A scappy butterfly

My scrapbox is starting to get out of control again so I decided to challenge myself and make a card ONLY using bits from the scrap box.

There was only a small amount of the apricot metallic card so I die cut a butterfly and used some gems to indicate the flight pattern.

 

I loved the card that I used for the top and bottom but there was  so little of it I wasn't sure what I could use it for when inspiration struck and I realised that if I cut it in half there would be just enough to edge the card and voila, a card from scraps.

Now I just need to make a TON more as there are STILL LOTS of scraps in that box!

Happy crafting

Kyla

 

WOYWW

Hello peeps, it is Wednesday again so time to share our Workdesks.

On mine this week I am preparing more small pieces for Free Art Friday and Art Abandonment.

I am making some tags with my carved face and "Good Times" stamped underneath and yet more of my devil stamp with "Smile" stamped on the side.

I am also in the process of making some more watercolour postcards with my Dignity and Tolerance 'country'.

So, why not show us yours?  Pop over to the Queen of Desks, the lovely Julia (link over on the right) and link up.

Happy crafting

Kyla

'Marvel' at the freebies

Just a quick update-look what I found!

In a department store (if you are in the UK - Wilko's) I found this wallpaper with large, almost comic sized, Marvel comic cover prints.  You are able to rip some off to take home to test.....

Now, I was a Girl Guide when I was younger so I am "always prepared" and this means I 'may' have had a penknife and scissors to hand to cut off a few pieces to take home to 'test'!!!!

What can I say....it was too good to ignore. The wallpaper is lovely and thick and cut down should make some great cards and backgrounds too.

Happy crafting

Kyla

WOYWW

Wednesday again, seriously the weeks are just flying by!!!

So, since it is hump day that must mean "What's on your Workdesk Wednesday" where we share our desks of shame across the globe led by the lovely Julia (link over on the right).

On my desk this week is my finished 365 Journal and I am slowly filling in the events of the past week.  Sticking out top left is another one of my tags that I abandon across the West Country as part of the Art Abandonment and FreeArt Friday projects that I blogged in my previous post.

My "Man Bites Dog" cards this week...well a certain American candidate springs to mind!!!

So, what are you up to?  Why not join us?  We are a happy bunch and there is always something to marvel at or some sort of storage device/idea to lust over!!

Happy crafting

Kyla

Free art around Bristol

 As part of the "Art Abandonment" project (search for it on Facebook if you fancy finding out more) I have abandoned some more pieces, this time across my home city of Bristol.

Bristol is an amazing city.  I have lived here for about 14 years and it is a vibrant city full of art (we have many galleries, art schools, the largest street art festival in Europe) and social enterprise (from an old police station turned into art studios through to state of the art digital centre and start ups, Aardmen Animation studio and we are also a cycling city) so I am hoping my abandonments go down well.

 This piece was one of my watercolour postcards, as shown in a previous post, based on a country/state with words such as "Respect", "Hope" and "Tolerance" which I abandoned at the Folk House cafe,  A fabulous cafe and centre that runs art and music courses.

 This tag (also mentioned previously, is made from a stamp I carved) with the words "Imperfection is Beauty" was left outside Forbidden Plant (a graphic novel store-which I may have popped into a made a new graphic novel purchase!)

 This one was on the bridge in the harbour-lots of lovers walk over the bridge and place padlocks on the sides so I thought it would be a great place to leave a piece.

and the final one was on Park Street on the approach to the museum just outside Cass Art and down from the Design Guild.

I hope if someone finds them they will contact the facebook group (there is also a generic gmail address on the labels) but I haven't had any reports to date of any 'finds' for any of the drops I have made over the summer, so I don't expect I will-but the art of creating and releasing is fun and something I think I will continue to do.

Happy crafting

Kyla

 

Free art for you and me too

 I often take part in Free Art Friday and the Art Abandonment project.  

My latest piece I set free was a watercolour postcard.  

It is not based on any particular country or province but rather the green was a mop up from an earlier painting and after carrying it around in my sketchbook for a few weeks I suddenly realised it looked a little like a map outline!  

I added some blue for  the sea and used my new Uniball pens to add some outlines and lettering (see my earlier post about the set I was given, they are great fineliners and are waterproof so I can doodle over watercolours without fear of the pen bleeding). 

Following from the whole Brexit debate reminded me that regardless of whether one agrees with other peoples views we are lucky to live in a country that allows free speech and the right to vote and we should respect that.

I am lucky that I work in an organisation with a very diverse workforce made up of many different races, religions and orientations and this means I am regularly exposed to many differing views (and some SERIOUS lunchbox envy at the canteen-boy they look and smell much more appetising than cheese sarnies I can tell you!!) and I believe I am a better person for this.

With this in mind I chose the words to represent different 'Countries/States".

 As I am in hospital regularly there is also diverse workforce there and the words also struck a chord with me as to how patients should also be treated so I decided to abandon it there.

 Imagine my surprise when further up the hospital I came across a box and lots of knitting with a sign saying "Knit with me"....so as I had time to kill, I did.  Now, I am not a great knitter but I was thrilled that I remembered the basic knit (which is what all the little squares were)

 

 Upon closer inspection I realised that the many of the knitted squares had been made into envelopes and had signs on them saying "open here" and "To: You....really you" and  "I'm not lost I'm for you".

So I picked one up and opened it up and found this message!

On the back it said that the words had been collected from patients, visitors and staff to the hospital in the hope that they maybe just what you need to hear today!!

It is the Envlop Project (https://www.nbt.nhs.uk/fresh-arts)

What a fabulous idea.  I love seeing the changing art installations around the hospital.  When you are there it makes it SO much more welcoming and how lovely that whilst I was there abandoning art there was another doing it too!!

If you fancy abandoning art or taking part in Free Art Friday then just search for them on Facebook and the groups should come up.

Happy crafting

Kyla

WOYWW

Hello peeps, Wednesday again so that can only mean one thing-

"What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday" 

when we all join Queen Julia to share our spaces (link over in the right hand sidebar), some tidy, others....well you can see what camp I am firmly in!

On my desk this week is my 365 Journal.  I am late making Septembers pages but will be hopefully finished before the end of the week so not too long to catch up on.

The rest of the mess is still there from the other week....my carved devil stamp (middle back), my goat boiled egg cosy (left-dont ask, it was given to me a few years ago and I love it so it stays on my desk usually atop my glue pot) and a couple of upcycled tins and jars that I keep lolly sticks and pens in.

My "Man Bites Dog" cards this week are 'Devoted Wife Runs off with Crazy Wall St. Intern'.....needless to say I will be scanning the papers to see if this one comes true!

Happy crafting

kyla

Tea or coffee appears to be a theme

 I have been a bit tardy at blogging recently, mainly because I have been out making art and wasn't sure how to get the photos off my instagram account (https://www.instagram.com/kylacotterell/?hl=en) but I think I have sussed how to transfer them across (just needed to book time on the laptop to transfer them). 

This page of my journal was sketched in a cafe over lunch.  I had spent the morning at a Repair Cafe in Bristol.  A group of volunteers meet in a church and if you have a broken item you can take it along and they have a go at repairing it.  I took my solder iron but sadly it was well and truly broken, however, whilst we were there they mended a large flat screen TV (the lady had brought it previously and they identified the spare part she needed to buy for about £25 and then they fixed it for free).  Such a great resource, and the local church make some money by selling tea, coffee and cake.

Also, over the past few weeks I have been taking part in Free Art Friday and the Art Abandonment groups (search for them on FaceBook for more details).

This tag was a stamp I made and then over painted with posca pens and  stamped the phrase "Imperfection is Beauty".  I left it on the back of the hooks in the ladies toilets of Herbies Cafe in Exeter!

This tag I painted whilst sat overlooking the sea at Sidmouth in Devon and I left it in the Clocktower cafe.

I am enjoying abandoning small pieces or art.  I haven't heard back from any finders (they always contain details of the FB group) but hopefully people have enjoyed finding them. 

Whilst keeping the sketchbook I have noticed that I spend a LOT of time in cafe's sketching though!  Keep your eyes peeled if you spot someone sketching over a coffee-it may be me!

Happy crafting

kyla

WOYWW

Hello peeps, Wednesday again so that means across the globe we share our workdesks of shame (well, mine is as its nearly always messy).

 On my desk this week (yep my desk rather than my kitchen) are a couple of super hero cards I am making. The circular dies in the middle are on magnetic card I stuck to waste picture mount card and punched a hole in so all my nesting dies are in one handy grab book. Tucked under some green and yellow died waste card on the left is my now VERY grubby poundland paint spreader that I use to clean my stamps (an idea from Shaz Silverwolf and works brilliantly).

My "Man Bites Dog"  cards this week were oddly random but totally went with the cards I made 'Thousands Mourn Lost Hero'-spooky!!!

So why not join us as share your workspace be it a shed, craft room, floor (waves at Helen) or a kitchen worktop (as mine has been the last few weeks).  There is a link over on the right to the Queen of Desks the lovely Julia who is the hostess with the mostess.

Happy crafting

Kyla

 

Foraging for harvest chutney

 So after filling both my freezer and belly with foraged plums and blackberries last week I thought I had had enough (I mean HOW many plums can one woman eat.....about 4lb is the answer!!!).  But no, the weather forecast of rain and heavy winds meant I was concerned the foraging bounty may get damaged so off I went on a few more walks and topped up the blackberries in the freezer and SO many more plums.

I decided to make some chutney.  I have foraged plums and apples and added a pear from our veg box and some rhubarb from the garden and made the rest of the recipe up.

 I have been making jams, cordials and chutneys since I was a child so I was confident the flavours would go well.

What I wasn't prepared for was how little it made!!! One large jar and one small.

A bit of a disappointment as I tend to use large jars for us and smaller jars ready for Christmas presents, but with such a small amount there won't be enough to gift (or have I just found another excuse to go for another walk this week for more supplies-though the plums at Kyla level are thinning so I may have to walk with a ladder!!).