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A month dedicated to kindness …

by | Jan 31, 2023 | Ideas

February is filled with great things to celebrate!

And a whole week dedicated to Random Acts of Kindness … February 14th-20th

On the 7th you can celebrate Send a Card to a Friend.

The 14th offers you two things to celebrate … Library Lovers and Book Giving Day.

February 21st is the birthday of the Peace Symbol … and the 22nd is PINK SHIRT DAY!

And in honour of our own wise hearts … this month’s desktop wallpaper for you to enjoy. (Just download it from the picture).

More journals are being created …

Yes, the journals have been a hit, and I am sure it has something to do with how much joy I feel making them!

I was recently able to secure a rather large stock of the interior paper that I have been using, in just the right size … so the journals will continue for awhile it seems. 

I never knew that sewing together a book would result in such a rich and calm feeling. It’s lovely.

house of appleton has had a logo revamp!

The toughest client I have ever worked for as a graphic designer is, ME. And the house of appelton logo has been particularly difficult because it is so close to my heart.

The original few logos I created were born out of a bunch of elements that are central to the connection and history of my Grandfather. The white circle being a biggie.

When I decided to go with a simple lowercase “a” as the image, it worked, until it didn’t. I realized it didn’t say enough of what I wanted to say. In its simplicity, it lacked depth of connection.

So, I started again with a different idea … one that clearly comes from a cliché, but nevertheless feels more inviting. 

When I introduced house of appleton initially, friends and family kept saying, “well, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” … a reference to how connected and alike my Grandfather and I are in some ways. Then I got to thinking more about the roots of this whole project idea and how it’s been growing for a long time. I also like the sort of charming and whimsical side of this image. 

Now, this is not to say I won’t tweak it a bit … I might … but for this moment, this is the logo that represents house of appleton. 

You can read all about house of appleton, the logo design and my grandfather at a newly created section of my website: houseofappleton.ca

Sarah J Clark

As my calendar tells me … Stillness is not “doing nothing”, it is the gift of listening to our own wise heart. 

May you be a good listener this month, and share you heart with the world. 

~sarah

 

Celebrating all the unfolding!

by | Jan 17, 2023 | Ideas

The beginning of the year is a good time to get grounded. 

I always find the new year needs some sort of an anchor point. Something to stabilize all that is to come. 

This is where a Daily Practice really comes in handy! I know I forget how helpful it can be … when I drift off a bit. Then I return and remember that it is the one thing that sets the tone for the day. 

Even if I am not stopping to colour a mandala in the morning, I do pick the mandala cards from my “on a positive note” deck each morning, and they still surprise and support me in ways that I find amazing. 

The little cards at work …

My partner Mary Ann recently randomly chose a card for a particular purpose, but her reaction was, “no, that’s not a good card for this”, and put it back in the deck. 

She then randomly chose a card again … and … yes, you guessed it, the same card came up!

I have come to understand that as much as we might have thoughts about the cards, the cards have their own thoughts, and the won’t be messed with. 

Of course the same card coming up over and over is not new to me, or anyone who has used the cards. I have always seen it as the card will come up until you understand the reason it is coming up. 

Of the 36 cards in the deck, I am sure there are at least half of them that I rarely get, and some of the remaining ones, I get all the time! 

 

Lately I have fallen in love with drawing the Flower of Life mandala. For some reason, I have never drawn them before, but now they fascinate me.

They piqued my interest when I saw a short documentary called The Artistic Accountant on CBC Gem, about an accountant named Bert, from Halifax, who takes sacred geometry very, seriously. He is quite a jovial fellow, but deeply committed to getting his drawings a precise as humanly possible.

This got me thinking and reaching for my compass, and now I am slowing down to try and get these as precise as I can.

And let me tell you … this is NOT something you can rush! Even though the principle of it is easy enough, the doing of it requires a slow, thoughtful approach.

It is turning out to be an amazing meditation practice.

And the BIG NEWS for this year is my new venture …
house of appleton!

What is this? Well, it is an imprint under which books will be created. 

After years of this little seedling hiding in the shadows, it came into full view this past fall, with the help of three poets. Each of them asked me to design their poetry books, and almost immediately I thought, “they should have a common imprint!” 

Add this to the constant and ever-increasing presence of my grandfather Franklin Fletcher Appleton, publisher, PLUS my love of books, design, telling our stories … and pretty much this is the logical next step in my world. 

You can read all about it and my grandfather at a newly created section of my website: houseofappleton.ca

The New Year ~ a time to launch something pretty cool!

by | Dec 30, 2022 | Ideas

The New Year, a new look for the calendar,
and the desktop version for your screen!

The theme of 2023 is: Be Who You Are … and I might add to that, Trust Your Own Wise Self!

I am getting very, very close to launching my new project … but I have to make sure I have all of the essentials right before releasing it into the world.
I am less scared than I was before about it, because more of the pieces are falling into place and I am making friends with all the ghosts and gremlins that show up daily.

Small, intentional steps. This is what I have been doing. Trying not to fuss with things, but let them “arrive” and settle in their own good timing and fashion.

Yes, I will make the official announcement in early January … but I didn’t want to delay the new year’s desktop wallpaper, to get you off to a rockin’ start!

Wishing you the most wondrous and delight-filled
year ahead. 
May you follow your dreams, wishes and desires,
and stay connected to what really matters!

~sarah

 

This is when my insides get very quiet.

by | Dec 15, 2022 | Ideas

It has been a most incredible time of journal making. Such a peaceful and deep practice!

It seems to follow in the footsteps of mandala making.
There is nothing else to do in the moment.
Nothing to think about, certainly nothing to worry about.
I just fold and sew and fold and sew. 

These are the last 5 journals of this journal making season. There will be more in the future, but not right away. I am working on another big undertaking … writing the next chapter of my life. It’s going to be amazing, and the reason I know this is, it’s scaring me to bits right now. But I will push forward, once easy next step at a time, and make the landing soft!

More to come soon!

If you are interested in any of these journals, yes, they are for sale. Please email me for details … I have not put them in my online shop.

Blessings to all, and may this time be rich with internal calm!

~sarah

The wind down of a busy year …

by | Dec 1, 2022 | Ideas

The final screen wallpaper for 2022 … but more to come in 2023!

Yes, you may download this image to use as your desktop wallpaper. Perhaps a good reminder that the essence of this month is about PEACE … starting within ourselves. 

December also boasts some pretty fun days … World Pear Day (3), World Cheetah Day (4), World Soil Day (5), International Mountain Day (12), International Monkey Day (14), International Tea Day (15) … this is a personal favourite and I will endeavour to make the perfect cup of tea in honour of my father.

December has become a serious and intentional “wind down” month for me. Allowing myself space and time to put things together and ponder what is to come. I am fortunate to not have commitments around holidays and gift giving, which of course is also intentional. It just got to be too busy and stressful at a time in the year when all I want to do is hibernate. I am equally fortunate that people accept this about me.

It’s been a powerful year of shift and change, letting go and reimagining. I already feel that energy continuing into this next phase of time. I have found openings, or have they found me? Not sure. Doesn’t matter … we are aware of one another and working toward what that means, and no matter what happens, it is exciting.

My theme for 2023, which inspired my mandala calendar is: Be Who You Are.

Yup, it’s going to be a good year!

More to come soon!

Until then, stay peaceful and enjoy all that is. 
~sarah

The joy of making with my hands!

by | Nov 8, 2022 | Ideas

I have been making journals again … after many, many years away from them.

But I didn’t used to hand bind them, and that, as it turns out, is quite a joyful thing!

I have a few books that teach how to do hand sewn bindings. I read them and about ten from the library. I got the gist of it, but couldn’t quite follow the actual instructions. This is not unusual for me. Written instructions usually don’t make much sense to me. 

So, I thought I would give it a shot and see if I took in enough to create a sewn binding that I could actually do, and I did. What I learned along the way was quite fabulous really. I made jigs to hold and punch the paper for the cover and the interior pages, so that everything would line up when put together. I would say that for my first run at it, I did okay. Enough to want to create a bunch of them, which is what I have done. 

What I was reminded of, from so long ago when I made journals in a previous life, it is a very serene practice. Even the sewing, which I wasn’t all that keen on really, turned out to be very pleasant. 

Taking time to match handmade papers with the mandala that was to adorn the cover, was so quiet and zen like. A real meditation. 

And so, here they are … the first few that are left from the mini show I did at the end of November. 

Each one is an original, with a hand drawn mandala. They are designed to lay completely flat no matter where you open it … a must for a lefty like myself. 

They have a pocket inside the front and back cover, and since pockets shouldn’t be empty, I have included some post cards!
Alas, the writing utencils do not come with the journal, for that you have to have your own!

They are available in my little online shop, if you want to read more about them!

Sarah J Clark

As the season does it’s serious change and the time is thrown off by an hour, there is a bit of an adjustment to be done.
The full moon and eclipse season … a lot of energy and a tough environment to focus, but I keep coming back to my manifesto that I did in the summer … and it seems to bring me back to ground and moving in a nice direction.

I wish the same for you!

~sarah