A Blissful Retreat

We arrrived safely back home from

a glorious break at Matfen Hall in

Northumberland . 3 days was certainly

not enough at this historic peaceful place.

On our way there - we stopped at Blanchland .

A tiny rural village a half hours drive way .

The only shop / postoffice ...

Entrance to Blanchland Abbey

built in 1165

many of the clusters of snowdrops ...

Matfen Hall - picture postcard

Built in 1832 - and opened to the public in 1999 .

Set in 250 acres of land with golf courses

and various walks ..

The conservatory room ...

Our bedroom ...

The Pool spa area ...

We ate breakfast in the libray room .

Which had these vintage books within reach.

I wanted to pick one and have a look inside ..

Outside The Great Hall -
Cloister court

With the stained glass window ..

How it looked many years ago ...

And today ...

It was difficult to photograph - as the room

was dimly lit - but i managed to get a few ..

Bottom of the stained glass window ..

The glorious colours at the top ...

left hand view with coats of arms ..

The walk up the staircase ...

me ;o)

The view - set for a wedding ceremony .

The bride to be - glides down the staircase

The drawing room ...

With a large open fireplace ..

Large bay window - and pair of curtains !

Early dusk -

looking onto the golf course ...





And the Hall lit up ....

Just a few shots of the local area ...

Rolling countryside with mist on the hill top ..

A stream at Vindolanda - a roman ruins

near Hadrians wall .

My attempt at an arty shot ;o)

I think i took a dozen shots - at

different setings to get a mist / ghost effect

of the water . This was one of the best ones .

Matfen Hall was one of the places

that inspired me - with very friendly

attentive staff . Stunning scenery and

above all - a place to relax and wind down .

I wait for our next visit there .

Happy Valentines Day everyone !!

A chocolate cupcake - that didn`t

last very long - but hey - i gave him the

dark chocolate heart !!

I decided to make something bright

and cheery - for a change ;o)

I think it`s due to the weather

being grey - snowy and miserable at

this time of year .

A little colour is most welcomed -

don`t you think at this time ?

" Home "

Hanging ornament .

Lightly stuffed - using new / vintage

material - vintage buttons ..

Hand sewn word on twill tape ...

French knot doorknob and

vintage applique flower...

Speaking of home ....

I am going to be away for a few days

next week . We normally go away around this time -

and i need a break from the monotony here -

The weather may not be ideal -

but a change of scenery will do us

both good !

So i wish you all a loved up valentines

weekend - and i`ll see you all

in a few days time !

If you`re interested in where we

are staying - take a peak HERE

xxx

Just a few more of my journal

pages to share with you .

As i was taking this photo -

the sun came out - and it is my

favourite page so far ...

My valentines page ....

And i have done a few commisioned

watercolour / pen drawings .

just one of two ....

A larger version created - for Lynn

Apology`s for the watermark on them.

I have been reading alot recently

of people pinching other artists work

and calling it their own ..

And for my friend Rhonda

A Robin ... adapted from my other

first attempt . This will be winging it`s

way to you soon ! Thanks so much !!

Visual Poem ...

* poem / photo - by myself

In a mist of noises ..

Is a 7 letter word .

Evading our lives ...

Longing to be " heard " .

It can be a thought ..

A welcomed peace ..

Silence the stranger .

Yearning for it`s release .

Why does it not feel right ?

To relish some time .

Hear your own heart beat..

Free your mind ....

So sip on me ..

Like an old vintage wine ...

Breathe me in ....

Be still ........

The past week - we have had a

fall of snow - right across the UK .

I know overseas have had this too -

and you maybe fed up of snow photos !

But for us - it quite rare to get such an

amount fall - and everything seems to

go into choas mode , public services close

and everything grinds to a halt - and run out of

salt to grit our roads !

After only having ventured out myself

to the local shop . I decided that we should

get out this weekend -

We both took a camera - as my other half wanted

to compare the quality of photographs once home .

I guess it`s a man thing ;o)

I could do with sorting out how to make my photos

larger on here - as they look so much better larger .

But you get the idea - for now ...

We went to a local park / forest walk -

and thought it would be quiet - but we were wrong !

Everyone had the same idea - to get out and have fun

no matter how cold it was .

This is a walkway down - but now a snowslide !

We had to walk in between the trees to get down

as it was too slippy .

Me - trying to look professional !! ;o)

This one is a little dark - but it

looks like the tree have ice nests ..

The ferns and bracken folded over ..

Looks like another nest to me ;o)

I hope you too are trying to enjoy
what mother nature gives us ..

Last night i had a play at

drawing another bird . A robin

this time - and came up with this ...

I think i may have to adapt it more -

and i was tempted to do it " fluffy "

like my bluebirds - but then would it

look like a robin ? I asked myself .

We`ll see what i come with next !

I also painted a bluebird canvas .

5" x 4"

With vintage paper shelf lining on the back and

signed / dated by myself . All sealed for protection .

I have decided to offer this here before placing

in my shop next week .

THIS ONE ONLY - to sell .

£8.25 British pounds ( incl postage ).

Please let me know if you`re interested .

I hope you all have a great weekend !

This is my contribution to

the Fun friday challenge i try and take

part in every week .

We had to alter a postcard - either one we

had lying around or cut one out ourselves .

Mine was a free one i got from my

local library .

I decided on something completely different

to what i normally do - and i decided on

Snoopy - as i am a BIG fan . A cutting from a

duplicate vintage annual - for an easter theme

as it is pretty close ;o)

Paper lace and flocked trim , fabric flower

and thin wire stem . The reverse has music paper .

It was a challenge NOT to do vintage or

age it . But it made a change from doing

all those nests recently and my bluebirds - right ??

" Visual Thoughts " Box ....

An altered box i have created -

I will reveal what box it was at

the end of this post - but can you guess

what kind it was before hand ? ;o)

" Visual Thoughts "

7 " oval box sprayed gold - vintage doily

and dried lavender - by me .

Inside - message eggs using various

acrylic paints - sat on a skeletal leaf

with sisal fibre nests .

What they say as follows ...

Have you guessed what it is yet ?

It was a vintage soap box !

I was going to throw away the plastic

inner that had the old soaps still intact -

but it was perfect for holding nests -

don`t you think ?

The original outside - even though design is

nice - it did not go with the idea i had .

So i created a visual thoughts box -

as affirmation words and a tactile shape

to hold in the hand and change around

when you wish .

Monthly Journal

I decided to do a visual journal this year .

A monthly account for myself on

events that happen and inspire me .

I have not done one before - but i have found it

relaxing and just cutting out pieces and

sticking them anywhere - with no preconceived idea

what it will turn out to be . I am using a quality A4

sketch book - hopefully just to use one book

for the year - but it may take more - depending

what i wish to place inside . I got to use some small

pieces of papers i had lying around for ages

mail papers and magazine cuttings - so

that is good to get those out of the way !

And i have tried to keep it bright and light - as

i was tempted to age / alter pages -

but i decided on starting another one for that .

You can click on the photos if you wish ...

It will be good to look back on this

in a few years time - and see what i was

thinking and the inspiration i got . How the

trends change and how it influenced my

art . Maybe you could start one like me ?