It’s been very hot here in Cornwall this week, and my body has definitely let me know about it. 🙈 If you’re new here, I live with a few health conditions, so when the temperature climbs, everything slows down. Even the simplest jobs suddenly feel like climbing a mountain! 🫠🫠🫠 That means I’m a little behind with Around the World in 80 Sketches. If you’ve only just joined us, it’s our weekly creative adventure where we “travel” to a different country using Google Street View no passport required! We sketch, paint, write poetry, collage, or create in any medium inspired by that place. It’s become one of my favourite parts of our community because we get to explore the world together from our own homes. ✈️🌍 The good news is I have a very exciting weekend ahead! @Kane Andriunas and I are heading to St Austell, where we’ve rented a beautiful old cottage, and then we’re off to see Mika perform at the Eden Project. 🌿🎶 If you’ve never heard of it, the Eden Project is one of Cornwall’s most iconic attractions. Built in a former china clay pit, it’s home to enormous biomes that recreate tropical rainforests and Mediterranean landscapes from around the world. It’s a fascinating blend of nature, conservation, art and architecture and one of my favourite places to visit. Pic below 👌 Normal service will resume very soon. Until then, I thought I’d share a few little moments from my garden this week. Sometimes, when life slows us down, nature has a lovely way of reminding us that slowing down isn’t always such a bad thing. 💚🌸

When I started Smidgen of Calm I never imagined we’d become a community of over 100 creative souls. ✨ So rather than celebrating me, I’d love to celebrate us. 🙏🏼🙌🏻❤️ Here’s the challenge… Create one tiny square of art ! It can be a doodle, painting, collage, photograph, poem, pattern, pressed flower… absolutely anything that feels like you. Keep it small. Keep it joyful. Keep it unapologetically yours. Once everyone has shared their square, I’ll stitch them together into one giant artwork that represents this wonderful little corner of the internet. One hundred people. One hundred different stories. One beautiful piece of art. I genuinely can’t wait to see what we create together. 💜

I am very excited to welcome @Julia Russell and @Aoife O Donovan to our ever expanding community 🙌🏻 we’re very happy to have you here and your welcome to introduce yourself my lovely 🥰

Oh we are so close to 100 🙈 ❤️ and I am very happy to welcome @Donna Holmes to our wonderfully creative community 🙌🏻 I am excited to hear about how your creativity shows up ? Your welcome to say hi 👋🏻

Myself and Holly have just got back from an evening at the theatre, and what a way to end the day! 🎭 We went to see Beetlejuice: The Musical, which has just arrived in the UK, and wow… what a show! If you’re a fan of the film, I think you’ll absolutely love the musical. 🙌🏻🙌🏻🥳 Musical theatre scratches a creative itch that nothing else quite reaches. It’s so much more than a performance. I’m completely fascinated by the costume design, the sets, the lighting, the choreography… the sheer number of moving parts is mind-blowing. 🤯 Somehow, it all comes together so seamlessly that it feels effortless, even though you know an incredible amount of creativity is happening behind the scenes. It’s even more impressive when you remember many of London’s theatres are wonderfully old buildings, each with their own quirks and limitations. Tomorrow is the moment I’ve been looking forward to all year… the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. Every single year it fills my creative cup, and this year feels even more special because Holly and I are hoping to bring a piece of art home with us. I can’t wait to take you along. ❤️