Past Times

Loving all things Victorian, I was delighted to hear a familiar sound whilst gardening; it was a steam engine coming down the road. Luckily they don’t go too fast so we had time to grab our cameras and take some photos while it was passing our house. This magnificent sight inspired my steampunk page.

I started by colouring the edges of the page with Tea Dye and Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink using a blending tool, fading the colours as I reached the centre of the page. Then I stencilled cogs, keys and text by Viva Décor using the same inks and highlighted areas with Black Soot Distress Ink and a terracotta Spectrum Aqua marker. These colours and images remind me of the steam engine that we saw. I cut the world image and rulers from some vintage paper by Kaisercraft and I used some street map paper by American Crafts to illustrate where we had seen the steam engine. I aged all these papers with Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink and edged them with Black Soot Distress Ink using a blending tool and then I stuck them to the page using Liquitex Matte Gel Medium. Once the medium had dried I added colour and detail using a black Uni Pin marker and terracotta, tan and slate Spectrum Aqua markers. Next I stuck on the three Victorian tags, the very dapper looking gentleman, the top hat and the fountain pen/pocket watch, all of which I aged and edged in the same way as the world and map paper. I coloured three clocks which are outline stickers with a black Sharpie permanent marker and stuck them to the page. I added the keys which are rub-on transfers and then layered up lots of different items including: Salvage Stickers from the Tim Holtz Idea-ology Crowded Attic collection, Bees that I had stamped using Archival Ink onto some of the Kaisercraft paper and rulers that I cut from the same sheet of paper. All these items are edged with a black Sharpie pen and once in place I added shadows using a Slate Spectrum Aqua marker by smudging the colour with my finger and a baby wipe to produce a grunge effect. I stencilled white cogs with modelling paste and when it had dried I outlined them with a black Uni Pin marker so they stood out more. I added star outline stickers that I had coloured with the black Sharpie marker and some assorted buttons using Glossy Accents. I coloured and underlined the “Past Times” text with a black Uni Pin marker and applied Glossy Accents on top of this wording, the black stars, the metal button in the centre and around the holes of the tags to give a 3D glossy look.

I’m so pleased to be able to join Erica who is the guest designer for the “Steampunk” theme over at Try it on Tuesday and also Rosie who is hosting the “Circles” challenge over at Art Journal Journey.

Here’s the wonderful old steam engine as it passed by our house! The sight, sounds and smells were wonderful, reminding us of times gone by. Steampunk captures this era very well as it incorporates technology and designs inspired by 19th century industrial steam-powered machinery and is referred to as Victorian futurism. If you are interested here is some more information about steampunk:

• Steampunk is a fictional style and is often set in an alternative history of the 19th century’s British Victorian era or American “Wild West”. Neither of these style cares too much about historical accuracy, the purpose is to have fun, be creative and use your imagination and not to accurately re-enact a period of real history.
• Technologies that were new or important to the Victorians, such as steam power, clockwork or electricity, are big themes in steampunk.
• The first science-fiction novels by authors H. G. Wells and Jules Verne strongly influence steampunk and as such fictional machines are popular. If either of these authors wrote a science-fiction novel today, it would be considered steampunk.
• The “punk” in steampunk comes from going against convention that sets something apart, which is borne from creativity, imagination and one’s individuality, be that style or gadgets.
• Steampunk is thought to have originated from well-known science-fiction authors William Gibson and Bruce Sterling and/or writer K.W. Jeter.
• Steampunk may also, though not necessarily, incorporate additional elements from other genres like fantasy, horror, goth, historical fiction, alternate history, or speculative fiction.

In the Victorian era, afternoon tea was also invented and became very popular; it is still popular nowadays although it is seen more as a special treat. So we decided to take advantage of the “Afternoon Tea – 2 for 1” offer whilst visiting a local Garden Centre which also has a wonderful craft shop (grin!). As T Stands for Tuesday I’m saying a big hello to the T Gang and sharing our afternoon tea, which includes our usual choice of green tea with a selection of sandwiches and cakes. There was so much food that we both only manage to eat the sandwiches and delicious scone with jam and cream.

We took all the other cakes home to enjoy another day; from the bottom left clockwise there is a Bakewell slice, Viennese Whirl, millionaire’s shortbread, Victoria sponge, tea loaf and in the middle is a chocolate brownie. As I don’t eat nuts I was served different cakes to my hubby and I have to say the millionaire’s shortbread tasted out of this world – yum!

In case you are interested, here’s the craft shop that we looked round after our afternoon tea. I did buy a few things, well, it would be rude not too with the sale items on offer and the 20% off voucher/coupon I had (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 (Tea Dye, Brushed Corduroy, Black Soot)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Terracotta, Tan, Slate)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Sharpie Permanent Fine Point marker (Black)
• Pébéo Modeling Paste (High Density)
• Hampton Art 7 Gypsies cling mounted rubber stamps (Birdsong ICO151)
• Viva Décor Universal Stencil (Past Times 900270300)
• American Crafts Paper Pad (DIY Shop 366665)
• Kaisercraft Timeless Collection (Postmarks P853)
• Outline Stickers (Timeless Silver 904935)
• The Works (Victorian Style Embellishments)
• Tim Holtz Idea-ology Salvage Stickers (Crowded Attic #TH92898)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Sentiments (Home Collage #ROY533 Rub-on)
• Assorted buttons
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

Owl Superpowers

I have always loved owls so this page has been on my “To do list” for quite a while now. With the theme over at Art Journal Journey being “Nature’s Wonders”, I had the perfect excuse to get creative and tick this off my list – thank you.

I was inspired after watching a Natural World TV programme; it was really fascinating to watch as it revealed the magic behind the owl’s superpowers.

First I applied Distress Ink with a circular blending tool then covered the whole page with a thin layer of white gesso using a baby wipe. Next I started on the smaller dot pattern using a paint brush to apply diluted Distress Ink and ink from Faber-Castell Big Brush markers, then I doodled on each shape with my black Uni Pin Fine Line marker to add detail (my hubby thinks these look like animal tracks). The owl image and name are from an old calendar, which I fussy cut with my scissors and stuck to the page using a UHU Stic. Next I stamped the title of the page using black Archival Ink. The feather is from a doodle book that I painted using Derwent Inktense Ink Pencils and Aqua markers. To make the tags I coloured the front of the tag with a Big Brush marker then I cut pieces of grid paper to fit the inside of my tags and stamped the five superpowers on each one, sticking them to the tags using a UHU Stic. I numbered each tag using outline stickers which I coloured black using a Sharpie marker and then embellished the tags further with alphabet buttons. If you read the buttons from tag 1 to 5 you will see the word “magic”, I used this word not only because the owl is magic with it’s superpowers but so are the tags! My tags are actually attached to the page using Velcro so you can remove them and read the additional information for each of the superpowers (that I stamped) on the back.

In this case I found it’s best to attach the tag using Velcro in two places so that the tags are secure. When you look at Velcro there is a barb side and a fluffy side, and it’s the fluffy side that detaches the easiest so I placed this on the tag so that it’s less likely to rip when being removed from the page. I think it’s pretty neat to be able to take the tag off and turn them over to understand more about the owl’s superpowers.

I choose this particular owl for my page because earlier this year we went on a tour of Marton Mere, a local Nature Reserve with one of our friends who volunteers there, specifically to see the Long-Eared owls. I was so excited and thankful we got to see them in their natural habitat. As you can see they were well camouflaged and our friend got better photos than we did (as usual), so with her permission I have included her photo – thank you! By the way those are just feathers on its head not its real ears that you can see. We had such a fab time! It is a lovely place to see wildlife especially birds.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

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

• Pébéo White Gesso
• Tim Holtz Distress Inks (Cracked Pistachio, Mowed Lawn, Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint, Pine Needles ,Black Soot)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Derwent Inktense Ink Pencils (Baked Earth 1800, Willow 1900, Bark 2000)
• Spectrum Aqua Artist’s Markers (Chocolate, Slate)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush artist pen (Dark Sepia 175 B, Black 199)
• Sharpie Permanent Fine Point Marker (Black)
• Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Docrafts A5 clear stamp set (Alphas Folk DCE907115)
• Dovecraft upper and lower case alphabet stamp set (WDN Alpha Stmp DCVW0050)
• The Works (24 Assorted Craft Tags)
• American Crafts DIY Shop (48 Papers 366665)
• The Works British Birds Calendar 2016
• North Parade Sudoku and Doodle (Animal Kingdom)
• Docrafts Anita’s Outline Stickers (Mixed Numbers Silver ANT 8101013)
• Home Bargains Love Letters (63 Self-Adhesive Letters)
• UHU Stic
• Self-Adhesive Velcro

Peacock

My favourite colour is blue so what’s not to love about peacocks (apart from the fact that they are noisy at night – which I discovered whilst staying at a bed and breakfast with my American friends at Stratford-upon-Avon :-)). The peacock is such a beautiful bird with its vibrant iridescent blue and green plumage and when he displays all those tail feathers with those eyespots he is a wonder to behold! I’m excited to be able to join Art Journal Journey and Gill who is hosting the new theme this month, which is “Nature’s Wonders”.

My page is inspired by a peacock image I was given. I had no plan of action when I started and I often think it’s for the best as you can create something of beauty!

To start I stenciled the trellis fretwork using a Dutch Doobadoo mask with two colours of glitter glue and left it to dry. I covered the remainder of the page with patches of white gesso using a palette knife and applied Liquitex Acrylic paint with a baby wipe, gradually building up the colour intensity to my liking. I tore and then stuck down strips of music sheet using gel medium and smudged paint over the top of them to blend into the background. The white and purple flower images are stickers which I fussy cut with my craft scissors, I also used pieces of the sticker surround as it had a lovely marble-like quality to it; ripping and sticking them onto the page around the music sheet pieces. I then outlined all of these elements with my black Uni Pin fine line marker. To intensify the trellis I outlined the shapes and applied colour using Spectrum Aqua markers. The gold flowers and circles are outline stickers. For the tag, I used torn strips of music sheet and sticker background, outlining and embellishing them as I did for my page background. I fussy cut the peacock and edged it using a navy Spectrum Aqua marker and then glued it to the tag using a UHU Stic. To finish the tag I added some gem stones and gold ribbon then attached it to the page using double-sided foam tape. Lastly I added words which are associated with Peacocks – Beauty, Kindness and Peace!

This page reminds me of the beauty we found in the Art Deco tile panels at the Blackpool Winter Gardens. The stunning panels feature a range of ladies in exotic costumes and were created by William James Neatby, who is best known for his designs of the tiles in the Harrods Food Hall. I found the panels mesmerising and there are two panels that feature peacocks called “Peacocks” and “Labradorite”, the latter is pictured above.

We recently went on a Heritage Tour of the Winter Gardens, where they share some of the history of the building. We took photos of the panels during our tour and this one is called “Hummingbirds”. Aren’t they just breathtaking! If you want to see more of them here’s a link – Neatby Panels by Dawn Mander, the photos are taken by a fabulous local photographer whose blog I follow.

The Blackpool Winter Gardens is an extensive complex of venues filled with history and imaginative designs dating back to 1878.  It has one of the largest theatres in the country along with another theatre, one of the largest ballrooms in the world and several other halls and venues. It has recently become publicly owned and is subject to a slow but thorough restoration which is discovering Art Deco and other period features which have been covered up over the last 138 years.

The tile panels lined the original entrance tunnel to the Empress Ballroom. The tunnel was wide enough so that a horse and carriage could deliver guests and then turn around to leave. So you really started your evening in style! Later the area became a car showroom and this photo (which we took a photo of, hence the quality) gives an idea of some of the original tiling.

We were also lucky enough to see an entire intact original Art Deco floor which was previously unknown and was recently discovered underneath a carpet! Possibly another Art Journal page in the making?

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

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

• Pébéo White Gesso
• Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Swedish Blue, Christmas Green)
• Spectrum Aqua Artist’s Markers (Aquamarine, Navy and Slate)
• Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.1mm and 0.8mm)
• Hobbycraft Glitter Glue Pens (Assorted Colours)
• Dutch Doobadoo Stencil (DDBO Dutch Mask Art A5 Vintage 470.715.028)
• Penny Black 2010 Stickeroos (In Bloom 10-208)
• Magenta Style Outline Stickers (Gold)
• Dovecraft Peel-off Stickers (Alpha Caps G DCPO-05)
• Hunkydory Jewelled Feather Collection (Pretty Feathers)
• Poundland Die Cut Tags
• Bosworth Violin Studies music book
• Hobbycraft Self Adhesive Gems (Assorted Square 5666141000)
• Gold Ribbon
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• UHU Stic
• The Range double-sided foam tape