T stands for some Summery photos!!

I hope this isn't too late for tea - Hubby is wasjust preparing our evening meal while I do did this!!!Elizabeth and Bleubeard invite you to share your tea(or any other drink at The Altered Booklover blog every Tuesday!

As promised I am sharing some photos of our holiday in France

I will start with some of Troyes where we began our holiday….

First, this lovely spot where we stopped for a rest and an Iced coffee - it was by a canal….

where we saw these…

and a little further along….

There had to one silly photo!

Troyes is such a lovely city

I think we will try to go back one day!
Now for some of the parks an outdoor spaces we visited on our trip through Troyes, Orleans, Tours, Poitiers and Paris

Paris has so many beautiful garden and parks

These next photos are at the Promenade Plantee above the Viaduct des Artes, somewhere we had visited in Winter and wanted to see in full bloom - it didn't disappoint!!

I loved this cafe furniture made from pallets- you can just see some of the trees from the Promenade Plantee hanging over the top of the viaduct

You might miss these at ground level!

I fear this is going to take some time so I will come back with part 2 of Paris outdoor spaces tomorrow!

Thanks for looking - I am linking to Elizabeth's before it becomes Wednesday! 

Thanks for looking, Chris

Tim's 12 Tags of 2015 - June

My take on Tim's June tag is a very personal one!

The tutorial for this one is here 

As many of you know we have just returned from three weeks in France, going from place to place by train! Last year we travelled by train in Austria and Italy but flew to the nearest railway stations to get us where we wanted to be, this time of course the obvious option was Eurostar!
It was a long journey, leaving here at 9.15 and driving in Troyes at 20.15, so naturally need something to keep us awake - didn't want to miss a thing!!!
The coffee arrived in a cardboard cup - now I wasn't going to throw that away!!! I still have some left to add to my journals!

The first thing Tim said at the beginning of his post was "a great thing about creativity is that is can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. "


So I took him at his word…here is my tag…simple!

I probably wouldn't have made Tim's tag this time as I had hardly any of the required products but my special coffee cup deserved it's own tag!!
We really enjoyed our train journeys through France - apart from a change over from one station to another on a really hot day in Paris!

Photos will be on my next post although I still have loads on my phone!!!

I'd like to welcome my latest followers and 
say "Thanks for looking!"
Chris

…..and R.E.L.A.X!

The laundry is done - some of the ironing …thanks to hubby ironing some of his trousers and I am trying to find time to relax! Only thing is we are having a Summer Fete here on Sunday and I have been asked can I provide something to sell! I also promised a friend that I would make some Birthday cards for her to send….so what does Mr Mojo have to say about this - Nothing! Nowt! Zilch! I think he may still be in Paris…
I have spent most of the day either staring at a pile of stuff or just trying my best to get on without him!!
In the end I decided to give up on all and turned to my journal!!!
I am feeling happier now because I at least have a page in my journal completed
It started out as a mop up page - using stencils that had been sprayed on then turned over.

I added some Grunge Paste through a honeycomb stencil and dabbed some Dusty Concord ink through part of a stencil I bought in France.
Darcy's Flowers from Paper Artsy Eclectica EDY10 were stamped in Lulu Lavender Memento ink but I wasn't happy so had to outline the stems and stamped over the flowers again with Watering Can archival once I had used my new Neo-colours II (added to my collection when hubby came across an art supplies shop in Tours!!!)
Some N-c2s added to the page by dabbing on with a sponge and a little bit of spattering using the same colours. Finally a touch of text! 

I would like to enter in the following challenges
Mixed Media Monthly - A year of Choices

(I chose Stencils and Paste)
Our Creative Corner - What Makes You Smile? (my favourite colours AND actually getting something done!!)
Anything But A Card - Cre8time in the Great Outdoors - Out and About ( I am so looking forward to getting back to see our garden at our caravan!)

I am also linking to Brenda's Visual journey at Bumblebees and Butterflies

Hope to be back with some more holiday photos soon!
Thanks for looking, Chris

Dragons Dream - GD with a bit of crackle!

Hi everyone, I'm back from France, refreshed and raring to get back to some crafting! 
Thank you so much for your kind comments while I've not been here. I am trying to catch up with everyone, and although I can't promise to comment on all of your posts, I am looking forward to seeing what you have been doing!

Today's post though is about something I did before I went away.
I was honoured to be asked by Julie Ann to be Guest Designer again at Dragons Dream - the theme - Brown and Crackle - Oh! how I love crackle! 

I painted my tag with Paper Artsy Snowflake Fresco paint, followed by Crackle glaze then a layer of Mocha Mousse. I used the Snowflake to stamp some random text on too!

I stamped a butterfly onto some smooth paper and coloured them with Cosmic Shimmer paints that seem to be lasting forever - they give a lovely sheen! The under wings were painted with watered down copper acrylic paint.

I added ripped book page to my tag that had a coat of spritzed Distress inks - Brushed Corduroy and (probably)Evergreen Bough.
The 'FLY' was in my scraps box so decided to use that - edged with Copper paint. I also edged the whole tag with copper. 

The Design Team at Dragons Dream are so talented so I hope you will take a look at what they have done with this brilliant theme!

In keeping with the brown and crackle theme I thought you might like to see these photos taken in Troyes on that first day of our holiday three weeks ago.

Troyes is a truly beautiful city with lots of Mediaeval buildings still in use - even though this was the start of our holiday it is the place I remember most.

I hope to be back with more holiday snaps soon!

Thanks for looking, Chris

Tea for two at TIOT and T stands for……...

Well, actually the T stands for (in both cases) any drink you wish.
I must say mine is usually a filter coffee these days - I had to give up(well almost…)my favourite mochas because of the sugar content!
So, let me explain…the new challenge at Try It On Tuesday is Teacups(or mugs,and you can have tea or coffee, whichever is your preference!)
I have made a card, as now I am back home for a while I can invite a friend out for a promised visit to a garden centre with a craft shop attached!
She knows I don't drink tea but I think she will like this card!

  I decided to layer up a couple of papers and just turn up the edges for a shabby look (this is best done by running a water brush along the edge if the card before pressing up the edges)The corrugated card had a quick dry brush over with PA Fresco - Snowflake.
The cups are from a Crafty Individuals set and were coloured with distress inks and then heat embossed to 'glaze' them - sadly it doesn't show here.
I used some of my 'collection' of flowers in the corner with some seam binding ribbon.

Now for the other part of my post title - T stands for….

This is an invitation from Elizabeth and Bleubeard to join her with your drink (and food if you wish!). Of course, I have lots of pictures of my drinks in France but I am writing this before we go away as we returned home late last night! 
For now a few pics of what we did at Bank Holiday.

 We went into Morecambe and were delighted to see lots of vintage buses on display!
Of course going down onto the sea front took us close to The Midland Hotel and the Rotunda!
How rude I am - I started without you!

So sorry! The sea air and breeze had made me hungry!
It was the most delicious hot dog I have tasted! As you can see - I chose a Mocha - haven't quite broken the habit and the Rotunda do the very best!!
Can I make up for this by giving you a little tour?
First the light fitting and the new murals

As you can see the bar at the centre of the circle! 

The ceiling in the reception area is fantastic!

Even the loos(rest room) is spectacular - Mens stairs on one side, ladies on the other lead to the same room down below! The cubicles are separated….

….and there is somewhere to sit while waited for your beloved!!!
I forgot to take a photo of the back of the hotel where the Rotunda is but this is the front

The Midland Hotel was left to decay for a while but has now been brought back to it's original Art Deco Style!
Oh! We did see the sea too!!

I hope that you will join us at Try It On Tuesday where the design Team have some fantastic examples to show you and inspire you - and maybe make you get your crafting materials out and join us…bring your drink with you!

Elizabeth and Bleubeard will also be pleased to see you here!

Thanks for looking, Chris