Faerie Enchantment: asbury park

Monday, September 15, 2014

Summer Memories Ornament

Every summer we embark on a multitude of adventures. Exploring becomes a way of life either on a stroll to the park, hike in the mountains or a swim at the beach.

As an artist I always try to come up with unique ways to capture my adventure and preserve it. Back in June I was lucky to share an adventure to the Jersey Shore with my creative friend Marfi Bradford, who traveled to me from Arizona for some artful fun and exploring.

Everyday became a road trip to all parts of the Tri-State area. One of those trips was to Asbury Park and Ocean Grove, NJ. Both seashore towns located on the Jersey Coast.

While there I was collecting ephemera and found objects on the beach such as shells, drift wood, pebbles and sand. When Marfi, My Mom and Myself returned we were all exploding with creativity, so we decided to start making art in the studio. Marfi choose to work in a Halloween theme. My mom created in a Victorian theme, while I wanted to capture the day at the shore.

My finished piece was created using some of the elements I found earlier at the shore. I called my piece: Queen of the Sea, a summer memories ornament which will preserve our memory of the day in Asbury Park and Ocean Grove.

Materials:
-Drift wood
-Shells, all sizes
-Beach pebbles
-Lettered wood beads or scrabble pieces
-Chipboard letter
-White paper or floral wire
-Vintage image
-German silver glass glitter
-Glue: hot glue sticks, paper glue stick, tacky glue
-Tools: hot glue gun, scissors
-Other: pearl stick pin, chenille stem, navy fine glitter, card stock, letter sticker

Directions:
1. Cut out vintage image from paper, adhere to card stock using paper glue stick, re-cut again. (This makes the image more sturdy)
2. Hit glue the cut image to the center of a piece of drift wood or glue to the location of choice.
3. Begin layering shells and pebbles onto the drift wood. Attach with hot glue.
4. Cover a chipboard letter with tacky glue and sprinkle with German glitter. Then attach to the drift wood.
5. Thread a piece of paper wire with letter wood beads and hot glue each end to the drift wood.
6. Wrap a piece of chenille stem into a circle, attach to a stick pin, add a sticker and pearls. Insert into drift wood.
7. Embellish vintage image with navy glitter and a crown shape made from a piece of chenille stem.
8. Write the date and location onto the back of the image.

Tips:
-Create a tag. Write the date, location, who you were with and a brief description onto the tag and attach to the ornament.
-Use a photo of the day instead of the vintage image.
-Use a large shell as the base instead of the drift wood.

The possibilities are endless on what you can create out of your summer findings.
Thanks for visiting.

xoxo
Lisa

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

The Magic of Summer, A Jersey Bucket List!

With the awakening of the flora and fauna, the buzzing of bees, the chirping of birds, the growing warmth of our days and the extension of the glowing sun, its safe to say that summer is upon us, waiting to play host to a bevy of events and add to our adventure. If you are like me, then summer means all the things I like come out of hiding, crafts shows, hot air balloon events, festivals, carnivals, amusement parks, the boardwalk, and shore time excursions, not to mention a Ren Faire here and there!

Time to paint the toes, pull out the colorful skirts, pastels and whites, pack a straw bag with coconut and lime delights and head out on an adventure. Perhaps make a practical bucket list that you can actually achieve everyday. I'd start with treating myself to a cherry lemon ice one day, a creamsicle from the Jersey Shore the next, followed by a Jelly Apple aka Candy Apple from Jenkinsons Pier, add in a journey to Hershey Park, a Great Adventure day with the girls and a picnic in the park. Your summer bucket list can be filled with all the things you can achieve in one summer, start easy and grow it.

My list last summer consisted of a photographic fun day at Hershey Park in Hershey, PA, eating park food, soda floats and cheese fries, walking from themed area to themed area, enjoying the fun rides and games, with winning a game or two, followed by an evening unwind inside the Hershey Museum area and eatery, this trip was on my bucket list and filled with magical fun.

I'd recommend heading to the park early, as it is huge and there is just so much to see and do, that you will need at least 8 to 10 hours of exploring to cover the whole park and take in some food at the same time, they even have a vintage style Nathan's hotdog stand there, but for the real thing add a trip to Coney Island for the day on your list and get the real deal, the corn dogs are the best.

If heading to the Jersey Shore here are some fun facts to know:

-New Jersey is the location of most of the boardwalks in the U.S., with nearly every town and city along the shore having one. The first and longest boardwalk in the world is in Atlantic City, New Jersey and is 135 years old. This boardwalk gained fame due to the board game Monopoly, which was based upon the trading and dealing of real estate in Atlantic City; in the game, Boardwalk is the most expensive property to purchase and develop, but also yields the greatest rent payoffs to its owner. In the fall of 2010 HBO launched the drama series Boardwalk Empire, which is named after and constantly returns to the Atlantic City Boardwalk.

-Asbury Park's boardwalk is in the process of revitalization and has recently been connected to the neighboring town of Ocean Grove, New Jersey.