In Honor of Trees - A Zine
In which, I share the news on the ornaments, donate to plant trees, and I get crafty and made a zine about it. Download and print it.
Dear Friends,
I hope this fresh, new month of December finds you in better spirits. I for one have been getting crafty. My show, “Embodied” last month, the culmination of my 100 Cold Wax Landscapes project, ornaments, calendars, etc, etc1 left me a little empty. That’s fairly typical of this time of year for me, to be expected really, so I’ve been easy with my heart and my mind and just doing what feels good in the moment. I’ve been doing some writing, taking long walks in the desert, making prickly pear jelly, reading, and making Zines.
What’s a Zine you ask? It’s a tiny magazine made from an 8.5x11 sheet of paper, that once you fold into fours and cut along a line in the middle, magically folds into an eight-page spread. They’re adorable. I’ve made two now, and I want to make more. So many more. I’ve been sitting at my coffee table with magazines, a glue stick and rewatching old movies (because new movies are no good).
Your task for this week. Write down old movies that you want to see again. Or maybe movies you missed when they came out, but now is the time. What’s on your list. Tell me in the comments, maybe it should be on my list.
So, in honor of the ornaments selling out in 7 minutes! (YA’LL), I made a zine this week honoring trees. It’s hard to pack everything I want about trees into an 8.5x11 sheet of paper, but this one was about the benefit of planting trees. And if your ground isn’t covered in snow, or frozen solid, now is a good time to plant trees! See more about that below.
You can print out the Zine from this PDF right here, then follow the instructions from Austin Kleon about how to fold, cut, and then turn it into a booklet.
They are SO fun. Perfect crafts for kids, but also super fun for you. Let’s go analog! Break out the scissors and the glue. Do weird little drawings. Write a poem, or include your favorite poem. Send holiday recipes to friends. Write a mini how-to on planting garlic. Craft a story in eight pages. Send your BF across the country a love letter with pictures from when you were younger. Austin Kleon’s Gratitude Zine is lovely.
MORE ABOUT PLANTING TREES
1. Tree Planting
Fall and early winter are actually ok times to plant trees, so consider this your sign to get out there and do it now.
Find good options to plant trees from your local botanical organization or through Arbor Day or here in Utah through Tree Utah.
For tips on how to best plant trees look here and here. It’s important to dig a good hole for them and then set up your drip irrigation to make sure their roots grow good and strong. It can literally be the difference between life and death for your new tree.
Then check out some more tips on how to take care of your new babies once they are in the ground - here and here.
2. Leave the Leaves!
In case you didn’t get the memo: we’re leaving the leaves now. Your HOA might not like it, but it’s actually better for the soil, the insects, and the trees. PLUS, it’s way less work than raking them up. This great article from Xerces Society explains it all in detail.
3. Donate to Plant Trees
You can also pay to donate to plant trees through organizations like:
Your local Tree Planting Org, an Arboretum, or Botanical Garden
There are also lots of opportunities to volunteer, especially with your local organization for tree planting days.
TUESDAY, December 3rd is GIVING TUESDAY!!
Tree planting is a really important way to combat climate change, and while it’s certainly not the magic bullet, it’s one of many strategies. Plus, who doesn’t love trees? If you know someone who doesn’t love trees, don’t be friends with them.
Thanks again to all those who bought an ornament from me last week. As always, for every ornament that sells (they all do), I donate to plant 10 trees through the National Forest Foundation. As such, 50 sold, so that means 500 trees, but I bumped it up to 600. I think I started doing this in 2020, so that means we’ve planted over 2500 trees so far! THANK YOU.
While the ornaments may be gone, I still have some holiday offerings including calendars, cards, a book, and online watercolor art classes.
MORE RESOURCES
Planting trees for Climate Change - National Forest Foundation
31 Things You Should Know About Tree Planting - NFF
Leave the Leaves - Xerces Society
Mycorrhizal Fungal Networks - NFF
The Value of Trees - Arbor Day Foundation
read, global political situation