Sunday, Sweet Sunday......

Hi everyone! We have a glorious day here! The sun is shining, the windows are open and there's a helicopter circling around drowning the sound of the few birds we have around here!
I have had some crafty time - and sure to have some more now we are in for a while! We still hope to take some walks by the river but yesterday proved that we may have to be up with the lark and back before everyone else does the same!

I made a tag using one of my favourite Crafty Individuals stamps. Yes I'm still thinking of Paris, our trip is definitely OFF!

I recycled a tag that I no longer liked by using some gelli printed paper. Onto that I added my favourite background stamps, also Crafty Individuals. I would have used their Paris postmark stamp but I seem to have mislaid it in a tidy up!! I added some Brushed Corduroy DI around the edge.

I am entering this at Tag Tuesday for Pinky's theme - 'Women/Mother's Day/Feminine

I'm not seeing my family today but they are sending lots of messages via the WhatsApp group we have set up and making me smile/cry/laugh with some of the photos that have found.

This one was put on Instagram by my youngest!..

I have to admit to dressing up the eldest in toilet rolls one year when we were on holiday in a holiday camp in the 80's!
Yes...what was I thinking!!!
I love the caption he put on it!!!

Hope this made you smile, especially if you are without..as we soon will be!

Thanks for looking, Chris

Green, green..la ...la ..la.la

Hi everyone, I know it's only a matter of hours since my last post here(my TIOT post)but I am here with some greenery!

I thought at first when I made this page that the Tracy Evans flowers looked bit like shamrock but now realise that they are nothing like! 
I used a piece of mop up from the workshop I went to the other week and added some Aall and create stencilling with some very tired crackle paste and then decided to just go with inks! I added some delicate stamping in greens and some words from the same stamp set!
I think the darker ink stain looks like a clump of grass!

I am of course joining Eileen at Art Journal Journey and her 'Green' theme.
I would also like to join in at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge
where they also asking us to 'Use Some Green'

Last week we went over to Styall Mill Garden for a walk in the fresh air - it was fresh indeed especially when we entered at the top of the gardens!
It was so good to see new growth!

A new visitor centre and cafe is being built - it looks huge!

From here we went on to Notcutts Garden Centre that we visited the other week.
We have wanted to look around the garden outside the cafe for a while but it has not been the weather for it!

First I will join Bleubeard and Elizabeth for T stands for Tuesday!

This photo though was taken on the last occasion we went,it was for the offer I mentioned in a previous TSFT post when I showed you outdoor photos of part of the garden centre!
They were serving a choice of different sausages with peas, mashed potato and onion gravy, we shared a plate of veggies and as you can see we had water to drink!
You can see the garden behind hubby.
Here it is...

 The stag needed a hair cut!

 We peeped around the corner and saw the back of the Aquatic centre that we see from the car park - we still haven't been in here!

 A rhubarb patch!

We think it would be nice to sit here with our coffee.....one day....

 Back through the hot tub area. 

I will stop here but one day I will show you the photos I took inside!

Meanwhile, stay safe, wash your hands when you have been in public places and try to sleep well! 

Thanks for looking, Chris 

No surprises here!

Hi everyone! Our new theme at Try It On Tuesday is Home,Sweet Home/Where would You Like to Live?
I'm sure you will enjoy seeing what the Design Team have for you!

I don't think anyone will be surprised at my journal page.
It just has to be....

Paris!

I made this page before we had to consider cancelling our trip this year! I was thinking about the blossom on the trees in April.

I started by stamping a Carabelle Studio stamp by Azoline with the Eiffel Tower masked off and then added some Stamperia paper with an Eiffel Tower on it.

I wanted to add some Crafty Individuals houses to represent more of the variety of architecture in Paris so I stamped and cut them out.
Next I gave it all an outline of blue and brown DIs by putting them on my mat and picking up with a water brush.

As some of you know I also love the green spaces in Paris so I stamped and cut out the trees on the Azoline stamp to make a little green area by the house (my house!!!) on the left to represent a little park and added some dotty flowers.
The falling blossom is from a Martha Stewart punch.

I hope a lot of you will join us this time with your dreams maybe or will you be 'at home'....I will be ...most of the time it seems...

I will be back later with my TSFT post where I have been out in a lovely garden!

Thanks for looking, Chris

It's enough!

Hi everyone! As the news of the Corona virus becomes more and more depressing I have a positive page for Art Journal Journey and Eileen's 'Green' theme!

I think the image itself is a happy one to start with...

....the little bird taking a pause from singing his song to look at you and tell you to 'Be Content'

I started this page so long ago that I can't remember how it started, but I'm guessing it was a mop up page!
I stamped this new AAll and Create stamp by Bipasha and then added some stencilling and a stamped border...and then stopped - I knew it needed something else but couldn't come up with anything! With the help of Instagram I had some suggestions and added words and then I added some more Distress Oxides along the side, which I spritzed and dabbed with a tissue to tone it down!
The quote is one of Dinah Wakley's tissue squares.

We are going to our afternoon workshop at the Whitworth Art Gallery today but are driving in rather than use public transport although I'm not sure that it will make a great deal of difference!

Meanwhile we are being content with what we can do.
We went out for a walk yesterday to Styall - a lovely sunny day with a strong wind - very bracing!

 We also went to the garden centre for a coffee..

 ..more photos next week at TSFT!

Thanks for looking, Chris

T stands for Train from the past!

Hi everyone!

Last Saturday we were out quite early (for us anyway) and were heading for the bus to take us to the tram stop to get to Victoria Station in Manchester.

We were both quite excited as we were going to York - one of our favourite English cities!

The train arrived...

 The woman in the green jacket was to be our travelling companion along with her hubby, we found that we lived in adjoining areas in Manchester.

This is the Brittania locomotive engine!
A lot of folk had been on the train for a while as it had come up from Shrewsbury.

I forgot to take a photo of the table before we 'messed' it up....

....but it was just like this, taken from the Saphos trains website  - set for coffee and biscuits.
The only difference being the napkin colour and the brochure that gave details about what to look out for and the times we might see them! It also showed water stop times, necessary - so that we didn't literally run out of steam!
Coffee was offered a few minutes after departure - and refills were offered several times on the journey

The trip was a Christmas gift from our family and I can tell you now it was the best gift ever!

Fabulous scenery on the round trip - we came back by a different route.

Lots of folk taking photos of the train as it passed. Some of the bridges were really full but the photos I took were terrible!

One of the water stops relied on a tanker!

 We arrived in York at 1.30 - time for some lunch! we went to Zizzi's Italian restaurant and it is here I will join Bleubeard and Elizabeth for T stands For Tuesday.

We both chose a pasta dish with chicken, spinach and mushrooms and water to drink. No dessert as we had plans to go somewhere else before we went to catch our train!

 It was a cloudy day but the clouds were high and the sun was trying to peep through! 
Time for some of the sights of York!

We went to Partisan (where we have taken you on previous trips to York) for a coffee and cake.

Hubby had a Cappuccino while I stuck to my usual Americano. Hubby chose a rather fancy Carrot and Orange cake while I had Apricot and Banana loaf cake.
We also bought a takeaway picnic for on the train!

 On the way back to the station we passed the city walls, with lots of daffodils.

 When we arrived in York we noticed lots of folk dressed up Steampunk style but we only got photos of these on our way back!

With our first coffee this time we we given special chocolate bars with a picture of the train

 The sun was really trying to shine by now!

 It was shocking to see these fields still so deep under water!

Lovely clouds and plane trails....

 Finally a shot of the moon and reflected carriage lights.

The last part of our journey was in darkness - we may have to go again one day when it is light till later!

I am trying to get some Crafty Individuals samples ready for the end of the month - the Hochanda shows are in early April - but I am also hoping for some art journaling moments!

Thanks for looking, Chris