Hello Reader,

Would you like to be featured in an All About YOU newsletter? It's easy! Simply submit your work here.

In case you missed it, there's a new discount code for subscriptions: Use the code creativeself for $10 off subscriptions or renewals.

And, thank you for the continued excitement for Jot!, the next book in the UPPERCASE Encyclopedia of Inspiration.

Have a good weekend,

A few more ways to be in issue #70

Nearly all the content for the next issue is in, and I've started designing it. (Issue #70, unbelievably! What a big number!) I am seeking submissions for inclusion in Sketchbooks, Creative Careers and Make it Worthwhile: preferably ones that touch on the themes of this issue: circles and interpretations of the idea "practice makes perfect."

Submit before April 30 to be considered for issue #70.

Reader Submissions

DIY Floral Seed Packets
by Maria Overlay

Introducing my new project, floral seed packets! A fun way to create seed packets with your art that you can print at home! Customize based on seeds or your event. A super fun project that would make beautiful gifts! Instagram / Website​

Fresh submission
by Liz Durant

Hi, I’m Liz—an illustrator and surface designer building Surfaces Bloom, a studio rooted in the belief that art can transform the everyday. I create bright, expressive, colour-rich work designed to live beyond the page—on stationery, textiles, paper goods, décor, and thoughtfully made products that turn ordinary surfaces into something personal and joyful.

My style is playful but intentional. I’m drawn to bold colour stories, layered textures, hand-drawn details, and compositions that feel alive. I move fluidly between pen and paper, brush and canvas, and digital illustration, blending traditional marks with modern finishing. That mix keeps my work feeling fresh—organic yet polished, whimsical yet designed with purpose.

What makes my creative approach different is how I think in collections and in surfaces. I don’t just create a single illustration; I imagine how a pattern repeats, how a print sits on fabric, how a notebook feels in your hands, how a space changes when art is introduced. My goal is to build a surface design business that offers both licensing collections and in-house products—pieces that bring bright, happy energy into daily rituals.

For me, art is about creating moments people want to linger in. Surfaces Bloom exists to help those moments, well… bloom.

​Instagram / Website​

Looking for more floral inspiration?

Volume B: Botanica A perennial favourite! Botanica is Volume B in the UPPERCASE Encyclopedia of Inspiration. Originally published in 2017, the first print run sold out quickly. A reprint in 2020 sold out, and we reprinted this perennial favourite for a third time in November 2024. Purchase Botanica

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Tudor & Ash Collection
by Ellie Spoerer

I’m a Chicago-based surface pattern designer creating story-driven prints for fashion, fabric, wallpaper, and interiors. My work begins by hand — usually with watercolour, gouache, or drawn motifs — and evolves into layered repeat patterns that balance romance, narrative, and decorative detail. After many years in apparel design and running my own women’s sportswear brand, I returned to the part of the process I’ve always loved most: building visual worlds through print.

With my creative practice, I hope to grow a body of work that feels transportive, emotionally resonant, and distinctly authored — collections that can live across fashion and home while still carrying a strong point of view. I’m especially interested in licensing, creative collaborations, and partnerships with brands that value storytelling, artistry, and original pattern design.

What makes my work feel fresh is the way I approach inspiration. Tudor & Ash is rooted in Tudor history, but not in the expected way. Rather than centering Henry VIII, I was drawn to the women around that story — especially Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I — and to the idea of reinterpretation through a more emotional, feminine lens. The collection blends historical reference with painterly florals, symbolism, and a modern decorative sensibility, turning familiar history into something more intimate and unexpected. That combination of hand-painted richness, narrative depth, and a fresh perspective is what I hope defines my work.

​Instagram / Website​

Extended free access to Sketchbook Revival
until April 28

Join me and 30 other instructors in the 2026 Sketchbook Revival. My session is The "Text" Book: Through hand lettering, stamping, Letraset, collage and other found type, we'll employ copywriting and elements of graphic design in loose, poetic ways for self-expression. It's free to participate! After signing up with your email address, there's an optional VIP pass that will give you more time to watch everyone's sessions. As an affiliate instructor, I receive a commission if you use my link and purchase the upgrade. thank you!

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Making Zen is back!​ ​ This online event is always a favourite with UPPERCASE readers: Making Zen features 40 expert artists sharing their handmade craft techniques and mindful stitching ideas. It's free to sign up—you have access to each day's sessions of videos for 24 hours, or you can invest in a VIP ticket to retain access to the recordings to watch at your leisure (plus other bonuses). ​ UPPERCASE is a media partner for Making Zen and earns a commission on sales resulting from these links. Thank you.​ ​ Register for free

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Pre-Order: Jot! The creative necessity of ideas on paper Mindfulness, meaning & methods​ ​ This uplifting volume will be about journaling, note-taking, sketching, book-making, handwriting, and other ways of jotting down our thoughts onto paper. We'll have profiles of artists, makers, writers and designers who share their creative process, as well as the people and companies who make the journals, notebooks and writing implements that are part of our daily lives. In a world pushing artificial intelligence, Jot! is a hands-on celebration of originality, inspiration and the beauty of ideas. Support this project

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Volume Q: Quilted Freshly reprinted! Quilting reminds us of the artistry and ingenuity of our ancestors and allows us to explore our natural creativity. The craft slows us down in an ever-busy world and connects us to a welcoming community of kindred spirits. In-depth profiles and stories of individual quilts across 384 pages. Purchase Quilted

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