Being away has been wonderful, but it also means I’m giving myself permission to take a breather. So this week, instead of opening a new destination, let’s do something a little different… ✨ Share a photo of one of your favourite travel memories. It could be from the other side of the world, a weekend away, or even a beautiful place just down the road. I’d love to see the places that have stayed with you and hear the little story behind them. No passport required… just a lovely memory. 💛 Pics are from a trip I took with @Gina Fenton to Turkey a few years ago 🙌🏻 🙈

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 🥰

Can I gently challenge that? You absolutely can draw. 🙌🏻 The act of putting pencil to paper isn’t the difficult part. The difficult part is expecting yourself to be brilliant before you’ve given yourself permission to learn. We don’t expect an athlete to become an Olympian without years of training. We don’t expect a doctor to qualify without years of medical school. A chef wasn’t born knowing how to create incredible food. They started by being curious, making mistakes, and practising over and over again. So why do we expect ourselves to pick up a pencil and create a masterpiece on day one? Creativity is no different. It’s a skill that grows with time, patience and practice. 🥰 So perhaps instead of saying, “I can’t draw,” try saying: “I can draw… I’m just at the beginning of my journey.” Let go of perfection. Stay curious. Keep showing up. Because every artist you admire was once the person who thought they couldn’t do it either. Keep going. Your future self will thank you. 💜🙌🏻 First two pics are from the start of my journey many years ago. The third is more recent. I will always keep practicing and I can’t wait to see what I am creating in another 20 years 🌱

Firstly let’s welcome our five ! New members @Helen Lawrence @Helen Michelle @Bethany Elle @Ana P. @Danielle L 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 Also thank you @Caroline Fransz for referring i appreciate you taking the time 💜 I genuinely can’t believe how much this community has grown. 🌱 Over the last six months, I’ve learnt so much—not just creatively, but about people, connection, and what can happen when we create a space where everyone feels welcome. 🥰🙌🏻 You’ve been here cheering me on, encouraging one another, sharing your work, your stories, your victories, and even the days that felt a little harder. Watching this community champion each other has been one of the greatest joys of my year. ❤️✨ Smidgen of Calm has become something so much more than I ever imagined. It really does feel like a little pocket of safety on the internet, and that’s because of every single one of you. Thank you for believing in this little idea. Thank you for showing up. Thank you for making this such a kind, creative, and genuinely special place. Here’s to the next adventure together. 💜✨