A girl of the times.--- for TioT's

Children

is the new challenge theme starting today, over at
Try it on Tuesday's.

Lots of idea's from the DT please pop over for all the details. 

We would love you to join us
and share our new Blog banner in your side bar.

I have made a layered card, using up some of my coloured  cardstock
I tore around the edges on one of the layers and used a blunt pair of scissors
 to distress the edge of the top layer

The top layer  sprayed with inks and then stencilled,  using some brighter colours.

The little girl is a  Dina Wakley stamp.

 This will be a ' just because', card for one of my friends [not a blogger].

Thank you for calling in to see me today, you are always welcome.

If you have called in for T on Tuesday,
 please scroll down to my earlier post

Birds, Caravans and Tea

Last week we were away from home and stayed at a beautiful

caravan site in Derbyshire, we do like to stay here at least once a year.
 One of the perks of having the caravan.

It is in the grounds of  Chatsworth House, hidden well from view in the old walled garden.

The house itself is currently under restoration in parts ,  the photo is an old one as there is scaffolding and protection covers over some of the outside walls. 

Chris  showed some super photos  last week, and this  of her visit to this House,

We were regular visitors to the Farm Shop as well.

Can you see our Meg waiting patiently for the door to be unlocked. 

While you stay on the site you get a key , which allows you to leave the walled area and walk freely on the  many paths that run though the estate.
The notice on the door reminds us to be sure to lock when we have passed through it.

 I remembered to take a photo of our tea and coffee flasks,  Always a good brew of us both,

 even on warm days.

The old girl doesn't walk so far these days, but enjoyed being out and we keep  to the flat parts of the estate.

T stands for Tuesday

over at...

Bleubeard and Elizabeth's

While I was on the computer creating in the digital
program. I added a few extra flasks
 to share with friends. in case they are thirsty
 when they call in for a cuppa today.

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 This will  be my last journal page for Gills theme over at
Art Journal Journey

where August has  been all about Natures Wonders
all the fantastic art pages can all be seen here on the  a  Pinrest board.

When I was searching for strange looking animals on the net
 the other day these two birds caught my eye.

A Frigate Bird

A Shoe billed Stork.

I wonder what kind of call these two unusual birds make.

On the left if the photo taken from my 8 x 8 inch journal, before I added the words
 digitally in  MCS
Its hard to see the texture, I used crumpled, then flattened  paper tissues.
Sprayed  and splodged it  with a variety of paints.
The birds are fussy cut Paper Artsy stamps.

Thank you for calling in to see me ,
You are always welcome.

Animal wonders for AJJ

A page in my 8 x 8  inch journal today.

Made for Art Journal Journey

where there is only a few more days left to join in with Gills theme of Natures Wonders.

I did manage to remember to take a photo of the base layer, which was made using paint sprays and wax crayons.

Adding a bit more shading with distress inks, the stencil was lying on the desk, so I just had to add some as well.

The wording was added  in  a digital program after I took the photo.

The animals are Katzelkraft stamped images which I fussy cut.

I was thinking about strange looking creatures and did a Google search, it was amazing how many photo are out there. here are a couple  that caught  my eye.

Okapi

Venezuelan Poodle Moth

But this was my favourite, he's not strange but look at that face....

A Bearded Emperor Tamarin

Animals are a true wonder of nature, there are so many species out there 

and I'm sure there are more to discover.

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So to end with my own version of weird and strange animals

I had a lot of digital fun with this page,

using images from Mischief Circus kits as well as some of my own.

Human or Animal, our friends are special.

Thank you for calling in to see me today, you are most welcome.

All creatures great and small for AJJ

All creatures great and small, and the opportunity to use a favourite lion image.

I had this months theme, 'Natures Wonders',  chosen by Gill
in mind when creating a couple of hybrid pages for 

Art Journal Journey

I used one of my own base backgrounds,  it was sprayed with one of my  mixed colours.  For the  line drawn sketchy flowers I used  old wax crayons. The may have been a brand ? gelatos, I did buy a few many moons ago, now they are stored in a tin box, with similar items.

This is the second page I made with the same base,
When I read this quote I just knew I had to use it for this theme.
Butterflies have such short lives, but they are a true wonder of nature.
Thank you for calling in to see me today,
you are most welcome.

Digital additions from 

Mischief Circus kits

as well as my own.

More Book pages and a cuppa

I really wanted to try book folding. for the current challenge theme at Try it on Tuesdays
but so far this was

 and is possibly the only one I will be attempting. 

 It took me a long time [days] , mainly because my eyesight cannot cope with the measurements in millimetres. I'm pleased I didn't choose a longer word.

Folding the pages was the much easier part of the exercise.

Hello  to my friends at
Bleubeard and Elizabeth's

Even the trusty Cup of Tea didn't help my concentration.

I tried a selection of rulers.

 I ended up using the green one.

In case you wonder about the apple, it was crisp,

slightly sour  but refreshing.

 Our eating apple tree  is giving us a small crop this year, the cooking apple trees  have taken a rest

It will be a  little while longer 

before they all ripen,

I stood under the branches with the camera pointing to the sky  to get this photo, a  ladder,  broom will be needed to get them from the tree,  they don't shed so well from this tree.

I will end with my altered
 digital book page version,
 which I have to say
 gave me more pleasure in the making


Thank you for calling in today, you are most welcome and I love to have you visit.

Time changes Nature

With Gill's theme of Natures Wonders this month over at 

Art Journal Journey....

I have been thinking about how,  'time, ' plays a large part in natures cycle,

 as well as in our own lives.

This page started its life in 2010

One of the very first altered pieces I created .

It still hangs on my craftroom wall, all these years later, the colours fading  a little
 from the light and the sun . 

It was a mirror from a well known

 Scandinavian store.

For the photo I had to cover the mirror with a piece of card.

Time...

It doesn't stand still.

It waits for no man

and nature changes our world

 with each passing day.

Here it is now, at the start of its digital alterations.

I added 4 small photos to center, trying to represent the  Seasons of the year.

Of course the birds had to make an appearance,

their song is something I love to hear.
Ending up with some simple  green foliage,  showing for me,  that nature is around us everywhere, if we take the time to look, explore and enjoy..

Thank you for calling in to see me today,  you are very welcome here.

Flowers, one of Natures Wonders. for AJJ

Yesterday Gill this month's  lovely hostess over at

 Art Journal Journey

asked us What was our favourite flower and why?

Well, this did have me pondering,

poppies have always been my choice if it were to pick a wild flower.

Then what about all the other flowers that bloom, and share their scents, colours and their own special beauty with us.

So this is a digital page from me, showing a variety of flowers that would give me great pleasure to see them in bloom.

I rarely have flowers in a vase, I  prefer to see them growing.

We plant a seed, a bulb,  a cutting in the soil,

Wait awhile,

then see..........

A true wonder of nature.

Thank you for calling in to see me today,

your visit is very much appreciated.

Made using my own,

found , Mischief Circus

images.

Book pages for Try it on Tuesdays

Brave Spirit

Book Pages,,, is the new challenge theme at Try it on Tuesdays.

Please pop over for all the details and see what the team have been making.

 From me a mixed and hybrid page, with digital additions,

This is the original  page  on the left.

 A paint  sprayed and splashed background.

The Book print is a page from a very old french book I picked up in a jumble sale many years ago,

The main image of the girl is stamped., its a Wonky Tonk girl from  Which Craft.

She was coloured a little, before the photograph was taken to my digital program to have  the animals and more splodges added.

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I am also sharing a card with you this week, which I made a little while ago but didn't blog

The image was stamped and embossed onto the book page , then  watercoloured .

But as many of you know I love to alter my                     original pieces, in a digital program.

So this is the result.
I used elements from Mischief Circus kits as well as some of my own backgrounds.

Thank you for calling in to see me today.

I'm sure you will think of many ways to use book prints and I hope you will pop over to TioT's and join us there.

Thank you for calling in to see me today.

 You are most welcome.

If you called in for T stands for Tuesday, please scroll down to my earlier post.

Tea----------- one of natures wonders

I can almost hear you wondering,  what was she thinking  for  this page.

 so I will explain....

Legend has it that tea was discovered by

 Chinese Emperor Shen Nung in 2737 BCE

when a tea leaf accidentally fell into his bowl of hot water

and the rest is history.

I started off with my own base journal spread layer. A closer look would show random pieces of paper glued down  to  cover the whole area.

I then added some digital images.

This base layer might appear again sometime as it wasn't meant to be used  here.

I thought of the tea flavours I liked, but if I had to have one last cuppa it would be a good old brand of ordinary tea.

So, as the cup was now empty,

 it was off to put the kettle on,

 settle in a comfy chair

 to spend a little time

 with Meg and enjoy a fresh brew

and maybe watch more of the Olympics.

The page will fit two purposes for me this busy Tuesday--

I can go off and visit with friends for 

T stands for Tuesdays

 over at Bleubeard and Elizabeths

and join in Gill's current theme at

Art Journal Journey

which is Natures Wonders.

Tea is one of natures wonders that I would find  very hard to do without.

Thank you for stopping by to see me today and share a cuppa. you are all very  welcome.

My apologies if I have missed  or visited you late,  blogger is not showing all posts on my dashboard or feed list.  But I don't think I am alone with this problem.

My Try it on Tuesdays post will be along in a short while.

Sea world

Gills super theme at

Art Journal Journey

which is ' Natures World', has me buzzing with ideas,

 its the time to carry them out, that is the issue. 

I have had more time in front of the TV this past week since

 the Tour de France ended .

Rowing,  Rugby 7's,  Swimming, tennis and of course the cycling, to name

  a few of the sports we have watched. 

Still  its only once every 4 years and the teams are doing their countries proud.

So back to my page.

A digital page using images from Mischief Circus kits.

The 1st Seaworld Olympics.

Do you think fish race each other?

One of my ponderings for  today.

Certainly the few programs that we get to see  of what goes on beneath the waves

 are well worth watching,  there are the most amazing natural things   to see

 as well as all the sea life and plants..

Thank you for calling in to see me today, you are most welcome.

Wild things for AJJ

A fun  journal page for Gill's theme of 

Natures Wonders over at

 Art Journal Journey

I do often wonder what animals think when they they lie around, stomach's full of food.  possibly content  with their world.  I do have a  vivid imagination

 and when I saw these new animal stamps, my thoughts just went riot in my head.

These two are obviously chilled out and taking the rays,

 the rest of the wild ones  can just get on with what they do best. 

The page started off with an inky background sprayed as well as a good rub over with distress inks, I also used some mini stencils.

The animals  [Katzelkraft] were stamped, water coloured  then  fussy cut..

The three animal  added digital additions in the background came from a

Mischief Circus kit.

I made a  digital '' just because,'' card.

I know this will be handy  to have when someone needs a smile.

Thank you for calling in to see me today,

 you are very welcome.

T stands for Tuesday and a Nature Journal spread. for AJJ

Its Tuesday

 so that means its the get together  over at

Bleubeard and Elizabeths

 for a cuppa and a natter.

So fresh from the oven here is the result of  a quick batch of cheese scones

I couldn't resist putting the kettle straight on,  to eat one while it was still warm

Yummy............

when  oozing with butter.

Linda asked for the recipe I used

 for all my scone a while ago., It is quite basic and uses the rubbing in fat to flour method.

Scones

8oz Self Raising Flour

2oz Butter

Pinch salt.

For cheese--add 2-3 oz grated cheese leaving a little to sprinkle on the top before cooking.

For fruit---add 2-3 oz of any dried fruit you have to hand

[just like I did with the cranberry and ginger I made a few weeks ago.]

All the ingredients are mixed together with water to form a soft  dough that can be easily rolled out

Cut the shapes, into a hot oven  for 10-15 minutes and they are done.

I always knock the bottom like you would bread to see if the sound hollow

It works for me.

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I am still trying to use up some bits and pieces of papers torn from last months gardening magazines.
and have made another hybrid journal spread to share with the folk at

Art Journal Journey,

 where Gill's  theme for this month is Natures Wonders.

The pile of pieces included the leaf that, has finally found a home.
The Try it on Tuesday's current challenge theme is also about using up scraps. So if any of you girls call in I am trying my best to use my stack.

The article I took the pictures  from,  was about this amazing artist Emma Stothard. who creates  fantastic wildlife, woven willow  sculptures.
On the left is my page, before it was digitally altered.





My last picture is part of a photo, taken in a shop that was crammed with all sorts of stuff. But this wooden piece, , aka Jemina Puddle-Duck of Beatrice Potter fame,
 in her  green wellies caught my eye.

Isn't she  fun and ready for a good plodge in the puddles.

Thank you for calling into today, you are all very welcome and I hope you have enjoyed your visit.