A very fine swan indeed!

On a warm sunny day whilst walking alongside the Lancaster Canal, my hubby captured a fantastic photo of a swan looking very regal whilst showing off his plumage; this swan definitely wasn’t an ugly duckling in fact “You’re a very fine swan indeed!” as the well-known song says.

The background is Yellow, Aquamarine and Slate Spectrum Aqua markers which I scribbled onto an acrylic block, spritzed with water and pressed onto the page. Then I used the same technique to add some Cracked Pistachio Distress Ink over the top. Next I added a series of stamps using London Fog Memento Ink and a Hobbycraft silver pigment ink; these stamps included a Script stamp by Kaisercraft to represent the Ugly Duckling lyrics, a feather stamp by Craft Sensations to depict those beautiful feathers and two crown stamps as he looked very regal. Next I stamped the swan images by Urban Stamps using Rich Cocoa Memento Ink and added torn pieces of a blue-green paper from a design pad using a UHU Stic. The swan is a print of the actual photo my hubby took which has been edited to give a vintage monochrome look and stuck to the page using the UHU Stic. Once the glue had dried I outlined the image and the papers with a black Uni Pin Marker and silver metallic paint. I added silver border outline stickers to the blue paper, as well as the small silver cross-like stickers, white diamante-centred flowers, colourful flower shaped stickers and purple rhinestone flowers across the whole page. I added a feather that I picked up alongside the canal on the day of our walk which I’m pretty sure is from a swan, and also some decorative diamante chain to hold it down. To finish I used the same decorative chain under each of the swans that I had stamped.

I’m pleased to be able to join Try it on Tuesday’s theme of “Feathered Friends” and Gill from gibbyfrogettcraftations who is hosting the “Elegance & Grunge” challenge over at Art Journal Journey.

Here’s the original photo my hubby took of the swan, isn’t he magnificent! I can just imagine him singing (grin!):

“Not a quack, not a quack, not a waddle or a quack
But a glide and a whistle and a snowy white back
And a head so noble and high
Say who’s an ugly duckling?
Not I!”

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:

• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Yellow, Aquamarine, Slate)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Cracked Pistachio)
• Memento Ink (London Fog, Rich Cocoa)
• Hobbycraft Pigment Ink (Silver)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Poundland Metallic Paint (Silver)
• Script Metallic Pen (Silver)
• Craft Sensations (Clear Stamps CRO274/16R1)
• Kaisercraft clear stamp (Script CS752)
• Docrafts Urban Stamps (12 Days of Christmas – Icons PMA907909)
• Hampton Art 7 Gypsies Cling Mounted Rubber Stamps (Birdsong ICO151)
• Poundland Design Pad (Vintage Chic Creations CRO701/PL4)
• Swan printed photo
• Docrafts Anita’s Outline Stickers (Timeless Borders ANT810117)
• Fancy Stickers (Flowers & Butterflies 28965)
• Home Bargains Special Occasion (Mini Decorative Stickers 22740, Decorative Diamante Chain 26254)
• The Works Stickers (Rhinestone Flowers)
• Feather
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• UHU Stic

Hotel Majestic

Today’s page reflects back on a time when the Hotel Majestic was one of the finest treasures in St. Anne’s on the Sea. Alas it has been demolished now, so I created a page in its memory!

To cover the background I collaged torn sewing pattern pieces onto the page using Liquitex Matte Gel Medium. Once they had dried I applied black and gold Spectrum Aqua Marker ink by scribbling the marker onto an acrylic block, spritzing the block with water and pressing and dripping the ink over the page. I like the way the gold colour is more concentrated at the edges of the collaged paper emphasising the layers.  Next I stamped various stamps by Hampton Art using black Archival Ink; these included a palm tree, crowns, art deco borders and a postage mark which tie into the era and décor of the Hotel Majestic. The Majestic was also known for its music and grandeur so I added some washi tape music notes and black decorative tape, then I used gold size to adhere the gold leaf. I found an old picture of the Majestic in a local magazine and added a gold border, the hotel name and the dates that it stood in our town; which are all outline stickers. I used photo corners and double-sided foam tape to adhere it to the page. To finish I added gold chain and “style” outline stickers to the background and some gold sequins which are stuck down using Glossy Accents.

I really like the vintage art deco look of this page and I’m very pleased to join the lovely Gill from gibbyfrogettcraftations again who is hosting the “Elegance & Grunge” challenge over at Art Journal Journey.

The Majestic Hotel was originally called the Imperial Hydro which opened in 1910, you can still see the initials IH on the two brick archways which are the only parts remaining of the hotel. It was renamed the Majestic in 1920 and many stars appearing in Blackpool shows stayed there over the years.

I love this old photo of the Hotel Majestic, it looks such a grand and stunning building! If you look closely you can see the archways on the right hand side of the hotel, they look quite small in comparison to the building itself. The hotel was built between the pier and the town Square, it had 200 bedrooms, tennis courts and was the height of luxury. Here’s an interesting link on YouTube that shows the old brochure of the Hotel Majestic with photos and descriptions of the facilities and interior.

The hotel closed down in 1972 as the costs of modernising it made it unsustainable. Sadly, it was demolished in 1975 and replaced with these five storey flats. What a shame as it must have been an amazing place to stay during its heyday.

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:

• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Gold, Black)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Hampton Art Cling Mounted Rubber Stamps (Graphic 45 – Tropical Travelogue ICO134 & ICO135, 7 Gypsies – Birdsong ICO151)
• Style Sewing Pattern
• Local Magazine
• Gold Leaf
• Hobbycraft Outline Stickers (Gold Harmony 934031001)
• Magenta Style Outline Stickers (Daisy Gold)
• Dovecraft Peel-off Stickers (Alphas Caps Gold DCPO-05)
• Poundland Decorative Border Tape (Black)
• Poundland Assorted Sequins
• Annie Sloan Water Based Gold Size
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Art Journals

My dear friend Patty over at Magpie’s Nest inspired this post following her question last T Day “You have me wondering if you do anything further with your pages? Do you bind them into books?”

So I thought I would show you. Although I crop the photos to just show the page on my blog posts, my pages are actually in a spiral bound pad and once the journal is complete I cover the front and back of the book. This is the front:

… and this is the back:

To cover my Art Journal books I use leftover mixed media materials that I save from the pages I create. This particular book is covered with the papers that I use to test stamps and colours before I commit to using them on my actual pages. So having accumulated quite a few papers, I ripped them into pieces to create a collage and stuck them down using Liquitex Matte Gel Medium. Next I outlined the edges of the paper pieces using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and smudged the ink with a baby wipe and my finger. To add definition I also used a black Sharpie Permanent marker, a black Uni Pin marker and a white Uniball gel pen along the edges. I stamped the sentiments on both the front and back covers using a Sand & Surf  Hampton Art stamp set and black Archival Ink. I also added some small leftover outline sticker shapes which I coloured black with a black Sharpie. Using the same black Archival Ink, on the front cover I stamped the wording “Art Journal”, the number “6” which represents the number of this journal and my “Handcrafted with love” stamp. I always use this stamp and sign my name on my creations too. To finish I covered the whole page in the gel medium so it is stronger and more resistant to wear and tear with it covering my Art Journal and I folded washi tape over the edges of the covers to give the journal more stability.

I’m so pleased to be able to join Hazel who is hosting the “Magical Mystery Tour” challenge over at Art Journal Journey and I’d like to thank Susi from Froebelsternchen for asking me to link my magical way to make collages to this month’s theme.

The pad I use is by Daler Rowney, it’s A4 in size and spiral bound. There are 30 pages per book and it contains a high quality paper designed for traditional art, mixed media, collage and visual journaling. Each page is lightly textured and white in colour and it’s great for creating and using a variety of dry and wet techniques. I like the spiral binding as it makes it easier to work on new pages by keeping the surface flat, it allows for thicker pages to be created as needed and makes it easier to browse through your creations when they are finished.

When each journal book is complete I always sit down with a drink to look through the pages to remember what I’ve been up to. I also have a book stand in my craft room where a different page is displayed everyday from one of my Art Journals; it’s lovely to look at the page and recall the memories associated with it!

I publish my posts on Monday night ready for T Stands for Tuesday and as this Monday happens to be my Birthday, I’d like to thank all of you who have wished me early Birthday Wishes! My birthday celebrations started early this year, on Friday we went to The Ghurka Restaurant for a meal with our friends. The restaurant is an “all you can eat” buffet serving Asian food from Nepal, India, China and Thailand which is run by a former Ghurka (Ghurka’s are Nepalese soldiers who form part of the British Army). We had a wonderful time and the food was delicious. Having never had Nepalese food before I took advantage of the selection available, as well as some of my favourite Chinese dishes; the top plate is Char Sui Pork, Gurkha Momo (Steamed Dumpling), Chicken Chow Mein and Sweet & Sour Chicken, and on the bottom plate is Gurkha Noodles, Gurkha Daal on a bed of steamed rice, Gurkha Pea and Potato Curry and Gurkha Vegetable Curry. I’m also sharing a glass of Rosé White Zinfandel wine that I enjoyed with my meal and I’m saying a big hello to all the T Gang – Cheers and 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’s covers:

• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Sharpie Permanent Fine Point Marker (Black)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Uniball Signo gel pen (White)
• Hampton Art Bella Blvd cling mounted rubber stamps (Sand & Surf ICO226)
• Docrafts Creativity Essentials A5 Clear Stamp Set (Alphas Folk DCE907)
• Papermania Alphamania A-Z clear stamps (Leftovers Alphabet PMA9071102)
• Crafter’s Companion Vintage Floral Collection (Floral Sentiments VF-ST-FSENT)
• Hobbycraft Clear Stamp (Love Hearts 50402HC)
• Papers used to test stamps and colours
• Outline Stickers (Time Silver 90493S)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• UHU Stic

Life is like a tea cup

It was a beautiful sunny day on Friday so we decided to we walk into town and run some errands, we also stopped by Alices Tea Room where we saw a pottery teacup sign saying “Life is like a teacup, to be filled to the brim and enjoyed with friends”. This reminded me of our T Day get together over at T Stands for Tuesday so I created this page!

I wanted to experiment and create a background that looked like old cracked plaster work, so I started by sketching some crack marks on my page and then covered the page with white gesso using a palette knife. Next I used Spectrum Aqua markers to add some colour by scribbling the ink on an acrylic block and applying them with a baby wipe, I also dragged the acrylic block across the page so the ink added texture. I then emphasised the crack marks I had sketched by painting diluted Cold Grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker ink over them and adding fine detail using a black Uni Pin marker and a white gel pen. I fussy cut a teacup image and stuck it to the page using a UHU Stic, then I painted the image using Derwent Inktense pencils to emphasis the colours, patterns and textures. I covered the rose buds on the image with silk ones which I cut in half to reduce their thickness and adhered using Glossy Accents. I added paper twine to a tag, distressed the edges and stuck it down using double-sided foam tape. The torn papers are from a paper pack from my local craft shop, which I edged with the Cold Grey Big Brush marker and stuck to the page using Liquitex Matte Gel Medium. Then I added more fine detail to the image and torn paper edges using a black Uni Pin marker and white gel pen. Next I adorned the page with some adhesive fabric patterned with little roses which I cut out and also some lace outline stickers and leaf border stickers. To finish I stamped the sentiment onto tissue paper using Archival Ink and attached it to the page using Matte Gel Medium.

As my inspiration was the sign I saw whilst “Out and About”, I’m pleased to be able to join Yvonne from Meggy’s Way again over at Art Journal Journey.

We were delighted to visit Alices Tea Room again. Here is the pretty little teacup sign we saw on one of the dressers in the Tea Room.

We sat in another part of Alices this time and had a lovely view of the toadstools and flowers adorning the window.

There is so much thought and detail gone into the interior design – there are stairs on the ceiling and chairs as lights, upside down electric plug sockets and even the door fittings are back to front!

We were kindly bought a voucher for afternoon tea as a gift, which we decided to use as it was such a sunshiny day. There was a delicious selection of sandwiches, crisps (chips) and salad.

We also had the yummy scones which we topped with cream, strawberry jam and fresh strawberries. The mismatched tea service caught my eye too with the beautiful gold patterned plate and the tiny roses on the saucer.

It was all accompanied by a pot or two of green tea, don’t you just love the table – “I’m late, I’m late for a very important date!” Luckily this isn’t true for my weekly catch up with Elizabeth and Bluebeard over at T Stands for Tuesday, where you share a drink and chat to the T Gang – wishing you all a Happy T Day!

Although the top tier of cakes was very tempting especially with the fondant icing “Eat me” on top, we were full up and so we took them all home to enjoy the next day.  What a wonderful time we had, hope you enjoyed it too!

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
• Spectrum Aqua Markers (Lime, Olive, Moss, Slate)
• Derwent Inktense Ink Pencils (Shiraz 0600, Fushia 0700, Field Green 1500, Leaf Green 1600, Mustard 1700, Willow 1900)
• 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)
• Dovecraft upper and lower case Alphabet Stamp Set (WDN ALPHA STMP DCVW0050)
• Craft pack of patterned papers
• Teacup image
• White tissue paper
• The Range (Craft Tags CRO740 PO/21200)
• Wilko (Paper Twine)
• Poundworld (Adhesive Pattern Fabric U-80945)
• Docrafts Anita’s Outline Stickers (Delicate Lace Borders – white ANT8101510)
• PSX Design Stickers (Florentine Alphabet Green SR6042)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• UHU Stic
• X-Press It double-sided tape
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Winter Gardens

We love to go to Blackpool Winter Gardens, we have been there a number of times to see shows, to find out about the history of the building on the Heritage Tour and just recently we attended the open day where you have access to all areas and can take your time exploring all the amazing venues.

Firstly, I coloured the background by painting alternating concentric circles of diluted Navy and Marine Spectrum Aqua Marker ink, this represents the beautiful glass domed ceiling and the blue accent colours that you see in the Floral Hall when you enter the Winter Gardens. Next I stamped a sheet music stamp by Woodcraft using Paris Dusk Memento Ink and a script design by Kaisercraft using the same Navy Aqua marker, this depicts the entertainment facilities, as well as the music being played on the famous Wurlitzer organs while we were there. I then stamped a palm tree from the Tropical Travelogue set by Hampton Art and scroll work stamp by Craft Sensations using London Fog Memento Ink. I used these same two stamp sets to add the chandeliers and art deco border using black Archival Ink as there are lots of chandeliers and art deco designs throughout the different areas of the Winter Gardens. To produce a watermark effect (fainter impression) I secondary stamped a series of images on the background from the Steampunk set by Docrafts using black Archival Ink, these images tie into the Victorian era when Winter Gardens was built and opened. I used a trellis design stencil to apply white gesso, Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink and modelling paste as we saw lots of beautiful ironwork and plaster work throughout the building. With the background finished, I embellished the page with bronze art deco style outline stickers and tickets which are rub-on transfers; the words “Explore”, “Discover” and “Adventure” on them describe our time whilst we were there. The old images of Winter Gardens are from a leaflet; I cut them out with serrated scissors and stuck them to the page using double-sided foam tape.  I think they capture the magnificence of the Winter Gardens venues and finish the page beautifully.

As we are “Out and About” in Blackpool exploring Winter Gardens, I’m very pleased to be able to join Yvonne from Meggy’s Way over at Art Journal Journey.

Winter Gardens is an entertainment facility located in Blackpool town centre and contains ballrooms, theatres, large themed rooms and spaces in a variety of styles. It is a magnificent building that opened on 1878 and has changed and expanded over the years. It is now undergoing further refurbishment to restore and uncover its original features. There is a wide range of decoration including Victorian ironwork, Art Deco styling and the most amazing plaster work. As you enter the building you are greeted by this beautiful domed ceiling.

Then you enter the Floral Hall with its beautiful palm trees, tiling, blue accents, yellow columns and lights. This is where you have access to all the other venues including the Empress Ballroom, the Pavilion Theatre, the Galleon Bar, The Baronial Hall, the Spanish Hall, Horseshoe, Olympia and the Opera House.

There are a number of venues designed by Andrew Mazzei who was a well known Hollywood film and set designer. In the 1930s he worked on the plaster work and decorations for the Baronial Hall, the Floral Hall, the Galleon Bar, the Olympia Hall, and the Spanish Hall. The photo above is the Spanish Hall designed in the art deco style with a three-dimensional frieze surrounding it which depicts the Andalusian Hills and Villages; it is very atmospheric.

The Galleon Bar was also designed by Andrew Mazzei and it’s my hubby’s favourite! It is a very creative recreation of an old Galleon Ship from the Spanish Armada, complete with oak beams which are all actually plaster work!  It really does look like real wood, doesn’t it!

While we were exploring the different venues at Winter Gardens, music was being played on the Wurlitzer organs located in both the Opera House and the Empress Ballroom.

The magnificent Empress Ballroom is my favourite venue. It was built in 1896 and has a spectacular barrel-vaulted ceiling, pristine parquet flooring, ornate balconies and the most amazing sparkling chandeliers! I can just imagine the olden days and the excitement of arriving in a horse and carriage to find yourself in such a spectacular venue, the stunning dresses, the dashing gentlemen and the stories that filled the ballroom; I guess I’m just an old romantic at heart!

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
• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Navy, Marine)
• Memento Ink (Paris Dusk, London Fog)
• Tim Hotlz Distress Ink (Chipped Sapphire)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Pébéo Modeling Paste High Density
• Woodware Clear Magic Singles stamp (Sheet Music JGS111)
• Kaisercraft clear stamp (Script CS752)
• Craft Sensations Clear Stamps (CRO274/16R2)
• Docrafts A5 clear stamp set (Steampunk DCE907125)
• Hampton Art Graphic 45 cling mounted rubber stamps (Tropical Travelogue ICO134)
• Creative Expressions That Special Touch of Mica Masks (Moroccan)
• Kaisercraft Rub Ons Up, Up and Away collection (Colour Rubons RB870)
• Unknown – Bronze Outline Stickers
• Winter Gardens Trust Leaflet
• Fun Cut Scissors
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Birthday Wishes

Many of my friend’s birthdays are in February and March, so I currently find myself busy making birthday cards. I often like some of my card designs so much that I create a larger version in my art journal too. Here is one of those pages and I’m sending those of you who are celebrating your birthday this time of year – Happy Birthday Wishes!

The background was created exactly the same way as my card by using Festive Berries and Abandoned Coral Distress Inks. I blotted the ink pad directly on an acrylic block, spritzed it with water, and then I pressed the block or dripped the ink onto my page. I wanted a mottled effect so I built up the layers of colour gradually. As I had more space on my journal page, I also concentrated the colour on the right hand side of the page fading to white on the left. I then sectioned my page using masking tape and I stamped a Script stamp by Kaisercraft and Serpentine Background stamp by Art Impressions using black Archival Ink, alternating the designs. This masking technique also worked really well on the card and it was a fun technique to try. Again I made sure the stamping faded out as it reached the right hand side of the page to leave white space. I added some torn cherry blossom card to the edges of the page using Winsor & Newton Matt Gel to stick it down. This card is from a luxury topper set called Eastern Promise by Hunkydory. I also fussy cut the lanterns from the same card and stuck them down using double-sided foam tape. The gold flowers are outline stickers and the circles with various oriental style images are from the same topper set, which I attached using double-sided tape. I added little gold butterflies, blue gemstones and the name of my friend and her birth date to finish the page.

With the shades of red I used for the background, I’m pleased to be able to join this month’s theme of “Fifty Shades of Red” being hosted by Linda over at Art Journal Journey.

At this point I was hoping to show you my inspiration; the thing is, I forgot to take a photo of my original card – oops! So to give you an idea, here’s another card I made which looks very similar, although I used a totally different colour palette. In actual fact, my journal page stayed true to my original card design; as well as using my friend’s favourite colours of red and coral, I used the same background stamp designs and masking technique, the same gold flowers and butterflies, similar lantern topper decorations and gemstones, and the lovely cherry blossom card was used to create the interior of the birthday card.

For another friend, who lives locally, I made a birthday cake too; it’s a Victoria sponge filled with strawberry jam and butter cream then covered in sugar paste fondant icing, all of which is homemade, and the little daisy flowers are edible wafers. It was so funny when I delivered it as her hubby answered the door, he really loves cake and his eyes lit up when he saw the box. So I’m not really sure how much cake she got to eat herself (grin!).

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 (Festive Berries, Abandoned Coral)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Art Impressions wood mounted stamp (Serpentine Background T2773)
• Kaisercraft clear stamp (Script CS572)
• Hunkydory Luxury Topper Collection (Eastern Promise EAST104)
• Magenta Style outline stickers (Gold 0501)
• Docrafts Antia’s Outline Stickers (Wistful Wings Gold ANT810131)
• Poundland  (504 Gems)
• Wilko (Blue Masking Tape – Low tac)
• Winsor & Newton (Matt Gel)
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Snowdrop Season

On Valentine’s Day we went to see the snowdrops at Lytham Hall. It was a beautiful sunny day and we thoroughly enjoyed our leisurely walk through the very impressive displays of snowdrops. I created this page to remember their beauty.

The background is Spectrum Aqua Markers, I scribbled the ink on an acrylic block, and then I spritzed it with water and pressed it or dripped it onto my page. The colours I used portray the yellow sunshine, blue sky, the lush green foliage and the rusty-brown leaves that surrounded the snowdrops. To add texture I splattered the page with black acrylic paint, stamped a homemade grid stamp using black Archival Ink and a small texture stamp using a Moss Aqua marker. I also added a fine outline of swirls using a Swoosh Mica Mask by Creative Expressions, a white Uniball gel pen and the Moss and Olive Aqua markers. As the snowdrops were flowering under the trees, I stamped a tree image using black Archival Ink and then I added more branches to them using a Derwent Graphik marker. The words are rub-on transfers which I thought were poignant to the page; to me the snowdrops seem to “aspire” to display their beauty and be something I could only “dream” of. Lastly they reminded me of a poem by William Wordsworth where he writes about having “faith that every flower enjoys the air it breathes”.

If you are interested in the poem, it’s called “Lines Written in Early Spring”; it was published in 1798 and yet it seems as pertinent today as it did then.

I cut the snowdrop pictures and information from an old magazine and a Lytham Hall Events Guide. They are mounted on silver corrugated card which I edged with a silver metallic pen and stuck to the page using double-sided tape.

The snowdrops are made from this silver daisy shaped outline sticker; I cut the flower in half to produce snowdrop shapes and secured them to the page. I then outlined the image with a Derwent Graphik marker to give more definition and coloured the petals using white gesso. The leaves, stems and little dot on the petals are coloured green using the Moss Aqua marker. To finish I covered the petals in Ranger Glossy Accents to give them dimension and a lovely glow; I think they look a bit like stained glass.

I thought you might like to join me on our walk to see the beautiful snowdrops. These little clumps of snowdrops greeted us when we entered the grounds of Lytham Hall by the side entrance. You may remember Lytham Hall from my Winter Art Fair post.

As we turned the corner, the snowdrops literally carpeted the woodland floor, sitting in the dappled shade in all their white splendour!

Then we entered the walled garden, where the flower beds were brimming with snowdrops too.

At the front of the house it looked like it had been snowing with the drifts of snowdrops glistening in the sunshine. As my hubby and me both enjoy photography, we were interested in the frames that had been put up around the walk. They indicate where a good shot can be taken and of course you can use them to frame your subject too.

Following the woodland path we stopped to take in more pretty views . The snowdrops look so dainty with their white and green bell-shaped blooms.

I hope you enjoyed the walk as much as we did – I was amazed, there were snowdrops everywhere and the displays were stunning!

As a special Valentine’s treat and to continue the white theme, we went to our local bakery and bought two of the biggest Vanilla Slices I have ever seen! To give you an idea of their size, that’s a standard tea plate they are sitting on. These are filled with a lemony custard and when we got home we enjoyed them (very much) with a mug of green tea – they were so delicious! As T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing my treat with the T Gang and wishing you all a very 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
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic Paint (Black)
• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Moss, Lime, Olive, Aquamarine, Terracotta)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Script metallic pen (Silver)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.05mm)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Uniball Signo gel pen (white)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Creative Expressions That Special Touch of Mica Masks (Swoosh)
• The Works Clear Stamps (CRO274/TW3)
• Art Impressions wood mounted rubber stamp (P-1398)
• Homemade wooden block stamp with Plasterboard/Drywall tape
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-On Sentiments (Motivate Sentiments #ROY-510 Rub-on)
• Magenta Style Outline Stickers (Assorted Peel-off)
• Poundland (Corrugated Card 173117-GE16)
• White tissue paper and card
• Fun Cut Scissors
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Glide double-sided foam tape
• X-Press It double-sided tape