Notes from the Sea - June
The one where I became a podcaster and a youtuber in the same month!
“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…?
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.
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.
It often feels like I want to go back there… back in time I mean. I can’t really explain why - everything just felt calmer and easier and softer and more gentle. In all honesty, I enjoyed the vulnerability and generosity of just living not striving…
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…
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.
Incase you missed any of my other posts or conversations this month, you can click here to see my Substack like the beautiful digital magazine it is and catch up on audio and posts online.
My husband got sick in October 2020 when I was pregnant with our second child (Luna). The doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong for the LONGEST time. Here in May 2023, all is (much more) well but chronic illness experiences like that change you as a person as I’m learning…
Sadness, vulnerability and confusion has been replaced by striding forward and leading with my heart centred work. Our path has led us to better understand what we are actually here to do and just to crack on and make life happen.
My creative content group mentoring space is free for folks who have taken either of my courses (Content Club or Stay Creative on Substack) or worked with me one to one.
Loved reading this Notes From The Sea, Claire! So exciting about your trip to The Peak District. It's so beautiful there! And I am super excited about seeing more of your slow lived life on YouTube! Vlogs are by far my favorite content to watch (and create!) over there. Looks like you've had a busy yet fulfilling month!
Hello Claire. I'm still trying to put into words what my connection to the sea means to me. I grew up in a landlocked country, Zimbabwe where we swam a lot in pools. But I've lived on the coast and when I moved back to the UK 4 years ago, I knew I would not survive if I didn't live very close to the sea. So I moved to the Isle of Wight. I started all year round sea swimming and a finally feel like I've come home to myself. In the sea I can release unwanted energies and connect to the sea's rhythms, just by being in the water. I've also connected with so many other like minded souls by swimming. This summer especially I've been down to swim or walk by the sea almost every day. So that's my story about connection.