Summer

There is so much to love about summer such as hot days spent relaxing and enjoying yourself, just like the two ladies on my page. Like me, they want to join in the fun over at Art Journal Journey with Bluebeard’s and Elizabeth’s “Summertime Love” theme.

I started this page by combining navy and white acrylic paints to create a bright blue colour, then I applied this paint thickly to the page with a paint brush so you could see the brush strokes. I fussy cut the two ladies from a magazine and stuck them down using a UHU Stic once the paint had dried. Then I stamped a black border by Hampton Art using black Archival Ink and used a black Uni Pin marker to colour and outline some of the squares. On the right hand side of the page I arranged different papers by Craft Sensations which are stuck down using a UHU Stic along with some spotted paper tape. Next I added the “Summer” title and I also applied the other summer sayings and words, which are rub-on transfer sentiments by Royal & Langnickel, to the papers which I stuck down earlier. I added paper flowers by Dovecraft and decorated their centres with white felt flowers, buttons and dome enamel dots; these are stuck into place using glossy accents.  The polka dot butterfly buttons, tag and pink flowers are wooden embellishments and are stuck to the page using glossy accents; I tied black paper twine to the centre of the butterfly buttons and to the top of the tag before I stuck them down. To finish, I added a polka dot strawberry and some blue dome enamel dots.

Pimm’s is a very popular summertime drink here in the UK and as T Stands for Tuesday it must be “Pimm’s o’clock” so I’m sharing a jug of Pimm’s and saying a big hello to the T Gang – Happy T Day!

For those of you who may not be familiar with this drink, Pimm’s No. 1 is a fragrant gin-based drink which is combined with distinctive botanicals and bitter herbs, caramelized orange and delicate spices. It is mixed with lemonade and served over ice with strawberries, cucumber and mint. You may have noticed I added the word “lemonade” and also a strawberry to my page (grin!).

If you’re interested, here are some more Pimm’s related facts:

1. Pimm’s No.1 was invented and originally served at an oyster bar in London in the 1800’s to aid digestion and was a homemade concoction mixed by a Mr. Pimm.
2. The Pimm’s recipe is top secret and there are 6 different types of Pimm’s which differ only in their base alcohol e.g. gin, vodka, scotch etc.
3. It is traditionally served with chopped strawberries, cucumber and mint which you can snack on at the end of the glass of Pimm’s, well that’s if you can wait that long (grin!). It’s a good way to get your daily dose of fruit and vegetables – or ‘one of your five a day’ as we say in the UK.
4. “It’s Pimm’s o’clock” was a phrase coined by some clever marketing people to show that it’s great for sharing. Here’s one of the adverts using this catch phrase.
5. Pimm’s is often seen at Wimbledon, polo matches and the Henley Regatta and is also served at Buckingham Palace by appointment to the Queen so we’re in good company sipping this drink in the sunshine!

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:

• Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Navy)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (White)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.3mm)
• Hampton Art Doodlebug Design Inc. (Borders ICO160)
• Craft Sensations Design Pad (Soft Sweetness 154897)
• The Works The Craft Place (Spotted Paper Tapes)
• Old Magazine
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Sentiments (Summer #ROY505, Thanksgiving #ROY-522)
• Dovecraft Collections Back to Basics III (Paper Blossoms DCBL005)
• Aldi (Easter Collection Bonnet Accessories)
• Buttons from B&M Craft Goody Bag (Turquoise)
• The Works (Pastel Enamel Dots)
• Docrafts Papermania Stickers (Enamel Shapes – Denim Blue Domes PMA3560011)
• Docrafts Papermania Wooden Tags (Ahoy There  PMA355104)
• The Works (Butterfly Wooden Buttons)
• The Works (Craft Flowers)
• Wilko (Paper Twine)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• UHU Stic