Woyww

 Oops forgot it was Wednesday so a bit late in posting What's on your workdesk Wednesday! 

On my desk this week i am playing with trying to capture figures better when i am sketching. Still got a long way to go but its  not like i don't have the blank sketchbooks to fill up!! Seriously, i am like a sketchbook hoarder!! Mind you i only have one water colour pocket one so that is something I need to buy!!! 

So, what's on your workdesk this Wednesday?  Dare to share? 

Kyla 

WOYWW

 Happy hump day so that means sharing our desks for What's on your workdesk Wednesday.  This week (well last night) i was making a card, from, i think a die i cut at the last WOYWW crop!! I cut loads that day and they have stood me in good stead (probably Shaz, Helen or Julias!)-thanks ladies. 

My 'Man bites dog' cards-i swear they were randomly drawn, i cannot bring myself to place them in any order to make a headline!! I will leave that to your imagination.

And an update from last week, these are the blanks i was covering with the tissue paper and 3 layers of yatch varnish! Took 3 days and boy did the house smell!! 

So, What's on your workdesk this Wednesday? 

Kyla 

WOYWW

Happy hump day where we bare our desks for What's on your workdesk Wednesday. 

Last week I was using mdf blanks to make a Christmas present. Obviously I can't show how it turned out until the recipient opens it, but I was quite pleased so thought I would make a few more (well its stash I already have so may as well make them and I can use them as gifts throughout next year). 

 I found some really nice script tissue paper so thought I would see how they worked out. When the glue has dried I will sand them down on the edges and do a couple coats of yacht varnish (which is what will take a few days to let to dry between coats, last time it took 3 days in total to varnish). I am thinking I may do some coasters too as a nice set with the wine holder. 

My 'Man bites dog' cards this week are a bit grim, 'Priest shoots suspect killer'!! 

So, what is on your desk this week? Sorry if I didn't get a chance to revisit everyone but the week flashed by (even though I was on annual leave for most of it)! 

Happy crafting 

Kyla 

Bristol urban sketchers in Tuscany

Just a quick update. Today was our next Bristol Urban sketchers meet up and this time we 'visited' Siena in Tuscany! 

 I wasn't too keen on mine but i don't really mind as for me it has always been the joy I get from sketching and learning from the very talented members. 

Its great seeing the others via the video call and you can use various tools, but Google streetview is a great tool to tour round an area to sketch. During lockdown etc its been brilliant and we have sketched in some stunning places. 

Kyla 

Woyww

Hump day again so that means sharing our desks with What's on your workdesk Wednesday and the queen of desks Julia on Here. On my desk this week is a Christmas present i am making, i had some blank mdf pieces like this glass holder (you place this over a wine bottle and hang the glasses on the side) so thought they may make nice presents just need to find something to decorate it with. 

My 'Man bites dog'cards this week are 'devoted actor weeps for bored wife'!!! 

 

For those that were on the 600th WOYWW zoom calls at the weekend (it was brilliant and the longest i have crafted for since last year so brilliant) i spent the calls making my first ever willow wreath with items from the garden, allotment and bits foraged on my walks. This is the finished wreath, quite pleased with it as it was free! 

So i decided to make another one, this time for the front door. We spotted someone cutting their hedge so grabbed a handful of evergreen bits, added some ivy, holly, rosemary and sage. No idea how long it will last, but again cost nothing apart from a bit of time and research. 

So, what crafting have you all been up to? Feel free to join the gang over on Julia's blog and dare to share! 

Happy crafting 

Kyla 

WOYWW 600th edition

 Welcome to hump day and What's on your workdesk Wednesday where we celebrate all manner of workspaces messy, creative or sometimes oddly clean (not mine but some are)! Well this week the Queen of desks the amazing Julia at https://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/?m=1 is celebrating the 600th edition!!! I bet she never imagined how this would grow and we owe her so much as its enabled many of us and created some fantastic friendships from virtual to physical via the crops too. 

My desk is from last night and i am making a few more Christmas cards, these from images i think i stamped maybe from shaz or helen at a previous WOYWW crop!! 

So, join in with us in celebrating the amazing weekly event that Julia created, and possibly the main reason why during these strange lockdown times that some of us actually know what day of the week it is due mainly to WOYWW!! 

Kyla 

Bristol urban sketchers

 Just a quick update. In these strange times when travel is restricted and meeting up off the cards the amazing Bristol Urban Sketchers (who i have been a member of for a few years now) have done virtual meet ups and sketches. We all chat on video call whilst sketching an agreed location (got to love google street view its almost like you are walking around). 

This time it was Kathmandu!! 

The meet up is a couple hrs just as our regular meet ups were and although my sketches are very amateur (albeit better than when i joined a few years ago as you learn so much from the others) the talented group never let you feel disappointed and are so supportive (their sketches are amazing and such a mix of styles too, i love it)  

However my wee desk looks like a bombs hit it!!! Remember that when you pop back for wednesdays 600th WOYWW anniversary-there is sometimes arty stuff on my desk!!! 

Hope you are all having a fab weekend

Kyla 

Woyww

Happy hump day so that means sharing our desks with the lovely julia as Queen of the desks (for almost 600 times. I haven't been since  the start but certainly from early on, and through her blog I have made and met some great friends). 

So what's  on your workdesk Wednesday? Well, finally after seeing so many of your desks with the C word makes I thought I would make some cards. 

For the past few years I make Christmas cards in January and put away so that I know come November I don't need to panic too much as I have a stash already. 

 So looking through my pre cut stash in my craft room whilst on annual leave last week I came across some Christmas die cuts from previous crops and decided this was a great opportunity to make a dent in the stash and use some of the small card blanks that I also found at the back of the card blank box! 

I thought it would be safe to use the 'Man bites dog' headline cards again-maybe  not!! This is the order they were drawn in but any order isn't the best headline considering!! 

So, dare you bare your desk? Clean, tidy, creative or full of new stash (looking at Shaz Silverwolf and Helen as the long standing enablers!!) feel free to share via Julia's blog (link on the right hand). 

Happy crafting

Kyla 

WOYWW

 Hump day so that means sharing our desks with the queen of desks the lovely Julia (nearly at the 600th one!!!) 

My desk this week- well, wet and a day off so seemed like a good idea to plan the crop rotation for the allotment. It starts in the early winter for me as i plant garlic and onions before christmas so need to ensure they are rotated. Not sure how far i will get before i loose the will, but its a start! 

No Man Bites Dog cards again this week, i can't trust them with everything that is going on at the moment!! Too likely to get an actual bizarre headline! 

So, what's on your workdesk this wednesday? 

Happy crafting

Kyla 

Woyww

 Hello people, bit of a cheat today as no desk today as full of pay the bills job stuff again BUT thought i would share my finally finished Inktober and Disctober tags for the month of October 

Some days i was able to combine both the Inktober and Disctober prompts into one picture, but some days it was just too hard so i used different sides of the tags. 

I now have 4 years of tags complete and hanging up by my desk for inspiration (been doing it longer but a couple years i abandoned them as free art each day so don't have a record of them). 

Hope you are all ok in the very bizarre week many of us have bee  experiencing and at least we have the regularity of WOYWW and the semblance of normality that means! 

Stay safe

Kyla 

Woyww

 Hello peeps, going to start with an apology, really sorry but i haven't been able to do any return visits to blogs this week as not had much time, but managed a quick half hr at my desk last night in a desperate attempt to catch up with Inktober (nearly caught up) so thought i would schedule the post as lots of meetings etc tomorrow so may forget!! 

Best of luck to all my friends in the states and also to everyone about to enter lockdown2, stay safe people.

Kyla 

Woyww

Hi peeps hope you are all well? So whats on your workdesk Wednesday?  Well, its my floor as my only small desk space is covered with work so am painting (last night) the base coat for November 365 challenge journal page, doubt it will be finished in time (behind on inktober too as work is taking all my time) but wet weekend forecast so sure I will catch up! 

 Man Bites dog cards this week are 'angry tourist lost naked heiress!!' 

Say no more!!! 

So, whats on your desk/floor this week?

Kyla 

 

WOYWW

 Happy hump day where we share What's on your workdesk Wednesday in all their glory! 

After a brief absence I am back and as usual in October that means my main crafting is Inktober and this year also Disctober so once again my desk is looking similar.

I thought i would show a photo of a couple of the tags so far (they are all on my IG page and as usual I will post them all on here as one update at the end of the month)

The 'man bites dog' cards this week are odd "bored star hits angry singer!!" Well that would make a difference on the news after all the covid, manchester and election news!

Happy crafting

Kyla 

WOYWW

Hello peeps, hump day again so that means sharing "What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday" where across the globe we bare what is on our desks, sometimes clean and tidy sometimes in an arty state, but always interesting and often with some great tips on storage, techniques and some "enabling"!!

Full details on how to join can be found here

On my desk this week are my tags.  Every year I take part in Inktober of 31 days of 31 drawings.  There are prompts (or you can do your own thing) and the past few years I have done mine on tags so I can hang them from the top of my desk and look back over them.  

This year is a bit different as my mate pointed out that there is also a Discworld one (Disctober).  As a massive Pratchett fan I decided to join in this too. Some I have done on the back of the tags (they have their own list of prompts) and a few I have combined into one tag.

No idea if I will make it through the month with both but lets see!

 Last week we were lucky enough to finally get some time off work and went away for a couple nights (first time since February) down to Devon.  Whilst it did chuck down we were also blessed with a lovely warm day on the beach, with a picnic.  I sat there sketching and also painting and abandoning some pebbles for other to find along the beach and gardens.  It was so lovely to be away for a few days.

Hope you are all well and looking forward to seeing your desks

Kyla

WOYWW

 Autumn appears to have arrived, soon the chestnuts will be ready and my walks will be through the crunching leaves (as soon as this rain and wind blows through). 

On my workdesk this week is a card I made for a work colleague who has just had a baby so they know we are all thinking about them.

And considering the 'debates' in the states at the moment i can just imagine many additional headlines with these cards! 

Happy What's on your workdesk Wednesday 

WOYWW

Hello peeps, hump day so that means What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday where we share our desks across the globe.

On my desk this week appears to be paper bags!  Well, they are, upcycled paper bags BUT filled with fresh herbs from my garden that I collect and dry throughout the summer for use in the winter.

We are getting to the end of the season so this is probably my last harvest of them (well apart from the sage which is evergreen BUT I needed to cut it back).  So I have dried swiss mint, sage, golden tipped marjoram and oregano.  In fact I had SO much sage I placed several large bunches on wall outside with a "Free sage" sign and it all went, so pleased with that.

This is the result of the past few months of drying.  I also have some lemon balm and another mint. 

My "Man Bites Dog" cards this week are 'Missing DA Rehab Scam'!!!  Well that makes you wonder!!

So, What's on your workdesk this week? Full details are on the Queen of Desks blog Julia, here

Kyla

Woyww

 Hello peeps hump day so that means sharing What's on your workdesk Wednesday with fellower crafters across the globe courtesy of the Queen of desks, julia.

On my desk this week are a couple of cards i have been making. The one on the left is upcycling an old calendar i cut some lovely images from and the one on the right is for little nieces birthday, she loves space and science so i used some brusho's (i so love their powders) and black acrylic. 

That's all that is on my desk as my spare time is mainly allotment/preserving at the moment (apart from the weekend when the Urban sketchers did an actual meet up, details on my precious blog post-it was SO good to meet up, albeit with the strict rules.

So, dare you bare your desk? Go on, we are a friendly bunch, honest!! Full details on WOYWW are Here

Kyla 

Bristol Urban Sketchers meet up

 Hello peeps, well today was our first actual meet up since lockdown of Bristol Urban Sketchers. It was so well organised, 6 people in a group, pre booked, outside and socially distanced. Our group met outside St Georges Hall in town near Brandon Hill. 

I forgot my mixer pallet but no worries as i bought a cheeky tesco meal deal of a wrap and also sushi and upcycled the sushi lid as a palette and the soy sauce fish as a water carrier! Worked so well i intend on using them again!

I sketched outside st georges hall sat on the steps then up in Brandon park before we all met for a quick catch up. 

Was great meeting up and there was also another group of 6 the other side of the hall  (which we didn't meet up with to ensure we kept to the rules) and a zoom meet up for those unable to make it, which has been a lifeline and means those shielding or not able to get there can still take part.

So well organised and helped me feel safe which i really appreciated. 

Thanks chaps it was fabulous 

Kyla 

Woyww

 Happy what's on your workdesk Wednesday. This update is actually from last night as i made a birthday card for my nephew's birthday this weekend. 

Short and sweet at pay the bills job is keeping me a bit busy at the moment! 

Happy hump day

Kyla 

WOYWW

 I need to start with an apology not had time to do my blog visits in the past week but work, allotment and heat got to me!  

I am trying this update quickly on the new mobile blogger app, so fingers crossed, i will keep it short. 

My desk is actually my kitchen as very early this morning (well been awake since 3am, again, why not) as i bottled my elderberry vinegar that i had steeping overnight before i started work. I do love it, elderberry is full of goodness and the sweetened vinegar lasts well over a year and can be used as a dressing, cooking and also a wee tot if your under the weather (meant to be immune boosting, either way, tastes nice!). 

Either way, fingers crossed this update works!! 

Kyla 

WOYWW

Hello peeps, hump day when we share What's on your workdesk Wednesday updates across the globe thanks to the queen on desks the lovely Julia. I am doing this Tuesday evening and on the new blogger interface so fingers crossed! 

My man bites dog cards are Missing Actor Indicted again!!! 

On my desk are some cards i have made! I know, go me! Not been easy trying to find time as been super busy with work since march but was determined to try and get a little crafting time in  They are still using items from the scrap box so all helps the de stashing! 

Hope your all ok

Kyla 

WOYWW

Hello peeps, back on my desk this week and playing catch up trying to finish my August page for the 365 Journal challenge.  I worked out the other day that this notebook has enough pages for 3 years of this monthly challenge so in December I will be able to see 3 years of daily updates in one book, it is quite interesting to look back and see what I did on the same day across those years!

My "Man Bites Dog" cards this week are 'Blind psychic Dog Bites Mayor'!!!

So, What's on Your Workdesk this Wednesday?

Kyla

WOYWW

Morning fellow deskers. The comments on my last WOYWW post made me laugh! Flatlaps are indeed what you place on your lap to use a laptop, cuppa and biscuits, sometimes my sketching kit too and when mine break i try not to spend money and fix them! 

This week is another difference: 

My desk is my allotment!!! I am taking a well deserved day off work and thought i would grab my man bites dog cards and use my compost bin as a desk! 

I have blogged this on my phone so hoping it has come out ok! Hope you all have a fabulous week and i look forward to having a look at all your workdesks too.

Kyla 

WOYWW

Happy hump day and "What's on your Workdesk Wednesday" where across the globe we bare our desks!  Well, mine is boring today because both our flatlaps broke so I am having to glue them back together and to be honest its easier to keep them clamped in the craft room out of the way whilst the glue dries.

The "man bites dog" cards this week are not pleasant 'missing nude singer dead' - mmm, well they are drawn randomly, some weeks are odd others not as great.

Anyway, hope you are able to get some crafting done and keep safe

kyla

Urban Sketchers Bristol

Hello peeps, I forgot to blog about our last Bristol Urban Sketchers meet up (we have the latest one this afternoo) .  Usually we meet in town and chat, sketch, regroup for some lunch and sometimes a cheeky pint too.  Well, under lockdown this of course has to change so we have gone virtual!

We sketched using google etc in Alhambra, Spain at the suggestion of one of our members.  Well, what a beautiful location, some amazing scenery, small backstreets and amazing buildings too.  It was also great being able to catch up with the others and sketch whilst chatting to others too.

Sadly my notebook is not great for watercolour as the paint sinks straight in so ideally I should just use pencil or pen and ink (as we know from an earlier post on here its not like I don't have a "few" blank notebooks in the stash!!) but I keep forgetting that I am sketching at home and don't have to use my travel kit and could actually pop upstairs and grab the pencils!!

I am looking forward to being able to sketch again outside and meeting up with the group, but in the mean time, this is a really good alternative and a great way to explore other places, albeit virtually

Happy sketching

kyla

WOYWW

So, hump day and that means What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday where we share our desks thanks to the lovely queen of desks Julia here  and it is also the reason some of us know it is a Wednesday in these strange times!!

So, on my desk this week, dont be too shocked, some crafting!  I know, go me!!  I admit I have a couple half days off work in the past week so I was able (between the garden and allotment) to get some crafting done.  Not much I admit, but its a start and does use up some more stash so that can only be a good thing to be honest!  As well as a couple of handbag cards (I think I may have bought the card blanks at a WOYWW crop years ago and still have about 4 or so I haven't used so thought I could use some of the bigger pieces from my off cuts box up.

Also is a sketch of a lady picking lavender that was cut out of a calendar from last year (tell me I am not the only one who reuses/upcycles calendars etc to make cards/tags etc and it seemed fitting since I have just started cutting this years crop from my front garden ready for drying.

My "man bites dog" cards this week are 'Lost Blonde Blames Brave Nude'!!  Well, considering some of the scenes we have seen in Weston Super Mare and Bournemouth over the past week I could imagine this as an actual headline!

Happy crafting

Kyla

Allotment Update

Just a quick update, those of you who follow me on Instagram or facebook will know that a couple weeks back the allotment site was victim to another arson attack and 2 sheds were burnt out.  We dont have a shed (the plot is too small) but sadly the direction of the wind meant the top third of our plot was burnt and so we have lost these 2 beds of strawberries (I know many years ago farmers used to burn their crops to clear top growth so hoping the strawberries grow back for next year, just bad timing as we had just started to pick them for this years crop!)

the cloches all burnt and with that my beetroot, carrots, spring onion and lettuces

as well as the cabbages, garlic, onions, shallots and some sweetcorn

This was the lettuce etc all burnt through the cloche

HOWEVER-cutting off the burnt tops we noticed the crowns appeared to be intact and what a difference a couple of weeks can make!  This is my little gem now!  They have sprung back to life and I have now started to transplant the thinnings to another couple of beds so they can heart up over the coming weeks.  The burnt garlic we dug up and used as a wet garlic and the same with some of the japanese onions badly scorched, we have dug them up and are using them now rather than storing them.

On the positive, it also means that I now have almost an entire bed now clear after the fire so somewhere to plant some late summer/autumn crops!

Kyla

Woyww

Hello just a quick update and apology. 

I haven't been able to revisit any blogs or do many updates (this is via my phone again so fingers crossed it works!) when i finish work my body is screaming for some fresh air and non screen time so i am grateful for the allotment but i will try harder as i need to try and do some crafting, evening if its outside in the garden for an hr ! 

Anyway whingeing over, on my workdesk this Wednesday is a lovely card from Julia with some lovely words inside, it meant so much to receive it, thank you Julia 

Kyla 

Woyww

Happy hump day! That means sharing what's on our workdesks on a Wednesday. 

This week its a short update, hopefully it works as its done on my phone. Only managed to do this once before but i have a day off, am knackered and really dont want to turn the computer on! 

On my desk this week is my allotment planting plan for this year. Some of you who follow my instagram page (I'm on Instagram as @kylacotterell)
 will know we were sadly victims of an arson attack last week on our allotment site so i have lost about 1/3 of the crops so i now have ynexpected space for planting autumn/winter crops so thought i better update the plans and lists!

My man bites dog cards this week are Singer Defends Suspect Tycoon-ooh that does sound interesting!!!

Fingers crossed this posting works!
So, what's on your workdesk this Wednesday?
Kyla