Does anyone else miss checking in every day to see what the Artemis II crew was up to waaaaaaay up there in space? Their recent mission to the far side of the moon — farther away from Earth than any human has ever traveled — was so fascinating to me.
And such a bright spot in a newsfeed usually filled with breathless doom and gloom. (Or is it gloom and doom?)
Earth — our home — looks so peaceful from space.
I was so inspired by these photos — and just the overall awesomeness of the Artemis II crew — that I wanted to create a Cosmic Smashbook page about it.
Cosmic Smashbook For All Earthlings!
One of the things I love, love, love about Cosmic Smashbooking is that just about anything can become inspiration for a Cosmic Smashbook page. Cherry blossoms are blooming in DC? Make a Cosmic Smashbook page about it!
Artemis II crew is on an important space mission and being all kinds of amazing up there in their spaceship? Heck yeah! Let’s make a Cosmic Smashbook page about it!
Cosmic Smashbooking is a no-rules art-journal process. We spend a few minutes writing about a topic — any topic — and then cover it up with colors and imagery and sparkles. The sparkles are important.
Learn more about the Cosmic Smashbook process with my FREE online class.
It might seem silly to you for a grown-ass grown-up to be cutting out paper earth shapes and painting the moon and sprinkling glittery stars across the pages of an inexpensive notebook.
I assure you, my friend, this work is not silly at all.
It’s the calm, chill-the-heck-out and give your nervous system a rest from the giant Dumpster fire burning in our world that I need right now. In fact, I believe all of us Earthlings need a creative outlet like this right now. (Even Earthlings who think they aren’t creative at all.)
Also, it’s a lot of fun.
Artemis II Cosmic Smashbook Page
I invite you to make an Artmis II Cosmic Smashbook page of your own.
All you need is a piece of paper (or an art journal if you have one) and a few basic art supplies.
Use what you have already — something to write with, something to add color (crayons or paint or scrapbook paper). That’s really all you need to get started.
This comment from Artemis II Captain Victor Glover was the starting point for my page. (Sorry, I couldn’t get the video to embed into my post. The link goes to Instagram.) Listen to his comments and then follow the instructions below to create your Cosmic Smashbook page.
https://www.instagram.com/reels/DW9gQqWAtjd
Query: Artemis II Inspiration
Spent 5 minutes (or more) writing down your thoughts about Captain Glover’s comments about Earth. What stands out to you? Just write what comes to mind. Remember, this isn’t a perfectly punctuated English paper. It’s just your thoughts tumbling out of your head onto the page.
Intention
The secret sauce of Cosmic Smashbooking is writing your intentions down right on top of the words you just wrote. I like to start with the words “Please show me … “ And then fill in the blank with whatever comes into your mind. Sometimes I start with “Thank you for …”
Or you can use whatever words you choose. There are no rules here.
Add Color
Create a background for your page with paint, fabric or paper.
Imagery
This is the fun part! You can paint or collage imagery to go along with the theme — Earth, the moon, space, a spaceship. It’s totally up to you.
Sparkles
Activate the energy of your page with sparkles or other little embellishments. This part is optional, but I always like to opt in when it comes to sparkles.
Here’s my Artemis II Smashbook Page
And here’s some more inspiration for you! These pages were created by my awesome friends at the Cosmic Smashbook Book Club. We meet Wednesday nights at the Pohick Library in Burke, VA. You are always welcome to join us!
In all of this emptiness — this is a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call The Universe — you have this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist (in) together.
Captain Victor Glover, Pilot of Artemis II, April 2025