T Stands for …….the best of days!

As I may have mentioned hubby and I have been on a Breadmaking Masterclass! The workshop was bought for a Christmas present - and we have just got around to using it but I have to say the wait was worth it! 
Since we booked the day, Peter Sidwell's Simply Good Taste cookery school has re-located to a little farther away, but to such a beautiful spot! 

Blencathra was covered in snow on Saturday and
I didn't hang around outside enough to take photos!!!

There are some great courses coming up and we are already talking about taking another one, see the link here for some photos and courses - we are spoilt for choice!

Saturday's bread making was led by Kate Copeland and everything was at a very relaxed pace starting with a cup of delicious freshly ground coffee!

There was just us and another couple, Brendan and Cathy and we all got on really well.
We had quite a lot to get through and were provided with a little pile of recipes

We got our aprons on and got started.

 Kate demonstrated and explained everything so well.

The sourdough went into these willow baskets to prove.

Hubby though it was fun to grab my phone to show me stretching my ciabatta dough…and then getting it off my hands!! 
With some more dough made it was coffee time…. 

As we are here to join Bluebeard and Elizabeth for T Stands for Tuesday I must tell you - it was so delicious!

It was good to sit down for a break too...

…and watch our dough prove.
We went back and continued to make more dough and then it was lunch time!
By this time Peter had arrived and was keen to show off his new table top pizza oven

We all made our lunchtime pizzas.
Here's hubby making his..

We ate and then Peter carried on making some goodies(some of which we tasted)for an event he was providing food for…

 ….and we all went to find out how to shape our ciabattas.. 

 …and then our brioche and focaccia 

Then it was another coffee(and prune and ginger brownies - I had a taste of hubby's - yum)while some bread cooked and the rest continued to prove

 I was so pleased with my results and as I said in my title - the best of days, which has me enthusiastic about cooking again!
We had some bread for our tea with a pasta - sorry too tired for photos, but this was our breakfast on Sunday morning, sour dough toast and fruity brioche bread!

Elizabeth asked me if I would be sharing with our boys, the answer is yes - if they want some - one refusal so far! 
Boys (and grandchildren), Thank you so much for this fabulous present!

Thanks for looking, Chris

Fish Alive!

We have had a lovely time away - the bread workshop was brilliant and I will show you photos at T stands for Tuesday.
Only thing was it was very snowy and cold and now I have a bad cough - just as I thought my cold was getting better!
Before we went away I made this journal page for Susi's 'no, no, no' challenge at Art Journal Journey

The background was made a while ago for another challenge but never got finished. I added some dictionary paper fish - inked around the edges and some numbers cut from magazines.

Oh OK! Just a quick peek then - 

These are my Ciabattas in the oven!
Thanks for looking, Chris

A bit of doodle fun!

Sitting in front of the TV doodling my time away when I  first started with a cold.
I found a page that had sprinkled Infusions - Emerald Isle, Are you Cerise and Sunset Beach on it. I had spritzed it then soaked up the excess with a paper towel (which is sure to appear somewhere else!)

I started by drawing around some shapes but then just went a little mad - hubby says it looks as though I am!!

I just enjoyed myself!

This will be a scheduled post as hubby and I are on a bread making course in the Lake District. We will be at Peter Sidwell's Keswick Cookery School!  Oh yes, there will be photos! Our boys treated us for a Christmas present! 

Thanks for looking, Chris

A pearshaped collage

Not knowing what to start on next I decided to 'warm up' by playing in my journal!
I have quite a few pieces of paper that I have either stencilled , stamped or gelli printed so decided it was time to use some of them up - I also wanted to add some doodles. 
This is the start….

…but then I forgot to take any more photos so this is how it ended up.

I decide to add a pear stamp to my collage 'just because' this did go a little bit pear shaped! 

I am joining Art Journal Journey for Susi's 'no faces, no wings, no leaves - but collage' challenge

I was tempted to add this to Moo Mania and more but I don't think it is quite stripy enough!   

I am feeling quite a lot better although I now have a bit of a cough. Thanks for all the good wishes!
We are off farther North tomorrow as we have an exciting day on Saturday.I will wrap up warm - promise!!

Thanks for looking, Chris

WOYWW 389

Well, what a change from last week - the time has dragged - mainly because I have had a humdinger of a cold and of course we have been at home! The intention was that we would get all those little jobs done that we keep leaving for another day….since Saturday I have pottered around bit, done a bit(a very little bit) of crafting, slept, sneezed, coughed and watched TV! This means that the bigger jobs that should perhaps have been done by now haven't been - hubby has been a marvel - cooking, cleaning, shopping(including taking his two sisters for their weekly shop too)
The little bit of pottering I have done has got rid of a pile of leaflets etc that we have collected over the Summer on our trips and  I have been…..putting stuff away!
So here is my desk - for I am here to join deskers all over the World, all linked by the wonder of the web over at Julia's Stamping Ground. I am all set to make some Christmas cards!

The stamps are ready on the left and there are some stars, cut out a  while ago! So what is my journal doing there? Well I am going to use as a warm up, except the blank page is putting me off a bit so I may turn to one of my mop up pages in another journal.

You may also notice that my scrap box is now a neat little book style box - no more overflowing into my workspace!

The cereal box that I keep my stencils in….still looks like a cereal box, so maybe it's time for the makeover I have been promising it.

My Infusions are also easier to get at and much easier to use with

the map pins in the top of the lid.

I don't think I will make it here next week as I will be rushing around to get ready for coming to the crop - we are planning some time in the area before the event! So looking forward to this get together! 

Thanks for looking, Chris

T Stands for …. The Christmas trip...

….I need to explain…I am not going anywhere for Christmas (well, apart from my son's house for Christmas dinner!)
This is about a trip last week to a garden centre - a huge one! I went to meet a couple of friends for lunch and get into the Christmas mood.
The garden centre is called Bents and since I went last time it has had a huge extension built, with a little shopping alley with a toy shop, children's boutique and….a craft shop - a proper craft shop - it's a good job it isn't any closer!
They have always had wonderful Christmas displays but with the extra space they really are fabulous!

Sorry a bit out of focus but I love these colours!

Love this skier on the ski lift 

I took this from a door way on the way to the craft shop - we didn't even venture outside!

I was disappointed to find that this was the only display of nativity scenes. 

As I am here to join Bluebeard and Elizabeth for T stands for Tuesday I had better show you a drink of water…and a half eaten lunch - I had eaten one sandwich before I remembered to take a photo! 

I am hoping to take my Granddaughter here before Christmas - I am sure she would love it.

My cold seems a little better today - Thank you for all your good wishes!

Thanks for looking, Chris

It's Christmas!

I have been making Christmas cards - I really needed to distract myself (my cold is driving me crazy!)so I have been making some cards that will be delivered by hand.
This one was also inspired by some challenges

I started by making a layered flower using gold card
I am still trying to use up some scraps so the background papers were added first, then some very open weave fabric bought in a halloween goods sale at the supermarket.

I had stamped some text onto the base card and used Tim's Thinlets Mixed media die on the corner of some card.
The mesh fabric was stuck down over the two papers.

I cut a fancy circle and mounted a circle of lightly gessoed music paper on top. The 'stamp' is a wooden one that I picked up in The Works' and the Crafty Individuals image was cut out and stuck on to more green paper.
I added some snow by adding little polystyrene balls to the mesh fabric and by flicking some paint over the whole card.

I would like to enter in :-

Frilly and Funkie - 'What a Mesh' challenge 

ABC Christmas challenge - W for Wishes

Thanks for looking, Chris



Thanks for looking, Chris