Conker treasure

This year I noticed that the conkers were ripe and falling even before we went on holiday to Rhodes in mid September.  I had not had a chance until last weekend to take my camera out and try to find some brown shiny treasures. On Saturday afternoon I took an autumn walk down to one of our lovely parks where several grand old horse chestnut trees stand. They always have an abundance of conkers every year.
I look up to the branches of few of them but they had already shed their treasures onto the ground. Rich pickings were everywhere............

 I love to find whole shells which just show a peep of the richness inside.

I also like to see the shells peeping out from the tree but initially I thought that all the conkers were already on the ground

until I spotted a few trees

where there were still whole shells hiding amongst the branches

 I will never outgrow the joy of seeing this annual spectacle and I am so glad that I didn't miss it this year.

I gathered up some of my favourites and excitedly took them home to show my Hb and Billy, yes despite being a Nanna I am still just a kid at heart.

 and of course someone had to come over and check them out.

I think he approved.

My card challenge ideas this week have been very influenced by the autumn colur palette I am seeing unfold around me. Now we are in October I have also been seeing lots of fun Halloween ideas too so I decided to make an autumn/Halloween inspired tag.

First I made an inky background by using several of Tim Holtz's  distress inks and his wrinkle free ink technique. Once dry I added some stamping using black archival ink and edged the tag with vintage postcard DI. The grungy stamp is one of Tim's too and I think it has a fab Goth feel to it.

I love the Halloween images from Ignacio of Nicecrane Designs and they are the first ones I turn to at this time of the year. The particular sheet I used for my tag is this one. I love the vintage feel to them. It was then time to put on my creative hat and this is the tag I created.

I also used for the first time the great halloween sentiment stamp from the Clearly Besotted mixed sentiments stamp set that I won in the lovely Jen's recent blog candy...thanks Jen so much. They stamp beautifully.

The faux black and purple lace border was cut from card using the Queen Anne border die by Cheery Lynn.
The leaves are Memory box and I used some more of my recent master sheet of autumn hand coloured card to cut them out with.

I would like to enter my tag into the following challenges;

Frilly and Funkie Halloween
The Artistic Stamper memories I think my tag evokes memories of old childhood Halloween's
Our creative corner Go rustic
A little bit crafty boo
Bearly Mine  halloween
Charisma Cardz anything but a card
A Vintage Journey The colours of autumn
Cheery Lynn real or faux lace mine is faux using the Queen Anne die
Divas by design spooky
ABC U for unique/anything goes

We are still enjoying such lovely warm afternoons here in the south, it was 20c+ again as I walked home from work today. Enjoy the wonderful autumn backdrop Mother Nature is sharing with us.

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x