Fred and Ginger

This page was inspired by my friend’s silver necklace which originally belonged to her mother; she calls it “Fred & Ginge”. I thought the outline of the dancers would be perfect as a centre piece for my journal page and it would be a lovely tribute to these iconic dance partners.

As my friend’s necklace is silver, I started by applying silver metallic acrylic paint to the page with a brayer and leaving it to dry. I then added black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker ink by applying it to an acrylic block, spritzing it with water and pressing it on. Next I stamped a Script stamp by Kaisercraft using black Archival Ink. For the roses I used a stencil by Craft Sensations and Liquitex red acrylic paint which I applied using a baby wipe. To shade the rose petals and add texture I then added some Black Soot Distress Ink to the roses using a blending tool and I stippled more red paint over the top using a paint brush. I removed the stencil and added further detail to the rose outlines using a black Uni Pin marker and a white gel pen. I also applied the same Black Soot ink using a blending tool to the grey areas of the page, where there were no roses, to darken the background and emphasis the metallic paint. I flicked some water over this ink and blotted it with a piece of kitchen towel to create light coloured splatters. Then I used a Shabby Harlequin stencil by Creative Expressions and the Black Soot ink as well as a Musicality stamp by Docrafts and black Archival Ink to add more detail to the background. I took a photo of my friend’s necklace, and printed a large image to use as a template to draw around onto music paper, which I cut out, edged with the black Big Brush marker and stuck to the page using Liquitex Matte Gel Medium. Once the medium had dried I outlined the silhouettes using a black Uni Pin marker to add some shadow.  I added three silver music notes using silver brads and lots of different sized crystals to add a touch of glamour. The larger crystals were linked together on a wire thread so I cut them individually, created swirls with the wire, stuck them to the page using Glossy Accents and placed a smaller crystal on the end of the wire to give a neat finish.

I’m happy to be able to join Gill from gibbyfrogettcraftations again who is hosting the “Elegance & Grunge” challenge over at Art Journal Journey and the  “Dancer” theme over at Moo-Mania & More – Challenge.

I have always loved musicals and Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were both incredible dancers who had natural style and grace. If you are interested, here are some fun facts:

• Between 1933 and 1949, Astaire and Rogers appeared in 10 films together.
• Their first screen pairing occurred in 1933 in the musical film “Flying Down to Rio”.
• “The Barkleys of Broadway” (1949) was their only film shot in Technicolor; it was their last film and was shot after a 10 year hiatus.
• The pair had an on-screen chemistry so magical that Rogers became Astaire’s most famous dance partner.
• Their films followed a set formula where Astaire specified how many minutes could elapse between the beginning of the film and its first musical number, as well as how many minutes of comedy, romance, and drama there should be between dance numbers.

As T Stands for Tuesday, I think cocktails would be an appropriate drink for this famous duo and when “stepping out with my baby” for my birthday we enjoyed a few cocktails with our friends! Maybe you would like an Apple Caipirinha or Cosmopolitan or a bottle of Italian beer or a glass of Prosecco. I’m inviting the T Gang to join us and wishing you all a Happy T Day!

Or a Mint Julep (to make this cocktail muddle 2 parts Bourbon whiskey, 12 mint leaves and ½ dash Gomme syrup with crushed ice and top with soda) or a Citrus Rum Cooler (1½ parts Havana Club Rum, ¼ part Cointreau/orange liqueur and 4 parts orange juice shaken with ice and poured into a glass).

Or even a Big Easy (1½ parts Southern Comfort, ¼ Cointreau/orange liqueur and 2 parts orange juice shaken with ice, strained into a glass over ice and topped up with Ginger Beer). Of course if you prefer soft drinks, tea and coffee are available too. By the way all these cocktails were actually half price so we got to try a few different ones between us – cheers!

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:

• Poundland Metallic Paint (Silver)
• Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Cadmium Red Medium Hue/Red Lacquer)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Black Soot)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.3mm & 0.5mm)
• Uniball Signo gel pen (White)
• Docrafts Papermania Creative Essentials A5 Clear Stamp Set (Musicality DCE907112)
• Kaisercraft clear stamp (Script CS752)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Creative Expressions Mini Stencil (Shabby Harlequin CEMSHARL)
• Music of All Nations Sheet Music
• The Works (Musical Note Charms)
• The Works (Jewel Stickers)
• Home Bargains Special Occasions (Decorative Chain 26253, Decorative Stickers 22740)
• Small silver brads
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium