s your favorite trail?

What other forests do you enjoy hiking in?