In the Tuscany hills, part 2

Today I'm once again joining Gill of Gibby Frogett Craftations this month's host at Art Journal Journey where her theme is Anything With Eyes.  Further, I'm joining More Mixed Media again with their monthly theme that includes something bright.  And because Try it on Tuesday's fortnightly theme is Wish You Were Here, I'm joining their challenge, too.

We are once again headed to the Tuscany hills.   This will be our fourth trip to Tuscany.  We have been to the coast, then we went inland where we visited the countryside and farms, and a few days ago, we visited the hills when we went to Sienna, a World Heritage City.

Today we are stopping in Montepulciano.

Our first destination is the Piazza Grande.  The beautiful monumental square known as Piazza Grande is the hub of social life in this city.  Piazza Grande sits at the highest point of the city and offers one of the very few flat expanses in this hill town known for its sloped streets.

This is a magnificent medieval village.

I got the idea to try to imitate my internet friend Jo's entry a few days ago where she outlined her image with tape.  This turned out to be a nightmare and it pales in comparison to Jo's beauty.  The tape is quite tiny and was a gift from my friend Chris.

Located in the middle of a sprawling meadow outside Montepulciano is the Church of the Madonna di San Biagio.

This Renaissance masterpiece is flanked by two towers made of travertine. 

The bell towers are flanked by a cross.  Only one bell tower was completed.

There are four equal wings, two of which can be seen in the picture.

Of course, while in Montepulciano, a centuries-old wine cellar would definitely be on the agenda.

A visit to this world famous cellar is a voyage in time and history.   It's definitely a chance to admire the enormous Slavonian oak barrels that are hundreds of years old and filled with award winning red wines.

Of course, James is pining for Ela, and truly wishing she had been able to accompany him on this trip.

He's definitely a long way from home (and seems to be floating off the page due to my careless positioning of him).

For this page, I began by spritzing my handmade shimmering mists on both sides of the substrate, which is 110 lb card stock.  It was my belief that if I sprayed both sides, the paper would flatten easier.  Sadly, it made it crinkle and warp even more than if I had only spritzed one side.  I made this side bright so it would qualify for More Mixed Media.

The images came from an offer to visit Tuscany.  I added washi tape around the edges of the images.  I computer generated the words and printed them on my laser printer.  I colored them using water soluble crayons.  I also printed a postcard back and cut it.  I used a Zig pen to write the words and address.  His "wish you were here" message qualifies it for Try it on Tuesday.  The man, who is unfortunately floating in the air, is a TH paper doll.  Because the man has eyes, he qualifies for Gill's theme at Art Journal Journey.

Thank you beyond belief for visiting today.  I also hope you will join Bleubeard and me at Art Journal Journey as well as Try it on Tuesday and More Mixed Media, too.