Bonny Snowdon 00:06
Hello, I'm Bonny Snowdon, ex-corporate person, a mother turned successful artist-entrepreneur. It wasn't that long ago though that I lacked the confidence, vision and support network to focus on growing my dream business. Fast forward past many life curveballs, waves of self-doubt and so many lessons learned and you'll see Ignite, my thriving online colour pencil artists community, a community that changes members' lives for the better and gives me freedom to live abundantly whilst doing what I love and spending quality time with my beloved family and dogs, all whilst creating my best artwork with coloured pencils, and mentoring others to do the same. But this life wasn't always how it was for me, it used to only exist in my imagination. I've created the It's a Bonny Old Life podcast to help increase people's confidence, share mine and my communities experience and hope through fascinating personal stories, champion the other amazing humans in my personal, professional and membership community, and create another channel through which I can support others to realise their dreams. If you're a passionate colour pencil artist or an aspiring one who's looking to create their best work, and a joyful life you love, you're in the right place. Grab a cuppa and a custard cream, let's get cracking.
Hello and welcome to another monthly roundup. Gosh, this month has gone so, so, so quickly. I can't, I can't believe it’s August a week today. It's madness. I think possibly because I've had a couple of weeks out. One for my amazing retreat and then I've just come back from holiday as well, which has been absolutely fantastic. So yeah, it's been a really, really choc-a, choc-a month. Lots of relaxation, which has been lovely. And I think the highlight was definitely the retreat that I had at the beginning of, of July. 12 people from, well, from all around the world, joined me. We had, we booked out the whole of the hotel in Masham, the White Bear in Masham, and we just had the most fantastic, fantastic week. Lots of drawing, lots of talking, lots of emotions, lots of tears, fabulous food. Just really, really amazing company for, you know, those few days it was really, really super. And it wasn't just, you know, coming and drawing. We had all sorts of things going on.
We did some live sessions. I got my, my yoga lady came along and, you know, I did one-to-ones with everybody and we had some confidence sessions and it was just, it was really, really fantastic. The venue was brilliant. The company was brilliant. It was just super.
So I'm not sure when the next ones next one's going to be. I think it's probably going to be next year. And I think it may well be outside of the UK, which is exciting. We're looking at somewhere in France. It’s a big, big, big place. So that's really, really exciting.
And then, of course, I launched my, my, my newest course, my Super Simple Coloured Pencil Course, which has been flying off the shelves as they say. Lots and lots of people have, have sort of taken the opportunity to, to, to purchase it and to do it. And I've been seeing some amazing results from it as well, which is fantastic. That was a course that I, I created just for real basics in coloured pencil. I think sometimes, you know, when you get to sort of a level and you've been doing coloured pencils for quite a while, you kind of, you kind of forget that, you know, there are some real basics that people need to, or want to know. And that's why I created that course, which like I say, has gone down really, really well, which is brilliant.
And then, of course, I have my lovely holiday. Oh my goodness. So we went to Corfu and we, we booked a lovely villa and we went to the Southeast of the island and we got that very late on the Friday night and I booked a car. So, originally, I booked transfers, but we decided that we're going to book a car because it looked like there was quite a long walking distance between, you know, to get to tavernas and shops and everything. So we decided, well, we’ll, we'll book a car. So we pick this car up and, I haven't driven on the wrong side of the road, shall I say, I haven't driven on the right side of the road. Gosh, I think it was in the eighties. I think it was the eighties the last time I drove abroad. And of course, I was in a, a right-hand drive, a right-hand drive, left-hand drive. And so we had to drive. It was probably, it was probably about a 40-minute drive from the airport to the Villa. We had good instructions and of course we had lovely Google maps and everything like that. And I don't think I got out of second gear all the way there. It was terrifying. I had my two children in the back telling me what a dreadful driver I was. I lost all kinds of spatial awareness. So I have no idea whether I was too close to the right-hand side or not. And I'm thinking, oh my God. And then people were just stopping and, and people were overtaking me and be like, I totally, and utterly rubbish, rubbish driver.
So yes. So honestly it was awful. And then we got to where the Villa was, and, luckily I had done some Googling and I'd taken some photographs of where our Villa actually was and being on the Southeast side, it's, it's a little bit lower down. The west side seems to be more. And the north seems to be a little bit more craggy and we were, we were on the coastal road, but it was quite low down. So the sea was quite quite near. And so we got to where the Villa was and I was thinking, well, how do we get to it? I, I know where it is, but how do I actually get to the Villa? Well, it was this, we called it the road of death, but a 70-degree angle. Probably wasn't 70-degree at all, but it felt like it felt like a 90-degree angle to be honest. And it was made of sort of when it was unmade. And it was just lots of small rocks altogether with kind of twists and turns and trees dotted around. So it was like a bit of an assault course to get round. And you literally just had to put your foot down and hope for the best. So we shot up this hill in first gear, you know, probably about 11 o'clock at night rocks going, I think probably the car kind of bottomed a few times as well. And then we kind of skirted around these trees and then we ended up coming to a very abrupt halt in front of our, in front of our Villa.
The Villa was absolutely beautiful, really, really, really beautiful. It was a very open plan. It had some really weird statues and artwork. If you watch stranger things, it was a little bit like that. There were, it was driftwood. So it was driftwood sculptures, but very, very strange, I mean, lovely in their own right. But they were a bit odd, but the, you know, it was big, it had lovely open plan and the pool was beautiful and the pool had the most amazing outlook over the, over the sea. And it was just absolutely lovely. And we had such a nice time. And my, my oldest sister joined us a few days later with her husband and, and it was brilliant. We found some gorgeous to Verna's and we went swimming in the sea and we bought snorkels and all of that kind of stuff. And it was just really, really lovely. Last day, we did a bit of a road trip and I, I was properly driving like a Greek using my horn all the time. And overtaking people were going slowly and around all of the tiny little hairpin bends or my God. Cause we went over the top of the, we went from the east to the west over the top of the mountains. And so that was, that was pretty scary through a couple of potholes, but luckily we were all right. Let's make, honestly, when you hit a pothole, you really know about it. So we had a really lovely time and then we got home four o'clock on Saturday morning, our plane was delayed a couple of hours, which was, it was okay. I got my timing's wrong. And we got to the airport four hours early, which probably exacerbated all it, probably loads of other people did that as well. Queues weren't that bad, to be honest. And yeah. And then we were delayed another two and a half hours and it was like, oh no, but yeah, we got home, got home on Saturday morning, which was great. And then promptly booked another whole day. Cause we had such a nice time. So yeah. So it's all been, it's been a bit of a strange month really because I've had two weeks where I've been almost totally, totally out of things. And thank goodness for my amazing small team who have sort of kept things going and all of that kind of stuff it's been, you know, they're, they're, they're just brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
So, and I've had a few really good podcasts as well this month. I'm just trying to think who, who we've had. We've had the lovely Louise who is my financial consultant, you know, definitely worth listening to. There's been lovely. Jessica who such a lovely girl, honestly, if you haven't listened to that podcast, you really should. She's she's fabulous. And then there was Sarah Gray and then I'm thinking of who else was there? I can't think who else there was. They all go, they all go by, it. Can't keep up. And I've got some other really, really nice people that I'm going to be. I'm going to be interviewing this week as well, which I'm quite excited about.
So, and then drawing-wise, I'm done. I finished the little girl in the scarf. I've done a few commissions. I've just started in another commission. I'm going to be doing some botanical work, which I'm quite excited about. I've got halfway through drawing the line art on my goodness, sunflowers mine. So was my own photo, some flowers in a glass cut, glass vase. I don't know who thought that was going to be a good idea. But anyway, the, I spent about two hours doing half of the line art and I was like, oh, this is just gonna have to wait. So I'm going to have to carry on doing that at some point, but I might just do one sunflower and forget about the cut glass vase. That sounds a bit too tricky. And then I've got some more people portraits to do as well. Which again, I'm really, really excited about.
And of course, the Academy opens at the beginning of September. I can't believe it's just over a month away. That's really, really exciting. You know, I've got some new additions coming in the form of sort of guides and stuff like that. I think every time we open the doors, we try to make things a little bit easier and better. And I always listened to what my members feedback is and try and act on it if I can. You know, so if you're planning on joining the, the Academy in September and I really hope you are, it's all going to be amazing. Honestly, it's, it's, it's a brilliant platform, absolutely brilliant platform. It's so easy to navigate everything's there and, and we've got a fantastic community as well. So, you know, hopefully we'll, you will join me.
So that's about it for me, dogs are all okay. Nelly's at the, at the hairdresser, she missed a haircut last time, sort of five weeks ago. Cause she was in season. So she's looking very woolly. I'm expecting her to come back looking like, I don't know what Sean sheep, I think she's going to look very skinny bless her. So yeah. So she's at the hairdressers and she'll be back swimming again on, on Wednesday. She has her hydrotherapy and then Slipper and Vinnie just, you know, just normal. I missed her slipper slipper refuse to eat for a couple of days while we were off on holiday. But I think the Sunday lunch that she got the chicken and roast chicken roast potatoes and, and Yorkshire pudding she had on the, on the Sunday night and that got returned again. We always have Sunday lunch together. It's so funny. They sit there waiting for, they have their normal tea and then all of a sudden day, they always have a Sunday, Sunday dinner as well, which they love. So yeah, all's good. All's good.
We're decorating again next week. So my living room is being done this time. I'm getting rid of some furniture. So I've got a huge van out in the front of the house. Somebody came to collect a piece of furniture, which I completely forgot about. And then they turned up and I was like, oh, hello, we've got to get your furniture. Oh yes. Okay. Anyway, they've gone back to get some allen key so, so they can take it apart. And then the garden is being sort of redone, done, landscaped, whatever you want to call it in August again, which is really, really exciting. So lots of things, lots of things happening. We've been here 17 years this year and this in this house and you know, we've done quite a lot to it, but it's the room that's been decorated at the moment hasn't been decorated since 2007, you know? So it's, it's definitely time, definitely time.
So yeah, that's about it. Oh, and the other exciting thing is I'm hoping it's going to be exciting. I have some new glasses on the way, which I'm a little bit giddy about. I'm really hope they look okay. So next time you see me face-to-camera, hopefully it will be wearing my new, my new glasses. So I think I look quite different cause they're very different to these ones. So we shall see, but yes, nice to catch up with everybody. Hope everybody's okay. Thanks as always for your amazing support. Lots of exciting things happening in the background, lots of things that I'm working on and I will see you all very soon.
I really hope you enjoyed listening to this episode of my It’s A Bonny Old Life Podcast. If you did, I'd be so grateful to you for emailing me or texting a link to the show or sharing it on social media with those, you know, who might like it too. My mission with this podcast is all about sharing mine and my community's experience and hope by telling your fascinating personal stories championing the other amazing humans in my personal professional membership community and to create another channel through which I can support you to realise your coloured,
pencil, and life dreams, if you haven't done so yet, please help me on my mission to spread positivity and joy throughout the coloured pencil world. By following me on my socials @bonnysnowdenacademy or by getting on my list at bonnysnowdenacademy.com. And remember, I truly believe if I can live the life of my dreams, doing what I love, then you can too, we just need to keep championing and supporting each other along the way in order to make it happen till next time.
