Wednesday 1 October 2014

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



30 comments:

  1. Beautiful photos Jane, the colours are lovely and you have carried them into your little tag so well! :)
    Yes I agree gathering conkers is an all age event!!! ;)
    I think Billy is getting more handsome!!!!
    Have a lovely evening my friend,
    V x

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  2. Hello Jane,
    Thank You for this beautiful autumnal post. I can almost smell the humidity on the conkers thanks to your beautiful photography!
    Love your Tag as well. Amazing what you achieve to create on such a small surface, truly a treasure!!

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  3. Gorgeous tag, beautiful rusty autumncolors! and I love your photos, especially the ones with the cat on it! Thanks for sharing this at Our Creative Corner!
    Groetjes Karin

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  4. Good evening, Jane! I love the photos of all the wonderful conkers - they really are one of nature's treasures and shine beautifully as if made from the most expensive of polished woods! (I suppose technically they are!) The colours are changing quickly now and Autumn is definitely here, I love this transition from Summer to Autumn, before the days get too short, when you can get out your boots and maybe even a scarf and enjoy the outdoors in all it's glory!
    Your little tag is so pretty and has a lovely traditional, vintage feel. The colours are so warm and representative of the time of year! Wishing you and yours a happy October! Hugs, Lisa x

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  5. Love your tag with that gorgeous vintage halloween image! Thanks so much for adding another make to our challenge at A Vintage Journey!

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  6. Your post made me smile, I have been collecting conkers too, and love finding these treasures just as much as ever. It seems like a very good year for conkers!
    Your tag is a lovely one that really evokes the season.
    Wishing you a happy October!
    Helen xox

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  7. Amazing tag!! Love the details and the autumnal look of it))))
    And the photos are fabulous)))
    Thank you for joining in on the fun at Cheery Lynn Designs!

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  8. Love when I come over to your blog and have your photos of inspiration first. Your tag is stunning. Perfect choice of colours and the Queen Anne's lace die cut out in black is fab. Thanks for joining in the challenge at Cheery Lynn Designs and good luck.
    Have a great weekend, Julie x

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  9. Such beautiful photos..Especially love you cat!
    Cheers
    Dr Sonia
    Cards Crafts Kids Projects

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  10. Hi Lovely Jane, I'm in love with the gorgeous green in your post! I love the conkers on the branches with the shells. I think I would love to join in on the fun of the treasure hunt! They are prickly though! (maybe gloves needed) Billy is so curious and probably saying "Oh it's this time of year again"! Hugs to Sweet Billy❤️
    The tag is perfect, love the style and old fashion image : )
    xoRobin

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  11. Oh Jane, I think you've just created another one of my "new favorites." This is a really cool vintage Halloween tag! Good to see Billy keeping an eye on those conkers- We sure wouldn't want him to miss out on any of the seasonal fun! Happy early October to you! :o)

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  12. What an awesome tag I love your image & design. Jacqui DT Bearly Mine

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  13. Beautiful tag Jane! Love the vintage images you've used. Thanks for joining us at Frilly and Funkie. Sue C x

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  14. This is beautiful! I love the lace and vintage photo!

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  15. I love Fall colors, Jane and your tag is wonderful. Such rich coloring and great embellishments. Good luck and thanks for joining in on the fun at Cheery Lynn Designs challenge.

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  16. Thank goodness there's someone else out there who is equally obsessed with conkers at this time of year! The dog thinks I've lost the plot as my pockets fill with those autumn jewels. Now for that tag, and my goodness you carried that beauty forward creating a wonderful home for Ignacio's Halloween image. I love the embellishments and that great sentiment. Thank you so much for joining us at A Vintage Journey. Jenny x

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  17. Hello dear Jane,

    LOVE your conkers - I would love to collect them too but we haven't got them around here so I need to admire them here. And Billy seems to approve too! What a lovely tag too - happy October, dear friend!

    Yours,
    Mia

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  18. Coming back to say thank you so much for joining us at Frilly and Funkie too Jane! Jenny x

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  19. Wonderful halloween tag.
    Thanks so much for joining us over at Bearly Mine Challenges, good luck and hope to see you again.
    ~ Denise DT ~
    Bearly Mine Inspiration & Challenge Blog
    {Denise's Patch of Creativity}
    {Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge}

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  20. An altogether gorgeous autumnal post - fabulous photos and a delicious tag! Thanks so much for joining us on A Vintage Journey.
    Alison xx

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  21. A great tag really like your use of ink and the vintage style image Jacqui DT Bearly Mine

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  22. Hiya Jane and wow those photos are stunning

    Your tag is amazing with so much detail texture and wonderful colours

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  23. Fabulous tag Jane - love the vintage image and wonderful inky techniques.
    Gorgeous Autumnal photos too :o)
    Thanks for playing along with The Divas this week.
    Good luck.
    Debs xx

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  24. Gorgeous colours, thank you for sharing with us at Divas by Design this week.
    Sarah-Jane x

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  25. Oh this looks really cute! Thank you for joining us at ABC. Hugs! Mojca

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  26. Gorgeous Tag, thank you for joining us at Charisma Cardz for our 'Anything but a Card' challenge xx

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  27. Absolutely gorgeous tag! Love the autumn colours and the beautiful pictures too!
    Thanks for sharing and joining us at The ABC Challenge!
    Hugs Annette

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  28. Gorgeous tag...Thanks for playing along with us at A Little Bit Crafty this month.
    Wendy xx

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  29. Fab Tag! Thank you for joining in The Artistic Stamper Creative Team challenge this month :)

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  30. Absolutely gorgeous!

    Warm hugs and love
    Maarit

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