Brid Stones

Originally from Yorkshire, though I resist the title 'God's Own County'...the nearest beach for us was Bridlington on the East Coast. It's home to the most amazing chalky white stones and pebbles. And before I left to live in Spain, we spent a wonderful last visit there with the children - and our collective love of stones is evident.

I also brought a tubful of these lovely, white porous stones with me to Spain....had to! I knew that one day, I'd find the perfect use for them.

It's been a process of trial and error to be absolutely honest. I began doing Zentangle on my BridStones - and the porous nature of them meant that after a while, the ink soaked in and spread somewhat. What started out as rather lovely has ended up a bit on the messy side. I'll spare you (and myself) the images. And even with the latest ones, I have struggled to get just the finish and effect I wanted. The green one smudged when I tried to seal it...

But I like the pink one and the black and white one and they are well sealed, waterproof and so far standing the test of time.

They are both large - bigger than a handful - and heavy, particularly the black and white one. Good for paperweights, I would say.

Collected from the beach in Bridlington in 2010, transported to the south of Spain. Completed in Casa Rosales in 2015. And I have just had a horrible thought...is it illegal to take them from Bridlington beach.....just off to check. Well, no but recommended that photos are taken if fossils are found. The beach is full of fossils too but we didn't take any of those. I do know it's illegal to take them from some beaches and I recommend that you check (beforehand, of course....!) if you're wanting to do some pebble painting.