One Whole Year

Happy birthday, dear newsletter, happy birthday to youuu! (Plus an art supply giveaway!)

My trusty tombows in a Harney & Sons tea tin. My rule is that I only keep as many colors that will fit in the tin. (Confession: That’s still a lot.)

Dear Friends,

A year ago I revived my newsletter. I was worried about the state of our country, and I didn’t know what to do about it. After some thought and fret, I decided to use my voice in the best way I knew: To share glimmers of joy from every day life with pictures and words.

My hope was that this weekly missive would be a small, bright spot for those who read it and need it. What I didn’t expect was that it would be a ray of light for me, too.

I went from barely writing or drawing anymore to doing so almost every day. I rediscovered parts of myself that I’d forgotten existed. And I got to hear from you every week about this, that, or the other, often times thanking me when I feel like I should be thanking you. (It means the world to me that you’re here.)

Now I feel like there’s this thread connecting me to you, joy seekers and do gooders, helping us get through another day.

xo Christine

p.s. Scroll down for a birthday giveaway of some of my favorite things!

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Good Things

• My daughter told me I looked good one morning, and I held on tight to that compliment all day long

• Freshly baked granola In a big ass jar

• Marcello Hernandez’s comedy special, American Boy

• Fishwife tuna packaging is ridiculously cute

• A sketchbook field trip at the Natural History Museum

• Coffee milkshakes

• Sumos at Costco

• Maira’s efforts to befriend our neighbor’s cat

• Mascara that doesn’t smudge (LA locals, you can even find it at the mall!)

• A tidy dresser

• Design research that requires a trip to a bookstore, a stationery shop, and a Swedish candy store (which all happen to be within two blocks of each other)

• Making my art teacher proud

Good Things Giveaway

To celebrate GT&EE’s birthday, I’m hosting a little giveaway! The grand prize winner will receive some tools I love and use every single week (worth $75+):

Not actual size

• Leuchtturm sketchbook: The perfect shade of yellow and crisp white paper.

• Tombow brush pens: My marker of choice (pictured up top).

• Tombow Fudenosuke brush pen: The pen I use for lettering.

• Adam J. Kurtz “Good Things Happen” keychain: I got one for Christmas, and it makes me smile.

• Tony’s Chocolonely bar: This totally counts as an art making tool.

• Aquaphor: I’m not even kidding. I always have a lippie within reach. This one is classic for a reason.

• Artsy Fartsy new sticker sheet: Made in collaboration with Art School of the Future and a childhood dream come true. (Paid subscribers get this no matter what.)

• Plus a Good Deed of the Day zine & Good Enough sticker!

To enter to win, just make sure you’re a subscriber here on Substack. If you’re a paid subscriber, you get two entries. Easy peasy! The winner will be drawn at random on 2/22 and notified by email.

Good Quote

Good Deed of the Day

Hold the door open for the next person. Greet them “hello” if you’re feeling it, but a smile or nod will do.