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

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. 

The 2023 Mandala Calendar is ready!

Thanks to my friend Simone for the encouragement to do a calendar this year, I think this one is a step up from last year. 

This year I themed it: Be Who You Are, which is a wonderful jumping off point to create a year of authentic being and a wee bit of lightness.

Once I picked the theme, I was off and running. The new days that came forward seem to support everything I think about “being who you are”, which in itself is quite joyful I think!

Get ready … Friday, January 13th is “Make Your Dreams Come True” day … and that is just in the first two weeks of the year! It amuses me that most of the days to celebrate fall in March and April. No idea why, they just do.

I have done new mandalas for this one, each one on black using coloured pencil and gold metallic marker. Each month is accompanied by a quote that originated in compendium, my periodical.

This year I have also added the moon phases, because I am becoming increasingly aware of how important those are to a complete understanding and working in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this quirky, yet practical calendar for your wall, you will find it here in the compendiumshop.ca

Just as Fall brings a bounty of food during the harvest, I have a bounty of boxes to refine!

Some gifted, some discovered out in the wilds of the city …

There seems to be a clear focus adjustment for me, away from furniture and more toward small useful items like boxes. (Sometimes larger boxes too!) Although the furniture is lovely to do, it is much harder to sell. So, for the moment I have decided to work on small pieces, and if a commission to do a piece of furniture comes along, I will most likely jump at it. 

A friend gifted me 6 small boxes, all with very different personalities. A Yardley soap box … brought back memories of childhood. Yardley was a big name back then. Each one of these little treasures will be so fun to work on. Right now you are seeing them in the base-coat, prepatory stage … where endless possibilities exsist!

The range of boxes is quite fun, from a cigar box/chest that is highly refined, to a couple of pieces that are home made with whatever was around … I secretly covet those! They hold a patina that is amazing. 

Two of the pieces shown are Artist Paint Boxes … one commercially made, one homemade. I love them both for their unique qualities. 

I celebrate connection is the calendar page for September … and here, for your desktop is one you can use.

When I put this calendar together, I had no idea that the theme of each month I selected, would be so amazingly accurate!

The connections to what’s next in my world keep opening up, just as my mind and spirit have been opening. I know quite well that these are not separate events, but rather in unison, like a angelic choir.

Even now I find myself surprised to see how things are laid out for me … one thing dovetailing with another and another … the puzzle revealing itself in some fabulous and heart-opening ways. Much of what I am experiencing is the very beginning, the sprouts of new ideas and avenues. I will be cautious not to rush ahead, but rather follow the pace evenly and wisely. I feel in sync with things right now, in a way I haven’t for too long.

This week I have been taking a mini holiday-at-home, sort of. Not focussed on what’s next, but rather just being with what is. I was just coming off a month of diligent preparations for a show/sale I did with a dear friend, in the majestic setting of her garden. Having not done a show in a very long time, it took a good deal of focus on the details to get things to run smoothly, which they did!

The show, and people who came by lifted my spirits in a new way, elevated me to a new place in myself. Plus I was delighted to send some treasures home with people. The work I do is no good if it just stays with me, it is meant to find its way to its intended recipient, whoever that is. It feels like completion when that happens.

So, here I am, starting September with a whole new set of connections to myself and the outer world, and it feels fantastic!

I hope this month offers you some new and beautiful connections too!

Holiday observances in September, according to my calendar: 5th International Turkey Vulture Day (although I am not sure why) • 8th World Literacy Day! • 21st World Day of Gratitude • 22nd World Rhino Day • 23rd International Day of Sign Language, and on the 24th International Rabbit Day! And one I missed putting on my calendar last year … 30th National Truth and Reconciliation Day

Another month with lots to celebrate and connect to!