Finally it feels like proper Autumn. Rainy, misty, with bare landscapes in browns and reds. But it’s still quite enjoyable, especially with warm cup in hands and thick, cozy socks.

It’s also the month of my birthday, which always makes November much more bearable! This year was extra special, I celebrated it in San Diego with my Mom, and it was such a treat to wear short sleeves in November :)

I’m quite proud that I’m still sketching in my sketchbook. I sketched a lot at LightBox Expo, which usually happens every year at the end of October. It’s an amazing event that gathers creative professionals from all over the world, and it was nice to catch up with old friends and make new ones.

For my San Diego trip I treated myself to a new sketchbook - A4 watercolor Moleskin. I liked it a lot! I won’t put all the details here, but if you are interested in my sketching explorations, I have a separate Instagram account.

I hope to get back to daily sketching after I finish animating the very first episode of Yens and Spinny series. Can you guess what story it is based on? I hope to finish it in about a week - stay tuned!

I also finished the holiday card - it has many Forest inhabitants in it, both old and new. It turned out very pretty, with sparkling foil! If you’d like to receive a holiday card from Yens and Spinny with special message, just reply to this email with your mailing address. I printed plenty and hope everyone who wishes to receive one will get it. Spreading cheer one card at a time!

Plans for December - Advent with Yens and Spinny 🎄 I hope to make 12 pictures, maybe watercolors, about Yens and Spinny during holiday season ✨

🏔️ This Month’s Tale

The Airship Adventure
Yens left his comfy chair for the sky, and found the best part was still coming home.
Read here

The shop is full of holiday gifts!

I added another set of winter cards featuring Yens and Earl the Beaver.

It’s not too late to get a calendar! Desk calendars make wonderful stocking stuffers, so do pins and Yens plushie keychain.

Etsy is having Cyber Week Sales Event from November 24 to December 2, everything in my store will be 25% off!

The mail can be really slow during holiday season, so it’s always better to shop a little earlier.

• The first real November rain arrived this week. Yens listened to it with a mug of spiced tea, while Spinny tried catching the drops that slid down the window.

• A particularly round toad has started living under the watering can. Yens greets him every morning. Spinny is afraid he would still his apple from under the porch.

• The moss on the north fence has turned a deeper green. Yens admires it quietly. Spinny keeps checking to see if it’s grown thick enough to make a burrow.

• A thin ribbon of smoke curls from the chimney every evening now. Yens is perfecting his apple-cake recipe. Spinny is perfecting the art of sneaking crumbs.

• Every evening Spinny secretly practices holiday carols on his little flute. Yens pretends he doesn’t notice, but he enjoys it immensely.

I’ve been reading some Stephen King books lately, not the scary jumping from the closet stories, but his other books, like Rat, or Shawshank Redemption.

This quote from one of his afterwords resonated with me as a storyteller:

“But I’ve been in love with each of these stories, too, and part of me always will be in love with them, I guess. I hope that you liked them, Reader; that they did for you what any good story should do—make you forget the real stuff weighing on your mind for a little while and take you away to a place you’ve never been. It’s the most amiable sort of magic I know.”

Cacti amazed me this month. The desert walk in Balboa park is breathtaking, I think I could spend an entire week there, just wandering among the tall prickly giants and sitting beside the tiny ones, observing the plants so different from anything else..

The days are getting shorter, and the garden is quieting down. Yens has tucked an extra blanket by the window, while Spinny is very busy inspecting the last pile of autumn leaves. Wherever November leaves you, I hope you find one small, delightful thing to make you smile.

Grateful you’re here to share these little moments.

With cozy thoughts,

Nina

(And Yens, and Spinny, who is currently trying to sit inside a teacup much too small for him)