Project Calm issue 3 sampler

WELLBEING

PA P E R A R T S

POTTERY

JOURNALING

T R AV E L

EXTRAS

MARBLED STICKERS COLOURFUL CARDS FOR PAPER FEATHERS HAND ILLUSTRATED BIRD POSTERS GARDEN LABELS & SEED PACKETS

Create with nature, explore modern marbling, make space for wellbeing, try birdwatching, be a potter, stretch with yogaflow, discover urban greenery, recycle flowers, listen to podcasts, try tea blending, delight in dogs, tune in to your intuition...

W E LO V E C R A F T WLC29 CALM#3 2017 PRINTED IN THE UK £9.99

Cover illustration by Matilda Smith

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E XTRAS I N T HI S ISSUE Make all these projects using our posters, cards, templates & stickers

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Hand-painted plumage to cut out and display 011

Instant art!

Four beautiful bird prints to display 034

Colourful cards & templates for a wreath, mobile & more 018

Simple seed packets to make, fill and give as gifts 050

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‘Grow your own’ fruit, veg & flowers labels & tags 050

Try the marbling trend with our slick journal stickers

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CO N TE N TS 0 6 N AT U R E

08 Nature news, ideas & events 11 Beautiful paper plumage 16 Bright & bold feathers 18 Colourful cards for feathers 22 Mindful art of birdwatching 26 Avocet: a short story 31 Profile: Gudrun SjĂśdĂŠn 34 Bird print posters 38 Inspired by Flowers 112

40 Recycle a floral bouquet 43 A spring day, the Nordic way 47 Time to get gardening!

54 HOME

56 Home inspiration & design 60 Inspired by marbling 62 Modern paper marbling 66 Marbled stickers for you 67 Make a journal jacket 68 Profile: Natalie Stopka 71 Tune in to podcasting 74 Creating space for 011

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wellbeing in your home 79 Pottery basics to try 84 Profile: Kara Leigh Ford

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8 8 T R AV E L

90 Put your travel dreams into motion this season 92 Urban greenery: the new city break 94 Skyline walks to try 100 Inspired by cities 102 M I N D & B O DY

104 Positive actions and products to try 106 Find your creative flow with yoga stretches & moves 112 Inspired by pets 115 Delight in owning a dog 120 The yoga of tea: creating a perfect blend 128 The Susannah Conway 106

column: daily guidance

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IN

N ATU R E YOU R HO ME

Recent research published in Bioscience Journal says that birds around the home, and nature in general, show great promise in preventative health care. Previous studies put the change in wellbeing down to the fact people feel relaxed and connected to nature when looking at birds and trees.

It’s good to know scientific research is catching up with what we’ve known all along!

TAK IN G

I NS P IRATIO N

F RO M

N AT U R E

I l l u s t r a t o r B e c k i C l a r k c r e a t e d t h i s i s s u e ’s b i r d a r t w o r k . H e r e ’s s o m e o f t h e o t h e r w o r k s h e ’ s b e e n b u s y w i t h r e c e n t l y. . .

35 1. Wrapping presents in the illustrated wrap I created for @noisemakers.club, complete with a brush-lettered gift tag.

2. Working on a new pattern today with blush tones using my new gouache paints.

3. Picked up some mini envelopes and brush-lettered numbers onto them to make a homemade advent wall.

4. I‘ve been working on a new venture, Olive & Bramble, a wedding stationery company inspired by my love of nature and painting.

BECKI CLARK Becki Clark is an illustrator who works from her cosy home in Bristol. Usually found with paints in hand, Becki specialises in pattern design and brush lettering. If she’s not at her desk, she’ll be walking her sausage dog Reggie, looking for new inspiration. beckiclark.com, instagram.com/becki_clark

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TAK I NG

T H E

P OTTE RY

P LU N G E

The hum of the wheel, the feel of clay in your hands, the intense c o n c e n t r a t i o n . . . c r e a t i n g p o t t e r y i s h y p n o t i c s a y s K a r a L e i g h Fo r d .

Pottery is quite meditative… when you’re making a piece, you need to prepare the clay – it’s called wedging and kneading and is a bit like making dough. The repetition and physicality of it is quite mindful; you have to put a lot of effort in to get the clay to a decent texture to throw with. That’s especially true if you are wedging a large amount of clay, you use a lot of body strength, you work up a sweat, and often you get lost in that – it’s a great way to release aggression or frustration!

With the wedging bit, you cut the clay in half and throw it down onto the other half of the clay – it’s very effective in releasing tension.

I’ve practised yoga for a while now too and this has helped me with my strength – and helped me to be better at pottery – as I’m a bit weedy naturally! Actually, being a potter has probably helped me with my yoga too, making me stronger again, so the two are both good for me.

Being on the wheel is a great way of focusing the mind… it all takes a lot of concentration, the throwing, the spiraling of

the clay. The humming of the wheel and how it feels through your hands is quite hypnotic. It only takes about 10 or 15 minutes to throw a bowl, but for that time you are totally absorbed in what you are doing with your hands. If I have any worries, I just go to my wheel and I feel great afterwards. My shed is a real oasis of calm: I don’t get the internet out in my shed either so I can’t get online… it’s just me and my clay.

Once I’m happy with what I’ve created on the wheel, I cut it off with a wire, and slide it on to a bat (wooden board). It then needs to sit for a few days to dry out. Once it’s ‘leather hard’, it’s put back on to the wheel – a process called ‘settling’.

Basically, you place the piece upside down on the wheel and you’re turning it again, using dry tools to trim away the excess.

If something goes wrong at this stage, the piece will be ruined, so again you really need to concentrate (I’ve learned the hard way and a lot of bowls have ended at this stage). So you are definitely zoned out of anything else and into what you are doing. It’s a powerful tool to de-stress people.

Kara’s teapots are glazed in a glossy transparent glaze to allow the beautiful speckle of the ivory stoneware to show through. Her little bowls are glazed in subtle turquoise and oatmeal.

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I’m in love w i t h cities I’ve never been to and people I’ve nev er met.

TRAVEL Choosing a city as a travel destination doesn’t mean you have to disconnect with nature.

Around the world, there’s a growing desire to soften and ‘green’ urban landscapes as we better understand the need to complement our concrete jungles with flora and fauna.

But that doesn’t mean that we don’t love buildings – we find architecture fascinating – as you’ll find from the maps, streets and skyrises inspiring our creative makes.

Enjoy your travels, wherever they take you...

Quote by Melody Truong: Illustration: Benedict Blyth

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A B RA N D N EW M AGA Z I N E! PA P E R C R A F T

PODCASTING

WELLBEING

POTTERY

N AT U R E

EXTRAS

HAND-ILLUSTRATED BIRD POSTERS COLOURFUL CARDS FOR PAPER FEATHERS MARBLED STICKERS

Welcome to a quality new magazine packed with creative projects & ideas, beautiful photography and insightful features. Discover mindfulness through making, discover Project Calm magazine.

GARDEN LABELS & SEED PACKETS

EXTRAS IN THIS ISSUE INCLUDE...

“HOPE IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS THAT PERCHES IN THE SOUL” Emily Dickinson

Hand-painted plumage papers – simply cut out & display

Instant art!

Four beautiful bird prints on quality card

All you need to create colourful paper feathers

‘Grow your own’ labels & seed packets to make & use now

Try the marble trend with our pretty journal stickers

£9.99*

S P R I N G

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