WOYWW

 Hump day can only mean one thing...What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday.

Well after unpacking from my hols, doing a ton of washing and now the inevitable ironing mountain where the bleating of the odd mountain goat can be heard muffled by a shirt or two I have finally managed to get round to blogging (not crafting, but at least blogging).

On my desk this week is a lovely card and some feathers that a friend sent me (waves at Carolyn). I have no idea what to do with them but I am sure that inspiration will strike at some point (maybe for some art abandonment).

My "Man Bites Dog" cards this week are 'Hero Reveal Fake Cop'.

Happy crafting

Kyla

Craft show stash

I have been absent for a short while.  Work, holiday, blah, blah...life...you know how it goes.

If you follow me on instagram (kylacotterell) then you would have seen my capers and art abandonments etc over the past few weeks.  I am slowly uploading the photos and will update my blog soon.

At the weekend I went for a Coven outing to the Shepton Mallet craft show.  I was lucky enough to be given a couple of tickets from the organisers as they used my photo on their publicity (ooh, get me!!) and I contacted them and they were very obliging.

I was being smug as I only spent £1 on craft.  The fat quarter hidden in the middle of the photo.  I kept walking past the Dinky Screens stall.  A couple of young ladies from Bristol and this was their first show.  Having done some screen printing in the past I was really taken with their compact and contemporary set up.  I chatted to them, wandered off and ended up back at the stall on 3 separate occasions!

As we went to leave to return home I decided it was fate as I walked past them again....out came the cash....purchase made!!  I chose the 'Bristol' stencil collection.  I live near a steam railway and we have the balloons going over us regularly so it seemed really appropriate.

I am looking forward to playing with this.

My only new stash for several months (apart from a couple of magazines and a replacement watercolour paint)....but we do have the NEC only a few weeks away!

Happy crafting

Kyla

Urban Sketchers at the farm

 If you follow me on Instagram you would have already seen these but I was a little slow in blogging them.  Two weeks ago I attended the meet up of the Bristol Urban Sketchers. 

 I have been to a few of their meet ups and its always a lovely group at a local spot, a cuppa and a chat then some sketching and then sharing of ideas etc over a cuppa and maybe some lunch afterwards-very refined.  

This event was at the Windmill Hill City Farm (which only last week end celebrated its 40th Anniversary) and somewhere I have never been.

The wall outside was painted by a local artists Andy Council (I have always been a fan of his work and was even lucky enough to go to his house at a local open art event a few years ago).

 There was so much to see and do from allotments, to chickens, pigs and goats.  I found the goats to be particularly delightful as they stuck their heads through the fence to play with passers by so ended up sketching at that spot for most of the time.

 I also decided to paint a watercolour postcard of the largest goat whilst I was there and leave it as part of the Art Abandonment project (search for the group on FB if you'd like more details)

On the way back into town my husband noticed the Arnofini art gallery has a stamp carving workshop for free and it was just a case of turn up and carve-everything you need was provided.  So I couldn't turn that down so I carved a face which reminded me a little of the Studio Ghibli character Calcifer!  I decided to sketch the process in my journal whilst I was on the bus home (never a missed opportunity).

I recommend local Urban Sketchers groups, they are great way of learning from others and it's always nice to meet up with like minded people.

Happy crafting

Kyla

 

WOYWW

Hump day again so that can only mean one thing-the day we share our desks of creativity (or shame, you choose!).  Full details of What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday can be found in the link over on the right which takes you to the Queen of desks, the lovely Julia.

So my desk this week-well I am actually up to date!  This is Octobers 365 Journal in the making.  I know, I am actually close to finishing the page BEFORE the start of the month!

Phew, I am so in shock I need to sit down!  But before I do this weeks "Man Bites Dog" cards are ' Angry Wife Sues Devoted Fans'.....ooh there should be several famous husbands out there wondering about this!!!!

So why not join us and share you desk?

Happy crafting

Kyla

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