Touring the British Isles on the Queen Mary 2

David and I have returned from a tour of the British Isles aboard the Queen Mary 2! We have made Transatlantic crossings on this amazing ship in the past.  This voyage, we circled the UK, from Southampton England, past Wales, over the top of Scotland and back to Southampton.

The first stop on our journey was Cobh, Ireland, port city for Cork.  Kindly, local folks heard that our famous ocean liner would be pulling into the dock, and they came to see her.  We struck up a conversation with one of those locals, a red-haired, blue-eyed woman named Ann, who recommended that we visit Fota House, a restored home built in 1700 with working Victorian gardens and an arboretum. 

Along the dock & train tracks, we saw a mural celebrating local butterflies, right next to a lovely pollinator garden. I love how public art turns plain buildings into uplifting spaces!

We took a short train ride to Fota House, and walked through the grounds, finding this Victorian greenhouse.

I made a quick watercolor sketch of the gorgeous lilies I found inside.

The picturesque building was full of flowering plants like this scented geranium.

We also toured the arboretum, where I marveled at ancient, massive trees like this one. Many of the trees were planted in the 1800s.

I admired rose bushes like the one that bore these fruits.

If you'd like to learn more about Fota House and its history, check out their website here:

https://fotahouse.com/

If you find this inspiring, I hope you'll create art from these photos.

Happy Creating!

What If? Little Free Library Update

What if you loved making painted bookmarks and secretly giving them away?  

You could find interesting novels in Little Free Libraries and tuck your bookmarks in the pages for the next reader to enjoy.

You could even get the help of someone who knew where all the little Free Libraries were in a neighborhood. 

Perhaps enjoy an evening stroll & chat together, slipping decorated bookmarks into books all around the neighborhood.

You could enjoy the artistry of the little Free Libraries themselves

Wouldn't that be fun?

I hope you take time this week to play with your art supplies, and share what you make with someone else.

Happy Creating!

Copyright Betsy Bangley 2024.  All rights reserved.

What if?

What if you were to feel inspired by spring and paint delphiniums & hollyhocks in bright colors,then cut the painting into three slim images to make bookmarks?

What if you trimmed the bookmarks with fancy ribbon, and set out on a secret mission?

What if you snuck them into individual library books for unassuming readers to find?

Wouldn't that be fun?