Chell’s

This journal page is inspired by a new café we discovered over the summer which we now visit regularly, it’s called Chell’s of Lytham. This café is an easy tandem bike ride from our house and sells the most amazing homemade ice-cream and food – yum! It is such an elegant place so I used the gold colour of the signage and also blue which features on their loyalty card, interior and pretty flowers that adorn the tables.

For the background I started with a base coat of grey Windsor & Newton watercolour paint which I applied with a baby wipe. Then I layered some apricot Liquitex Acrylic paint creating horizontal lines of colour. As I found the apricot was a little too bold against the grey, I applied a thin layer of gesso over it using a baby wipe which toned it down nicely, so it just added some warmth to the background. Next I applied a thin wash of Navy Spectrum Aqua marker by scribbling the pen onto an acrylic block, spritzing the block with water and picking up the now diluted ink with a paintbrush. I stamped a Script stamp by Kaisercraft over the background using the same Navy Aqua marker and then I applied some gold shimmer and shine across the horizontal lines of apricot paint and around the edge of the page using a Sunshine lustre rub from Craf-T Products, which I applied with my finger. Next I stamped some tile images from Papermania onto some white tissue paper using Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink, cut them out and stuck them to the page using a UHU Stic. I also applied some white gesso over them using my finger, so they blended into the background more and then I stamped some scroll images from Royal & Langnickel onto the page using the same Distress Ink.

The gold and blue flower images are fussy cut from an old birthday card, edged with a Navy Spectrum Aqua marker and stuck to the page using double-sided foam tape. The pretty gold panels are outline stickers and, along with the stamped tile and scroll images, remind me of Victorian architecture, tiling and wrought ironwork that can be found at the café. To finish, I edged the page with the same Navy Spectrum Aqua marker and added some square gold gemstones and the name of the café using alphabet outline stickers which matched the font on the café signage perfectly (grin!).

This café is situated in Lytham and has a pretty facade overlooking the street. It has an Victorian look to it with the outside seating being covered by a canopy which leads up to the big window shop front with the tiled floor entrance and wrought ironwork.

The interior is lovely too, here’s the counter where you order your food, drink and ice-cream.

They make their own ice-cream here in many different flavours, which are often sold out at the end of the day because it’s so delicious! Our favourite flavour combination is Sticky Toffee Pudding, Cherry and Double Chocolate – yum!

We were introduced to this café by our friends after we had all cycled along the front to Lytham and stopped for refreshments – such fun! On that occasion we had a Chocolate Dream Sundae – double yum! Can you see a face in this photo? (grin!)

The drinks and cakes are delicious too, here are the cappuccino, pot of Earl Grey tea and custard tart that our friends ordered. As you can see the water is served in very pretty glasses too (grin!). As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m saying a big hello to the T Gang and wishing you all a very Happy T Day!

As you know I love to join in with the challenges as they help to inspire my design and get creative. So today I’m pleased to join the lovely Yvonne from Meggy’s Way who is hosting the “Colour in my World” challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the blue and gold colours in my page.

I love the gold metallic outline stickers and flowers I used on this page, they add so much shimmer and shine so I’m also pleased to join both the “Metal” Challenge over at Country View Challenge  and  the “Shimmer and Shine” theme over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge again.

Using the double-sided foam tape gives a 3D look to my page so I’m also joining in the fun over at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge for their “Pop It Up” 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:

• Winsor & Newton Cotman Water Colours (Payne’s Gray)
• Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Apricot)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Navy)
• Craf-T Products Luster Rub-ons (Sunshine ASTM D-4236)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Chipped Sapphire)
• Kaisercraft clear stamp (Script CS752)
• Papermania Design Objectives wood mounted rubber stamp (PMA10108)
• Royal & Langnickel Clear Choice Stamps (Ornate Scrollwork MIN-CCS123)
• White tissue paper
• Old birthday card
• Elizabeth Craft Designs outline stickers (Gold 0318)
• Docrafts Anita’s Outline Stickers (Modern Alphabet Gold ANT8101000)
• Hobbycraft Self-Adhesive Gems (Assorted Squares 5666141000)
• UHU Stic
• The Range double-sided foam tape

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Moments that take our breath away

I was inspired to create an aircraft themed page to remember this year’s Blackpool Air Show which was spectacular! I went for a vintage theme and added a saying that I thought was very fitting: “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away”.

I’m also linking my page to Art Journal Journey where I’m hosting this month’s theme “Poetry in Motion”, here you are invited to create a page inspired by a poem, saying or quote.

I started by adding patches of Blueprint Sketch and Hickory Smoke Distress Inks to the page using a blending tool. Then I used some stencils by Craft Sensations to add layers of clouds using Tea Dye and the Blueprint Sketch Distress Ink and a moustache design using Black Soot Distress Ink. As I went for a vintage feel I chose the moustache design which reminds me of flyers from the olden days who use to say ‘chocs away’ (grin!). I used black Archival Ink to stamp a plane image by Royal & Langnickel and some swirls by Dovecraft to depict a plane’s smoke trail. I cut some information from an old encyclopaedia about aircraft and stuck it to the top left-hand corner of the page using a UHU Stic. Next I layered different elements onto the page using a UHU Stic and double-sided tape to stick them in place, this included: an image of an old-fashioned gentleman to match the vintage theme, and two clocks and a compass which I fussy cut from a Kanban topper set; a large wood effect tag by Docrafts Papermania that I tied with string; a recycled tag which I added the saying onto using rub-on transfers by Kaisercraft; a ticket which I made using the same rub-on transfer set on white card, fussy cut out and edged with Tea Dye Distress Ink, its words remind me of the air show; a Victorian tag of a plane by The Works which I stuck to white card, edged with the Tea Dye Ink and tied with string; a map of the world which is a sticker from Poundworld; a tag that is die cut from map paper by The Works; and a wonderful plane postage stamp from my hubby’s childhood collection. The postage stamp is from Great Britain and was issued in 1969 to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the first non-stop Atlantic flight by Alcock and Brown in July 1919. Incidentally, Alcock went to school in St. Annes and there is a blue plaque to commemorate this at the school. To finish, I added some brown brads which I opened and stuck to the page using glossy accents leaving the fastener parts showing, giving the appearance of aircraft propellers.

The air show was amazing and my hubby captured some fantastic shots with his super new zoom lens so I thought I’d share the highlights with you. There was a mixture of aircraft, some old and some new and this includes both planes and helicopters.

This is the only remaining flying Lancaster in the UK, (and one of only two flying in the world) so we were very privileged to see it.

It was interesting to see and compare the old Lancaster with the latest Typhoon (Eurofighter) fighter-bomber which was doing all sorts of fabulous manoeuvres including handbrake turns, barrel rolls and flying upside down. This plane is so noisy it makes your tummy rumble (grin!).

This helicopter is an American Huey (Bell HU-1) and this one has been restored. It’s now locally owned and we often see it flying over our house.

There were lots of acrobatics at Blackpool Airshow again and this is the Trig Team, they fly vintage aircraft that were built in the 1940’s.

We also saw the Breitling Wingwalkers who are the world’s only aerobatic formation wingwalking team, this is a close-up of one of the planes. I’m not sure I’d like to stand on top of a plane while it’s flying let alone do synchronised wing-walking (grin!).

Of course you could always loop the loop instead (grin again!).

Then the grand finale was The Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, the Red Arrows, who are one of the world’s premier aerobatic display teams. They never fail to please and here they are flying over the Blackpool Tower – amazing!

They are excellent to watch as they fly close together in perfect formation.

And they perform the most breathtaking stunts! Hope you enjoyed visiting the air show with me too; we had such a wonderful time (double 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 (Blueprint Sketch, Hickory Smoke, Tea Dye, Black Soot)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Sharpie Fine Point Permanent Marker (Black)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.5mm)
• Dovecraft Designer Clear Stamp (DCR588)
• Royal & Langnickel Clear Choice Stamps (Traveler MIN-CCS103)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Dorling Kindersley Illustrated Family Encyclopedia
• Kanban Paper Craft Toppers (Timeless Moments PCT1882)
• White card
• Recycled tag from clothing
• Docrafts Papermania Capsule Collection Tags (Elements – Wood PMA174318)
• The Works M&C Boutique (Vintage Die Cut Shapes)
• Poundworld DécoTime (3D Stickers 54742)
• The Works (Victorian Style Embellishments CR0454)
• Kaisercraft Rub-on transfers Up, Up & Away Collection (Black & White RB869)
• Postage Stamp – Great Britain 1969
• Craft Sensations (Brads CR0550/A)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• UHU Stic
• X-Press It double-sided tape
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Always bring your own sunshine

Seeing sunflowers in people’s gardens reminded me of a lovely surprise we saw whilst walking along our local beach last October. A single sunflower was actually growing and flowering right on the beach front. To capture this happy memory I created “Always bring your own sunshine”.

As I included one of my favourite quotes I’m pleased to join the “Poetry in Motion” challenge over at Art Journal Journey too.

To start I used a small brayer to layer yellow, blue, parchment and white acrylic paint onto the page; I didn’t let each colour dry completely before applying the next so that the colours would blend a little. I stamped a diamond design by Art Impressions and also a heart/circle design by Sugarloaf Inc. using black Archival Ink. Then I used the brayer again to add white gesso over the top to tone them down and produce a layered effect. Next I added fine splatters of the black acrylic paint using a paintbrush. I stencilled a clock face by Craft Sensations using Black Soot Distress Ink with a blending tool, this depicts turning back the time, as I am remembering seeing the sunflower in October last year. I also stencilled some cogs by Viva Décor using the same Black Soot ink in the right-hand corner around the clock face and on the top left of the page. The sunflowers are rub-on transfers by Royal & Langnickel, and I used a black Uni Pin marker and a white Uniball gel pen to add extra detail. I then added white acrylic paint splatters over the sunflowers and the rest of the page. I had some dried gesso that had formed on the top of the paint tube so I stuck these on with a UHU Stic to continue the grunge feel. I added a pretty fabric tag and then I stamped the wording around the edge of the clock using black Archival Ink. To finish, I went over the wording with a black Uni Pin pen to make it stand out more. I really like the beach colours and urban street art feel of this piece.

I thought you might like to see the solitary sunflower on our beach, here it is – we couldn’t believe our eyes when we saw it shining at the edge of the sand dunes, I’m not sure how it got there, birds maybe (grin!).

We first discovered this little sunflower when we were volunteering at Beach Care for Love My Beach, you can see my hubby to the left of the picture. We join this group every week to keep our local beach and bathing waters clean. It’s a great way to actively help the environment, care for sea life, meet people and just give something back to the community; we always have so much fun too!

The next day we were walking with one of our friends and went back for another look, she kindly took this picture of us. It reminds me of summer days and you never know maybe we will see another sunflower on our beach and if not, as the saying goes you can “Always bring your own sunshine!”

“Poetry in Motion”

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
• Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Swedish Blue, Parchment, Cadmium yellow Medium)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (White)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Black Soot)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.1mm & 0.5mm)
• Uniball Signo gel pen (White)
• Art Impressions wood mounted rubber stamp (Diamond Background T-3335)
• Sugarloaf Inc. Anita’s wood mounted rubber stamp (26645)
• Dovecraft Essentials Alphabet Stamp Set (WDN ALPHA STMP DCV0050)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Viva Décor Universal Stencil (Past Times 900270300)
• Ranger Brayer (Small 2 ¼ inch)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers (REC1683)
• The Works (Canvas Floral Tags)
• UHU Stic

And they swam …

This month’s theme over at Art Journal Journey is “Poetry in Motion” so I was inspired to create this fun page based on a nursery rhyme from my childhood which we used to sing at school, you may know it …

I added turquoise coloured tissue paper to the centre of the page using Liquitex Matte Gel Medium, then sprinkled on Ultramarine Colourcraft Brusho powder. I applied more matte gel medium to activate the powder pulling the Brusho colour across the page, as I did this I also wrinkled the tissue paper to add texture so it looked like the sea. I like the way the Brushos added different depths of blue colour.  Then I painted Pébéo white gesso over parts of the page using my finger to push some of the colour back and splattered the page with a paintbrush dipped in black and white acrylic paint to look like air bubbles. Next I arranged the fun orange fish, which are brads, so they appeared to be swimming in shoals across the page.  I pushed each brad through the page and then covered the back with a piece of masking tape to prevent any damage to the next journal page. To finish, I stamped the speech bubbles onto white tissue paper using black Archival Ink, fussy cut them out and added the wording from the rhyme; they are stuck in place using a UHU stic.

Of course there were only “three little fishies” in the original rhyme so I applied some artistic licence when I created this page (grin!).

  Me and my hubby both enjoy snorkeling and diving whilst on holiday, so we have spent many happy hours swimming with the fishes in the sea.

 These pictures were taken in Cyprus where there are always plenty of fish to see.

It always makes me smile when I imagine the fish swimming along singing this song (grin!) – you can find the full lyrics here.

I’d like to thank everyone for their amazing support and participation in this month’s “Poetry in Motion” challenge over at Art Journal Journey and I’m really pleased that you are enjoying the theme so much!

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
• Colorcraft Brusho Colours (Ultramarine)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Hampton Art Doodlebug Design Inc. cling mounted rubber stamps (Thankful ICO162)
• Dovecraft upper and lower case alphabet stamp set (WDN Alpha Stmp DCVW0050)
• Tissue paper (Blue, White)
• Fish brads (Orange)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• UHU Stic

Rise and Shine

In our beach themed room we have a little plaque that our friends from America bought us when they came to stay, so I thought I’d pay tribute to it for the “Poetry in Motion” challenge over at Art Journal Journey. I’m sure those of you who know my love for walking will think this saying is very appropriate …

I started by prepping the page with a thin layer of Pébéo white gesso to give a smoother finish in readiness to apply the Faber-Castell Gelatos. Once the gesso had dried I scribbled patches of Snow Cone, Lemon and Lime gelatos onto my page to represent the beach; the blue for the sea and sky, yellow for the sand and green for the grassy dunes. Then I dipped my finger into water and rubbed the gelato scribbles to blend the colours; I didn’t use too much water as I wanted a heavier coverage of gelato for the next technique. I covered each of the different coloured areas of the page with a different stencil by Creative Expressions. I rubbed the gelatos through the stencils with a baby wipe to remove and lighten the colour; the stencils I choose were of dots to represent the sea breeze as we take our walk, birds in flight as we often see birds on our beach walks, cogs and a clock face to represent time which ties into the saying. I then used the stencils again to apply Black Soot Distress Ink using a blending tool, lining up the images so they were slightly off centre to add contrast and depth. Next I secondary stamped some arrow images by Hampton Art, using black Archival Ink, to depict the different directions that we can take on our beach walk. Then I used the same ink to add the saying using a Papermania alphabet stamp set. The page is edged with black and white polka dot washi tape which I ripped the tape in half to create an uneven edge. To finish, I added some paper flowers and three wooden polka dot butterfly buttons which I had tied black paper twine through; they are all stuck down using Glossy Accents.

We feel very blessed to live right by the sea so we often go for a walk along our beach. There are lots of different directions that you can choose from … you can walk over the dunes and to a pebbled coastal path.  On the right of this picture are the mudflats where we often see birds (see previous post).

If you walk along this path or through the dunes it leads to Fairhaven Lake.

Go the other way and there are beaches and a promenade with lots of things to see and do such as beach huts, pitch & putt golf, cinema etc.

Eventually you’ll reach the pier, this is my hubby with one of our friends from America when they came to stay – hence why they bought us the sign (grin!).

Of course sometimes the tide is in, the structure on the left of the photo at the end of the pier used to be attached to the pier at one time; in Victorian times it was where ships dropped off their passengers unfortunately it was claimed by a fire.

And when the tide is out you can even walk out to sea, that’s the pier you can see in the distance! It actually feels like you are on another planet the way the sand blows in ripples across the surface of the beach (grin!).

Here’s the plaque that inspired my page; it always makes me smile when I see it and it’s a lovely reminder of our forever friends! In case you’re wondering the lamp in the background is made by my hubby out of drift wood that we collected from our beach too (isn’t he clever!).

So as you can see with all the different walks we have to offer, it’s so easy for us to say “Rise and shine it’s beach walkin’ time!”

“Poetry in Motion”

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
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Black Soot)
• Faber-Castell Gelatos (Snow Cone, Lemon, Lime)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Uniball Signo gel pen (White)
• Papermania Alphamania A-Z Clear Stamps (Leftovers Alphabet PMA9071102)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Hampton Art Bella Blvd cling mounted rubber stamps (Sand & Surf ICO226)
• Poundland (Washi Tape 156456-GE16)
• The Works (Butterfly Wooden Buttons)
• The Works (Mini Paper Flower Embellishment)
• Wilko (Paper Twine)
• Ranger Glossy Accents

Smile, Sparkle, Shine

I was inspired to create a page for Try it on Tuesday’s theme of “Let it Shine” and decided to create a sun page to help use up lots of different coloured glitter glues I have in my craft stash. The resulting page made me smile as it sparkles and shines!

I started by stamping a starburst stamp on the top right hand corner of my page using London Fog Memento Ink. Then I extended the starburst design to fill the page using a ruler and pencil. Next I used Sunflower, Gold, Marigold, Orange and Begonia Spectrum Aqua markers to colour the sections alternating the colours; I did this by scribbling the markers onto an acrylic block and picking up the ink with a wet paintbrush.  Next I selected a different glitter glue pen for each of the Spectrum Aqua marker colours used, squeezed the glue onto the corresponding sections and spread it using a palette knife to create sun rays. I also created a round sun shape using the different glitter glues and used the palette knife to give a smooth finish. While the glue was still wet I added the sequins to the sun and sun rays, then I left the page to dry thoroughly. As the glue dried it reacted with the solid blocks of Aqua marker ink that I had applied and concentrated them to form lines of colour a bit like heat radiating from the sun. I emphasised these patterns by building up the colours more using the corresponding Aqua markers again. Then I used black and yellow Uni Posca paint pens to add dots of colour and definition around the sun and the sun rays. Next I stamped the words using an alphabet stamp by Papermania and black Versafine Ink. I went over the letters with a black Sharpie permanent marker so they were fully coloured black and then I covered the letters with Glossy Accents to give the wording a shiny 3D effect so they stood out more. To finish I added the black butterflies, flowers and small gemstones using Glossy Accents.

As this page celebrates the summer sun, I’m also pleased to be able to join Bluebeard and Elizabeth from Altered Book Lover who are hosting the “Summertime Love” challenge over at Art Journal Journey.

This page reminds me of all the smiles, sparkle and sunshine that we saw at Blackpool Carnival last weekend. Blackpool has brought back their annual summer carnival after an absence of many years and we had such a fun time. The theme was “International” and there were steel bands playing wonderful up-beat songs that made you smile! There were also international food stands and a stage where there were different dance troupes and singers.

As part of the carnival there was a parade along the promenade which was full of sparkle!

The parade was packed full of culture, variety, and fabulous costumes.

Then we moved over to the dark side (grin!) as Star Wars also took part in the parade, which is probably “intergalactic” rather than “international” (double grin!). It was really strange because the atmosphere seem to change as they went passed – quite eerie but ever so cool too! It made my day to see them in the parade and it was lovely to have more summer fun in the sun!

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 (Sunflower, Gold, Marigold, Orange, Begonia)
• Tsukineko Vesafine Ink (Onyx Black)
• Tsukeniko Memento Ink (London Fog)
• Uni Posca Paint Pens (Yellow, Black)
• Sharpie Fine Point Permanent Marker (Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Sugarloaf Inc. Anita’s wood mounted rubber stamp (26551)
• Papermania Alphmania A-Z clear stamps (Leftovers Alphabet PMA9071102)
• Poundland (Design Gems 134240 & 175751)
• Poundland (Mini Glitter Embellishments 59409)
• Poundland (Assorted Sequins 119188)
• Hobbycraft Glitter Glue Pens (Assorted Colours 6103601000)
• Ranger Glossy Accents

Love Gelato

We love summer because of all the ice cream we can eat, so I thought I would create a page to celebrate this summertime love and join the many others who have created ice cream pages over at Art Journal Journey for Bleubeard and Elizabeth’s “Summertime Love” theme.  My page focuses on gelato rather than ice cream though and also the delicious flavours that you find in the many gelateria (ice cream shops) when holidaying in Italy.

I started by covering the page in Aquamarine, Kingfisher, Topaz and Gold Spectrum Aqua markers; I did this by scribbling the marker onto an acrylic block, spritzing the block with water and pressing it onto the page. I also used a paint brush to transfer some of the diluted ink across the page. Next I fussy cut magazine images that reminded me of our holidays in Italy. I also cut out some birds, an Italian ice cream shop banner and an ice cream cone which details possible holiday destinations. Once they were cut out I stuck them to the page using a UHU Stic. As I chose Italy as the destination for this page, I coloured the word “flavour?” with green, white and red Uni Posca paint pens to represent the colours of the Italian flag and outlined them with a black Uni Pin marker so they stood out more. Then using black Archival Ink I stamped the names, in Italian, of our favourite flavours of gelato that we had when we visited Italy (you will find an English description of each of these flavours below). I created the border using a heart stamp and the black Archival Ink and I also top and tailed the gelato names with this stamp. I coloured each heart with the green, white and red Uni Posca pens to represent the Italian flag design; this took some time as there were so many hearts but I think it was well worth the time and effort as I love the detail. Next I used some gold alphabet outline stickers which I coloured black with a Sharpie permanent marker to add the words “Love Gelato”. I connected the gelato names, created a heart and embellished the magazine images using some small green, red and clear gemstones. To finish I added the ice cream cones which I made using some leftover petal outline stickers that I crisscrossed with black Uni Pin marker to represent a waffle cone and a large gemstones that I placed on the top to represent the gelato.

There are gelateria everywhere in Italy and it wasn’t hard to find this shop in Verona. It had the most beautiful display with the carved fruit, intricately shaped gelato and corresponding toppings to depict the flavour, such as a lemon, coconut or strawberries.

Needless to say we couldn’t pass by without trying some, so we had three scoops of different gelato piled into a waffle cone. It was so yummy and although I could have probably eaten both of these, one was for my hubby (grin!).

When we were in Tuscany, we had this Amarena, Tiramisu and Stracciatella gelato.

Gelato is the Italian word for ice cream, so you could argue that gelato and ice cream are the same. However there is a big difference and it comes down to these factors: fat, air and serving temperature. If you are interested to find out more, then:

• Gelato has less fat than ice cream because gelato uses more milk than cream compared to ice cream.
• Ice cream is churned faster and harder than gelato which is churned at a much slower pace. As a result, gelato is denser with less air while ice cream can consist of 25% to 90% air. The higher density gives gelato a more intense flavour.
• The temperature at which the two are served is different too. The higher density and lower fat composition means that gelato is typically served at a higher temperature than ice cream. If gelato were served at the same temperature as ice cream it would be too hard and if ice cream were served at the same temperature as gelato, it would melt and become soupy.

On summer evenings you will find that the Italian gelateria is the busiest part of town, often opening until midnight. There are so many different flavours to choose from including:

• Fragola: Strawberry and this is usually a deep pink colour due to the addition of crushed strawberries.
• Limone: fresh, tangy lemon flavour. This is a traditional flavour in Italy as lemons were introduced into southern Italy in the first century and are still grown there today.
• Tiramisu: One of the most popular Italian desserts is turned into a frozen delight. The name tiramisu is often translated figuratively as “pick me up” or “cheer me up” in Italian, in reference to the effects of sugar and coffee and also traditionally Marsala wine.
• Stracciatella: chocolate chip style, this gelato was invented in Italy and is a light vanilla gelato with crunchy shards of chocolate running throughout.
• Vaniglia: Vanilla and the colours and taste varies depending on how many vanilla beans are used to make the gelato.
• Crema: Italian crema is a pale yellow colour and is more like custard than cream.
• Frutti di bosco: translates to fruits of the forest and is normally a mixture of strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, blackcurrants and raspberries.
• Cioccolato: good old chocolate, my favourite!
• Panna Cotta: this is the frozen version of the traditional Italian dessert; it is rich and velvety due to the addition of heavy cream.
• Amarena: Plain ice cream with swirls of cherry sauce which is made from Amarena cherries which are small, slightly sharp cherries that are grown in Italy.
• Malaga: Rum and Raisin.

My hubby loves this gelato sandwich called “brioche con gelato”; you can choose your gelato flavours, this one if filled with Tiramisu and Panna Cotta, and they are served in a brioche roll. These can be found in gelateria across Italy and this particular one was in Lake Garda – yum!

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 (Sea Green, Kingfisher, Topaz, Gold)
• Uni Posca Paint Pens (White, Red, Dark Green, Light Blue)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Sharpie Fine Point Permanent marker (Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.3mm)
• Pentel Arts Hybrid Gel Grip (White)
• Dovecraft Essenitals Alphabet Stamp Set (WDN ALPHA STMP DCVW0050)
• Old Magazine
• Docrafts Anita’s Outline Stickers (Modern Alphabet Gold ANT8101000, Simple Flowers Gold ANT8101102)
• Hobbycraft Rhinestone Stickers (Green Rhinestone 5971381004)
• Oaktree UK Eleganza Craft Stickers (3mm 418 Gems Red No.16)
• Poundland (Design Gems 175751, 504 Gems 128133)
• UHU Stic