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Sammy's Joyful Creations, Monroe, WA (2026)

01/29/2026

ALL children are OUR children.

Liam Conejo "rabbit" Ramos and his father are here legally. Yet they are in the Dilley Detention Center in Texas, where the living conditions are beyond deplorable. Moldy food with bugs, limited access to water that isn't even clean, overcrowding, and no privacy, to name just a few of the atrocities. These are humans and they deserve to be treated as such. Liam has only been there for a few days and he is already sick with fever and vomiting.

Liam is not the only child there suffering. He's just the most well known and iconic. Children do not deserve this trauma. Children deserve to be safe, cared for, and loved. Children deserve to be respected. These detention centers are a disgusting blow against humanity and need to be investigated, held to high standards, and in my opinion, shut down completely. It's okay if you think we need immigration reform, but the way it's being done at this time IS NOT OKAY! Speak up, protest, call your representatives, and take care of your neighbors!

ALL children are OUR children.

**kice

01/22/2026

I used to read more frequently when I was younger, then adult life happened and I found I didn't as much. Audiobooks helped me get back into reading, as they were easier to fit into a busy life. Then last year I made a goal to read 15 books. Well, I ended up reading 75. It was important to me to try to do more visual reading, not because any method of reading is more valid than another, but because it has been a goal of mine to be more intentional with and reduce how much stimulation I'm absorbing. Reading visually makes me slow down and focus on one thing wholly. (Though I do enjoy quiet instrumental background music).

I encourage you to make a reading goal this year and I suggest you start super small and achievable. Maybe all you read is one book, but at least you'll have read a book! Reading is so important to continue building critical thinking skills, language skills, intelligence, and for regulating your nervous system. Reading rates are super low these days, for both adults and children, and illiteracy is rising. I think this is also reflected pretty clearly in many of the issues we see in our society today.

Reading romance and s**t got me back into devouring books. I found them easy, familiar and safe. Now that I'm back in a reading groove and find I have more mental and emotional capacity, I've been branching out and trying new genres. This year my reading goal is 100 books including digital, audio and physical. I also plan to read several classic and banned books. Banned books are particularly important right now. They expose you to concepts that may be out of your comfort zone - which helps you grow as a human! They also include a lot of reflections and warnings about society. Perhaps if more people read banned books, more of us would have seen the slow roll that got us to the hostile and scary political situation we are in now. I want to include books written by POC, indigenous, LGBTQIA+ authors, and authors who have perspectives different from my own. I also am buying physical copies to keep safe.

Read. Read any way that works for you and any genre that gets you reading.

01/22/2026

This morning after I woke up, I did my usual quick FB check and inadvertently saw a post that really triggered me. I'm not even really sure why. I've been thinking about it all day and working through my emotional response. I made some art and voiced some explanations of my perspective, but I was having a hard time releasing the anxiety and stress physically. My heart kept pounding and my muscles stayed tight. So I took a "stupid walk for my stupid mental health" (lol) and did something I've been wanting to do for a while. I took some mini paintings and left them in the little lending library that I always stop at when I take a walk. I really hope that they make someone, adult or child, smile and take them home. I really believe that part of my purpose in life is to be a bright light of empathy and joy.

01/21/2026

If you are feeling ALL the feelings right now - fear, despair, rage, grief, hope, joy, empathy, regret, defeat, love, pride, confusion - I need you to know three things.

1. You are allowed to feel ALL the things at the SAME time. There is so much happening and so many strong feelings, it's a LOT to process - mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Take your time and be kind to yourself (AND OTHERS)! Please process when you have capacity, act when you are able, and disassociate when you need to. Just don't get stuck in any one for too long.

2. You are not alone. And it's not just one person trying to go through this, it's the whole collective. It's so much. And no one grieves the same, expresses rage the same, or gives and receives love the same. That's the beauty of humanity.

3. The fact that you have these deep feelings means you are aware and you care. It means you have empathy and it means YOU ARE HUMAN.

Find small moments of joy, love your community, and share your feelings with others. We will get through this TOGETHER.

**kice

01/19/2026

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and I think in the current climate of America, it's especially important to honor him, remember what we have overcome in the past and continue to fight for today. Here are some of my favorite MLK quotes.

"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope."

"There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies."

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."

"There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right."

"If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward."

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."

Stay safe, keep fighting, and don't give up hope. I love you. 💕

01/14/2026

Look inward, stop hating others, and grow the f**k up. Rebellion has many forms. Act in whatever way you can. Protest. Make calls. Make art. Take care of yourself. It's all part of the revolution. It's no longer just political, it's our lives.

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." - Martin Luther King Jr.

10/31/2025

Happy Halloween and Samhain! Stay safe out there and have FUN! 🎃🖤🧡

10/28/2025

Day 27 - Apples 🍎🍏

I haven't given up on Inktober, it just may turn into inkvember. 😅🤷‍♀️ And you know what? I'm okay with that. I'm finding that the art I'm making lately is taking longer than I plan for. I'm feeling very exploratory with my art lately, and that takes time. Growth and curiosity don't follow a schedule.

Have you ever tried to eat an apple around a rabbit? It's not easy if you aren't interested in sharing. 😅

🐰

10/19/2025

Look at this little cutie. I'm obsessed! 😍 It was a super easy and fun project. I just did a bunch of black and white temporary tattoos on a white pumpkin. It's a bit time consuming and you have to be delicate, but it is also a great activity for chronically ill, physically limited or spoonies, like me. I miss carving pumpkins, and I even bought a medium pumpkin to crave this year, if I can. The task can seem rather daunting though, since I never know when I may have a weak or low energy day. This makes way less mess and just requires you to hunker down for a while. 👌

Oh, and I'm still working on my Inktober prompts. I'm just a bit behind and a bit busy at the moment. But I hope to catch up soon.

10/17/2025

Day 17 - Leaves

A few days ago I gathered some leave while on a walk. I felt inspired by all the different patterns and colors on the changing leaves. Skip ahead to last night, I was gonna call it quits for the day, when I decided I'd start on my painting for today. Well, I got too into the process and painted for 4 hours non-stop. The hyperfocus hit and I just couldn't stop. In the end, I'm not gonna lie, I really impressed myself with this one. It made me reflect on how much skill I've built since I started painting 3 years ago. ☺️ Unfortunately, I was so hyperfocused that I didn't hear my body protesting. Now I'm having a high pain/rest day. 😕 Meh, worth it. 😉 I will be spending today on the couch, watching scary movies and working on a pattern by one of my favorite creaters, , and taking lots of body breaks. Is it even fall if I'm not working on a spooky stitch?

🍁

10/17/2025

Day 16 - Raccoon

"I am not looking to escape my darkness. I am learning to love myself there." -unknown

Got this prompt, I did something different. I love working with different textures and materials. I'm still new to this mixed media, collage type style, so I'm having fun experimenting.

❤️

10/15/2025

Day 15 - Mystery

I thought this prompt was going to be one of the more challenging ones for me, but then this idea popped in my head. Possibly the greatest mystery the world has ever known. 🍪🤣 I also saw this post recently. Who keeps trying to flush pickles? What a waste! 🥒🚽

Sammy's Joyful Creations

01/29/2026

01/22/2026

01/22/2026

01/21/2026

01/19/2026

01/14/2026

10/31/2025

10/28/2025

10/19/2025

10/17/2025

10/17/2025

10/15/2025

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