Happy 4th of July!

As today is 4^th July, I was inspired to create this page to join in the celebrations with my American friends and wish you all a very “Happy 4^th of July”.

I started by covering the page in a thin layer of white gesso in readiness to apply gelatos. I scribbled Red Cherry and Boysenberry Faber-Castell Gelatos in starburst patterns over the page, to resemble fireworks, then dipped my finger into some water and used it on the gelatos to smudge the colour. I then covered the page in a thin layer of Liquitex Matte Gel Medium to seal the gelatos and stop them reactivating when wet. Once the gel medium had dried I applied Topaz and Desert Spectrum Aqua Markers and some Cold Grey and Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush Markers and blended them with a baby wipe; this gave an antique look to the background. Next I stamped the sentiment using black Archival Ink and edged the letters with a white Uni Posca paint pen. I added four “star and stripe” rub-on transfers by Royal & Langnickel and distressed the background around them with a baby wipe so that they stood out more. The stars are also rub-on transfers which I covered with glitter glue and outlined with red, white and blue dots using Uni Posca paint pens. I continued these red, white and blue dots around the edge of the page and also in starburst patterns on the background. I made the round swirls using vintage striped paper by American Crafts; I did this by scoring the paper with a paper craft tool and then folding it along the scored lines to give a concertina effect. I then attached a piece of plastic coated wire to secure the folded paper in the centre and fanned the paper outwards so they joined at each end to give a circular shape. I secured the paper edges on the back with tape and added a gold star to the centre. I painted some of the folded points white using a Uni Posca paint pen and then drew blue and red dots to tie into the background and theme more. I connected the wires together and attached them to the page using Glossy Accents. To finish, I added some small red star sequins using the Glossy Accents again to stick them to the page.

As we are celebrating the 4^th July I’m pleased to be able to join Bluebeard and Elizabeth who are hosting the “Summertime Love” theme over at Art Journal Journey.

I know some of you were asking about my new Uni Posca Paint Pens so I thought I’d show you my new set (grin!). They are a water-based pigment ink being both alcohol and solvent free and I have the extra fine markers which are a 0.7mm bullet tip. They produce poster-paint-style vibrant colours and once dry, you can easily layer more colours over the top to correct any errors and build your design. Apparently they can be used on virtually any surface and I have found they don’t bleed-through paper. I’ve been very impressed with them so far .

As we are celebrating the “4^th July” or “July 4” (grin!), I thought we could have some fun and compare some English to American words which have different meanings. To this end you may remember Lisca listing some English Slang words last week which prompted a conversation with Bluebeard and Elizabeth who listed some English to American words. This inspired me to put a list together of the word differences that I have come across when I travelled and worked in America – see what you think …

English	American		English	American
Crisps	Chips		Flat	Apartment
Chips	French Fries		Semi-detached	Duplex
Biscuit	Cookie		Ground Floor	First Floor
Scone	Biscuit		First Floor	Second Floor
Jam	Jelly		Lift	Elevator
Swiss Roll	Jelly Roll
Sweets	Candy		Chemist	Drugstore
Ice Lolly	Popsicle		Off Licence	Liquor Store
Pudding	Dessert		Pillar Box	Mail Box
			Queue	Line
Aubergine	Eggplant		Solicitor	Lawyer / Attorney
Courgette	Zucchini		Post Code	Zip Code
Rocket	Arugula
Coriander	Cilantro		Private School	Public School
Spring Onion	Scallion / green onion		Public School	State School
Porridge	Oatmeal		Term	Semester
Plain Flour	All Purpose Flour
			Holiday	Vacation
Cooker	Stove		Fortnight	Two Weeks
Grill	Broil		Autumn	Fall
Tin Foil	Aluminum Foil
Dustbin	Garbage / Trash Can		Road	Pavement
Jug	Pitcher		Pavement	Sidewalk
Tap	Faucet		Carpark	Parking Lot
Curtains	Drapes		Petrol	Gas
Lounge	Living Room		Estate Car	Station Wagon
Cupboard	Closet		Saloon Car	Sedan
			Lorry	Truck
Trousers	Pants		Number Plate	License Plate
Pants (m) or Knickers (f)	Underwear		Boot(car)	Trunk (car)
Dressing Gown	Bath-robe		Bonnet (car)	Hood (car)
Handbag	Purse / Pocket book		Motorway	Freeway
Label	Tag
Nappy	Diaper		Film	Movie
Spanner	Wrench		Football	Soccer
Torch	Flashlight		American Football	Football
Mobile	Cell Phone		Draughts	Checkers
Serviette	Napkin
			Full Stop	Period
			Tick	Check Mark

As T Stands for Tuesday and it is the 4^th July, for breakfast I thought I would celebrate by having homemade waffles with fresh summer fruits (strawberries, nectarines and blueberries) and maple syrup all the way from Maine in America! To go with it I’m drinking a cup of hot water – Happy T day!

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 White Gesso
• Faber-Castell Gelatos (Red Cherry, Boysenberry)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233, Dark Sepia 175 B)
• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Topaz, Desert)
• Uni Posca Paint Pens (White, Red, Dark Blue)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.2mm)
• Docrafts Creativity Essentials A5 clear stamp set (Alpha Folk DCE907115)
• American Crafts Paper Pad (DIY Shop 366665)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Sentiments (Uncle Sam #MAL-203 Rub-on)
• The Range Adhesive Craft Gems (Assorted Shapes CRO869)
• Poundland (Assorted Sequins)
• The Range 3D Glitter Glue (GLT 43210000 3D Glue Pen)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Masking Tape
• Plastic coated wire – recycled from packaging