Banana Frog Blog Hop

Good morning good morning good morning!  I have no idea why I am feeling so chirpy, but it is an exciting day for me - today is the Banana Frog Blog Hop, and I am also featured this month as I was the guest designer for October. 

Today's theme is autumn and I have added my own twist to the interpretation.  I used the beautiful colours of autumn to make a layout instead about elephants (hmmm - random at all?  Naaaaa.....  :lol:) Earlier this year, I was involved in the ardent hunt  to capture the most number of elephants I could which were displayed around London as part of the Elephant Parade.  Most of them were sold off afterwards by auction which raised double the target - £4 million! to save the endangered Asian elephants. 

I found the beautiful decoration and design of the elephants very inspiring and will have great fun making arty scrapbook pages around these beautiful creatures, so with the theme of autumn colour in my mind I chose this particular elephant, Cha-Chang! to be the first model. 

Supplies:    Banana Frog Perfect Paisley  

                 (available now for a staggering £3.30!)

                 Banana Frog teen lower (also on special!)

                 Banana Frog Christmas elegance

                 American Crafts Tropical cardstock 8 1/2 x 11"

                 Tim Holtz Ideology - Paperie Journaling Ticket

                 Tim Holtz Sizzix Sizzlets Decorative Strip die - Ticket Strip

                 Twinkling H20's

                 Paisley ribbon

                 Versamark

                 Gold embossing powder

                 Ocean Sunlight Cosmic Shimmer mist

                 Turquoise Stickles

                 Jo Sonja Lagoon acrylic paint

                 A date stamp and smaller alphabet stamps

                 Scraps of cardstock

                 Lots of chalk inks!

I started off using this particular stamp from the Perfect Paisley set and embossed it onto the cardstock with gold embossing powder, which is perfect for Asian themes.  Paisley was also a very dominant theme in the Arts and Crafts movement, and to me it represents home comforts. 

                 

I stamped this all over the top right hand side of the page, and just used the leaf top as a stamping margin on the bottom of the page. 

Did you know you could turn part of a stamp into something akin to a border punch?  I took the journalling stamp from the Christmas Elegance set and used the bottom half to embellish underneath the photo.  This stamp also made a lovely background number embellishment as a plaque. 

This Chatterbox sticker alphabet is something that has been kicking around in my stash - probably for almost five years - and I kept looking at it, wondering how on earth I would use it.  I think it looks great here - sometimes it is worth banging stuff onto a page without too much unnecessary worry about how it will turn out!  Same with choosing the scraps, too.  Whilst I am not a huge fan of too many clashing patterns and colours, sometimes a bit of extra interest really adds some dynamism. 

I really like how this layout turned out - a mix of painty, a bit grungy, a bit blingy - not too clean!  But it still feels a bit folksy and "handmade" to me.  I think Autumn is a bit like that too - so an autumnal representation on a page, using a different subject. 

Thanks for stopping by on this first leg of the Banana Frog blog hop.  Make a comment here to be in with a chance of winning some lovely Banana Frog goodies!

Why don't you hop on over to Julie's blog, to see how she has interpreted Autumn?  Happy leaf gathering! :)

Westfield Indoor Elephants

Slightly out of order, but the order will be more manageable this way ....  Here are the indoor Westfield ellies from Sunday, 27th June.  The sunlight is flooding in. 

That elephant at the front is #120, "The Singing Butler Rides Again" by Jack Vettriano.  Artist's Inspiration: "I created a now well known painting called The Singing Butler and I thought it would be fun to feature him once more. The Elephant is also a tribute to the incredible founding patron of The Elephant Family, the late Rajmata of Jaipur".  This elephant was kindly sponsored by Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, in memory of the late HH Rajmata of Jaipur, Patron of Elephant Family.

This next eli is so much fun - #113, Monopoly Community Chest, created by Hasbro & Invited Artists.  Artist's Inspiration: "This Monopoly-inspired elephant sports all the colours of the Monopoly board and many of the game’s much-loved icons. To bring the concept Community Chest to life, we invited artists from London’s diverse community to support the parade and make their mark."

Quite a crowd gathered to look at the ellies.  Such lovely designs and colours. 

Here is #114, Zambi, created by Donna Goes. 

And here is # 198, Mammoth Metaphor.  This ellie sold for £70,000 to raise money for the charity. 

This lovely gold ellie is #217, The Spirit of India.  Artist - Sacha Jafri.  Some of those bright designs were made using stickers!

Here's a better view:

Here's #165, Untitled, by Marc Quinn.  Sold for £65,000.  Artist's Inspiration: "The elephant is a much revered and adored animal in India ". 

And much better to see Saffron uncaged ....

And here's Ziggy, #258 - one of my favourites. 

What do you think?  Do you have a favourite?

Green Park Elephants

Friday evening, 18th June. 

Here is #169, Nanook.  This beautiful elephant named Nanook was created by Martin Aveling.  Artist's Inspiration: "The impact of global warming connects the fate of species from the poles to the tropics. The shape of the sitting elephant was the inspiration for using the iconic image of a polar bear on the melting ice." This elephant is in aid of Fauna & Flora International.

This next elephant named The Vanishing Lotus #73 was created by Bruno Cepollina.  Artist's Inspiration: "Entitled "The Vanishing Lotus" my elephant is rooted in Asiatic influences, in particular, it's inspired by traditional Thai designs. Using oriental patterning as an inspiration, I draw a parallel between the lotus and the current menace the Asian Elephant is facing". This elephant was kindly sponsored by SalesForce.com.

This next elephant named Pik Bingko, #77 was created by Charlotte North and Fred Rigby.  Artists Inspiration: "The form of our elephant is inspired by the texture of Asian elephants. We have exaggerated this in order to play on the haptic senses.  This elephant was kindly sponsored by Jim Steele.

This elephant named Baarsfant no2, #174  was created by Menno Baars.  Artist's Inspiration: "I'm fascinated by the vulnerability of this tough animal, especially by its incapacity to resist against it. For the large elephant everything is uncertain." This elephant was kindly sponsored by SalesForce.com.

#63 elephant named In Your Trunk (Turn The Bass Up) was created by Ashwan.  Artist's Inspiration: "Urban graphics, Asian and European patterns, lyrical (acoustic) patterns".   This elephant was kindly sponsored by Bluewolf.

Looks like a work by Banksy!  Here's #102, Tattoo - Born to be Wild, created by Gary Hodges. 

Artist's Inspiration: "To add an element of surprise to my “celebration of wildlife”, I wanted the two sides of my elephant to have a very different feel to them, one side, bold and a little dark, and the other, lively and theatrical." This elephant is in aid of Born Free Foundation.

And finally for this evening, #112 - Tara, created by Mark Shand.  Artist's Inspiration: "Tara’ is the Asian elephant who enchanted the charismatic travel writer Mark Shand, and inspired him to help set up the charity, Elephant Family - the official charity of Elephant Parade worldwide. Tara, which means star in Hindi, is affectionately credited as the original founder of Elephant Family, so it was only fitting that she had an elephant designed in her name. Tara now lives happily at Kipling Camp, India, enjoying the affection and attention of many delighted guests each year. The excerpt that appears on the sculpture is from Mark’s award winning novel, Travels on my Elephant, which documented Mark’s journey across India with Tara. It describes the moment Mark fell in love with Tara; perhaps mirroring the feelings of many of the people when they see the elephants across London and inspiring them to join us in saving this incredible animal from extinction."

This elephant was kindly sponsored by Mark Shand, which seems very appropriate!  Goodnight, viewers.  More another day.

Friday ellies Stampeding through the West

Last Friday, 18th June, I was exploring around the West.  I had an appointment early Friday afternoon and managed to capture a couple of ellies before heading back to work.  Here's two ellies who were resting in Sloane Square:

This beautiful elephant named Kingdom, #208 was created by Rebecca Campbell.  Artist's Inspiration: "Strutting peacocks, prowling tigers, dancing cranes and even dung beetles going about their daily business. "Kingdom" is a celebration of some of the birds, plants and animals that share the Asian elephant's domain."

And here's Josephine - #190, created by Patrice Moor.  Artist's Inspiration: "I am passionate about tulips and much of my childhood was spent in Holland (my mother is Dutch)". 

Turn left into King's Road, to encounter more!  No prizes for this one's name - but for documentation purposes, it is #13, Doors.   The artist is Ratchadapol Mueannoo.  This elephant was kindly sponsored by Savills.

The Duke of York Square is right off King's Road and is rather large!  It goes on for a couple of blocks. 

This next elephant is #59, named The Elephant In The Room was created by Anna Masters.  Artist's Inspiration: "My practice is heavily influenced by an investigation into pattern and form. The designs on the fabrics provided by my sponsor, OKA, provided fantastic inspiration for the elephant."  OKA retail furniture and home decor accessories.

Look at the legs - it's like she is wearing four different pyjama bottoms!  :lol:  Love it.  For this one, I am going to give you a 360, because the other orientation looks so completely different.  This is Duke of York Square. 

Sadly, I couldn't continue the hunt at that juncture ... I had to go back to work to fund the hunting!  So after work quite a bit later, I went home via Green Park. 

What a magnificent sight!  More to come ....

Trafalgar Square...

Continuing on from my day Thursday before last, 17th June.  About 6pm, walking towards Trafalgar Square - I hadn't been there for ages up until then. 

This elephant #144 named Kings XI Punjab was created by Lalit Modi.  Artist's Inspiration:"This elephant was inspired by the Kings XI Punjab, an Indian Premier League cricket team". 

This elephant #147, named Delhi Daredevils was created by Lalit Modi and is part of the same family of the Indian cricket team! 

Another one - #150 - Royal Challengers Bangalore - again by the same artist, Lalit Modi. 

Right in the centre of the Square - #145 Mumbai Indians - the name of another Indian Premier League cricket team". 

I like the sunburst effect on this blue one!  This next one, #143, is very aptly named "Rajasthan Royals". 

Didn't quite mean to have a bus sticking out in this picture, but there you have it!  Another instance of inferior photography.  :lol:  #149, Chennai Super Kings. 

Here's the famous Square, in action .... and a lovely day to rest a moment, watching the crowds, and the blue sky ....

After a brief respite, onto Leicester Square.  This is the Tommy Hilfiger Red Elephant, #247.   Artist's Inspiration: "Inspired by popular culture, I combined red and green pop colors to design a high-gloss elephant with a Mohawk planter effect. This elephant is unique as it continues to evolve throughout the parade, while juxtaposing nature with the unexpected."

Loving the punk hairdo!  At this point, I am in Theatreland proper - round the corner, in St Martin's Court, is Figgy, #110.  Figgy was created by Hannah Griffiths and her inspiration - "Figs are a beautiful fruit and I love their lush colours and the gorgeous pattern of their leaves. I wanted to create a precious richness by adding a mosaic element to my elephant."

Very difficult to get that photo, even what it is - there were LOADS of people milling about - being a Friday night after work.  What a spectacular facade to that pub! 

I was so disappointed when I got to Leicester Square to see it all partitioned off - they were preparing for about 50-60 of the ellies to be together in Leicester Square the next day - but that didn't suit me!  (Spitting dummy there .... :lol:) This was the only ellie I could get in Leicester Square - and that is by leaning over the partition.  No 126 - Untitled (Gajaraja) - created by Jitish Kallat.  I was quite amazed to see how many of the ellies were actually unnamed - it's a wonder they didn't do names out of the hat, or something of the like! 

I decided to wend my weary way home, but on the way, ran into one more elephant - this time, on Jermyn Street.  #200, Dickinson Elephant and one of my favourites.  This beautiful elephant named Dickinson Elephant was created by Phoebe Dickinson.  Artist's Inspiration: "Great Flower paintings associated with Dickinson; from Old masters to Impressionists, including the Van Gogh Sunflowers and the National Gallery of Scotlands Botticelli."  This elephant was kindly sponsored by Dickinson Fine Art - a family affair, perhaps? 

What a dandy!  Guess who this is - you probably got it - Beau Brummell. 

I love the fruit tree on the back left leg, and her impressionistic trunk! 

I still have to upload all the ellies from Green Park Friday week ago, and then the ellies from Royal Chelsea Hospital and Westfield.  Should I carry on - that's an awfully big job!  Still, I suppose it would make my life easier when it comes to making an art journal, I suppose ...

Group Herd...

If you can manage to get to London between today and 28th June, do try to go and see all the elephants in situ at the Royal Chelsea Hospital ....

Here's a brief taster ....

Well, greetings from the jungle, the urban jungle ....

South Bank Elephants

In the latish afternoon last Thursday 17th June, I walked over the Golden Jubilee bridge to cross the Thames to the South Bank. 

Here's the first ellie of the bunch, Brambles, #89.  This beautiful elephant was created by Diana Ralston.  Her Inspiration: "The fast disappearing Rural English Countryside". 

Aren't the toenails fabulous? 

I have a particular weakness for this next beautiful elephant - #61, Shaanti Haathi was created by Arabella Sim.  Artist's Inspiration: "I have used the symbol of the Poppy on my elephant because this flower is ephemeral and delicate in the extreme but it is a survivor and symbol of peace. By contrast the very existence of the elephant, though a physically powerful and noble creature, is seriously under threat in Asia."

This next elephant is #157, Deliverance, created by Loz Atkinson.  Artist's Inspiration: "The dark, almost apocalyptic sky is eclipsed by the peaceful freedom of the open birdcage and birds in flight. This gives a sense of hope in an ominous situation, reflecting the amazing work of elephant family in Asia and I hope will awaken something positive in onlookers."

This next poor ellie has been a bit bashed and battered.  #129  - this beautiful elephant named Sally was created by Joanna May.  Artist's Inspiration: "One of Joanna's best loved subjects is the 'Hare'. She illustrates this, taking a piece of Wiltshire up to London. The design incorporates mystical scenes of the moon, stars and crop circles; and connects the hare to the fertility goddess."   I don't know about all that, but it does look very like Nicole Kidman to me! 

Here is Sally's other side - the hare. 

The next elephant is her partner here seen at the back, #161 Maureen.  This lovely, cheerful happy elephant was created by Mackenzie Thorpe.  Artist's Inspiration: "I wanted to create the elephant in honour of my mother (Maureen) and the colours are inspired from my daughters first bedroom".  

This elephant was kindly sponsored by Mackenzie Thorpe himself.

For the next lot of elephants, I was a bit confused as to their location.  So I turned back on myself and walked to the front of Royal Festival Hall, to the market square.  This is where I found #136, Julia's Elephant, created by Joseph Paxton.    Artist's Inspiration: "My initial concept was to show these magnificent animals alongside other animals with which they coexist in certain parts of the world, showing that they are all part of a connected chain. I want the energy of the charcoal lines to give life to the surface of the sculpture, echoing the incredible marks and textures of an elephant’s skin." This elephant was kindly sponsored by HSS Hire.

Further along Queen's Walk, towards Hungerford Bridge, here is 117 Untitled, created by India Jane Birley.  Artist's Inspiration: "My late fathers house".

This next elephant #177 named Utopia was created by Mitch Freeman.  Artist's Inspiration: "I wanted to use an original image I have been revisiting and redesigning since 1992." This elephant was kindly sponsored by Mitch Freeman.  It looks very Art Deco to me! 

This is #121, James Bond.  A master of understatement, I think?  This elephant named James Bond was created by Oliver Lloyd & Lucy Fleming.  Artists Inspiration: "James Bond started on the page and was then brilliantly reimagined on the screen. Manuscripts and screenplays are nothing but words. Bond is universally loved, as are elephants, and we hope that this double-0 elephant will raise much needed money to help ensure their future."   This elephant was kindly sponsored by Lucy Fleming.  Not such a great angle for Monsieur 007, but you can see the lovely setting.

This street performer was very funny and talented.  He pulled the most marvellous facial expressions!  Quite a crowd gathered to watch. 

This student definitely did not know what to make of him!  After this photo, he went back and back ....

From here, I walked back across the Golden Jubilee Bridge, to Trafalgar Square.  Across the bridge, I took this photo of the Thames. 

More to follow ...