It’s been a while …for Stamps & Stencils

Hello everyone, I’m so excited to be over at Stamps & Stencils as Guest Designer for their It’s been a while… challenge this month. Sue is the host for this challenge and kindly provided the following brief:

Being creative often leads you in different directions and sometimes it isn’t until you start that you know where you are heading. For this challenge I thought that as we’ve not done it for a while it would be good to let your creative spirit wander and have a theme of Anything Goes. Your project must be mixed media and include stamping and/or stencilling but apart from that it’s up to you !

I am often inspired by things I see and do, so my art journal page is inspired by rainbow colours and sunshine to mark the end of summer. Here’s a sneak peek of the page I have created for this challenge, the full version can be found here at Stamps & Stencils along with my tutorial.

Thanks so much to the team at Stamps & Stencils for having me as Guest Designer this month. I hope that you are inspired by their It’s been a while… challenge too and are able to join in the fun!

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:

• Faber-Castell Gelatos (Boysenberry, Snow Cone, Lemon, Watermelon, Guava, Buttercream, Earl Grey)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Uni Posca Paint Pen (Black)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• DecoArt Acrylic Paint (Black, White)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.2mm)
• Finnabair Clear Stamp (Sponge #961909)
• Gummpanian Stamps (Collage Numbers 14030103, Worn Rings 2 11050601)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Ranger Dina Wakley Media Stencil (Wheels MDS45588)
• Hampton Art Graphic 45 cling mounted rubber stamps (Tropical Travelogue ICO135)
• Royal & Langnickel rub-on transfers (Motivate Sentiments #ROY510)
• Homemade decoupage paper (white tissue paper stamped using a Sheet Music stamp from Woodware Craft Collection and black Archival Ink)
• Book pages – Pear’s Cyclopedia 2007-2008 Edition
• Hobbycraft Decorative Tapes (Assorted Black & White 5971481007)
• The Works (3 Washi Tapes)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

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Don’t blend in

One of the things I love about Art Journaling is experimenting and trying out new techniques, so for this happy page my idea was to try to create some transparent bubbles floating across the page. Now you may wonder why I was thinking of bubbles, well it just so happens that I saw some bubble wands in our local supermarket and as I didn’t purchase one, I thought I’d just create my own (grin!).

I also had fun using three different types of book papers which included both text and pictures from a variety of books, so this is also a reminder that there is still another week to join the Use Book Paper challenge over at Try it on Tuesday, it would be lovely to see you there!

I started this page by stamping some white tissue paper with a postage mark stamp, a Script stamp and a Believe stamp from different stamp sets all by Kaisercraft, using black Archival Ink. Then I collaged ripped pieces of these tissue papers with some torn pieces of dressmaker tissue paper from a sewing pattern and two different book papers using Liquitex matte gel medium. The book papers are recycled from my old pocket dictionary that I had at school and also an old reading book that had seen better days which I bought from a charity shop (thrift store). For the circles, I drew around two different sized paint pots with a pencil and then I used Iced Coffee Faber-Castell Gelatos to outline them and Earl Grey and Coconut Faber-Castell Gelatos to shade them first using my finger to smudge the colours and then using a baby wipe to remove some of the colour until I achieved the look I was after. Even though I used some artistic license with the dark colour palette, I really like their translucency almost as if they were bubbles floating up the page (grin!). Then I used book papers again, this time I fussy cut the flowers which are all peonies from an old Garden book, stuck them down using Liquitex matte gel medium and when dry outlined them using a black Uni Pin marker. To finish I added the wording from a Kaisercraft sticker set and outlined it using a black Uni Pin marker, it reads “Don’t blend in when you were born to stand out”.

As T Stands for Tuesday, I was trying to think of something that linked to bubbles and I remembered a cream tea that we had at Alices Tearoom some time ago. So here’s our pot of green tea for two, isn’t the china beautiful …

… and here are a selection of cakes that we had, the one with Alice on the top has blue bubblegum icing – I must admit though, I didn’t care for the bubblegum taste that much preferring the Rocky Road and Chocolate Oreo cakes that are also on the plate (grin!).

If you are not familiar with Alices Tearoom, check out my previous posts here and here and here.

I’m saying a big hello and welcome to the T Gang – Happy T Day!

Challenges

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with inspiration for my pages and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So as well as Try it on Tuesday, here are the challenges I’m joining today:

I’m pleased to join the lovely Chris from Pearshapedcrafting, who is hosting the Arts for Art’s Sake challenge over at Art Journal Journey as I had fun using my Faber-Castell Gelatos, which I haven’t used in a while, to create my bubbles.

I’m joining the Get Sentimental challenge over at A Vintage Journey because a contrasting background and bright coloured flowers depicts the sentiment beautifully on my bubble inspired Mixed Media Style page.

I’m also joining Country View Challenges and their In The Summer Garden challenge as the peony flowers on my page can be found in the summer garden.

Over at That’s Crafty! Challenge Blog their theme is Close to Nature so I’m pleased to join this challenge with the beautiful flowers I added to my page.

I’m also joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Anything Goes challenge with “Don’t’ blend in” art journal page.

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:

• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.2mm)
• Faber-Castell Gelato (Iced Coffee, Earl Grey, Coconut)
• Kaisercraft clear stamp (Provincial CS243, Script CS752, Vintage-Believe CS832)
• White tissue paper
• Style Sewing Pattern – tissue paper
• The Pocket Oxford Dictionary
• David Copperfield
• Oxford Book of Garden Plants
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Fiesta! SS284)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

Give Your Dreams Wings

For the next two weeks over at Try it on Tuesday our challenge is Things with Wings, I hope you are inspired by our new theme and will join us! You’ll find some amazing inspiration created by my Design Team teamies over at Try it on Tuesday too (grin!).

There are so many possibilities for our new theme so today I have created a mixed media page using different techniques to highlight some of my favourite things with wings!

I started this page by stamping a pretty floral stamp from Docrafts and two butterfly stamps, one from Crafter’s Companion and the other from Graphic 45 by Hampton Art, using a VersaMark Watermark Stamp Pad. I covered them with white Stampendous embossing powder, shook off the excess powder onto a piece of scrap paper and also tapped the page to ensure any stray powder was removed. Then I used a heat gun to melt the embossing powder by sweeping the gun over the stamped images, taking care not to direct the heat in one area for too long until the embossing powder melted to a glossy finish and became smooth and dimensional. Next I added Lavender, Strawberry and Elderberry Faber-Castell Gelatos smudging the colours with my finger which I had wet with water. To tone down the Lavender colour I added Coconut Faber-Castell Gelato over the top blending the colours with my finger. I applied Vintage Photo Distress Ink using a blending tool mainly around the edges of the page to give a worn vintage look and then I stamped a Dragonfly from Eco Green Crafts and some other floral images from the same Docrafts stamp set using Rich Cocoa Memento Ink. The small butterflies flowing up the page and wording “Give your dreams wings” are from a Kaisercraft sticker set; they are all edged with the Vintage Photo Distress Ink using a blending tool, then stuck to the page and covered with a layer of Liquitex matte gel medium. The butterfly, bird, flowers and branches are fussy cut from a wallpaper sample; I coloured the flowers and branches using the Vintage Photo Distress Ink and stuck them all in place using the Liquitex matte gel medium again. I also added a blue circular disc depicting a flower and a postage stamp depicting butterflies from a Graphic 45 sticker set. I outlined and added more details to the wallpaper images and stickers using a black Uni Pin marker and then to finish, I splattered the background with black DecoArt acrylic paint.

Visiting Lytham Hall is always fun and after a walk around the grounds with our dear friends, we usually head to the café for a cuppa (grin!). As T stands for Tuesday here’s my green tea and my friend’s Earl Grey tea.

As you may know from my previous posts, the cafe at Lytham Hall use mismatched china; isn’t this saucer beautiful!

After our cuppa we headed to the Vegetable Gardens which provides the café with some fresh produce. It’s a lovely place to wander around and admire all the different fruit and veg that is growing.

I smiled when I saw this happy couple; it seems that even the scarecrows are joining us at T Stands for Tuesday with their cuppa (grin!) – Happy T Day!

Challenges

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with inspiration for my pages and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today:

I’m pleased to join the lovely Gill from gibbyfrogettcraftations who is hosting the Inspired by … challenge over at Art Journal Journey as my inspiration for this page was things with wings.

I’m pleased to be able to join the Written Word (add some text in some form) challenge over at Country View Challenges with the “Give your dreams wings” quote that I added to my page.

Over at PaperBabe Stamps their challenge is Anything Goes so I’m pleased to be able to join them too.

I’m joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Bright and Cheerful challenge with my cheery art journal page.

I’m also pleased to join a new challenge today, the June Link Party #40 over at Cropstop Blog with my art journal page as I included a few products from companies that they carry in their store.

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:

• Tsukineko VersaMark (Watermark Stamp Pad)
• Stampendous Embossing Powder (Detail White Opaque)
• Faber-Castell Gelato (Lavender, Strawberry, Elderberry, Coconut)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Vintage Photo)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Rich Cocoa)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.2mm)
• Hampton Art Graphic 45 cling mounted rubber stamps (Tropical Travelogue ICO135)
• Crafter’s Companion Signature Collection by Sara Davies stamp set (Just for You – Butterfly Lullaby S-BL-ST-JUS)
• Docrafts Creativity Essential A5 clear stamp set (Floral Icons DCE907123)
• Eco Green Crafts Recycled Rubber Art Stamps (Petal Party #04309)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Set (Fly Free SS289)
• Wallpaper sample
• Graphic 45 Cardstock Sticker Set (Seasons Decorative Stickers 450629)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

She’s got the Look

It’s time for a new challenge at Try it on Tuesday which is She’s got the Look. It might be in her style, her eyes etc … which give her that special look.

Please check out the amazing Design Team creations over at Try it on Tuesday for more inspiration. I had lots of fun creating my art journal page, I think she definitely has “The Look” (grin!).

I started this page by covering it in squares and rectangles of different grey and white decoupage papers using Liquitex matte gel medium; the decoupage designs included lace, dots and fleur-de-lis. Then I added some clock and circular shapes from Kaisercraft and also a Fiskars stamp set and a scroll stamp by Penny Black using black Archival Ink. The pretty girl’s face is from an old magazine and is mounted onto a piece of wallpaper using a UHU Stic to give it more stability. Once dry I fussy cut and stuck it to the page using Liquitex matte gel medium along with some flowers and leaves which I fussy cut from a wallpaper sample. Once everything was in place I covered it with a layer of Liquitex matte gel medium to seal the images so I could easily apply different mediums over the top to add colour and more detail. Next I stencilled modelling paste onto the background through a fleur-de-lis style stencil and left it to dry.

To create the distressed grungy look, I coloured the background using Iced Rose, Iced Currant, Earl Grey and Coconut Faber-Castell Gelatos smudging the colours with my finger. I then added some water to the page using a paintbrush and applied some Carbon Black Liquitex Ink over the top; the water helped control where the ink seeped and spread on the page. I also tipped the page vertically so the ink dripped and ran down the page. Next I applied some DecoArt white paint with a sponge to the background and also to the fleur-de-lis by using the stencil again which added some highlights making the page lighter. I intensified the colour of the flowers on her headdress using a Chilli Red Inktense pencil and then outlined them using an Ink Black Inktense pencil. To give her headdress more of a grungy look, I covered the leaves in black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker wiping the ink off with a baby wipe so it just dulled the green colour. Then I painted diluted Carbon Black Liquitex Ink to the edges of the flower petals and outlined both the flowers and leaves with this ink so they stood out more from the background. I used a white Uniball gel pen and black Uni Pin marker to doodle lines and dots onto the flowers and leaves to add more detail and interest to the design. I then added some sparkle to the edges of the flowers using silver Stickles by Ranger and coloured the stamens of the flowers using a white Uniball gel pen and outlined them with a black Uni Pin marker. Then I picked out the flower colour and design of the girl’s headdress to embed the girl’s image into the background better by applying some Red Berries Distress Ink using a Floral stencil by Tim Holtz around the edges of the page.

I emphasised the girl’s eyes by doodling on them with a black Uni Pin marker and then colouring them with Baked Earth and Antique White Inktense pencils, a white Uniball gel pen and also silver Stickles to add some sparkle. Her mask is made using some fine silver netting which I cut to shape and placed over her face tucking it under the flowers of her headdress; I arranged some strands of clear and black gemstones over the netting to create her sparkly mask with a teardrop gem in the centre. I applied some more silver stickles to the lower part of her face to define the lines of her neck, chin and cheeks. Next I added some thin feathers which I had curled so they fanned out creating more texture around her face, they are stuck in place using Ranger Glossy Accents. With the mask complete I also stuck the edges of the mask and flowers in place using the Glossy Accents. To tie the mask into the headdress design, I added some of the clear and black gemstones around and behind the edges of the flowers on her headdress and then I painted Chilli Red Intense pencil onto her lips which finished her look.

As T Stands for Tuesday and my lady is going to a Masked Ball, I think she would be enjoying a cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a cosmo – Happy T Day!

This happens to be one of my favourite cocktails and if you are interested it’s made with ½oz Fresh lime juice, 1oz Cranberry juice, ½oz Cointreau, 1½oz Vodka. Place all the ingredients into cocktail shaker filled with ice, shake well and strain into a large cocktail glass – yum (grin!).

Challenges

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with inspiration for my pages and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today:

As I included flowers and feathers on my journal page, I’m pleased to join the Flora and Fauna theme which I’m hosting at Art Journal Journey. There is still a few days left to join in the fun and be sure to pop back on Thursday to see my final celebratory journal page for this theme (grin!).

Over at Moo Mania and More the theme is Even More Flowers so I’m pleased to join the lovely DT with the flowers I created for this page.

I’m also pleased to be able to join the Doodles challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps as I really enjoyed adding all the doodles to the girl’s face and also her headdress flowers and leaves.

I’m joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Use More Than One Stamp challenge as I used the clock, circular and scroll stamps for this art journal page.

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:

• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Pébéo Modeling Paste
• Faber-Castell Gelato (Iced Rose, Iced Currant, Earl Grey, Coconut)
• Liquitex Inks! (Carbon Black)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (White)
• Derwent Inktense Pencils (Chilli Red 0500, Ink Black 2200, Baked Earth 1800, Antique White 2300)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Uniball Signo gel pen (White)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Festive Berries)
• Kaisercraft Clear Stamps (Magnolia Grove CS822, Provincial CS243)
• Penny Black T for Transparent (Clearly in Love 30-009)
• Fiskars Clear Stamps (Rounds & Squares 4657)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Tim Holtz Collection Stamper Anonymous (Floral Layering Stencil THS077)
• Viva Gade Decoupage papers Skagen (25561, 25562, 25564)
• Old Magazine
• Wallpaper sample
• Poundland (Design Jems 175751)
• Graham & Brown (Adhesive Jewels)
• Black Feathers
• Ranger Stickles (Silver)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• UHU Stic

Dragonfly Wishes

With the wonderful sunny weather we have been having of late, I have been spending time in the garden sorting out the flower beds and planting the summer bedding plants. So today’s page is inspired by beautiful blue skies and a rusty metal dragonfly which adorns my flower bed (grin!).

I started by adding some torn pieces of sheet music to the page with Liquitex matte gel medium and then I covered the whole page with Bright Aqua Green and Swedish Blue Liquitex acrylic paint and Pébéo white gesso using a paintbrush, blending and varying the shades of colour across the page. Then I used a Shabby Harlequin stencil from Creative Expressions to apply Pébéo white gesso; I used my finger to apply the gesso so it varied in thickness and caught along the edges of the stencil to add more interest. Next I stencilled modelling paste using a Wheels stencil from Ranger by Dina Wakley with a palette knife and left it to dry. I drew a couple of big dragonflies onto thick paper and added some copper glitter glue along the body and head, and then I covered the wings with DecoArt crackle glaze. When the crackle glaze had dried I covered the wings with Iced Coffee Faber-Castell Gelato and using a wet finger smudged the colour into the cracks, wiping any access off with a wet baby wipe.

Then I used some Iridescent Rich Copper and Rich Bronze metallic Liquitex Inks, which I received for my birthday (grin!), to colour the dragonflies; I really like the iridescent quality of the inks and the way that they seeped into the cracks of the crackle glaze. To give the dragonflies more of a patina I also coloured them using a Sanguine Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and also Metallic Mint and Iced Coffee Faber-Castell Gelatos. I used the same Liquitex Inks, Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and Gelatos to colour the Wheels I had stencilled onto the page and I also splattered some of the metallic inks over the page along with some black DecoArt acrylic paint using a paintbrush. I then stuck the dragonflies in place using a UHU Stic and finished the page by stamping the sentiment “May all your wishes come true” using black Archival Ink.

You may remember my dragonfly from a previous post.

I bought him at a flower show and he always makes me smile when I see him floating over my flower bed!

Challenges

I’m pleased to be able to join the Flora and Fauna challenge over at Art Journal Journey which I’m hosting this month with my Fauna (dragonfly) page.

 I’m happy to join the Rust theme over at Mixed Media Monthly Challenge with the rusty wheels and dragonflies that I created for this page.

I’m joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Work It Wednesday and their Summer challenge with my sunshiny blue sky inspired page.

I’m also joining A Vintage Journey and their Words and Music challenge with the sheet music that I used to create my Mixed Media Style page and “Mr. Blue Sky” by ELO that I was singing whilst I was creating it (grin!).

I’m also pleased to join the Allsorts Challenge Blog and their Insects, Bugs, Bees and Butterflies challenge with my dragonfly page – sending you Happy belated 9^th Birthday wishes Allsorts!

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 (Bright Aqua Green, Swedish Blue)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Pébéo Modeling Paste
• DecoArt Media Crackle Glaze
• Liquitex Inks! (Iridescent Rich Copper, Iridescent Rich Bronze)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Sanguine 188 B)
• Faber-Castell Gelato (Metallic Mint, Iced Coffee)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Creative Expressions Mini Stencils (Shabby Harlequin CEMSHARL)
• Ranger Dina Wakley Media Stencil (Wheels MDS45588)
• Clear Stamp Set (Winter Woodland) – Free with Crafts Beautiful Magazine
• Thick white paper
• Violin Studies – Sheet Music
• Hobbycraft Glitter Glue (Copper)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• UHU Stic

I want to sing …

With the glorious sunny weather we’ve been having of late, nature seems to be blooming with spring happiness, so today my page celebrates the beautiful magnolia trees, birds and birdsong!

I’m linking to the Flora and Fauna theme over at Art Journal Journey which I’m hosting this month too.

I started by scribbling some Metallic Blueberry Faber-Castell Gelato onto the page in horizontal lines and then I spritzed the page with water, and used my finger to smudge and blend the colour across the page. Next I ripped a magnolia design napkin and stuck the flowers onto the page using Liquitex matte gel medium. Once the gel medium was dry, I doodled an outline on the flowers with a black Derwent Graphik marker. Then to depict birdsong, I stamped some music notes and script stamps from the Musicality Docrafts stamp set over the background using black Archival Ink . I applied some Pébéo white gesso with my finger over some of the stamped images and then used the same stamp set and black ink again to add another layer of stamping which gave the page more depth. The bird image is fussy cut from an old calendar, edged with Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and stuck onto one of the magnolia branches using a UHU Stic. I also cut two of the magnolia leaves from the napkin and arranged them in front the bird so he blended into the scene better. To make the bird look like he was singing, I arranged some pieces of musical washi tape to flow upwards from his open beak. I placed three of these musical notes on the page background too and covered them all with Liquitex matte gel medium to hold them firmly in place. When the gel medium was dry, I edged them with a black Derwent Graphik marker so they stood out more. I added the quote using some Docrafts letter stickers  and I edged with white Uniball gel pen to soften the edges. I stamped the author’s name under the quote using an alphabet stamp set and black Archival Ink which finished the page; the quote is by Rumi and reads:

“I want to sing like the birds sing, not worrying about who hears or what they think”.

Walking into town we pass many gardens filled with beautiful spring blossoms and these are some pretty magnolias that are flowering not far from our house.

Challenges

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, Art Journal Journey, as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with inspiration for my pages and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today:

Being inspired by the Words and Music theme over at A Vintage Journey, I’m pleased to join the lovely Astrid and the rest of the Creative Guides with my Mixed Media Style music related art journal page.

Over at Moo Mania and More the theme is Even More Flowers so I’m pleased to join in the fun with my magnolia inspired page.

I’m also joining the Allsorts Challenge Blog and their In the Pink challenge with the pretty pink magnolias that I included on my page.

I’m also pleased to join Mixed Media World where their theme is Anything Goes…optional Pink.

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:

• Faber-Castell Gelato (Metallic Blueberry)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.1mm, 0.2mm)
• Uniball Signo gel pen (White)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
• Docrafts Creativity Essentials A5 Clear Stamp Set (Musicality DCE907112)
• Dovecraft Essentials Alphabet Stamp Set (WDN ALPHA STMP DCVW0050)
• Caspari Napkin
• RSPB Calender – old
• The Works (Three Washi Tapes)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• UHU Stic

Destination Morecambe

I decided to travel to Morecambe for the new challenge over at Try it on Tuesday which is Destinations; you may choose to travel to far away places, maybe somewhere in Europe, Africa or America or like me, stay closer to home – the choice is yours!

My fellow Design Team members have chosen some fabulous Destinations too, make sure you check them out over at Try it on Tuesday. Our challenge runs for the next two weeks and it would be great to see you there (grin!).

I started by covering the page in a light wash of Tea Dye Distress Ink by stamping the ink pad onto an acrylic block and applying it to the page with a wet paintbrush. Then I added Tea Dye, Hickory Smoke and Salty Ocean Distress Ink using a blending tool and a Mosaic stencil by Tim Holtz to cover the whole page. The nautical style of the mosaic pattern and colours remind me of the promenade and jetty at Morecambe. Next I fussy cut a number of sea birds from an old British Nature book that are native to Morecambe and are paid tribute to in the many sculptures and statues along the promenade walk; they included a cormorant, curlew, lesser black-backed gull, little gull and a turnstone. There is also the famous Eric Morecambe statue along the beachfront too so I cut a picture of it from a free booklet and also some of his well-known comic sayings from a greaseproof food display paper kindly provided by the Midland Hotel which is situated right on the seafront. I cut out “Morecambe” from the free booklet and backed it with white card recycled from some packaging. The seahorse is cut from the hotels advertising leaflet and can be found high on the roof line above the doors as you enter the hotel. I arranged all the elements and stuck them to the page using a UHU Stic. Then I used the Mosaic stencil again to add some modelling paste to different areas of the page and once dry I coloured the modelling using Iced Chai and Earl Grey Faber-Castell Gelatos. To finish, I added a circular silver outline sticker around the picture of Eric Morecambe and also to the background to add some interest.

Morecambe is a seaside town on Morecambe Bay in Lancashire and we went there recently as one of my birthday treats. We had a wonderful time walking along the seafront promenade and seeing all the amazing statues and sculptures along the way. Here is my hubby striking the famous pose with the Eric Morecambe statue (grin!).

You may remember Eric Morecambe from the famous comedy duo Morecambe and Wise, he was one of the most popular British entertainers and you may recall me featuring him before on this post where you can find out more about him.

His statue looks over these amazing green gulls …

… and if you walk just a little further you will find this metal artwork of a family of coots called Coot Parade.

Then you come to the stone jetty and the Rock Islands topped with these stunning cormorants – aren’t they spectacular!

On the jetty itself, it’s fun to walk out and you will find tongue twisters, a compass, hopscotch and word search all incorporated into the pavement.

We enjoyed watching the fishing boats from the jetty.

The jetty is opposite the majestic Art Deco Midland Hotel, which overlooks the seafront. On the far left of this photo…

… you’ll find the hotel’s Rotunda Bar.

I love Art Deco and this is the front of the hotel and if you look closely you can see the seahorses on the very top.

This is the inside of the Rotunda Bar where we went for lunch (grin!), which was recommended by Chris who often visits here on her blogs – it was a great choice thank you!

I had the most amazing burger – yum! It’s called a Midland Burger and consists of two beef patties, crispy bacon, lettuce, red onion and tomato on a brioche bun with a deep-fried pickle. It was served with fries and coleslaw and as you can see is presented on one of the papers I used for this page; the waiter kindly got me a clean one for my art journal. As we had water with ice and lemon too, I’m joining the T Gang at T Stands for Tuesday and wishing you all a Happy T Day!

We looked at the amazing cormorants on Rock Islands once more …

… and then we headed to the Bird Fence along the seafront where you will find lots of different seabirds native to Morecambe Bay including curlew, dunlin, knot and turnstones. Morecambe Bay is a RSPB reserve with sand flats and salt marshes that attract thousands of birds and is considered the second most important estuary in the UK.

Along the stone jetty and shoreline you also find these amazing Bird Bollards depicting cormorants too.

We had such a lovely day and I hope you enjoyed visiting Morecambe with me!

Challenges

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, like Try it on Tuesday, as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with inspiration for my pages and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today:

Over at Art Journal Journey I’m hosting the Flora and Fauna theme, as I included just Fauna this time with the seabirds and seahorses, I’m pleased to link to this challenge. We are half way through the month already so there is still plenty of time to join in the fun and I’d like to say a big thank you to all of you who have joined this theme so far!

I’m pleased to join Country View Challenges and their Be Humorous challenge with the funnies provided by Eric Morecambe that I included on my art journal page.

I’m also joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their For the Boys challenge with my art journal page being a tribute to Eric Morecambe.

As I had fun using my new Tim Holtz stencil to create my mosaic background, I’m also very happy to be joining Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Stencil It challenge.

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:

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Tea Dye, Hickory Smoke, Salty Ocean)
• Pébéo Modeling Paste
• Faber-Castell Gelatos (Iced Chai and Earl Grey)
• Tim Holtz Collection Stampers Anonymous Stencil (Mosaic Layering Stencil THS084)
• The Illustrated Book of Nature
• Morecambe Visitor Guide & Map
• Food presentation paper from the Midland Hotel
• Information leaflet from the Midland Hotel
• White card – recycled
• Starform Outline Stickers (Silver Circle Borders 1144)
• UHU Stic