Real Life Stories
This is where I get a bit vulnerable and share my own real-life stories about mental health, healing and striving to live a creative, slow-paced life. You’ll also find writing tips that I find particularly useful, strategies to start a practice of writing and tutorials for creative techniques.
Welcome to my very imperfect and joyous life.
Letter Writing Made Easy
When is the last time you wrote a letter - on paper - and sent it in the mail? There is something luxurious about taking the time handwrite a note, address an envelope and make your way to the post office. I love the feeling of pushing it through the mail slot without...
Happy 5th Birthday Open Sky Stories
Today is my 5th birthday. (insert bells, whistles, and party horns) I’ve been thinking a lot about how I want to show up in this world, both as a business and a human. These two worlds often blur since I am my business. I’ve experimented with many different ways to...
A Sunday Morning in December
It’s Sunday, December 3rd at 6:46am. I’m curled up in front of my little electric heater that looks like a fireplace. I’m surrounded by notebooks, pens, and The Artist’s Way book. I’ve written my morning pages and had coffee with my eldest son and now I’m prepping for...
Give your deadline the death sentence: for creative brains
Have you heard the phrase: a goal without a deadline is just a dream? I have a lot of feelings about this. Mostly – what the heck is wrong with dreams?My two brains. My creative brain hates the word deadline. It hides from it. It runs from it. It evades it. The word...
We Did It: $670 raised for Peterborough Youth Services
Throughout May 2023, I pledged to donate 50% of every Pixie and the Bees book sale to support mental heath services for youth at Peterborough Youth Services (PYS) My goal was to match my donation to CMHA last year - $530. I knew it was going to be a challenge but I...
Fundraiser for Mental Health Month
Local author will donate 50% of all book proceeds to Peterborough Youth Services throughout the month of May for Mental Health Month. Peterborough author, Erica Richmond published her first book, Pixie and the Bees in November 2020. It’s a fable about her experience...
Inspiration: Trust and Stardust
I have often created the most perfect atmosphere to woo inspiration. I have rented cottages to get in touch with my inner-most thoughts. I have traveled across borders to the ocean in order to feel her swim through me. I have lit candles and breathed in the fullness...
September Journaling Prompts
Here in Canada, September marks the end of summer vacation and the beginning of a new school year. For many of us, even decades after graduation it continues to feel like the beginning of a new year.New beginnings As we enter this new month of fresh beginnings, let's...
Goals are cool, but dreams are magic
I love to dream! There are not many things I enjoy doing more than staring off into space and conjuring up the tastiest ideas and wildest escapades possible. Sometimes, the wildest and tastiest ones are those where I just get to do absolutely nothing. What I love...
Best Book List Ever
Is there anything better than curling up with just the right book to fit your mood? There are days where I crave something intense that I can lose myself in and make use of the stash of Kleenex in my closet. Other days, I want light and funny and reading that...
Inclusive Language Matters
Waaaay back in the mid 1990s, I studied linguistics. Contrary to popular belief, it is not the practice of learning a lot of languages but rather the scientific study of language and its structure. I did however, have to learn how to produce and document every sound...
Journaling ideas for Spring
Spring is a time for rebirth, growth, and fresh starts. It's also my favourite season. I love the way it smells, the sounds of life around me, and watching the world burst into colour. I have created 7 journaling ideas that are based on the season of Spring. I invite...