ATC, More Messy Inking and Graffiti

Good Afternoon Folks,

Not such a good afternoon, actually. The day started well, but the sun went in and the rain came out and the washing had to be brought in again. Too much to expect two good days on the trot, I suppose ... maybe tomorrow will be better.

In the meantime, remember the inky backgrounds I showed on Wednesday, on my WOYWW post, well, here's the first of the ATCs I've completed.

The background of this one is a gorgeous combination of Tim Holtz's Peacock Feathers and Shaded Lilac distress inks - love this colour combo.

To finish the ATC, I've stamped using a selection of flowers and grasses from Kanban's Spring Meadow clear stamp set. The flowers and grasses in the background were inked up with the lilac on the flower heads and the turquoise on the stems and grasses ... very daring of me to try this technique, but it worked :)) The more prominent flowers, and the sentiment, were inked up with Versafine Imperial Purple and a green gem has been added to each centre. The sentiment is Flowers are Poetry by Hero Arts. The butterfly was punched out of a snippet of purple coordinations cardstock, sanded and then rubbed over with TH's Rock Candy distress stickles, the wings were edged with glitter glue and, finally, three tiny pearls were glued along the back ... a lot of work went into that butterfly :))

Not a lot of snippets used here, but every little bit helps! The ATC base was made from a snippet of white cardstock and the butterfly made from the teeniest bit of purple coordinations card ... the shade is probably called aubergine or something equally exotic but there is nothing along the edge to say for sure ... so I'm submitting it to Di over at Pixie's Crafty Snippets Challenge - 28, for her inspection. As the fab DIs were a gift from fab Di , I think it's only right that she gets to critique what I've done with them :))

And following on from that, here is more of what I done with them.

Aren't these colours deee-vine - I just love the vibrant turquoise, the lilac is dreamy and the lemon is delicious. The white embossed card was just bits I had stashed away - the result of trying out some new embossing folders ... well, they were new a few months ago when I put them through their paces! Now, hmm, what do I do with these ... I'll have to put my thinking cap on :)

I mentioned in my yesterday's post that, because the weather was just gorgeous, the EM and I took a drive up the coast. Our first stop was Kelburn Castle and Country Park  at Fairlie ... specifically to see the castle. First, we checked at the Information Office to ask how far I would have to walk to the castle and having been assured it wasn't too far to a good viewing point we carried on, camera at the ready.

And this is our first sight of the castle - isn't the setting just too beautiful. The thirteenth century castle, which is still very much a family home, is owned by the Earl of Glasgow, Patrick Boyle. His family have lived in there for some 800 years or so. Orginally the family name was de Boyville but this changed over the years to Boyle. The de Boyvilles from Caen in Normandy came over to Britain with William the Conqueror in 1066 and the present branch of the family settled in Kelburn in 1140.

The ultimate in graffiti art. It's the work of four Brazilian graffiti artists and was completed in 2007 at a cost of £20,000.  Only last year, the mural was named as one of the world's top 10 examples of street art by author and designer Tristan Manco - on a par with Banksy's work in Los Angeles and the Favela Morro Da Providencia in Rio de Janeiro. I've yet to work out how to embed these videos but here's a (speeded up, of course) link to one on YouTube of the castle being painted - just click here.

Admittedly, rather like Marmite, the graffiti is something that you either love or loath ...what is certain is that the Earl loves it so, having recently discovered that the cement coating on which it is painted is causing damage to the original castle walls, it is sad for them that it has to be removed.

The castle is located in the grounds of Kelburn Estate, which also houses a country centre open to the public and featuring a series of outdoor attractions. A secret forest, a crocodile swamp and an amazing adventure course makes the centre one of Scotland's most thrilling days out for kids.

Given the limitations on how far I can walk at the moment, here's the photos of those attractions I did see.

Wellingtonia tree - incredibly old - with the addition of some modern plumbing.

The seating and picnic area just outside the tearoom, which is situated in the old stables.

There's lots of well-preserved farming equipment scattered around the grounds.

This is the view from the car park ... absolutely stunning! Looking over the Firth of Clyde to the Isle of Arran.

And finally, a glimpse of the ferry heading to Arran.

As you can see from this brief glimpse Kelburn is situated in a most beautiful location and is well worth a visit - but you will have to be quick if you want to see that grafitti :)

Just a few minutes ago, the heavens opened and everything in the garden got another drenching. Will it ever end!

Here's wishing you all a lovely weekend, wherever you are and whatever the weather.

Crafty hugs,