Happy Daffodils

March is here and the daffodils are in full bloom which heralds the coming of spring. There seems to be an abundance of them around the town this year and these cheery yellow flowers always make me smile. So to welcome the arrival of one of the first plants to light up our gardens I decided to create a display of my own.

I started by stenciling a honeycomb pattern using a Creative Expressions mask and Pébéo modelling paste and left it to dry thoroughly. I used my new set of Spectrum Aqua Markers to create the background, the colours I choose were Kingfisher, Tan and Desert; I applied them to an acrylic block and spritzed them with water and then I pressed the block or dripped the ink onto the page. Using the same Aqua Markers I stamped a daffodil tile design onto the background and splattered the page with fine dots of the diluted Aqua marker pigments and Black Soot Distress Ink. To make the tags, I used a cream glossy tag and applied the same black Distress Ink to the edge and across the whole surface using a baby wipe. Then I stamped the daffodil tile design using the same Aqua markers to decorate the tag background. The daffodil image is from a magazine, I tore it in half, ripped the edges and applied the black Distress Ink to them and I stuck them to the tags using a UHU Stic. The original image design was monotone except for a yellow wasp, so to accentuate the daffodils I coloured the flower, stems, leaves and words using Derwent Inktense pencils, a Moss Spectrum Aqua Marker and a black Derwent Graphik Line Marker. I found the wasp detracted from the daffodils so I covered it up with some vintage butterfly washi tape. I added some black paper twine and stuck them to the page using double-sided foam tape. I also flicked yellow and orange Derwent Inktense pencil ink over the background to connect the daffodil colours from the tag with the rest of the page. Next I added stickers from the Idea-ology Salvage Stickers collection called Crowded Attic by Tim Holtz, which I edged using the same black Distress Ink. To finish I added the words which are rub-on transfers and the shiny yellow and orange mini gel stickers.

As this page is about seeing daffodils when we’re “Out and About” in town, I pleased to be able to join Yvonne from Meggy’s Way over at Art Journal Journey.

As part of our volunteer work for St. Anne’s on Sea in Bloom, we were involved in planting daffodils around our local town. It was nice to admire the fruits of our labours when we were out shopping this weekend; we had added a layer of daffodil bulbs in these tubs and it’s so wonderful to see their yellow heads prettily bobbing in the breeze.

Last year in October, we also planted bulbs along one of the main roads into our town.

Now these beautiful daffodils say “hello” to people as they drive into St. Anne’s on the Sea – what a lovely happy greeting!    

As T Stands for Tuesday my drink of choice is hot water today and we are also having American pancakes with blueberries, bananas, whipped cream and Maple Syrup  – yummy yum yum! The maple syrup comes all the way from Dave’s Sugar Shack in Maine, our friends kindly sent it to us as a present. These pancakes are actually the ones we had on Shrove Tuesday, which ties in nicely with the daffodils as they are often called the Lent Lily because they flower when Lent starts and tend to have finished flowering by Easter. I’m saying a big hello to the T Gang and wishing you all a Happy T Day!

Do you know any fun facts about daffodils? Did you know:

1. The daffodil is the flower for March.
2. The daffodil is the national flower of Wales.
3. In the Victorian days, daffodils represented chivalry and today they represent hope.
4. Daffodils signify the coming of spring.
5. The daffodil is a common decoration during Chinese New Year.
6. A gift of daffodils is said to ensure happiness.
7. Daffodils contain a toxic sap which is harmful to other flowers. Before arranging in a vase with other flowers the daffodils should be soaked in water for 24 hours. Do not re-cut the stems as it will re-release the toxin.

Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.

Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:

• Pébéo Modeling Paste High Density
• Papermania wood mounted stamp (39454)
• Creative Expressions That Special Touch of Mica Masks (Honeycombe)
• Magazine Spectrum Aqua Markers (Kingfisher, Tan, Desert, Moss)
• Tim Hotlz Distress Ink (Black Soot)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.05mm)
• Derwent Inktense Ink Pencils (Sun Yellow 0200, Tangerine 0300)
• Poundland (Die Cut Tags 117106)
• Wilko (Paper Twine 0314169)
• Hobbycraft Decorative Tape (assorted Black & White 5971481007)
• Tim Holtz Idea-ology Salvage Stickers (Crowded Attic #TH92898)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Sentiments (Spring Sentiments #ROY-506 Rub-on)
• Home Bargains (Mini Gel Stickers 30287)
• UHU Stic
• The Range double-sided foam tape