Sunday 20 September 2020

Last days of summer 2020

Well here we are in the final days of summer 2020. Night draws in earlier every day as autumn beckons. There is a definite nip in the air but for the last week or so we have been blessed with some gorgeous sunshine and blue skies day. My Hb and I had a couple of days out during our recent "Staycation", not quite like being in Rhodes but we really did enjoy some great visits and beautiful countryside. We visited Hever Castle, Wisely RHS gardens and Polesdon Lacey and I thought I would share some photos from these visits here on my blog. I have shared some photos already on Instagram, you can follow my journey there via this link. 

First up is our day out at Hever Castle in Kent where there was also the bonus of a craft fair being held in the grounds. Everything was very well managed and socially distanced. There was a one way system and it was good to have space to see everything without the usual pushing crowds you would have had in pre Covid19 times. We were also lucky to be able to upgrade our gardens only tickets to seeing inside the castle, which is an absolute historical gem.

 Hever was the childhood home of Anne Boleyn and also where Henry V111 visited her as he tried to woo her. Some of their love letters are on display as is the final letter she wrote to him as she awaited her execution. Henry certainly did have some extremes of emotions! It's a genuine moated castle complete with drawbridge. 


The castle was built in the 13th century by the Boleyn family. It was saved from ruin by Viscount Astor in the early 1900s. He was the richest man in America and came looking for a new life and home in England.  His fortune was $100 million in the late 1898...quite astonishing. The house, grounds and a "Tudor village" were created and refurbished by a huge workforce into a cozy family home. Photographs were allowed inside but with no flash so apologies for some, which are a little blurry. 

                                       Some  historical elements were retained by Astor.




   In the grounds Astor also recreated an Italian garden complete with authentic Roman marble and even a lake, hand dug out by the extensive work force. 




We really enjoyed our lovely day out and catching with some English history. 

My make today was inspired by our Staycation and the new deliver of the awesome new distress colour Crackling campfire which the postie recently delivered. 

As I did with Speckled egg I challenge myself to made 3 tags using all the products in the range; ie inks, sprays, glaze and paint. Here is my first;



I used all Tim Holtz products including the stamps and stencil.

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

Pixie's snippets playground  #387 I have used lots of snippets of paper to make my field notes tags as well as the dimensional leaf. 
Stamping sensations 1/3 the great outdoors
The Funkie junkie boutique blog staying in the background I used Tim's leaf mini stencil and distress stain spray plus labels made with his field notes set to make my background

I will be sharing my other 2 tags over the coming week or so.
We really did have a great day out. I will share our Wisley trip soon.

Take care,

Stay safe,

Bye for now,

Jane x


10 comments:

  1. Looks like a fabulous staycation
    Love the tag. The colour is so striking
    Claire Mrs H's Crafty Corner

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  2. fabulous photos from Hever - I think I may have gone a long time ago... gorgeous tag, too.

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  3. Beautiful place. Not a place I have visited, but I would enjoy all the same.

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  4. What a fabulous place, you really can't beat a bit of history!!
    Love your gorgeous autumnal tag too. :)
    Wishing you a happy new week my friend,
    V x

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  5. Thanks for sharing your photos Jane, it looks an amazing place with lots of history. Your tag is beautiful, I love the vibrant colours. xx

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  6. What an amazing castle with moat and all! And a huge lake. Thanks for sharing it with us. Love the tag too.. seasonal colors. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  7. A real photo fest today Jane and glorious leaf with the new Oxide, is is a rather lovely colour isn't it. Thanks so much for joining in with our 'Great Outdoors' theme at Stamping Sensations challenge.

    You could also link to the A/G option of our first challenge at We Love Chocolate Baroque: https://www.welovechocolatebaroque.uk/

    B x

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  8. Lovely tag and thats a beautiful leaf. I tell myself I don't need any more inks but that is a stunning colour!
    Thanks for joining us at Stamping Sensations this month

    Joan

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  9. Jane, this is a beautiful tag using that gorgeous color I have yet to get my hands on. I love the leafy stencilled background and how you've balanced the bold leaf color with the more muted, almost white labels. This is a real treat to look at, as are your photos of your 'staycation'. You are lucky to have great architecture like this so close to your home. I'm so happy you played along in our Staying in the Background challenge at The Funkie Junkie Boutique blog!

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  10. Hmmm, I might have lost my comment - which said how much I love your Autumn tag. It's beautiful. And great photos of Hever as well. I think you would really like Leeds Castle if you haven't already been.

    Sorry I'm late commenting!

    Hugs

    Di xx

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Thanks so much for leaving a comment; I really enjoy reading every single one of them.

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Jane x