Inner Beauty ....

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Inner beauty is seen in many forms by all .

Being inspired also stops us in our tracks , it opens our

hearts and minds to new ways of being .

Womens lives and inner beauty , can be a source of

turmoil , peace ,and radiate on maturity .

I think Audrey Hepburn , encased this well , " in a nutshell " ............

For lovely eyes , seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure , share your food with the hungry .

For beautiful hair , let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day .

People , even more than things , have to be retored , renewed ,

revived , reclaimed and redeemed . .Never throw out anybody .

The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole .True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul .

It is the caring that she lovingly gives , the passion that

she shows , and the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows .

I Just LOVE Buttons !!

You see them every day. They fasten your clothing , hold your pants up, and maybe make a fashion statement on your new sweater. Buttons! Almost everyone has some buttons stashed away in a box or jar. They can be plain and simple, or truly elegant works of art. Due to our natural hoarding instincts, buttons find their way into nooks and crannies in our homes.

I myself , have been collecting them for just over a year now . To use in projects , and simply just have to buy any that i come across that catch my eye . Just pieces of plastic , glass , fabric or other medium in which they are made , give me pleasure , and wonder what garment they adorned , along with the history of them .

Buttons have been in use for hundreds of years. In very early times, clothing was fastened with ties or pins, but gradually toggles and buttons as we know them came to be in use. Many ancient burials have included buttons or button-like objects. In the Early and Middle Bronze Age, large buttons were primarily used to fasten cloaks. By the 13th century, buttons were widely in use, mainly as decoration. As most clothing of that time period was closed with lacing or hooks, garments didn’t use buttons as methods of closing on a regular basis until the last half of the 16th century. Most of the buttons from this time period were small, but over the next century or so they became larger and very ornate, often using precious metals and jewels. During the 17th and18th Century, most buttons were worn by men.
By the 18th century, buttons were becoming larger, and had even more elaborate designs. Buttons continued to make a fashion statement and the button-making industry hit such a high standard that the period from 1830-1850 has become known as the Golden Age. As mass production techniques progressed, and new synthetic materials were developed, the general standard declined. From 1860 on, women have been the main consumers of “novelty” buttons.

So , you can imagine my utter delight , when i came across this large sweetie jar full to the brim of old , along with the odd new buttons ! There it was , sitting on a bottom shelf , in my local charity shop , waiting for me to give them a new home !! The jar alone was worth the small price tag i paid !

All on show

Just a small selection of my favourite ones ......

Others i have acquired .... On cards ......









Mother of Pearl ......





Glass ....






And another peak at my jar find .... The orange flower is actually

a bucklefrom a belt of some sort . This was one of the unexpected finds inside !

I do collect many things amoungst buttons .

Part of their charm also is , that they are small and

do not take up too much room to store .

Something that is dwindling away in my craft room !

Generous Friends ....

The whole creative blogging community out there , i have come to know and love , are by far , the most wonderful people out there ! Their support , love and generosity is overwhelming sometimes .

I took part in Pay It Forward , back in November last year , and yesterday i received this gorgeous bookmark , from Cathie of

http://www.clevelandgirlie.blogspot.com/

The colours and stitch work are more amazing in the flesh , and i simply love it ! Something as simple as this , brought me so much pleasure in receiving this .

Thank- you so much Cathie !!

And while i had been away , this was waiting at home for me to open ...

From one of my best friends Sherry .... An altered note book !!

A belated birthday present for me , which on opening , i fell in love with it ,

and knowing that someone thought and took their precious time

to create something especially for me .

Makes it more of a treasured item to use .

Heartfelt Thanks to you Sherry !



A saying just inside the book ....

I am also busy doing the altered torso playing cards ,

for the winners , from my birthday bash . Here`s just one i remembered to photograph !

I " forgot " the other , but i will not say who this one is for ,

incase they are reading this !! I hope that she likes it !

So ... whatever you do this weekend ...

Have a brilliant time !!

xxxxxxxx

And Finally .....

My final lot of photographs .......

One of the many corridors we walked through ....

Our last morning there , and the weather was a little clearer ....

A room to the side of the cocktail lounge . The lighting was not that good ,

but you still get the feel of the place still ....

And just to the right where the old desk was ....

I couldn`t resist having my picture taken at it !

We then had a short walk in the grounds ....

And my love of trees .....

And this is my favourite , looking up through to the fog filled sky .....

One of many small cobbled streets in Kendal , Cumbria .

Which lead us down to the river which ran through the town , before we headed off on our way home ....

I enjoyed very much , showing you all my time away.

Many thanks to all who commented on them , especially those

who do not have places of natural beauty and architecture

like ours .I feel very fortunate to live close to these

- And i will continue to show you all what i can !

Part Two .....

Here are more photo`s for you to see .


This was our Queen sized bed we had ! Just as we arrived inside , and before i messed the room up with our things . I wanted this bed to take home , it was that big and comfortable !

And of course , if you`re like me , i always check on how clean the room is , and what toilettries they have !! ;o) This is half of the goodies i brought home with me ! L`Occitane range , which smell divine - and are expensive to buy !

We also had room service , 2 nights in a row , but they called it Duvet Dining ! Which tickled the both of us , but NOT the price ! I had a steak and caramelised onion ciabatta , with homemade chips , in an actual small copper cooking pan , but was disappointed in the portion size . It worked out at 50p per chip ! I felt like "taking" the copper pan as compensation !! lol

A ornamental sun dial , which most rooms looked out onto the main entrance courtyard






A close up of the stone gargoyle seat below ...


We then travelled along the coast , before heading inland . And came to Bamburgh castle.
Which was closed at this time of year , but it is a must see to visit again in the future .
The weather was very cold , rainy and windy , but still got at least a few decent photos .

Sand dunes and a very foggy sea , that the castle over looks ....

We then travelled across country , towards The lake District , Cumbria again . With me taking snaps , as we went along . These ones are for Rhonda , for the time she spent here in the UK .

These were a flock of sheep that saw me at the gate , and decided to come and have a look .

And doesn`t this one look so cute ? !

Further along , were another breed of sheep that i had to photograph .

Rhonda - can you see they have their bums painted ?? :o)

That one is just for you , as i know you laughed so much when you first saw it !

A few taken from inside our car - which came out pretty good i think !

Snow covered peaks in the distance ....




We were at Hartshead Summit , which is 1900 meters above sea level , and it started snowing at the top ! Only travelling down a few minutes , the weather changed again , rain and sunshine.

The i saw a rainbow ! My first captured on film . You can just see it , in the middle of the photo .

I could not stop again to retake , as other cars were behind us .

And one more down in the valley , arriving at Penrith .

Just a few more to follow ....

It`s Good To Be Back !!

I`ve finally made it on here , after all , it was only a week , but a long one !

Here`s my first post , on where we stayed in Northumberland ..

Slaley Hall

An aerial view postcard of the place - which was free ! ;o) They have built on to the building as you can see . The main entrance was at the back of the building , a newer build , where we were , when i thought , we may have had the chance to stay in a room which was in the older part .

The grand entrance to Slaley Hall ...

Just inside the downstairs foyer ....

Looking to the right , is a period sofas and a table . With stone built walls , and tapestry hangings ....

Close up of the hangings ... The bird one was my favourite !

Inside , they had mixed old with new , which worked very well .
Here`s what they called the cocktail lounge , a new extension on part of the back of the old building ....

And me sat next to the fireplace that i wouldn`t mind having at home !

The breakfast room ....





And walking about the Hall` s interior , a few things that caught my eye . Things that others may not " see " , or appreciate like me .....



A staircase to the rooms ....





An old writing desk .....





An old telephone .....

The weather was not that good while we were there , very foggy , drizzly . But this would look gorgeous in the summertime , the back of the old building .....

A foggy photo ....







The Hall is situated in 100 acres of land , in the middle of nowhere . There is a

golf course , meeting conventions are held there , and weddings as well .... What i call normal houses were built on plots of the land , so that people could buy / rent out . This is one of them ,

taken on our departure ...

To be continued .......