Dancing is an art

I’m so excited and honoured to be hosting Art Journal Journey this August and for this month’s challenge you are invited to use your favourite quotes, sayings and poems to inspire your designs for the theme “Poetry in Motion”.

As some of you may know I really like to create pages with meaning and I’m often inspired by things I see and do, including quotes and my page today is inspired by these wonderful words:

I started by painting patches of white gesso over the page then I added Peacock Feathers and Cracked Pistachio Distress Inks by applying the ink pad to an acrylic block, spritzing with water and then pressing the block onto the page. I also dragged the ink pads over the edge of the page to concentrate the colour. With the quote in mind, I stamped some filigree images by Hampton Art using London Fog Memento Ink. Next I sprinkled Ultramarine Colourcraft Brusho Crystal powder onto the page and spritzed them with water and just watched the magic as the colours burst into life. I then added pieces of washi tape, which I had torn so the edges didn’t have such straight lines and flowed with movement.  I stuck down some torn pieces of music paper using Liquitex Matte Gel Medium and also dragged some of the Brusho colour from the page over the edges of the music to blend them in.  I added plasterboard/drywall tape to add more texture and then I layered on torn pieces of a baby wipe which I had previously used to mop up some acrylic paint. Before applying the baby wipe I stretched it so it looked like fabric and used matte gel medium to stick it down so the wispy edges danced across the page. The beautiful dancer image is fussy cut from a leaflet and stuck down using a UHU Stic. I stamped the words onto some paper by Craft Sensations, fussy cut it out, edged the paper with a black Sharpie permanent marker and stuck it to the page using double-sided foam. To finish I added two cream Button Heart embellishments.

I love the way this page has turned out and I feel the words could be applied to my art journaling and to the creation of this page.

I do hope that you are inspired to get creative by the “Poetry in Motion” challenge over at Art Journal Journey too! I’m looking forward to visiting you to see all your wonderful creations.

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m saying a big hello to the T Gang and wishing you all a Happy T Day! Today I’m enjoying a refreshing drink of apple juice with ginger beer, in my craft room while creating a new journal page (grin!). It’s served in one of my favourite glasses, which I bought during a tour of the Maine Mead Works in America whilst there on holiday.

Mead is an alcoholic drink made from honey, hence the bee which greeted us on their fabulous sign! If you look closely you can just make out this bee symbol on my glass too (grin!). The mead that they make is a modern style of mead which is similar to wine and is light and refreshing, whereas I think of mead as a winter drink served hot with spices. Both of which are delicious!

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

“Poetry in Motion”

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

• Pébéo White Gesso
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Peacock Feathers, Cracked Pistachio)
• Memento Dye Ink (London Fog)
• Colourcraft Brusho Crystals (Ultramarine)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Hampton Art 7 Gypsies cling mounted rubber stamps (Birdsong ICO151)
• Dovecraft upper and lower case alphabet stamp set (WDN ALPHA STMP DCVW0050)
• Music Book (Bosworth Violin Studies)
• Craft Sensations Design Pad (Endless Love CRO260/A)
• Used dry baby wipe
• Leaflet
• Crelando Decorative Tape
• Home Bargains Self-Adhesive Button Hearts (Sweet Hearts 22809)
• 151 Adhesives Plasterboard/Drywall Tape
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• UHU Stic
• The Range double-sided foam tape

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

The Imperial Hotel

We had a great start to the New Year at the Imperial Hotel in Blackpool, we went on a Heritage tour of this majestic Victorian hotel finding out about its history and enjoying a lovely afternoon tea. As a special treat for 2017 I also enjoyed their famous “Mayflower Spirit” cocktail in the No. 10 bar after the tour had finished.

I applied a thin layer of Parchment acrylic paint to the page using a baby wipe. Once it had dried I added strips of tissue paper which had a lovely holly design; it reminded me of the luxurious silken wallpapers at the hotel. I arranged the tissue strips so they looked like the panels we saw in many of the rooms whilst on our tour and used a UHU Stic to stick them down.  Next I stamped ornate picture frames using black Archival Ink to depict the beautiful plaster work, pictures and mirrors found at the hotel. I stamped the frame onto some of the holly tissue paper, then fussy cut the centre oval and added it to the centre of the frames I had stamped on the page using a UHU Stic. I collected a variety of booklets, leaflets and postcards from the hotel reception during our visit and used these as part of my design. I cut the images out with Fun Cut scissors to give them a serrated edge and used a Cold Grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker along the edge to give them more definition, then stuck them to the page with a UHU Stic or double-sided foam tape. For the palm tree I stamped the image onto the back of one of the postcards from the hotel using Archival Ink. I also saved the tea bag tags from the green tea we had as part of our afternoon tea and added them to finish the page.

The Imperial Hotel, Blackpool, opened in 1867 and is situated on the North Promenade seafront and enjoys spectacular views over the beach and sea. The hotel retains the opulence and glamour of its Victorian heyday, and has welcomed a host of famous guests including Charles Dickens, Sir Winston Churchill, Fred Astaire, The Beatles, Princess Margaret and Princess Anne.

The Churchill Room was named to honour the many visits Sir Winston Churchill made to the Imperial when he was prime minister and leader of the Conservative party. The room is much the same as the old photograph, although with one surprise. Recently, the photograph pictured has come to light and it shows a magnificent stained glass domed ceiling in the room. Exploratory holes were drilled into the current ceiling to discover that the stained glass ceiling is still there, although it’s not in great condition and is estimated to cost over a million pounds to restore.

The Grill Room is now the Louis XVI Function Room and has the most beautiful plaster work, wall coverings, mirrors and chandeliers.

The Palm Court is now the Dining Room and looks very elegant especially with the beautiful dome chandeliers. In Victorian times, palm trees were considered very exotic and a demonstration of wealth.

The Ballroom now called the Washington Suite has one of the best dance floors in Blackpool and the most wonderful plaster work of cherubs, flowers and sea creatures. The National Dance Championships have been held in Blackpool since 1920 and the Imperial Hotel is very popular with competitors as they can practice on the dance floor before heading off to the competition.

Recently the hotel discovered that a room used for storage of employee files was once an impressive suite of Russian, Turkish and seawater plunge baths which were built in 1901, but had been plastered over and hidden. They are slowly being restored in conjunction with the Blackpool Civic Trust. In the photo (above) you can see that the magnificent tiles were painted and then plastered over and part of this has now been removed to reveal the original tiles once more.

The original glass-roofed billiard room retains its stained glass canopy but has been turned into a bar and named No. 10 after all the UK prime ministers who have stayed at the Imperial whilst in office.

During the tour we found out about the Head Cocktail Bartender who had won a national competition to invent a new cocktail in the 1950’s, so we had to try one.  It was one of those all shots and no mixer cocktails, and was delicious and very warming! I’m saying a big “cheers” to the T-Gang over at T Stands for Tuesday – Happy T Day!

Not forgetting our lovely afternoon tea served on beautiful fine china. We choose green tea to accompany the finger sandwiches with traditional fillings of ham and mustard, egg and cress and smoked salmon with cucumber, Victoria sponge, strawberry Eton Mess, chocolate delice, mini lemon tart and warm fruit scone with strawberry jam and clotted cream. I’m sorry, but it looked and tasted so yummy that we tucked in before we remembered to take a photo.

As this page tells the story of our visit to this magnificent old hotel, I’m very pleased to join Erica from BioArtGal who is hosting January’s theme of “Tell me a Story” over at Art Journal Journey.

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 (Parchment)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Uniball Signo gel pen (White)
• Crafter’s Companion Vintage Collection Acrylic Stamp (Floral Sentiments VF-ST-PSENT)
• Hampton Art Graphic 45 cling mounted rubber stamps (Tropical Travelogue ICO134)
• Aldi The Night Before Christmas Range (Printed Tissue)
• The Imperial Hotel history booklet, postcard and leaflets
• Fun Cut scissors
• UHU Stic
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Autumn Patchwork

There is nothing better than snuggling up on a chilly autumn evening in my cosy patchwork blanket on the sofa enjoying a nice cup of hot chocolate! There have been so many patchwork inspirations for me this autumn that I just had to create a patchwork design journal page.

I started by dividing the page into sections to represent patchwork pieces, and then I stamped a Hessian texture stamp using London Fog Memento Ink to the whole page to give a woven textile look. I cut pieces of green flowered and grey dotted decoupage paper and glued them into place using a UHU Stic. Next I painted some of the other sections green using diluted Spectrum Aqua Marker ink and then stamped a leaf design over the top using Distress Ink. I painted diluted mahogany Distress Ink to the remaining sections, then stamped a maple leaf design on some white tissue paper using the same ink. This tissue paper was cut to size and then stuck on top of the mahogany sections with a UHU Stic. The hexagon shape is made from paper which I cut to shape and glued down, it’s from an oddment paper bundle I bought from my local craft shop – I love the little hearts design. I then stamped borders along each section to represent stitching, using Hampton Art Doodlebug Design stamps and Archival Ink. To finish I added grey dotty flower stickers, some lace trim and a lovely felt bird.

This is a photo we took of the fall foliage in New England, I remember remarking at the time when I first saw the hills and mountains that they looked like a patchwork quilt of beautiful fall colours. So I am very pleased to be able to join Valerie over at Art Journal Journey with this month’s theme “Indian Summer – Golden October – Autumn”.

We often walk to town and last weekend I captured these wonderful clouds, which look just like patchwork too.

And here’s my blanket I snuggle up with on the sofa, it has a lovely patchwork design.

Oh and not forgetting the hot chocolate, this time of year we often enjoy a cup of my hubby’s secret recipe hot chocolate, even I don’t know how he makes it! All I know is it has malt and pumpkin spice added to the mix and cream and mini marshmallows on top – yummy! Today we are serving it with scrummy Lebkuchen which have just come on sale in our local food store. These ones are dipped in dark chocolate – delicious! As T Stands for Tuesday I’m saying a big welcome and hello to the T Gang – 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:

• Memento Dye Ink (London Fog)
• Spectrum Aqua Artist’s Markers (Moss)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Peeled Paint, Aged Mahogany)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker (Black 199)
• Kaisercraft clear stamp (Texture – Hessian CS153)
• Docrafts Papermania Urban Stamps 4×4 stamps (Owl Folk – Sentiments PMA 907228)
• Royal & Langnickel clear choice stamps (Pressed Leaves MIN-CCS102)
• Hampton Arts Doodlebug Design cling mounted rubber stamps (Borders ICO160)
• Santoro Decoupage Papers (SNDEC039)
• Vivi Gade Decoupage Paper (Skagen 25564)
• Paper Bundle
• Wilko stickers (Flower Embellishments)
• The Works stickers (Felt Bird Embellishments)
• Lace trim
• UHU Stic
• Zig Memory System 2 Way Glue (The Dual Action Glue Pen)