I’ve been thinking on possibility.

My intention for this year for my business is expansion (in nervous system safe ways).

For expansion, I’ve realised you need to better understand possibility…

Being a parent is great for this because we naturally have conversations most days about what’s possible in life.

My son wants to work with animals - he weaves in and out of talking about moving to Africa. He’s done this since he was very small. I can see that’s the path for him so I actively encourage it.

When I knew I wanted to work in ‘the arts’ lots of people told me it’s not about ‘what’ you know it’s about ‘who’. I must have heard that tens of times before I was 15.

When you’re making decisions about GCSEs (topics) and other pathways in a school system you really only have the choices put in front of you.

What if it’s not about that at all?

I often tell my son most of the work I’ve done in my life didn’t exist when I was 15.

The organisations didn’t exist or they didn’t have the departments I worked in. I’ve encouraged him that in the entrepreneurial space anything is possible.

That’s what’s different now. The internet has changed EVERYTHING.

It’s not about what or who you know anymore although of course doors can be opened and nepotism is rife in the entertainment industry.

What if it’s now more about how you are known.

It’s about what’s memorable in you.

Journal Prompts

• What is it that you want to be known for?

• What is one tiny tweak you can make online to support this vision?

• If your best friend/ biggest cheerleader was celebrating the work you do in a room with people who could change your life, what would they say?

• What happens next?

✨

We are the architects of our stories but we have to make aligned moves. We have to pay conscious attention to our language. We have to fill our lives with people who know it’s possible… we have to change the vibration.

My husband’s dream as a kid was to be a stuntman for film. He’s not a stunt man, he’s a therapist and holistic healing coach.

My guess is people told him “that’s nice” but didn’t open up the channel of expansion and possibility. That he practised the physical side but didn’t get an anchor into the practical side. I would argue his military background showed him his childhood visions but in a new way. When we first met, he was always climbing walls and things while I held my breath and our baby in my womb.

Write your own name badge.

Before I founded my company, I knew what it was called and I would write it on my name badges for events. I would talk about what I did as part of the work and as part of it try and piece together what it would look like in the future.

I’m writing this in real time and my five year old daughter has woken up and is singing whilst drawing and colouring a big pink fish. It’s a happy song - she’s storytelling.

She found a huge bone on the beach last weekend and brought it home. She said she wanted to wish for a cuddly fish to appear magically in its place.

I looked for one briefly in London for her but I didn’t find one.

The search continues. She might forget but if she doesn’t - you bet I’m manifesting/ buying her a bright pink cuddly fish, leaving it on the doorstep and burying the bone under dahlia tubers in the back garden!

If you see one, let me know?

Claire

✨

Notes from the Sea is my seasonal update from our conscious life on the Northumberland Coast. I stopped writing the updates for a while as it felt difficult to write from a place of un-ease but I’m back now and write every season. You can read previous editions here.

Hi lovlies,

How’s your halloween weekend been? Ours has been a bit of a flop - illness and lack of enthusiasm mixed with disappointment (me then the kids). I love seeing all the family fancy dress over on the gram - it feels like the world goes to town and then as I pack the decorations away, I’m somehow glad it’s over. 👀

Yesterday, my husband bought me burnt orange and red flowers and I nestled stems into three vases lined up on our kitchen window sill. The frame of our cosy Northumberland Life through forty seasons.

Gosh it’s been 10 years since we bought our current home. 🏠 💖

10 years - we’ve lived here on the Northumberland Coast. In that time, we’ve felt at home, we’ve felt at sea, we’ve felt like strangers, we’ve felt held, we’ve felt cared for, we’ve brought a new baby home and raised her.

There have been storms, heat waves, there’s been sun and rain so much rain. Flowers and an abundance of fruit has grown year after year.

Neighbours have died, we’ve buried pet chickens - ours and neighbours - developers have moved in then holiday makers. Our chicken flock went to new homes on a sunny day and I’ve never felt more relieved to have less caring responsibility.

Hopeful birds and frogs have moved into our gardens… oh and and a puppy in place of devastating grief.

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Back in 2015…

Our son was just a tiny dinosaur obsessed toddler when we moved here… I left all my friends and support network and found myself in a cold dark house by myself.

Lack of light, very little spark and I felt like I’d gone back in time twenty odd years - NOT always a good thing. I met people that had lost the possibility of everything, lived in acceptance and stagnation and I felt like we’d made a mistake.

I sought out vibrancy and L crossed the threshold into pre school, primary school and now secondary school. Our solstice born daughter arrived in a world wide pandemic and blew our hearts and minds wide open.

I found some connections that made my heart smile. I found a lot of people asleep. I found people turned away from being open like that’s not how we’re supposed to live? Venus fly traps in the rubble.

I made and lost friends and now I’m slowly curious as to whether I have capacity to do it all again. To get to know someone love them and then find our values are like jupiter and mars.1

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Dave and I worked millions of hours here, met friends and clients here, cried tears here and met silence with laughter and kitchen discos.

The thick stone walls kept out news we didn’t want to hear and our phones brought us news we needed to know but would have rather been kept in the dark.

And we nearly left - so many times. Estate agents in dark suits laid it on thick, managers with holiday businesses told us we have a gold mine if we were prepared to move out.

Now we’re here celebrating 10 years of life and all it brings and I’m so grateful I chose to live inside a vision board. To take the steps towards an expansive, unapologetic life and live inside a holiday destination. To stay true to healing nervous systems.

I got chatting about vision boards on my recent Substack live. You can watch/ listen here if you missed it.

My husband has completely healed his PTSD living here. If you are in a similar situation and want to reach out to either of us, please do. He has a new online space where he’s writing daily if you feel like you want the balm of words and prayer.

Our garden studio project is over half way finished (sharing updates on IG stories) and in Spring we’ll reclaim the garden with fresh grass and wildflowers. I can see a future sense of peace when the rubble, wire and rubbish is gone. When we’ve picked up the very last abandoned screw and jolly onion rings empty crisp packet.

It wouldn’t be a Note from the Sea without some journal prompts for you…

If you feel called to take out your favourite notebook and pen…

• Where do you feel most at home and why? Describe what you see and who is there.

• Is there something you want to change about your current home and can you make a plan to do it?

• If you could transform something today about your living environment what would it be and why?

Let me know how the topic of home lands for you in the comments and I’ll share some other folks I love to read who make me feel transported but at home.

Claire

x

If you’re not already reading , , , , , , , , their presence here is very grounding. Perhaps you know other writers you’d like to recommend in the comments?

Oh summer! How’s yours been?

In the UK we’re in limbo as we look forward (?) to the shift from slow spacious days to the more formulaic “back to school” scheduled days…

The endless paradox of parenting within a system.

My heart breaks at the ending of a summer where my kids will never be this young and squidgy again.

I’m writing this note from the sea from our office in our 100 year old cottage with a sea view on the Northumberland coast. The days have been too hot and sunny to count - we all feel so so lucky.

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The LONG summer weeks are behind us and a different energy creeps in.

It’s been hard, challenging, tough but it’s been utterly beautiful as well. It’s been the slow down I truly needed. The break from online plug in I craved and the reconfirmation I can take breaks in conscious ways….

My business didn’t disappear in a poof of smoke.1

I regularly made daily gratitude lists in my head each morning or when I got stressed.

I thought I’d share some of them with you as a little warm up to me returning to my writing and this regular creative practise

• My daughters tiny yet somehow huge hand wrapped around a vanilla ice cream with raspberry sauce.

• The warranty for our dehumidifier being honoured - anyone else use this clothes drying method? I’d never go back.

• Blackberries and the energy and reach to pick the best sun ripened ones day after day, walk after walk. So much fruity abundance.2

• My husband’s health and earthy sense of humour. Days blend into weeks with chronic ill health… but he does have days when illness is not at the forefront of our morning conversation over tea. I’m ever grateful for them.

• My old accountant sending me a partial refund and for myself for having the confidence to ask.

• Tidy and organised cupboards, a huge declutter and a sense of control like I’ve not felt in years.

• Notebooks and my favourite pink and green pens.

• An Eton mess birthday cake tower - try it! (pictured - ice cream, fresh fruit, raspberry meringue, squirty cream and pouring cream)

• Sunflowers! 🌻 aren’t they just a marvel?

• The colour pink…always.

Reading…

I finally finished my friend ’s beautiful book. Breaking Waves left me cold and breathless like I was swimming with Emma and her friends. It made me smile and her poignant storytelling made me cry. It’s stunning.

I also made my way through a preview copy of book Unschooled. An important and heart shattering read. There’s hope and sparkle too.3

I just received new books from the wonderful and it’s such an important topic on letting go of the relationships that don’t serve our highest self. I was lucky enough to catch her for a chat.

Watching

• there’s been A-LOT of Bluey and Super Kitties but when my daughter goes to bed my son, husband and I have been enjoying BBC’s Destination X and playing along. I’m also really looking forward to a ‘And Just Like That Watch Party’ with my friend. We’ll live text all the way through! 🩰🍸✨

Listening

• To this beautiful song on repeat -

• Denise Duffield Thomas podcast - this millionaire ‘gal next door’ is a marvel.

• meditations.

Travel

• We haven’t been away as we’re trying to make more of our camper van before she gives up and we needed to pay for some ‘necessary but boring’ building work to be done. Dave and I went for a little staycation locally at The Tempus. We both feel a little strange without the kids but we had a beautiful evening and really enjoyed being looked after. I loved the afternoon invitation of the hot tub with the forest view.

• I popped to Edinburgh - it’s just 90 minutes on the train from me. Met up with my friends, had a beautiful dinner here and saw a bonkers show about Penguin Classics...kinda.

Learning

• I wrapped up Denise Duffield Thomas’ Sacred Money Archetypes and it blew my actual mind. Luckily for me was also taking part and we maxed out on voice notes letting all the literal pennies drop. Find out your archetype here then dm me about it? I’m OBSESSED - https://www.denisedt.com/quiz

• We closed sacred circle of 8 weeks of masterminding with my mentor Leonie Dawson and I’m looking forward to my 1-2-1 this month. Lots of the things inside of momentum didn’t make sense until the end and I’m ever inspired by Leonie’s confidence and congruence.

• I took a gorgeous weekend class called Mapping Your Creative Business asynchronously with Cody Cook Parrot. I now have a beautiful notion template which I’m using as the cockpit for my business. I bought this class on the final reminder email just hours before it started. It was my first time seeing it - a reminder to us all to always send those final reminder emails.

New friends and colleagues

• I’m in a 6 month container with a group of gals I probably wouldn’t ordinarily have met. They are based in the UK too and we connect every fortnight and daily in our chat group about our businesses and income efficiency. These girls are doing the work, sharing honest shame and breakthroughs about their businesses. Our mentor and space holder Gemma starts every message with Hey Queen! I’m here for it!

• I’ve not really written about friendships before but there’s a lot of it in my book Invisible Trust - the hidden rules of growth and reciprocity online. Last year, I had a shocker of a year with female friendships. I’ve been healing from what felt like a thousand and one falling decks of cards. I’ve been rebuilding confidence with my therapist. I want to tell you that almost a year to the day of an almighty fall out where I had a (now not) mum friend scream “weird” in my face the day before I was due to go online to an audience of thousands of people across the world to promote my book. It caused extreme anxiety and to be honest a nervous system collapse. I was held by my husband who put curtains up for me so I could feel safe and held me as I cried. The other day, I walked past her house on a dog walk with a full chest of love for myself and all my weirdness. Turns out I’m not afraid of being ‘dressed down’ by her anymore and grateful for the writing fuel it’s given me. We all have the opportunity to work on our shadows to make for a more aligned life. Not everyone is in your life to be supportive and not everyone will be happy for you when you ‘outwardly’ succeed. You are always living inside someone else’s story book version of reality and that’s ok.

Work

• I’m on hols currently but looking forward to reconnecting with my members over at and launching a BRAND NEW podcast and community. It’s called Audience Alchemy - I think you’ll adore it! I hope so anyway. It felt divine to receive the downloads for it. More on that soon.

✨ 🌊

Thank you for being here and connecting with me, how’ve you been? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

See you next season for another Note from the Sea!

Claire

xx

This is a free post so feel free to share it.

Hi all,

HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Welcome back to Notes from the Sea. A short chatty connect from the Northumberland Coast. I put this newsletter on a short hiatus whilst I figured out how to show up in new places. It’s back now and will come out every other month.

On January…

Because I plan my years out in Spring, I already have a plan for this chapter. I find it easier that way because my energy in winter can be quite sloth like and a little wandery. I like to lean into that; go down a few digital rabbit holes, nest, knit, play with the kids. Take ages to decide what tea to drink. We are of course fine to be fast or slow. To be enthused or confused.

So I’m connecting with my members and a new co-hort in my own and my coach’s business mastermind. I have a trip to London planned in Feb and a trip over seas in March. I also felt SUPER impulsive on Christmas eve and wrote a card for Dave and the kids to open at Christmas dinner that read;

“We’re going to Disney World in 2025”.

I’d flip flopped about it because it will be busy and Paris will be cold in Winter but maybe we’ll fly to Florida and do it a different way. Either way I’m excited. I love having things to look forward to especially when everything feels a little stagnant and slow.

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On Impulse…

Running an online business over the holidays is super interesting because you tell yourself you’ll rest. You know you’ve done ‘enough’ yet it’s a unique time of year in that it’s VERY busy online. People are around to digest things, read things, buy things.

There is opportunity to connect, create and sell your beautiful offers.

I leant into that and into the fact a few of my posts had a higher click rate that usual and magicked up something very special I (secretly) hoped for in 2024

…

And in life…

This morning, I woke up (later than usual) to snow. Enough to build a snowman. I was half way through my morning coffee when I realised that it was raining. It was now or never. I bundled my daughter into rainbow knitwear and pink snow boots and said where do you want to go…?

I couldn’t wait. The snow wouldn’t wait. This Elsa obsessed four year old was delighted! The blank canvas was all we needed 2025 to bring…

So yes impulse, sometimes it serves us, other times we need longer to sit with decisions. There’s a high that comes with acting on impulse and things working out. Sometimes in a way more special than you could have ever imagined! I’ve had to lean in to feeling ‘safe’ 1to act on impulse but, so far I’d say she’s a true friend.

✨

If you feel called…

2I am so excited to be delivering a mastermind programme with a vibrant set of creative business owners. We have mentors, garden designers, journalists, makers, writers, coaches. There are two spots left and I’m closing enrolments on Wednesday. It’s everything I’ve learnt about online business combined with twice monthly mentoring, group calls and a course for those who want to up-level their Substack and wider eco-system for business success in 2025.

❄️ Winter Journalling prompts… 🌀

Choose one or two that speak to you that you’d like to sit and think about and/ or write on?

1. Feeling grounded looks and feels like…

2. Feeling held this season looks and feels like

3. Feeling expansive is…

4. Being magical is…

5. A word or two about impulse in me…

Circle back and drop a note in the comments if you’d like or join our 365 Days of Creativity in Chat?

Ok, heading out to sort roast dinner and uniforms.

See you back here in a couple of months?

Paid members, the archive is open to you. There’ll be a new part of my blog series I’m turning into a book - “How I made $100k in 2024” out this week. If you missed those, they are all here. I’m not emailing them all out.

Claire

✨

Well for those of you who remember, we’re here again.

We circled back.

I’m re-mounting Notes from the Sea for all subscribers. Thank you for being here. It’s a joy to be bringing this series back. For those of you who are new here, I send these notes monthly with an intention of helping you connect to being inside of your beautiful life as a business owner and staying creatively conscious. When I named my business ‘Creatively Conscious’ in 2017 it was an invitation both to myself and to the ‘right’ people to connect to work with me. People who wanted to re-remember their innate creativity.

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The Practise of staying Creatively Conscious

I’ve been tuning into “glimmers” this past few weeks inspired by a creative exercise in ’s new book Creativity Is Your Self-Care.1 I find myself fascinated with natural light this time of year and chasing it into pockets of the forest and coast as it disappears for the day. There’s a grief that comes with the darker days, an insecurity in everything being inside out. Allegra’s book is a total boost;

Creativity Is Your Self-Care contains 52 creative therapy exercises - one for every week of the year - to enable you to build a regular practice of creative self-care.

It’s the ultimate self-care toolkit for creative souls. Whether it’s writing, journaling, drawing, painting, collaging, photography or any of the incredibly varied forms of creative activity that you can think of, taking part in creative pursuits has been proven to benefit your emotional, mental and physical health.

Buy the book here https://amzn.eu/d/4AGHPeO or with the new creative oracle deck https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/creative-oracle-cards/x/38131589#/

🌊

On pausing to see…

When we turn off the tap on any creative project there are internal responses, there are questions. Things flood through then leave to circle back.

• We might feel relief

• We perhaps see opportunities/ other things in the space they left behind

• We reminisce

And not always in a satisfying and linear order. I could write on the reasons I stopped sending this monthly newsletter but I haven’t quite understood them myself. They are everything to do with how I felt/ feel (?) at home.

In short; the complicated emotion of feeling like we want to leave somewhere we are hopelessly in love with.

This year has been turbulent on and inside the terrace but one thing has stayed steady; the adoration of the sunrises I get to see from my kitchen window.

When the whole village, street and house sleeps, when me and the sky wake up together, I feel like I belong here and I feel whole heartedly inspired for the day ahead. It’s easeful to connect to my lineage. Often, I feel just eight years old back with my Grandad on his early morning paper rounds. I connect to the size and shape of his hand and the pace of his action. It’s easy to feel held and in union with the entire planet and my purpose in these moments. They energise and ground me.

That’s just a hard thing to leave behind. Home is part of who I am. It reflects me and reassures me. It’s the only place I’ve felt like this in four decades of living.

More on this relationship we have with home…

• 📖 The Giant on the Skyline by

• 🎶 Stephen Wilson Junior; Hometown

• ✍️ Journal Prompt… at home I am… 💫

I’m excited to share with you…

1. I am excited to share that my very first anthology The Rejection Palace is almost ready for publication. If you’d like to write for the next one, it’s free and you can submit your 500 word piece here…

2. I am about to deliver a BRAND new 4 week course - Perfectly Imperfectly Podcasting. This brilliant course is the one that helps you with mindset blocks and the practical implementation of video/ audio podcasting here on Substack. Voice is everything! Come join us, we start 1st November. There is just ONE live call half way through. It’s all delightfully self paced to give you all the tools to feel confident in launching your podcast and growing your audience. I’m here for you and your voice is calling you to speak your truth to the world.

3. I delivered a BRILLIANT class for those who want to get series about growing their paid subscribers on Substack with the co-author of my book ‘How to Build a World Class Substack’, you can purchase the replay here.

4. Next year, I’m running an in person retreat with from retreats and I’m so excited, sign up for details and early bird tickets here - there are limited spots and the retreats sell out so sign up to get all the tea when it’s ready - https://www.creativelyconscious.co.uk/substack-with-ease-retreat-oxfordshire-uk

And so to personal life. My husband and I will celebrate our five year wedding anniversary in a few days. We went to our first gig together in 10 years this weekend. (Where does the time go?) It was one of the best night’s of my life. The traditional gift for five years together married is wood and so I booked us an impromptu break to the forest at Kielder. For those of you reading outside the UK we are here.

Sending sparkles for your month ahead, may the fallen leaves of Autumn show us what we are safe to let go of in this season.

Claire

✨ 🍁

PS - the next few posts I write this month will include previews but Notes from the Sea will always be free. You can also choose to pay a monthly or annual fee if you want to read them. As a paid subscriber you can also access any of the workshops and behind the scenes of my whole hearted business posts I’ve delivered here over the last 2.5 years. 💖

How are you?

🌞

It’s the first of the month and usually I would write a Note from the Sea. I’ve been doing this most months since 2016. I couldn’t write the words in that container. There was no anchor. They evaporated, expired, moved on. I’m probably not sending any more of those…

So instead, just to hold you in the liminal space, I’m sending these balloons.

The other night my daughter climbed in a rectangular whicker basket at bedtime and her whole body was submerged with just a little cheeky face peeking out. She’s three now and full of fun…

We could attach a hot air balloon and she’d go floating….

A creative suggestion, a playful invitation…

Her dad came in the room and picked her up inside the basket and danced her around the room and all was well and funny and so precious. The ceiling was the limit, boundless swooping possibility higher than she’d been before (in that room). Our crumpled green bed sheets and discarded bed time stories below; this girl has places to be.

When I started therapy last year it was to process loss. Loss of lots of things. Your words are held and your voice is heard and it alchemises in those rooms. You feel strange and better and over exposed and connected all at once.

Along the exact same timeline, my business was blowing my own mind and there were all of these possibilities of expansion in my inbox every single day.

When we take a birds eye view of our own life we can see more clearly the things that might be ready to fall away, the elements we’ve been holding onto out of fear or duty.

That’s where I’m at.

Big revelations for January in my world… perhaps it lands in yours too?

I’d love to hear from you in the comments about your periods of creative expansion?

Claire

✨

And so to February; here’s what’s happening;

• I am speaking on my experiences with at this February in Alnwick. I’m also interviewing Canadian best selling author there. I’ve spoken with Cait on my podcast you can listen here. Here is the website for tickets for both of our events.There are SO many incredible creatives and authors coming to, speaking at and joining us at the festival. I’m super excited! I’m also hosting a Substack writers meet up with my pal - book a free spot here and come hang out? There are 23 of you coming so far - YAY!

• I am running two classes over on Sparkle on Substack this February. I adore teaching my members how to stay creative on Substack - it’s a joy to hold space for you to grow sustainably and joyfully. Substack has changed my life and I’m so grateful.

Sparkle on Substack

A space to help you stay creative on Substack! 🧚‍♂️ Twice monthly co-working, chat, teaching, posts, threads, podcasts, thoughts and all the tools to help enhance your journey right here on Substack.

By Claire Venus

After that there are some dates for our member get togethers here;

To access my members area and get access to all my paywalled posts, behind the scenes of my business tutorials and my vision board resource suite an reflection videos head here.

“Good but not the best”

unknown…

Hi Petals,  

How are you? Happy New Year to you! ✨

How was your December? I’m slowly coming back to the digital realm after a slight ‘phone detox’ over the holidays.1 I can’t believe we are in 2024!

This year there are things I know and things I don’t… we’re the same there?

You might have heard me talk about planning as an anchor - I’m a huge fan! I know there is a lot written about the fresh blank page of 2024 and plenty of rebellion posts too. It’s noisy but I’m just continuing to do what I always do and write to you on the 1st of the month with well wishes and some invitations to journal.

Yesterday, my husband and I took a new path to a familiar beach. It wasn’t a path at all but it had been when he’d last walked it. I was a mix of terrain from bike path to squishy muddy farmer’s field. Over cut crops the sand dunes beckoned; I would walk it every day if the kids would. The relief of untrodden sand and a softly crashing sea was the reward. My ‘barefoot’ shoes felt every single footstep. It was the perfect New Year’s Eve initiation.

A couple of dates for your diary

1. I am so excited to be doing some work with and speaking on my experiences with at this February. It was the first date I put in my 2024 diary; you are welcome to do the same! Here is the website for tickets. There are SO many incredible creatives and authors coming to, speaking at and joining us at the festival. I’m super excited! I’m also hosting a Substack writers meet up with - give us a shout if you want the link to book a free spot to that.

2. I’m meeting my pal on zoom on 17th January to talk about soulful social media, Substack Notes and Instagram. Kat is a mother maker, a Substack ‘bestseller’ and has a community of nearly 50k over on the gram. Kat and I want to set the tone for a strategy for socials that feels good to you in 2024. Confused and burnt out about where to show up and what to post? We’ve got you! Join us (it’s free).

Book Giveaway

A shout out to my friend and fellow writer who launched her first book last month. The 1% Wellness Experiment is a beautiful reminder to take care of our wellbeing in manageable ways. It’s a brilliantly supportive read. I have a copy to give away - drop me a comment below and let me know your thoughts on your own wellness experiments for 2024 and I’ll pick someone at random to send it to.

How’s your month been?

Your monthly ‘Note from the Sea’ is an invitation for you to connect, to journal, to explore what the turn of a new month means for you.

At the end of the post, there’s a list of ways to work with me if you’d like.

As a mentor, I hold space for whole hearts and creative dreams and I would be honoured to share space with your quiet ambitions. This month I’m focussed on walking through the days of January and delivering the things I set out to deliver. I don’t have any grand plans for the month or the year… I do all my big visioning in Spring so for now I’m just popping this art work here and a photo of my daughter making winter magic.

Creating/ allowing joyous creativity to find you… 

Your Journal Prompts for January and the start of 2024

✍🏼 I publish journal prompts every single month inspired by life, the seasons and magic life has shared with me… you can pick one you fancy, read them and let them wash over you or take one to task… you’ll know what to do instinctively… For me it’s a spiritual practise. For you it might be cathartic, playful, fun?

Just know that putting pen (or coloured pencil) to paper is the clearest hot-line with have with our intuition - try it?

This month I’m running with the theme of space…we have time, there is so much time.  The Bhagavad-Gita says, “It is better to follow your own path, however imperfectly, than to follow someone else’s perfectly.” and at a time where we are being bombarded with messages about goal setting and fresh starts my invite is for you to reflect on where you’ve been and then turn gently toward the new year and ask it what it wants of you and your creative spirit…

• What is 2024 asking of you? If that feels too big - what is January asking of you?

• What’s ONE thing you’re looking forward to this year…tell the page about it and circle the three words that stand out to you in it?

• How could you make this year 3 times more magic?

• What do you definitely need to make space for more of in 2024?

Reminder; you can join our community intention setting workshop on 11th January here - Our first New Moon of the Year! We’ll get-together to hold the 2024 vision as it’s coming together.

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Ways for us to work together this month…

1. I am running a goal setting session for your Substack over at this January. We are leaning into our 5 year plans and it’s not as scary as it sounds I promise - come join us? I adore teaching my members how to stay creative on Substack - it’s a joy to hold space for you to grow sustainably and joyfully. Substack has changed my life and I’m so grateful.

Sparkle on Substack

A space to help you stay creative on Substack! 🧚‍♂️ Twice monthly co-working, chat, teaching, posts, threads, podcasts, thoughts and all the tools to help enhance your journey right here on Substack.

By Claire Venus

2. You can join our intention setting workshop on 11th January - Our first New Moon of the Year! We’ll get-together to hold the 2024 vision; start to piece it together. Expect invitation for some gentle goals and to work on beautiful intention setting exercises for 2024. Discover and/ or embed your ‘word of the year’ and take up space courageously on a mini vision board. Simply upgrade your subscription to join us.

Let me know how life, love and work is for you and yours in the comments? Don’t forget to tell me about your own wellness experiments if you'd like to win a copy of Gabrielle’s book!

Sending SO many sparkles for your month ahead.

Here’s to space, to finding the right words and intention at the right time nurturing your spirt this month,

Claire x

✨

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A Sort of Fairytale?

If you’d like to connect to your own magic and intuition this year, you are SO welcome to join my membership here at Creatively Conscious on Substack. It’s your sisterhood circle, your ‘back stage’ pass to all things work, wellness, creativity and more. I share honest budgets, mishaps, growth and writing about our whole hearted life here on the Northumberland coast.

Instant access to over 100 posts and so many LOVELY benefits and space holding, nothing to ‘do’ if you don’t want to. All are welcome.2 Subscribe via the link above for £70 for the year. Includes four seasonal workshops, a set of vision board resources, 12 ‘behind the scenes’ posts just for you and two months membership to Sparkle on Substack.

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“While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.”

The Night before Christmas

Hi Petals,  

We woke up to snow yesterday! ❄️

It just brings with it it’s own kind of magical pause doesn’t it. Everything serene, anything possible… I started a thread on Notes so folks could share their snow pics - it didn’t disappoint… snow is just stunning!

How’s your month been?

Your monthly ‘Note from the Sea’ comes out at the start of each month and is an invitation for you to connect, to journal, to explore what the turn of a new month means for you.

At the end of the post, there’s a list of ways to work with me if you’d like.

As a mentor, I hold space for whole hearts and creative dreams and I would be honoured to share space with your quiet ambitions. Your closing the year replay is here.

Rejection, sucess and the great pause…

I started therapy again this month. It’s in person, it’s local. It’s some space holding to delve into some threads that get tangled. It’s also a huge invite to pause. Motherhood is so intense and there are lightening bolts in the same sentence as smashed glass with milestones and precious memories made instant. In therapy, there are long pauses. I don’t recognise them. I’m comfortable, happy even with them, grateful for them.

More on Gratitude and being held

Half way through the year I drew a tree on our office wall. I drew branches and along each branch I wrote the name of everyone who had supported my business. Feeling into the gratitude of being able to take care of the kids and my husband. Collaborators, clients, lovely humans. Being held by seeing so many names, so many investors, funders, commissioners, members, people who wanted to be connected.

I wrote about rejection for Jess over at Load of Bobbins this month. I didn’t know which thread I’d pull on but I knew there’d be one to tug when I volunteered! The article is below if you fancy a read. It’s honest and hopeful!    

Headed into advent…

I’ve seen some beautiful invitations popping up. Check out , and and their upcoming December gifts…

I also adore this challenge from the lovely Abigail at - here’s my entry.

Creating/ allowing joyous creativity to find you… 

Your Journal Prompts for December

✍🏼 I publish journal prompts every single month inspired by life, the seasons and magic life has shared with me… you can pick one you fancy, read them and let them wash over you or take one to task… you’ll know what to do instinctively…

Just know that putting pen (or coloured pencil) to paper is the clearest hot-line with have with our intuition - try it?

This month I’m running with the theme of “creating before I consume” again and “the pause…”

• What could a pause look like in your day today?

• What are your beliefs about rest?

• What is restful to you…

• If rest is space and space is possibility what is the magic that might/ could/ will happen in your life?

To go deeper into journalling, join me in my Closing of the Year workshop - replay below.

Incase you missed it…

Other posts and guest posts I’ve written recently;

Story & Thread.

Tuning in and living creatively with slow-lived entrepreneur, Claire Venus.

I’m Lyndsay, mother, creative and storyteller with a background in interiors PR. Story & Thread. is a weekly letter exploring the intersection of creativity, mothering and the living world, with a home and a garden at the heart... Please feel free to share parts of this newsletter that connect with you — here on Substack, on social media or I would love …

Read more

3 years ago · 17 likes · 34 comments

Loadofolbobbins’ Bloggins

Just one more…

As much as it’s a joy to share how much of a loser I am with you all in these ‘You didn’t win this award’ posts it’s someone else’s turn to share their non-winning success story with you all. Being a newbie here I was delighted that after joining a chat with…

Read more

3 years ago · 11 likes · 17 comments · Loadofolbobbins and Claire Venus

Sparkle on Substack

What I'm investing in to grow my Substack in 2024

Hi all, I thought I’d just tell you where my head is for investments in this space for next year so that it could perhaps inspire your planning and thoughts about your own Substack space. I’m SO excited to be getting ready to spend time in a new…

Read more

3 years ago · 57 likes · 37 comments · Claire Venus

So TELL me your plans? For advent? What are you doing/ not doing? What are you excited about? I’m popping up to Edinburgh next week and excited about that!

Sending SO many sparkles for your month ahead.

Happy Advent to you! Let’s celebrate and find those pause moments that keep us connected to the joy! Sending sparkles,

Claire x

✨

PS -You are SO welcome to join my membership here at Creatively Conscious on Substack. It’s your sisterhood circle, your ‘back stage’ pass to all things work, wellness, creativity and more. I share honest budgets, mishaps, growth and honest writing about our whole hearted life here on the Northumberland coast.

Access to over 100 posts and so many LOVELY benefits and space holding, nothing to ‘do’ if you don’t want to. All are welcome. Subscribe via the link above for £10 a month or £70 for the year before the price goes up in January. Here’s the workshop dates for our get together next year. It would be my honour to hold space for you.

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“Let nothing dim the light that shines within.”

Maya Angelou 

Hi Petals,  

I’m writing to you at the end of the month from a yellow deck chair in the sun.  It’s 23’C. An unexpected gift of a holiday from my BEAUTIFUL friend Hannah landed with just 8 hours to decide if I/ we could go.

How’s your month been?

Your monthly ‘Note from the Sea’ is an invitation for you to connect, to journal, to explore what the turn of a new month means for you.

At the end of the post, there’s a list of ways to work with me if you’d like.

As a mentor, I hold space for whole hearts and creative dreams and I would be honoured to share space with your quiet ambitions. Don’t miss my FREE workshop this Saturday and my invitation to ‘Grow one Thing’ - details at the end…

Being spontaneous…

…is something I used to be. 

Or other stories I’ve told myself recently.  

So…in re discovering that indeed I can be spontaneous I connected back to the invite, the possibility, the promise of something and we (me and Luna) flew to Majorca for 5 days in a luxury spa hotel. 

Our morning view was of the most incredibly picturesque sea scape and mountain sky.

Our last holiday in the sun (back in April) as a family of four and after (too) much deliberation, I chose somewhere I knew would be hot with swimming pools and decent reviews.  Dave asked why I’d chosen it and I couldn’t deny; the main reason; I liked the name of it! 😅

We made memories and some of them made it into our photo album. In all of the glorious snapshots me and Dave were also tired and ever-so-slightly slightly frazzled!

When you have wanderlust like we do, holidays with young kids look very different to the embodied experience of the endless days of travel in our 20s.

Putting the kids needs before our own, playing referee…not having time for a conversation or any connection or recharge as a couple.

This time, all the decision making was taken away and I just had to pack, pay for name changes and shift a few appointments around. I spoke to very few adults, I spent five glorious days with my toddler in an idyllic setting and my heart is full. My husband and my son stayed home and honestly they were fine with that and so was I.

I adore the freedom of being self employed and I honestly burst with gratitude having the chance to make memories this way with Luna.

I’ve written a piece for my members here about how I dropped EVERYTHING and left the country with 24 hours notice its’ called ‘Perfectionism can’t tame your wild’ - it comes out at the weekend and it’s BOLD!

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Splitting the family might not have been the decision everyone would have made but, it was 1million percent right for us this season.  

In quickly being transported into a brand new paradise, I recognise how trapped I’ve felt by a range of life circumstances since my daughter born.

I needed to throw a tantrum and the take off the huge, heavy, awkward, completely inconvenient soaking wet outdoor coat of it all off. I wanted to dump it in a big heap on the floor and watch it spontaneously combust before my eyes. 

I wanted to look at what I’d been carrying, thank it briefly for it’s lessons and then burn it to cinders and blow it ALL away on the next gust of wind… if even for a few days…

So that’s what I did. 

I saw the power of with full embodied presence of

… E S C A P I S M...

my own and that of other’s around me…  

MORE On Spontaneity 

Luna is head strong and doesn’t transition into new activities so easily.

One l o n g afternoon by the pool, we had just agreed to leave to go back to the beach. 

On our slow approach back to the bar, (a man in) a giant yellow cartoon duck (costume) appeared and the poolside music and excitement went up a notch!!  

A mostly bemused Luna watched the other delighted children at the resort enthusiastically follow the duck around the pool conga style.

Then we all danced and sang happy birthday (to the man in a duck costume) and had sweet, sickly cream cake and orange Fanta! 

We LOVED it!  

✨

Here’s the thing;

I wouldn’t have chosen it.  It was created for us!  A moment in time.  

I wasn’t expecting to LOVE it!

And as I was reflecting on why; it became clear.

It was the UNEXPECTED joy, the escapism and the joy!  

The unplanned, impromptu, (didn’t care where my phone was to take a picture) completely and utterly in the moment JOYOUS experience of wild spontaneity. 

I wasn’t making decisions, or strategies or plans.

I was just immersed in a bonkers once in a life time experience of singing happy birthday to a giant duck called William! Who wouldn’t want that?

Creating/ allowing joyous creativity to find you… 

Your Journal Prompts for November

✍🏼 I publish journal prompts every single month inspired by life, the seasons and magic life has shared with me… you can pick one you fancy, read them and let them wash over you or take one to task… you’ll know what to do instinctively…

Just know that putting pen (or coloured pencil) to paper is the clearest hot-line with have with our intuition - try it?

This month I’m running with the theme of “creating before I consume” and “spontaneity…”

• What does spontaneity look like in your life? Could you do a spontaneity swap with a friend or partner? What type of experience would you plan for them?  

• Do you feel you have freedom in your day, week, routine for spontaneity? Where and how? Do you want more? Less? 

• On a scale of 0- 10 - risk to reward where do you land?  I’ve noticed that in myself since Dave got sick I can tolerate very little risk; I’m all about the nourishing rewards… maybe that’s compounded by age but I don’t want to look back and regret anything so sitting with this one a lot at the moment.

• What does escapism feel like…

Ways for us to work together this season…

1. MY BRAND NEW Group Programme has arrived! This month, I’m launching my VERY first group programme for creative business owners. It’s called ‘Your Self Seeded Business’. It’s all about planting the seeds in your business that will hold you (financially and energetically) in quiet (and tough) times and my doors are open. It’s a four month long container with live calls, a private portal AND one to one coaching too. (Including a spacious Christmas/ Holiday break). ✨

2. FREE self/ business development workshop this Saturday - ‘Grow one Thing’ (REPLAY AVAILABLE) - sign up here.

3. Want to start a NEWSLETTER/BLOG stay creative here on Substack? I’ve learnt the platform and all of it’s changes in real time over the last 20 months.

   My classes and co-working over at create space for you to kindle and express your unique creativity right here on Substack.  We throw away the heavy rule book  from our social media days and dive into generous space holding in our weekly community chats and zoom classes/ co-working twice every month.  We make sure this space works for you. Cut through the noise and sparkle up your Substack with me? It’s loads of fun promise! It’s literally my favourite online space - I adore it and supporting you all!  

Sparkle on Substack

A space to help you stay creative on Substack! 🧚‍♂️ Twice monthly co-working, chat, teaching, posts, threads, podcasts, thoughts and all the tools to help enhance your journey right here on Substack.

By Claire Venus

If you’ve wanted a place to share your words either in written, audio or video form and take an audience of email subscribers (you keep forever) along for the ride I’ve got you covered!  Join us this month and cancel anytime!

Let me know how life, love and work is for you and yours in the comments?

Sending SO many sparkles for your month ahead.

Here’s to spontaneity finding and nurturing your spirt this month,

Claire x

✨

✨

PS -You are SO welcome to join my membership here at Creatively Conscious on Substack. It’s your sisterhood circle, your ‘back stage’ pass to all things work, wellness, creativity and more. I share honest budgets, mishaps, growth and honest writing about our whole hearted life here on the Northumberland coast. This month I’m teaming up with and we’re running a ‘Create before you Consume’ challenge - MORE on that when I’ve landed into November soon….

Access to over 100 posts and so many LOVELY benefits and space holding, nothing to ‘do’ if you don’t want to. All are welcome.1 Subscribe via the link above for £10 a month.

Subscribe now

“We are not separate from this Earth; we are a part of it, whether we fully feel it in our bodies yet or not.”
Sharon Blackie - If Women Rose Rooted

Hello Petals,

How are you? I’m welcoming in Sunday and the new month of October with you… I’m tweaking the last of these words while juggling cooking a veggie roast in the kitchen…I never seem to be able to quite finish these notes but I’m committed - 1st of every month they go out no matter what…

How’s your month been?

Your‘Note from the Sea’ is an invitation for you to connect, to journal, to explore what the turn of a new month means for you. At the end of the post, there’s a list of ways to work with me if you’d like. As a mentor, I hold space for whole hearts and creative dreams and I would be honoured to share space with your quiet ambitions.

I’m writing to you from my doorstep today. It’s late morning and I’ve just finished tidying up the dahlias in the back garden… a few blooms this year, not spectacular in number but SO beautiful individually… The tubas will come out again in February as a reminder that dazzling flowers take time…

There’s a process; first it’s time to let the soil dry out and crumble away then wrap the tubas of abundant potential in their blankets, store them next to each other in cardboard boxes with breathing space in our green house. Then I’ll move on. I’ve harvested the last of the pink straw flowers before they go to seed to add a splash of colour in our bathroom until next year…

It’s colder here now, but the kids are outside with their friends colouring blank pages of bright white printer paper in felt tip pens. They are on the (giant) trampoline - their little safe space where they create rainbow inspired worlds in a backdrop of bird song. Sometimes just my two, sometimes up to eight children aged between 2 and 14 - all familiar faces - the fabric of each other’s childhood. I tidied the snack basket earlier in the camper van in anticipation of our late afternoon disco! 🎶

Making a happy childhood for the kids has kept us here for 8 years… every Autumn we stack logs to head into our bracingly cold winters and I feel like it might be our last here under these epic skies. We’ve figured out my husband’s body doesn’t like the cold.

So instead of turning towards Autumn in a way lots of people talk (and write of); cosy, enveloped by the glow of fire and warm drinks, I often find myself staring out of our kitchen window.

Stuck…

…cold…longing the familiar enchanting view onto the back lane/our gardens would make me certain as to what to do and where to go next. Guilty in dreaming of a time it was all a bit easier. Making space for shadows that follow the light - my up level - 😘

Here in Northumberland, we are mourning the loss of the tree at Sycamore Gap on Hadrian’s Wall.

Caught somewhere between a fairytale we didn’t ever ask to read and the loss of humanity, we breathe days into nights, sunrises into starlight shrouded in mystery, rumour and disbelief. shared some considered and poignant words about it here.

I’ve read the news for the first time in years but I’ve stayed away from the comments online; a lesson for us all in swerving the unresolved trauma of the world!!

Making waves (radio waves).

It’s been almost SEVEN years of showing up online for my business Creatively Conscious (and 9 more self employed before that)! More recently, in a way my fierce and fear free daughter would be proud of. (She has a lot to teach me).

A set of bizarre circumstances following a BBC radio interview in December 2020 changed the course of our life (perhaps forever) and we’re living it. I held Luna in my womb at the time and replay that day sometimes.

It doesn’t serve me but it remind me of how far I’ve come and what’s possible in life, in motherhood, in a marriage, in business, in hardship. You can read more here.

I’ve built a business I’m SO proud of mostly in the thick of some very challenging life circumstances.

Just this month I poured by creative energy into;

• My FIRST (proper) podcast - you can find it here and on apple podcasts too! Whaaat! My first guest interview is with creative entrepreneur Leonie Dawson - I LOVED this conversations so so much and know you will too.

• A little voice note update when things felt hard… you can listen here if you like… It’s unfiltered and honest and shares the reality of when you’re knocked off kilter from the Big Vision… have a listen and find out what I did to get back on track!

• A video of vision board reflections for my members here - you won’t BELIEVE the magick!!!

• If your more keen on words than audio, you might like this recent invite letter of mine to write you MORE and LESS list for Autumn…

🕊️ ✨

Your Journal Prompts for October

✍🏼 I publish journal prompts every single month inspired by life, the seasons and magic life has shared with me… you can pick one you fancy, read them and let them wash over you or take one to task… you’ll know what to do instinctively…

Just know that putting pen (or coloured pencil) to paper is the clearest hot-line with have with our intuition - try it?

• Use words your best friends, loves and biggest cheerleaders have used to describe you - write a wall of kindness. Sit with it. Embody the words like friends. Was there anyone in your life not on the list?

• October brings gifts of…

• This time next year I know I am SO proud of…

• Draw your favourite tree… what word does it call you to write next to it… (I did this and mine was “halo”).

• My words about stillness…

Ways for us to work together this season…

1. MY BRAND NEW Group Programme! In November, I’m launching my VERY first group programme for creative business owners. It’s called ‘Your Self Seeded Business’. It’s all about planting the seeds in your business that will hold you (financially and energetically) in quiet (and tough) times and my wait list it open. There will be 11 spots, it’s a four month long container (including a spacious Christmas/ Holiday break) and one is taken already.

2. Want to start a NEWSLETTER/ stay creative on Substack? I’ve learnt the platform and all of it’s changes in real time over the last 19 months.

   My classes and co-working over at create space for you to kindle and express your unique creativity right here on Substack.  We throw away the heavy rule book  from our social media days and dive into generous space holding in our weekly community chats and zoom classes/ co-working twice every month.  We make sure this space works for you. Cut through the noise and sparkle up your Substack with me? It’s loads of fun promise! It’s literally my favourite online space - I adore it and supporting you all!  

Sparkle on Substack

A space to help you stay creative on Substack! 🧚‍♂️ Twice monthly co-working, chat, teaching, posts, threads, podcasts, thoughts and all the tools to help enhance your journey right here on Substack.

By Claire Venus

If you’ve wanted a place to share your words either in written, audio or video form and take an audience of email subscribers (you keep forever) along for the ride I’ve got you covered!  Join us this month and cancel anytime!

Let me know how life, love and work is for you and yours in the comments?

Sending sparkles for your Autumnal transitions,

Claire x

✨

Subscribe now

PS -You are welcome to join my membership here at Creatively Conscious. It’s your sisterhood circle, your ‘back stage’ pass to all things work, wellness, creativity and more. I share honest budgets, mishaps, growth and honest writing about our whole hearted life here on the Northumberland coast.

We meet three times a year to set intentions and creative goals for the season ahead. Next zoom meet up is Saturday 18 November at 2pm BST.

So many LOVELY benefits and space holding, nothing to ‘do’ if you don’t want to. All are welcome.1 Subscribe via the link above for £10 a month.

"It is our choices, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"

Dumbledore

Hello Petals,

Happy ‘back to school’ month to you!

How’s your month been? I’m back with another ‘Note from the Sea’ and a round up of my month and an invitation for you to journal. At the end of the email there’s a list of ways to work with me if you’d like.

I’ve had quite the adventure this month.  😅 🥰

We bought and drove South (way South) in a Camper Van (called Mabel) as a family.  I took a solo trip to London with my son for three whole days.  Me and the biggest one both turned another year older which made space for birthday festivals of fun times, trips and four birthday cakes! This month my husband and I are going to celebrate 10 years together! 

Meeting Mabel 

Our friends would say it’s been a long time coming.  The reason? 

We actually bought a camper van when my son was a baby 8 years ago but it never left the garage forecourt.  I’ll save that story for another day. 

The challenges of van life are plenty but those views and that first cuppa at your destination (especially if it has a playpark for the kids and Llamas) - dreamy!  

Sliding Doors

So sometimes it takes way more time than you first anticipate to make a dream a reality.  

Life pins you to the spot, head spinning, heart aching for the dreams you thought would actually be the pretty easy going ones.

Other times, you find yourself completely immersed in a bonkers magical world you never expected or planned.  

And that’s where I want us to go together this month… 

If we can zoom out to ever-so- slowly zoom back in to our last chapter of the year… what can we see that’s changed, different, possible?

A birds eye view of the conscious calling in of magic and the act of being open to what our soul whispers are already presenting to us. 

The act of travel on our terms came at a time where we really needed escape from our coastal inspired everyday.

Northumberland (our home county) gets busier by the season especially in school holidays.  

Our “best kept secret” isn’t such a secret anymore.  

House prices are some of the cheapest in the UK and our dramatic backdrop of castles and coastline whisks away your worries and offers up ice cream cones a plenty all year round (if you should so desire!) 

Where freedom once was, comparison and anxiety has taken up space.  Not in us, not often anyway.   But it is tangible, it does impact and we were craving a sense of expansiveness.

A deep breath if you will. The opportunity to be held by mountain scapes or immersed in oceans for a while…

It’s the freedom of both the unexpected discoveries and planned escapism that can reconnect us to what’s really important. 

On a slow Sunday walk with our friends down south, my two year old discovered a tiny blue fairy door placed firmly at her height in an old twisted tree by a stream. 

In the same patch of woodland with an abundance of dappled light, blackberry brambles and possibility you could also see “private” and “KEEP OUT” signs and taunting and a slightly unnerving red coated dummy (I’ll save you the visual). 

While some try to keep you away from what’s theirs, someone else shared the magic of the woods with a purposeful invitation to play!

An act of generosity for all.

One of my favourite invitations in the world and a value I live by because the invitation boldly states;

“come on in, be enchanted, be delighted and make up your own rules for play, take up space…”. 

Your Journal Prompts for September

✍🏼 I publish journal prompts every single month inspired by life, the seasons and magic life has shared with me… you can pick one you fancy, read them and let them wash over you or take one to task… you’ll know what to do instinctively…

Just know that putting pen (or coloured pencil) to paper is the clearest hot-line with have with our intuition - try it?

• Use your imagination… write a scene from a story you want to tell - change some detail and some names, go free and wild, take up space…

  • Describe a place in the past or in your surroundings that helped you feel expansive? 

  • What does magic look like?  Can you write it?

  • What does magic feel like?  Can you write it?

  Got more time for visual journalling…? 

  • A dream board check in… if you made a vision board at the start of the year what do you want to do to keep it alive? What can you move, add, change?  What words came to you, what quotes have taken your breath away?  Where are you being called to take up more space? There’s time, we have so much time!

Share

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3 things inspiring me this month

I’m sharpening my pencils ready for the new term and looking forward to getting back to work and a routine this September. I’m still on my rejection train with another two over summer. 🥴. It does mean I have MORE time for client work and space to get resourceful so we’ll see…

1. The long game! Did you know, the Harry Potter films were in production for over 10 years. The first book sat on the shelf at the first film producers office for months. At the studio tour we were gifted the story from the junior film company runner who read the book and gave it to her director who read it in one sitting. It had sat on the ‘low priority’ shelf for months and months with two other higher priority shelves of books above it.

2. This Substack from who has just taken her writing here full time!

   A Sourdough Story

   Welcome To A Sourdough Story

   Hello Everyone. Are you feeling it? As I sit here in our tiny little cottage kitchen, I am looking out over the fields below our house watching the farmers bail all the hay for the winter months. When I was younger, I would stack the bales of hay for what seemed like hours. The last of the berries are being picked for all the end of summer cobblers alon…

   Read more

   3 years ago · 23 likes · 9 comments · Chapin

3. And this article from -

On Substack

Grow: How Laura Kennedy made more money on Substack than anywhere else

The Grow interview series is designed to share the nuts and bolts of how writers have gone independent and grown their audiences on Substack. It has been lightly edited for length and clarity. We invited Laura Kennedy , who writes the publication Peak Notions with Laura Kennedy…

Read more

3 years ago · 455 likes · 148 comments

I’m ever inspired by earning income online because the sector I work in can be tricky and volatile and in all honesty I’m tired of navigating rejection and dancing to the tune of what funders (think they) need… I need more variety, more space, more hope!

✨

I also want to shout out to some NEW beauties on including whose podcast I was just on for the second time, , - if you’re not here on Substack yet come join the party! 🎉

Listen to my podcast with Hannah

What has inspired you in August?

An abundance of blackberries and apples, a song, something in nature, the words of your children? Something at work, something at play, a TV show? A Substack?

Let me know…

When I first set up my mentoring programme and one to one space for creatives ‘Inspiration Island’, it was because I noticed that my own creative process THRIVED on inspiration.

A season of burn out and sleep deprivation made me see that creativity was my life blood but creating soooo much for others ALL the time had to shift. And so it did… I’ve supported over 50 creatives one to one since 2017 all in part time hours around my cultural sector work and I adore it so so much. The best thing about it? The things I see my clients go onto achieve from setting up design businesses, CICs, Substacks, new projects, new collabs, ways with their creative practise, writing books. I can confirm working within your seasonal energy is SO energising and there is ALWAYS more balance to be found there.

Ways for us to work together

1. One to One - Like I said I have MORE space than I thought to support one to one clients this season! I absolutely love to support heart centred creatives on their path to sustainable growth. To find balance, to unlock creativity and their true North. You can read testimonials on my website (I’m quite good at it). Book and set sail to your VERY own Inspiration Island here!

2. Create/ Enhance your Substack Publication  - Don’t forget you can join us for creative co-working (on your Substack) in September if you like too. More on that here. It’s £4 per session or free to members here at Creatively Conscious.

My new classes and co-working over at Sparkle on Substack creates space for you to kindle and express your unique creativity right here on Substack.  

We throw away the heavy rule book  from our social media days and dive into generous space holding in our weekly community chats and coffee and creativity zoom classes/ co-working twice every month.  It’s literally my favourite online space - I adore it!  

Sparkle on Substack

A space to help you stay creative on Substack! 🧚‍♂️ Twice monthly co-working, chat, teaching, posts, threads, podcasts, thoughts and all the tools to help enhance your journey right here on Substack.

By Claire Venus

If you’ve wanted a place to share your words either in written, audio or video form and take an audience of subscribers (you keep forever) along for the ride I’ve got you covered! 

Join us this month and cancel anytime!  

Let me know how life, love and work is for you and yours in the comments?

Sending sparkles and hopefully some autumnal sunshine for your shiny new notebook season ahead!

Claire x

✨

PS - If you’d like to write for my Substack guest space slot ‘Big Dreams and Quiet Ambitions’  I’ve set up a google form where you can fill in a set of questions, upload some pics and I’ll share your piece with over 2000 subscribers.  You don’t need a Substack account. I only publish these once per month so it may take a little while to see your words here but do drop me a line after you’ve written your piece if you’d like to know when it will go live. Here are some past editions and look out for ‘s guest post later this month!

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PPS - Remember you are so welcome to join my membership here at Creatively Conscious anytime. It’s your ‘back stage’ pass to all things work, wellness, creativity and more. I share budgets, mishaps, growth and honest writing about our life here on the Northumberland coast. For the month of September if you join me here you get FREE for 3 months if you’d like access to it and all the resources.

So many LOVELY benefits and space holding, nothing to ‘do’ if you don’t want to and only £1.30 a week!

If you’d like to but can’t afford to join please email me as I offer a ‘pay it forward’ model in my business and I’d be happy to comp you three months to experience it. This month’s Project Bloom Update is incoming!

“If we could allow the pace of our meetings to slow down to the pace of our hearts, we might find genuine understanding.”

Marion Woodman

Hello Petals,

Happy 1st August to you! How’s your month been? I’m back with another ‘Notes from the Sea’ and a round up of my month and an invitation for you to journal. At the end of the email there’s a list of ways to work with me if you’d like.

My July was a real mixed bag. Weather wise there has been endless rain here on the Northumberland coast but there’s also been (some) glorious morning coffees in the sun on our back step. I spoke with a client in New York and the humidity there sounds crushing. We are leading with client hope but stranded in action aren’t we?

On that disappointment thread, I’ve felt a lot of the range of all the possible human emotions. Some of them within a 24 hour period. 😳

On 10th July, I received the (devastating to me) news that I wasn’t successful with my application to Arts Council England to develop my creative practise as creative who also writes. It’s the third time I’ve applied so I have to wait a while now… maybe three years…

The feedback was the same as it was last time; “other applicants preferred”.

This speaks to my original rejection wound 1and so this month’s journal prompts are inspired by the cycle I followed afterwards… I’m always conscious these notes are uplifting in focus and to avoid this ‘note from the sea’ reading like a sad diary page we’ll go in a different direction

My inner critic tells me; “…20 years into being a creative as my job and I can’t pull off the ‘easiest’ ask for funding….” 2

Where as actually the universe had other plans for me and 20 days after the news I’m back on course! I had another rejection yesterday but I also recorded an incredible podcast episode with a super star creator and artist so hey ho!

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The kids are finished school for summer and we’ve definitely changed pace. The first day of the holidays saw me meet a childhood friend of mine and her family and walk a semi-circle route on Holy Island - such a joy.

Here and now we are just settling into what’s possible as the holidays stretch out in front of us, making lists of adventures and ‘nice to dos’ and thinking about recharging.

I picked the first apples from our trees today and rounded up the last of the raspberries. Some I fed straight to our chickens who in seven years of living here have never refused a raspberry yet!

How’s your summer going? are continuing our Sunday shares for mothers over if you are feeling the juggle and need some solace and some soothing words we have them in droves and if you’ve not listened to our first three podcasts yet please come over to the community and join us - we’d love to chat.

It’s my birthday soon - I’m feeling every day of my 42 years - in both very good and slightly contemplative ways… birthdays are funny aren’t they! 🧁 I didn’t feel so celebratory last year and all being well we’re on course for a calmer and nicer time this year which I’m excited about PLUS a lil holiday and trip to London to see my bessie and some wizards!

Your Journal Prompts for August

✍🏼 I publish journal prompts every single month inspired by life, the seasons and magic life has shared with me… you can pick one you fancy, read them and let them wash over you or take one to task… you’ll know what to do instinctively…

Just know that putting pen (or coloured pencil) to paper is the clearest hot-line with have with our intuition - try it?

• What does taking up space mean for you if you track your generational line on your mum’s side?

• If you could run for as long as your legs would carry you where would you go?

• What does coming home to yourself/ coming back to yourself mean to you in this season of your life?

• If you can feel yourself being called to do something bigger than you - what is it and where is it and if you don’t know yet how you gonna find out?

• Picking up the thread we are all inherently creative, write your artist statement and how you are using your art for good in the world - full disclosure I used chat GDP to help write mine. It’s nearly done and I’ll share with my membership group this week!

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Four things inspiring me this month

• This Project - Sounds of the Forest - https://www.thespace.org/commission/sounds-of-the-forest to submit your ‘sound of the forest’ and add to the global map click here.

• This song - Gerry Cinnamon was the sound track to my daughter’s first year and whenever I feel my ‘working class’ routes aren’t enough I circle back to listen…

• This artist - Gayle Chong Kwan - I met Gayle at a Culture and Climate Change Day I helped organise recently in my home town and her intellect and creativity blew my mind - she’s really incredibly brave and smart.

• This Substack by and their podcasts too.

What inspired you in July? A song, something in nature, the words of your children? Something at work, something at play, a TV show? A Substack? Let me know…

Ways for us to work together

I absolutely love to support heart centred creatives on their path to sustainable growth. To find balance, to unlock creativity and their true North. You can read testimonials on my website (I’m quite good at it).

I’m on go slow over Summer but booking for September and I’m still accepting one to one clients for Substack Strategy sessions anytime.

You can watch any of my masterclass/ workshop replays and have them right into your inbox for some inspiration of a rainy afternoon.

My last masterclass of the year is ALL about how to strategise for social media - the clue is in the title so you are smart about your time there - it’s called ‘Choose Two’ and it’s on Sunday 6 Aug (replay available).

Don’t forget you can join us for creative co-working (on your Substack) tomorrow and on 31st Aug if you like too. More on that here. It’s £4 per session of free to members here at Creatively Conscious.

Are you slowed down for summer or still beavering away? Let me know how life, love and work is for you and yours in the comments?

Sending Sparkles and Sunshine for your August ahead,

Claire x

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PS - Incase you missed it - I was super proud of this post on taking up space - I put half of it in-front of the paywall but the other part felt too personal to share with the entire internet.

I would share it here but as every Substack has a URL that lives online so it felt nicer to continue in a more intimate space.

Remember you are so welcome to join my membership here at anytime. So many LOVELY benefits and space holding and only £1.30 a week! If you’d like to but can’t afford to join please email me as I offer a ‘pay it forward’ model in my business and I’d be happy to comp you three months to experience it.

PPS - I launched a new space here on Substack all about conscious intentional growth and finding our creative way here on Substack.

Remember I’m hosting co-working this week for paid members if you fancy jumping in.

Sparkle on Substack

A space to help you stay creative on Substack! 🧚‍♂️ Twice monthly co-working, chat, teaching, posts, threads, podcasts, thoughts and all the tools to help enhance your journey right here on Substack.

By Claire Venus

“There are many people who can do big things, but there are very

few people who will do the small things.”

Mother Teresa

Hello Petals

What A month!

Let me start by thanking everyone who entered my competition to win a goody bag and three months membership here.

The winner is;

- I’ll add you into my paid membership space and I’ve decided to give everyone else who entered the comp by telling me about their connection to the sea a FREE month in my membership space. It is already automatically applied (Substack don’t email you) - so if you told me about your connection to the sea last month, do come and join the conversations behind the paywall. 💌

On the topic of gifting I’ve gifted three of the people who first supported me financially here lifelong membership - they still pay for membership but they have been so catalytic in my journey that I wanted to send them a gift and it felt right to do that.

There are lots of places we can spend money and lots of small businesses to support and the depth of support I’ve felt from 3 people over a year both financial and much more than that needed recognition and my gratitude.

In June…

Things have been busy for us here this month. Dave’s birthday and father’s day and project wrap ups and brand new one’s starting. I’ve had five new pieces of (short term) work land in my inbox and feels like some days steam has been coming off my keyboard.

One piece of work made me giggle because yet again my vision board was leaping into life right in front of me - more of that for my members tomorrow. Includes an american, an unexpected invite and some money can’t buy experiences!

Luna (our toddler) is in ‘tremendously emotional twos’ and it’s SUCH a lot - every day is such a lot and there are so many hilarious moment of joy but BOY it’s a lot. I’m in that phase when you want to slow it down and speed it all up all at once - it’s overwhelmingly exhausting for my spirit. Any tips to get an over tired toddler to sleep?

On that note my NEW podcast has three audio episodes published - head on over to listen to me and my co-host chat about being, balance and business in motherhood or find it in Apple podcasts.

I’ve been craving solitude, space…there isn’t much… there’s some but not much.

We decided Dave would make the trip to Bakewell in the Peaks alone and he had the most wonderful time with poet, writer and modern day mystic John Butler.

It’s been a catalytic experience for Dave and he’s found many synchronicities in approach and journey with John. It’s been a beautiful experience in connecting with ‘the universal father figure’ as we adjust to life without Ray.

I’ve ditched instagram until September, held space for some creatives on zoom for my Mailing List Magic class and for creating strategy for summer. The classes and time spent with you all have informed your journal prompts this month.

Your Journal Prompts for July

An invitation to be creative, to think about Summer…

• One Creative Project I can start this summer

• One Big Dream I can work toward in small steps this summer…

• Summer feels like…

• Seeds I can still plant to bloom in 2023…

If you want to go deeper, my FREE ‘Ways into Creative Journalling’ workshop for your summer ahead is here… It’s an hour long and we dive into strategy for creativity, tug at the soul whispers for creative projects and GET real about the long term ambitions - my favourite!

I operate a ‘pay it forward’ model with my time supported by all my clients and commissioners that invest in me and my business so it’s free to you all.

‘A sort of Fairytale’ - over on my Substack Membership Space

My membership is £10 per month or £70 for the year. 💌

It’s my ambition to build an individual connection with each of my members AND hold space for them to connect as a heart centred creative group too.

I set it up to be MORE honest, more vulnerable, more transparent and share MORE of the fairytale within the every day.

If you’re looking for a creative space to hang out and

• read more personal posts from me. Yes I am a fan of a vulnerable share.

• all the shares about the behind the scenes of my creative practise and company of one; budgets, process, lessons… all of it… and all your questions answered. I don’t share this anywhere else online.

• my 3 year vision board workshop and regular check ins/ updates throughout the year on yours.

• seasonal ‘Ways into Creative Journalling’ planning workshops on zoom (3 a year)

• monthly thread space to set intentions for your month ahead and circle back on accountability - I’ve got you!

Here’s a tagged list of everything I’ve shared for members this year so far.

Click the button below on your desktop and you can upgrade and read/ connect to everything right here on Substack… I’d love to welcome you into A Sort of Fairytale Collective… ⭕️ 🧚‍♂️ 🏰

Subscribe now

Sending so many summer sparkles to you all for your month ahead,

Claire x

PS - Something NEW - 6 Aug 12-1pm BST - Choose Two - Social Media Masterclass and Workshop. It’s just £251 or two monthly payments of £12.50 and is going to take you from over thinking and overwhelm to seamlessly sharing your creative voice online across the socials in the BEST way for you.

Read more in the linked web page or ask me in the comments here. 💜

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“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Hello petals,

How are you? I hope May has treated you beautifully.

In my monthly “catch-up” newsletter Notes from the Sea, I share a chatty update and some slow living inspired seasonal journal prompts for your month ahead.

I love to hear from you so feel free to reply in the comments or hit reply if you’re receiving this in your inbox and we can chat there!

I also record a monthly accompanying short voice note (usually mid month) called ‘My Beautiful Reality’ originally inspired by finding beauty in the toughest of times and what I did next. 1

This month’s voice note is about using creativity to problem solve; you can listen here.

Your monthly journal prompts and some offers to work with me and a competition follow my note from the sea this month… Ok onwards… let’s walk by the sea for a few minutes together…?

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When a sign is not a sign and then it’s a sign again…

I was searching the internet for a place to stay for my husband’s birthday. He wants to go to The Peak District. Specifically to sit with someone who lives there… I’ll let him write about that.

I must admit the decision making factor in booking holiday accommodation is wearing to me.

As a family of four, there are some places that just don’t quite fit the bill. Although the kids are small, I feel our Luna’s energy is big and we like luxury and that feeling of being looked after away from home. We also like adventure and spaciousness.

A overnight stay has to ‘feel’ right.

I was trawling through air b n b thinking nope, nope, not the one and simultaneously wow £300 a night; holiday rentals must be a great way to make a living! (Still on my vision board). 😉

Sometimes I feel it’s hard because we ADORE where we live and feel like it’s some long lost “holiday at home” secret. The pandemic changed that a little but only a little - it’s still like living on holidays ALL of the time here.

After 10 minutes or so my eyes glazed over a little, I took a breath and I reframed what I was looking for. Within seconds I found this GORGEOUS little place on holy land and so I’ve booked it. I’ll let you know what it’s like next month!

This month, the garden has burst into life with so so many blooms and we’ve been working with our architect to design a new garage/ garden tool store and sanctuary room. I’m writing more about it for my members.

The cost of building materials has more than tripled since our last project (a house extension) so we’re waiting for a quote before we decide what to do and when to do the build. Here’s the draft plan… we are hoping to work in solar panels and a living roof too.

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After our new (secret) TV pals left last month we did some plotting and planning and decided to take their advice and make and share more videos of our slow lived family life here. You can follow along here and here on our YouTube channels.

Part of me wishes I’d started years ago but I wasn’t ready to share like I am now so everything is actually always perfect timing. Let me know what you’d like to see from us? As with everything I do, I’m enjoying the creative experimentation process and working with mentors is blowing my mind. I’ll sound like a dinosaur here but film making and editing is SO much easier now you don’t have to use a mouse and an edit suite like I did at Uni 20 years back. We made some cracking films that I was hugely proud of at the time considering we were hungover 99% of the time. 🤩

Same with my new podcast project celebrating balance, being, business in motherhood. I’m really enjoying the process of recording with audio wizard and I’m learning lots about sharing conversation for an audience…Self promotion gets easier the more I do it but I don’t think I’ll ever master ‘sales’ - it just seems too contrived - I can tell people about what I do now but I can’t seem to ‘sell it’ to them - just me? On that note you can SPONSOR the podcast if you’re keen to reach a growing community of mothers. We will share your work/ biz/ substack on the pod and over in our Substack community.

And all of a sudden we are at the last term of the academic year. My son has just two years left at Primary School. 🌝 I can’t bring to delete the pandemic years from my instagram story highlights.

I met up with a friend I’ve known and her kids yesterday and watching our kids grow and play together for the last 9 years is just such a trip! You don’t always notice your own children growing up but of course they do - I see it more in friend’s kids and then back through photos of them all together. Luna is talking in full sentences and counting to 16 - I don’t feel I’ve taught her these things but she’s learnt.

I am making space for myself this next month because I have a few deadlines, an ambition for a Summer project and just a couple of months left to make it all happen.

What are you working on before you wrap up for summer hols? Is your pace changing in June and July?

Next up your journal prompts…

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Your Journal Prompts for the Month Ahead

I write a set of journal prompts for you to explore every month influenced by a trip to the beach. It’s where the name for this newsletter came from 6 years ago now - I can hardly believe it. You can pick one or all of them to explore in your favourite note book. Let me know what comes up for you.

• Searching for gold

• Mining for gold

• Seeing and using my gold

• Creativity is gold

• If it’s a moment of seeing the opportunity to film the moment is it still a moment?

• Stitching together my favourite ways to be.

Ways to work with me in June

1. . Mailing List Magic - online masterclass and workshop - £60 - 12noon, 19 June - more here. (LAST DAY FOR EARLY BIRD price!)

I cannot begin to tell you the difference putting energy into my mailing list/ Substack has made to my business this year already.

In my masterclass and workshop Mailing List Magic I’ll share everything I know and answer all your questions including;

• how much time does it take to look after a mailing list (publication)?

• how do you build and show up in a sustainable way?

• what’s with sections? should you run two publications?

• what do open rates mean?

• what converts readers to subscribers?

• how to look after your audience journey

• how are subscribers converting to people who want to work with me (clients)?

• what's the strategy for content?

I’ll also touch on my mailing list membership here on Substack and SO much more!  It’s a masterclass and a workshop because I want to teach but also HOLD SPACE for your big dreams and quiet ambition. There’ll be a workbook and takeaways - I’m SO excited!

3. Booking for June (limited spots), July and September - One to One strategy sessions for Substack/ Your mailing list - (limited spots) - £160.00 or two monthly payments of £80 - book here. You can also book a shorter 45 minute session - please email me about those.
I've worked with four clients this year on their strategy for Substack and over 50 people have taken my Substack masterclass, course and started their own Substack.  If you are getting curious or need to throw away the rule book from old social media days and just write - I'm all ears! You’ll take away a 6month strategy to work on with specific goals around what you want to do with your list and how you are going to grow it and deepen connection with your audience. I’ll also stay in touch as your accountability buddy and help you with any blocks.2  

Competition Time

If you’d like to win 3 months of membership here at Creatively Conscious and a seasonal inspired goody bag with a notebook, some Northumberland sea glass and MUCH magic for your creativity, comment below and tell me more about your connection to the sea.

Until next month (or if you’re here on Substack I’ll be back in touch with my mid month voice note later this month) I’m sending sparkles for you for your day ahead and if it’s useful to circle back and re-read the quote at the top and hum the theme tune I’ve been doing that since I wrote it in. ✨ 🙉

Claire x

www.creativelyconscious.co.uk
💌 Join my membership on Substack 
(*) You can share your spot with anyone you live with whatever that means to you. 

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“But something I had learned time and time again was that every small change you make pays compound interest. It helps you make another change, another mind-set shift, another decision to live a new way.”

Cait Flanders, The Year of Less

Hello petals,

How are you all? Happy Beltane to you.

This is my monthly Note from the Sea which comes out on the 1st of every month straight to your inbox. Honestly when I sat down to write it I felt all out of ideas.

I guess my email/ letter writing practise has expanded so much since I started writing here on Substack, that I needed some more inspiration AND to come back to centre. To reflect a little and to dream up how it all works now I write multiple emails a month.

Life’s like that sometimes - you feel so expansive and (dare I say)1 busy with things. You have to say no to a few things or let people down (my worst one) in order to align with people and things that are more ‘meant’ for you. I had to remind myself why I show up and embody my values for writing this note.

I went to sit on our window seat in our yoga studio upstairs and just stare out to sea a little. We’ve done some BIG things this month.

In fact, we’ve done so much since we moved to Northumberland in 2015 and we’ve both felt quite reflective about that this month. We thought we might leave this year and now we think we’ll stay for a bit. You’re allowed to change your mind…

We’ve completely changed our lifestyle and way of existing in the world but it’s not happened overnight. It’s been conscious craft with many a curve ball thrown in. I’ve lived all over the world as has and we are settled here in our lovely cottage in Northumberland both of us less than an hours drive from where we were born. We don’t know how long we’ll stay before our next adventure but we know we will definitely always keep our home even if we adventure off in a camper van or buy a do-er upper in Europe for a while.

We were invited to do some filming this week and I’ll tell you about really soon.

When I took a step back, I realised the rest of the big things are just weaving in like smaller things would. New friendships, opportunities and ideas for our lives and work here. I was chatting to a friend and colleague about some ‘runaway train’ energy I’m dealing with in my business and she said

I loved this analogy. I’m so grateful for the backdrop of the sea and (cold soon-to-be warm) sand to hold us in that. I hope it serves you today.

Ooo and I’ve also found my flow with publishing monthly podcasts here - perhaps you’d like to listen?

Your Journal Prompts for May ✨

• In more space created with bank holidays and lighter nights what do you DO in those windows of time?

• Same question but what do you want to feel?

• What do you need to treat yourself to that with fuel and kindle MORE of your creativity?

• How can you make some plans now for the summer of your dreams?

• What does nourishment of your spirit and wellbeing look like this May?

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Ways to work and connect with me this month…

• As a member of my community here at Creatively Conscious. Here’s my most recent post for paid subs - 7 day free preview available.

  Subscribe now

• One to one - my 90 minute holistic mentoring sessions are called Inspiration Island and meet you where you’re at right here in your beautiful small company. Inspiration Island is a set of resources for growing your company of one in a soulful and embodied way. My clients come to me for all sorts of reasons from space holding for the holistic to specific project work to booking in for regular critical friend sessions. Just this month I’ve supported folks with fundraising, the big zoom out, setting up Substacks, creative block, more efficient systems, creating new products and starting new businesses. You can read some testimonials on my website.

• Join my creative community and take a course - ‘Stay Creative on Substack’ is HOT off the press and still just £200 or £50x4 monthly payments. It’s self paced and is drip fed over four weeks. It’s for you if you want to break down your blocks to showing up, celebrate your creative voice and want to share in everything I know about Substack from publishing my first post, using the platform for podcasts and video and building community. The course is co-created with my community and read to start today! You can start and stop at your pace - there are no live calls. There’s a live chat space so I can support and cheerlead you there too.

• Buy a workshop or masterclass - upcoming live this month - ‘Bountiful, beautiful budgets’ - take the sting out of budgeting and let’s do our money forecasting, make beautiful project and business budgets that work and share in the abundance of making and sharing knowledge together.

• Follow me on instagram

• Right here on Substack, drop your thoughts in the comments - I LOVE a chat.

Thanks for being here, feel free to share this note with a friend.

Sending sparkles to you for your bank holiday, Beltane and month ahead. I’m going to make a flower crown with my daughter today!

Claire x

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PS - I love to share other Substacks to follow and lovely creative people who have some wonderful things to share started creating here (or will soon this month); , , , , and new and beautiful places for me to to be and deepen my writing craft this month here at; and

My Substack of the Month is because I just adore Charlene's generosity and the community she creates in her Notes and writing here.

PPS - Incase you missed it, I’ve had a busy month here on Substack and I’ve published a few articles, invites to you and guest posts. Click here to catch up.

Hello petals,

This is my monthly Note from the Sea. I’ve been writing these for 6 years now… I can hardly believe it. If you’d like to make sure you receive my note at the start of each month, you can adjust the ‘Substack sections’ you subscribe to in your settings.

How are you all? How’s your month been?

I always love to hear from you. You can drop me a reply here by pressing reply or post in the comments.

As I write this (it’s pre-scheduled), we are gathering up some of our Northumberland world into bags to be on holidays for a little while. It feels glorious and terrifying. We’ve not travelled as a family of four before but I’m so looking forward to the lazy breakfasts and some contrasting warmer sand.

In March, I ‘claimed’ a new title for myself as a ‘Slow Lived Entrepreneur’. I’ve always been entrepreneurial in spirit but rules about what women can and can’t do and a career in the arts kept me playing small and staying in the box the patriarchy made for me.

This title means so much to me because it’s expansive and embodied. Does that resonate?

My previous ‘title’ was ‘Creative Producer and Mentor - I’m not doing any creative producer work at the moment but I’ll always be a mentor it’s just in my blood.

So it was time to own what I am doing for work and celebrate the wins in that. Since we agreed my husband would stop working last June to heal from post covid fatigue, I have leant into so many challenges both financial and spiritual. I’ve embraced the up-level and focussed on making it work. There was no safety net - I was it and that’s why I’m now an entrepreneur and not a person doing projects.

Remember you get to shape, change and add to what you do in life whenever you like!

Look out for a creative business nuts and bolts post on this and my first ever £12k month coming later this month to paid subscribers. I don’t share this to be showy, I share this to share possibility for us all in working part time and embodying slow living as a lifestyle not as an aesthetic.

So as Spring here in Northumberland warms us up and helps us see the visuals of what’s possible, I’ll leave you with your monthly journal prompts and the invitation to read more here on the Substack app or by subscribing to my other sections.

Your April inspired journalling prompts…

• What am I continuing to nurture and grow this April…?

• What can I do with stormy weather?

• If I was fishing, how could I ensure I catch what is really for me?

I also wanted to share a self coaching model I use a lot when I’m stuck or feel overwhelmed with activity and decision making.

It’s called the GROW model - (Goal, Reality, Opportunities, Will)

It’s been a game changer for me so many times. It works best when I have some resistance in my mind or body to a thing and I don’t quite know why.

I hope you enjoy it.

Ways to work and connect with me this month

• One to one - my 90 minute holistic mentoring sessions are called Inspiration Island and meet you where you’re at right here in your beautiful small company.

• Join my creative community and take a course - ‘Stay Creative on Substack’ is HOT off the press and still just £200 or £50x4 monthly payments.

• Buy a workshop or masterclass - upcoming live this month - ‘Funding for your creative project’.

• Follow me on instagram

• Right here on Substack, drop your thoughts in the comments - I LOVE a chat.

Thanks for being here, feel free to share this note with a friend.

Sending sparkles to you for your month ahead,

Claire

PS - every month I profile some writers here I enjoy connecting with and this month I want to tell you about ; who writes Walking Well, by Sarah Raad, who writes 'With Ease' , by Sophie and my husband who is sharing in depth about our Soil Project - The Soil Web.

My post of the month this month is this one - it’s actually a thread from Kate Mclean who writes and it's so insightful and generous...

https://katemckean.substack.com/p/surprise-open-thread.

Ooo and PPS - the WONDERFUL is writing and sharing here on Substack! She's bringing thousands of beautiful creatives into this space and I know what she makes here will be totally lush.

Hi Petals,

How are you all? This is my monthly Note from the Sea which is inspired by life here on the Northumberland Coast, usually a trip to the beach and a whole bucket load of creative action.

I’m writing this after SUCH a vibrant and busy half term with the family. There have been beach trips, author events and (it feels like) every toy in the house has been played with! We have a games cupboard that we only ever really open in school holidays (oh hello marble run!!) and it’s been great to see my toddler engaging and playing in new ways with her big brother and the neighbour’s kids!

On Saturday, as part of Alnwick Story Festival, I co-hosted an event with local author and friend Caro Giles who writes exquisitely about our Northumbrian landscape and ‘mothering in the middle of nowhere’. Caro is a solo mum to four incredible daughters and her book ‘Twelve Moons’ A year under a shared sky is out now.

After the event, I updated my FREE Ways into Creative Journalling toolkit to include the handout from our ‘Coming Home to Yourself’ event.

It contains four quick writing exercises we produced for our event together. Just perfect for a rainy afternoon of soul searching or exploration in your favourite notebook. Hope you enjoy!

On that note, just have to tell you about my Substack Masterclass I’m running this week (on Thursday).

I’m so super excited to share just how I got creative here on substack and all the gifts in community and space it’s brining me.

Perhaps you too want to use this platform in a deeper way, grow your subscribers, set up podcasts or paid for content? Perhaps you’re curious about how being here away from algorithms and flashy images impacts my business, my creativity AND my wellbeing?

You can sign up to come along to my substack masterclass or watch the replay here.

It’s nearly full so please do grab your spot if you want to come along live! (Replay is available now!)

My zoom teaching style is an introverts dream and means you don’t need cameras or mics on - I use the comment box actively for chats!

Back to the February catch up…

As I navigate the world with two children who are neurodivergent in wildy different ways, I see how it’s important to teach them about advocating for themselves in a society that expects so much of them.

At the story fest, we went along to see children’s author Lisette Auton who writes children with disabilities and those who see the world in ‘non typical’ ways as lead characters in her stories.

Lisette describes herself as neurodivergent and really owns her description of it.

Being in the room with her was a very empowering experience for my 8 year old who curiously and triumphantly sits outside of the boxes school and education welfare have for him.

I didn’t actually know much about Lisette when I booked this tickets for the event.

I could only stay 20 minutes as my daughter needed to explore the big open spaces behind the glass at Alnwick Garden. L stayed at the event with his dad who found much enjoyment and syncronicity in star constellations.

I also didn’t realise that the BRILLIANT illustrator I picked to illustrate the front cover of my second creativity and wellbeing journal actually illustrated Lisette's books too. We are all here in North East England doing our thing and that feels very special to me. I was often told as a child there were no opportunities to be creative here in the North East and I'd have to move away. Although I enjoyed working abroad and in other cities, I am home and I've never felt more creative than I do now!

Sometimes life is totally magic like that.

A unexplained synchronicity and nod that if we’re in the right place we will see the sparkles to show us we are… do you know what I mean?

On the opposite side of the spectrum, our intuition will also show us when we’ve stumbled unexpectedly down a very wrong turn.

Darkness casts shadows we weren’t expecting or prepared for.

I’ve had this recently - it was the culmination of lots of separate feelings at an event where I felt like I was an un-invited extra in a scene in Alice in Wonderland.

You know the one where the Queen of Hearts and all the decks of cards turn on Alice and she falls back awake before realising it was all a dream. Yeah like that.

In the end, when Alice wakes up she was exactly where she was meant to be although slightly changed and yeah that’s where I’m at now too…

Grateful for the lessons and clearing of the path ahead as always.

Until next month,

Sending sparkles for your spring time ahead,

Claire x

Your March inspired Journalling Prompts

My journal prompts appear here every month (you can search the old ones) - the idea is to pick one or two you’re drawn to and just write freely on that prompt.

Perhaps something will bubble up you can take forward or perhaps you write and then pop it in the fire like I do a lot?

• What’s been the most magical thing that has happened to you or around you this year?

• Permission to leave - what/ how/ where do you need to give yourself permission to leave?

• Where does joy live?

• Where can you be more playful in your weekly routine?

• What does your body really need this month?

• Is there a new promise you need to make with your soul?

Places to follow wonderful folks on the internet…

My brilliant friend and client Beth - wrote a beautiful piece this last week here on her substack. Beth is a multi-talented writer and supports my content creation for my Northumberland County Council commissioned work too.

It was a wonderful universal nod to have coffee with the wonderful at the weekend. Cait writes here on substack and if you've not already discovered her you'll adore her down to earth approach to life and her honest shares of the writing process. I've read Cait's bestselling first book 'The Year of Less' which came out a few years back. This year she is on a new quest to invite in more in the most romantic of ways...

My pal Nat Lue has a book out called ‘The Joy of Saying No’ and was recently on the Lorraine show! Go Nat! Nat is mainly on insta but has an excellent podcast too. Go support her brilliant work. Update - Nat is now on substack - yay here’s the link to her stuff….

On Knowing Yourself

Helping you figure out the hard passes and happy yeses in your life. Musings on figuring out what you need, desire, expect, feel and think in a world that socialises you to be a people pleaser.

By Natalie Lue

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You’ll find journal prompts and my offers to you toward the bottom of the page.

For past issues, click here.

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Hello Petals,

How are you?

We’re almost at the end of January and I always feel relieved that February promises something slightly different in energy and tone… 

Here in Northumberland, this month has offered us a real shift in perspective.  

There have been beautiful snow storms, break throughs (and horrendous crashes) in my husbands health journey.

An afternoon of nothing much that transformed my thinking with a shattered (hatched) Dragon’s egg with a secret message that was slam dunked through a basket ball net by my two year old daughter!  

The tax returns are (almost) done for another year and I’m staring at the blank ish page of the year ahead.  

So to being BOLD

There’s a prompt which I’ve always enjoyed from one of those high achieving coaching types, I don’t have it to hand but it’s something like; 

And it really gets me thinking (and dreaming) pulling myself out of the mundane. A little like a passing thought I had to come back here to this spot and write for an hour alone…

Earlier this month, we invited an estate agent round to start to understand the process of renting out our home by the sea.  

There was a mis-match in energy.

The rental market has really shifted here in Northumberland in the last couple of years and I’m not sure ambition and vision of the estate agents have shifted with it. It felt very ‘local houses for local people.’  

As I hold my steaming hot morning coffee and feel the cold kitchen tiles under my feet, my vision board opposite nudges me;

“For every wish there’s a gift”

…and I know the home we’ve created is more than that a beautiful gift for the right person/ couple/ family.  It’s been such a gift to us but we’ve always shared it and want to push that further…

So the domestic rental idea has been put down for now and the holiday rental idea is very much alive as a dream!  

Turns out the income from a busy holiday rental here would be x4 the income a domestic rental!  That’s incentive plus the admin sounds A LOT easier.

Why the sudden flip to move/ escape/ be somewhere else? 

If you’re new here or you don’t know us - we have lived for over two years in a kind of ‘long covid’ purgatory.  My husband has read every resource, tried every supplement, alternative therapy there is.  There is no medicine and academic research is in early stages.

He’s had to give up work as he knew it.  

We’ve invested all our time, money, energy and capacity into HEALING as a priority and somewhere in all that we’ve lost parts of ourselves. It’s been exhuasting.  

If we were in “THE covid-19 film” - is there one? I’ve not looked…

We’d be in the montage of the “unlucky ones” pictured at the end where everyone else is “back to normal” living their life again circa 2019. 

In a grainy black and white montage, we’d be the sadder looking, jaded ones, more grey hairs and eye bags. Broken in both spirit and energy. Unsure what to do so doing the same mad things hoping one of them worked.

It’s part of our truth but I refuse to let that be our reality. 

Our reality is hard but it’s also beautiful and in celebrating options and freedom we’ll find a way through, over, to the end, to healing, to living.

The driver 

We only get once chance to be parents to young kids.  That’s it - it’s no more complicated. Our experience here is short. The kids aren’t grey, quite the opposite actually and their vibrance and hilarity is such a tonic. What’s your driver for showing up for your beautiful reality and life each day?

And so to your journal prompts for February…

• You guessed it - what’s the one bold move you can make towards your big dream?

• How can you hold more of your alone time as sacred and insightful?

• How is nature calling to you this month?

• Draw a or collage a vision board of the countries on your bucket list…

See you back here in a month with more. Thanks for being here and being connected to our little home and dreams by the sea. I’m off to play horsies with my toddler!

Sending sparkles to you and yours,

Claire

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Ways to work with me this year!

• My pre-recorded ‘Three and 6 month Year Vision Board workshop’ is here - perfect for a dreamy winter afternoon! £35 - I’ll be adding more resources this Spring.

• Join me for (free) Open Office Hours for Creativity this year. A series of creative mini mentoring sessions with others to get you past your blocks and plug in some accountability for your goals.

• If you’d like to connect one to one in person (in Northumberland) or on zoom, bookings for my one to ones ‘Inspiration Island’ and all the supporting resources you need for nurturing and nourishing your company of one are here.

PS - every month I profile an online friend/ client or two and their work.

This month, it's who is another North East creative and writes The Life on Sea. Gillian's beautiful illustrations are whimsical, escapist and capture such understated subtle moments of the power of nature. I licensed Gillian's artwork for the cover of my journal.

Secondly, it’s another online pal who I’ve never met in real life but I have on zoom! Rebecca writes and I LOVE the level of detail, the way she connects to memory and the time it takes me to read her writing. It's such a different writing style to mine and I get so much from her posts here.

The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is to celebrate.

Oprah

Hello Petals,

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

How are you all? How have your festivities been?

This is a short note this month as I’m still in the cocoon of Christmas lights, down time and boxes of tissues.

Incase you missed it, I posted a chatty update in reflection of my word of the year for 2022.

On that note, my word for 2023 is BLOOM. I am so excited about it - excited because it works for me across all of the elements of my life and I really need to consider bolstering my wellbeing given how things played out with my husband’s health and our energy balance more generally in 2022.

Did you choose a word for 2023 yet? I find it a very firstly mysterious then incredibly anchoring practise in deep winter.

I was saying to the folks in my online Ways into Creative Journalling workshop yesterday, I usually forget all about ‘my word’ mid way through the year while I’m busy with creative endeavours but I don’t see that happening this year.

Hopefully my (now poorly) toddler will be knee deep in multi-coloured blooms of all sorts and that will serve as the boldest visual!

On blooms and multi-hyphen careers, I’m super inspired by this book by husband got me.

Your January Journalling Prompts

• A. Divide your page into 4 sections. Use the headings;

1. Health and Wellbeing

2. Wealth and Abundance

3. Dharma and Energy

4. Happiness and Contentment

Reflect on your past 12 months and see what flows out in bullet points and memories…keep the useful lessons, discard the inner critic, go to town where passion flowed freely…

Perhaps you can circle (in another colour) key themes and points of learning to help your intention and goal setting process for 2023? No need to rush…everything in winter is preparation…

• B. Journal your response to the following quote…

The art of listening comes from a quiet mind and an open heart. Ram Dass.

Subscribe now

Ways into Creative Journalling - Workshop 3 of 3

FREE, join me on zoom with your special Sunday coffee and a notebook.

• 10.30am - Sun 15 January 2023 - Ways into Journalling - Goal and intention setting and conscious planning for 23/34

You know I love to help creative souls unstick their sticking points. I can’t wait to share more of my goal setting process with you. If you can’t make it live, feel free to register for the recording and my other free creative planning tools.

Sending winter sparkles and magical frost patterns for your month ahead,

Here’s to wellness, clarity and being creatively conscious this next year!

Claire x

PS - I have a BRAND new (quite) shiny website. I’ve not proofed it yet or asked for support on the flow or clarity so if you have 5 mins to take a look and send me a reply I’d love to hear from you. Thanks in advance.

PPS - every month I profile one of my beautiful online (sometimes IRL) friends and clients. This month it’s; by Zoe Gardiner over at Postpartum Matters. Her power, creative writing and commitment to the cause BLOWS my mind.

Perfectionism is a twenty-ton shield that we lug around thinking it will protect us when, in fact, it's the thing that's really preventing us from taking flight.

Brené Brown

Hey petals!

How are you?

This is my monthly Notes from the Sea email sent to you from the serene yet very damp Northumberland Coast. I hope it meets you well?

I was reflecting on what I wanted to share with you all this month as we contemplate the next few weeks which are perhaps busier and more demanding than we’d ideally like?

It’s all so familiar isn’t it? Here we are (again) amongst twinkly fairy lights, long to do lists and a cold snap.

Timing and tools are everything!

This thought struck me whilst digging up my dahlias to ‘over winter’ them with my daughter toddling around beside me.

It’s the second time I’ve done this and the tubers have grown larger in size as has my collection.

Dahlias were a passion project whilst on maternity leave with my daughter Luna-Jean in 2021. I knew nothing when I started the process and I was delighted with the outcome (the growth and the flowers).

I have a history of turning my creative passions into things I offer and sell to the world and this means the things I do for my wellbeing that are definitely are not that are even more important to me (including the dahlias).

As I dug up, dried out and packed away the dahlias, I noticed with them (and in life) there’s a process to things that is often a MUCH longer cycle than we realise.

- There are tools which make the job easier.

- Friends IRL and online to help us fathom things out.

- New discoveries to be made.

There are people to appreciate the efforts and each year we deepen our understanding of what’s possible in the process of growth.

In the case of dahlia planting this year I learnt…

• The tuba in the most nutrient dense soil bed grew the most flowers and the largest.

• Those in posts flowered late and didn’t produce many flowers.

• Chickens really like to eat dahlias.

• You simply have to keep snipping first shoots and flowers to encourage more growth.

• A garden fork is the BEST and easiest tool to get them up out of the ground.

I’d chatted to a few friends online about WHEN to dig them up and tried to second guess when the first frost might be coming. (Dahlias don’t like hard frosts).

As I looked at the very last few flowers blooming in vase on my windowsill I realised - it’s now. The flowers are finished - it’s now. And so I dug them up. There was a frost the next day.

And so on that note I’ll share a quote from author Katherine May. (She writes on here - ) and your journal prompts for the month ahead.

Your December inspired Journal Prompts

• Connecting to our ‘ inner knowing’ what IS most important for us this time of year?

• Downtime sparks vibrant creativity - discuss…

• A spidergram of my 2023…

• A stitch in time…

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Shop small and buy my journal this Christmas

Our Beautiful Reality - The Journal is a Creative Planner with soul. It’s your best friend through a whole 365 days and has journal prompts, spiritual guidance, space to dream up BIG dreams and so much more.

Click here to get yours in time for Christmas or gift to a friend or family member. Any questions, drop me a line on the gram.

A workshop date for your diary - Ways into Journalling - Planning, Goals and Setting Intentions for 2023/24 -

Sun 8 January - 10.30am - 11am

I am sharing my 2023/24 planning process in this FREE workshop. I’d love to see you there. You can catch up with the recording if you’re not free to attend live.

Feel free to leave your camera off and come along in your comfies to absorb some tips for goal setting, working with intents and weaving in new ways of getting stuff done in the New Year ahead. In the same link you’ll also find a FREE recording my ‘Ways into Creative Journalling’ workshop at the same link abov - a lovely one for the winter season.

Thanks for being here and I’m sending sparkles from my writing desk (sofa) to your inbox and best wishes for the holiday season ahead,

Claire x

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PS - Each month here I am going to flag up beautiful souls in my life who are also on their dharma path. This month it’s who writes The Warrior Within here and chats about wellbeing, nature and her healing journey with migrane on the gram too.