Last train ...

The theme for this week at Simon Says Stamp and Show was travel.  

Sometimes for me the journey is just if not more exciting than the actual destination, seeing new sights and sounds on the way and I adore train travel especially the architecture of old Victorian stations and the views from the window as you trundle by.  We had a fantastic trip last year for a rugby weekend in Edinburgh on a chartered train from Northampton - it was just like the Hogwarts Express, 1970's carriages, old BR logos everywhere especially in the loo!. The train also reminded me of my childhood when my Mum used to take all three of us (me and my two brothers) down to London and we'd have to travel in the Guards van as we were in a old fashioned side by side double pushchair - happy days!

So you can see travel and especially train travel is a big thing for me. I really wanted to use some of my photographs that I took on the Swanage Steam Railway a couple of years ago on a holiday to Dorset. We got on at Corfe Castle (very Enid Blyton Famous Five / Kirrin Castle) and went all the way to Swanage (the train station is slap bang in the middle of the town and you can walk down to the sea for a paddle - bliss!).  Along the way at the various stops were little vignettes of days gone by in terms of signs and in this case luggage.

I covered a 10x8 canvas board in old paper (ripped and torn into various strips), gessoed over the top and then lightly washed some cream and brown acrylic over the top and added Victorian Velvet distress ink over that.  Stamped loads of travel type stamps in pumice and slate and then stamped those again in sepia archival. Some of the Tim postcard stamps were added in vintage photo distress embossing powder.

I printed out two of my photo's one of the luggage and one of the train going round a corner in sepia.  I then put antique linen distress stain over the top. Sanded the top lightly to remove some of the ink, distressed the edges and added some walnut stain.  I  used an old credit card to add some white lines as well.

The postcard was inked in antique linen distress stain. The postcard stamp was stamped in sepia archival and then the text and postage stamp in black. Walnut stain added round the edges and in the middle to give that aged look.

Various Tim travel related ticket and location stamps were used to create the rest of the layers all using antique linen, walnut distress inks and stains to make the backgrounds and coffee, black or sepia archival ink to stamp.

Finally glued everything down with trusty glue gun and misted some latte glimmer mist over the top for some additional spotting and ageing.

Really like this one and it goes rather well with my Ration Book piece colour wise and theme so I think I'll try and find somewhere in the house to put these together. So hopefully I've the challenge done in time hence the title - last train ...

Well it's August Bank Holiday weekend here in England so of course it's rained, I put some washing out first thing , bought it back in half an hour later  as it looked like it was going to rain (it did) and now it's back out on the line! Plus we are supposed to be going for a BBQ this afternoon - waterproofs at the ready!

hugs

jo

xx