Crackling campfire in my studio

Autumn arrived on Tuesday and since then the temperatures dipped and we have had some very welcome rain. I promised I would share some more photos of our Staycation trips we enjoyed a few weeks back. This also fits in well with showing the inspiration for my set of tags I made with the awesome new distress ink colour, crackling campfire. I shared the first one on Sunday (click) here if you missed it.

As well as Hever castle we enjoyed another visit to Wisley and to Polesden Lacey, a National Trust property in Surrey. At Wisley there is also a sculpture exhibition of the 4 seasons, by Philip Hass, an American film maker and sculptor. These are huge pieces and such fun.

The greenhouses have reopened and are looking splendid. It's so good to see the orchids and tropical plants again.

At Polesden Lacey the downstairs of the house is open as well as the glorious gardens. A house has stood on this spot since 1336. Over the years it was added to and in 1906 it was extensively remodeled by the heiress Margaret Greville, who entertained society and royalty there at weekends. Her hospitality was legendary and the Queen Mother spent her honeymoon here in 1923.

It's such fun peeping through the door and looking back to life in the 1920s. Apparently this house was going to be left to the Queen Mother but as history took another turn with the abdication she could not accept it and it was left to the nation instead. 

So back to my makes. I challenged myself to use all the forms of the gorgeous new Crackling campfire distress colour on each tag. This is the richest colour you can imagine and really surpassed my expectionations. Tim Holtz really is the master of all things inky. 

Some of you may have seen the following as I have shared them on Instagram. You can see them (click) here as well as my latest makes 

Below are the 2 I have not yet shared here on my blog. First up is my owl in the tree. I used the old wrinkle free technique to make the background with some text stamping. I added some glaze to the tree and I thought the tiny talk stickers were perfect! The owl is stamped in oxide. All the stamps and stencils I have used are by Tim. 

Finally here is my vase of autumn flowers. I stamped in paint on a spray background for this one. The dies are again all Tim's. There is also some glaze on the 3D die which I cut up and added to the vases. 

And here are my 3 tags together.

I also decided to update my letter board in my studio from Speckled egg to Crackling campfire and display my newest tags. 

and yes there in another awesome pin badge too.

So now as I sit in my studio making I can remember all the colours of late summer and early autumn. I can imagine a crackling campfire blazing too!

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

The house that stamps built 1/3 anything goes

Shopping our stash make a mess, inks, sprays etc

Through the craftroom door 1/3 anything goes

Crafty sentiments 1/3 anything goes

Thanks so much for stopping by today and for the kind comments you take the time to leave here. 

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x

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

A trip down memory lane to Horniman's Museum

On my husband's actual birthday last Monday we decided to visit a museum that neither of us had set foot in for nearly 50 years! As a child I lived in Peckham, South East London and 2 of my cousins lived at Forest Hill right next to Horniman's Park and museum. My brother and I spend countless days playing in the park with our 2 cousins. Those were the days when you went out to play and only went home when it got dark.

We were so lucky with the weather, it was cold but gloriously sunny. I looked up at the old part of the museum and the memories flooded back.

 This original part of the museum opened in 1901. If you are interest this is a link to the museum web site 

However with lottery funding there are now 2 fabulous extensions. 

 The gardens are gorgeous and the old band stand has been restored. When I was a child in the summer on a Sunday seating was put out and a band played to the gathered audience.

 The view from the summit of the gardens looks right out across London. When I was a child there was no Shard to be seen! Now the city is clearly visible in the distance.

Inside the old part of the museum still looked just as it did to me as a child but things have had a lick of paint and a tidy up. Even the old stuffed walrus is still there!

There are treasures from all around the world.

We had a delicious lunch in the Victorian conservatory

and visited the aquarium which although it has been completely modernised has an original "aquarium" from the Victorian era.

How delightful is this?

It was full of sweet anemones. 

There were other fantastic tanks too.

and yes some of my favourite sea creature, sea horses.

We had such a wonderful day and before we drove home we took a further trip down memory lane driving past my old family home and childhood haunts.

My card is one inspired by this gorgeous museum and Victorian era in which it opened. I used one of my treasured Tim Holtz paper doll and used a gellprint background from my stash. Extra stamping including the sentiment are from my Visible Image stash.. The world die is also by Tim Holtz..one of my favourite ever dies.

I could imagine this being a young Frederick Horniman, thinking about his future grand tours around the world where he would be able to buy artifacts to share in his amazing museum.

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

Pixie's snippets challenge #370
Through the craft room door 1/3 anything goes
Creative fingers 1/3 anything goes

Thanks so much for stopping by and for taking the time to leave your kind comments. Have a lovely week ahead. I am off to meet my dear blogging friend Brenda at Wisley today and enjoy the latest splendours Mother Nature will share with us here..and yes my camera is packed.

Back soon,

Bue for now,

Jane x