Can you believe it’s September already? It’s been raining cats and dogs over here, so it honestly feels like Autumn too. I’m hopeful though that there are still some days to come with enough dry spells to enjoy a cup of tea in the yard with a bit of journaling or reading on the side.

So today’s the 10th, and that means Riikka and I have a new Inspired by to share with you! This time the theme is:

Artful Adventures in Mixed Media by Nathalie Kalbach

As you may know, Nathalie is a friend, and I did not buy this book. Receiving it was one of the perks of being part of her Creative Squad, but I’m sure you know me well enough to know that I wouldn’t recommend it if I didn’t love it.

Artful Adventures in Mixed Media (aff. link) is a book full of stories, prompts, tips, instructions as well as mixed media techniques to get the creative juices flowing.

This book can not only help you get an enormous amount of creative inspiration and mojo out of your next vacation/trip, it also encourages you to explore nature, your neighbourhood and it gives helpful pointers on what to look for in museums and galleries.

Nat also shares about being inspired by books and movies, extraordinary people and artistic friends.

The book covers all the things Riikka and I regularly do here with Inspired by, and more: It’s is very much about Nat’s journey into art, and she shares a lot about who and what inspires her personally.

I especially enjoyed reading about her travels and looking at her personal photos.

Taking notes

I found the book incredibly inspiring, and I read it like a textbook, taking notes from the first to the last page.

You can really get a lot out of it if you decide to go deep. I plan to work my way through the assignments in the book, starting with chapter one.

I created a new Pinterest board especially for Artful Adventures, bought a small Traveler’s Notebook and gathered supplies for art making on the go (that I’ve yet to use off the premises, but… at least it’s ready to go!).

My first focus is on my own neighbourhood and the city I live in.

Following the prompts in the book, I created a checklist of things I want to see and do, that I now carry with me in the new notebook that lives in my purse.

I’m also taking note of events that are happening in the city.

Not that I didn’t do that before, but there are plenty of annual events that we always intend to go to, but in the end never attend because of life, laundry or another lame excuse…

The fact is that if you don’t make time for adventures, they just won’t happen!

I’m also embarrassed to say that Amersfoort is a beautiful old city and I’ve hardly visited any of the major tourist attractions in all the years I’ve lived here.

I haven’t even been to all the local museums yet. It’s ridiculous! But I’m doing everything to correct that!

The result

I don’t have anything to show you except photos. Ironically I haven’t felt like creating anything for weeks now… I seem to be far more interested in being outside in nature, out and about in the city and visiting museums. Which is exactly what Nat suggests in the book, and I trust that the creating will follow eventually.

So… whilst I’m exploring the city, you can have a look at what inspiration Riikka picked up on her family trip to London.

Or you can go here to Nat’s blog, where I shared what I created after an Artful Adventure in Amsterdam last month!

Inspired by is a blog series by my friend Riikka and I. We decide on a theme (and that theme can be anything from a film, a book, a painting, to an item, colour scheme or material), and then we create something with that theme or thing in mind.

We keep what we’re making a secret until reveal day on the 10th when we show you and each other our creations.