First day of December!

The first day of December brings out the best in most people as they realise just how near to Christmas we are! The shops are full of decorations and gift ideas and neighbouring houses are starting to decorate already! There is an air of excitement around.

Its too early for me though, I usually put up the decorations nearer the middle of December.

I love these vintage cards, I hope you can use them.

Vintage Beauty.

Its seems a long time since I've blogged, so I thought a beautiful vintage lady would be nice!

Vintage Swaps

Thank you for all your really great work on the Vintage artist trading cards, I know you will all love your return swaps.

I will pop them in the post tomorrow so hopefully you will get them soon. There has been a few postal strikes but I think they have stopped for the time being so it should be safe to post them.

Have a great week and enjoy your art !

ATC SWAPS

This months artist trading card swap is VINTAGE and the closing date is the 15th September.

After the September swap I will not be doing any more for a while. When and if I can start again I will announce it on my blog. I want to say a huge thank you to all the swappers who have contributed and wish you all continued crafting happiness.

Much love, Stephanie x

Vintage Ladies

3 lovely vintage pictures for your craftwork, just right click and save!

Floral Artist Trading Card Swap

The Floral ATC swap will be posted out on Monday morning.

Once again, thank you all for joining in. I hope your returns bring a touch of summer to your collections. The rain here has certainly kept the gardens green and the flowers in bloom.

Definately some of the best bits about England are the pretty gardens and the lovely english flowers.

The next swap will be in September and will be on a Vintage theme. I have decided not to have an August swap as so many people will be on holiday.

I am enclosing with your swaps the details of another monthly swap that was sent to me. I hope you decide to send some off but please dont forget this one :-)

I hope everyone has a great summer and enjoys their holidays wherever they are !

Floral ATC

The theme for this months ATC swap was Floral.

This is a finished one of mine made for the swap. The technique was quite an easy one; the backing is card, onto this I laid a page from a vintage gardening book and cut it to size. The pages from this book are very old and yellowed so get used a lot, especially when I am doing a vintage theme. I bought the book from a charity shop and love it!

I used a green ink pad to wipe around the edge of the card . I like to do this as it gives another dimension and adds to the aged look. It bleeds gently into the paper and finishes off the edges. My favourite colours to use for this are ochre and brown or other oldish looking shades but it will work just as well for a bright and zingy card with lovely vivid colours. Sometimes I then dip the edges into embossing powder and give it a zap with my heat gun, but for these ATCs I decided to leave them with just the hint of colour.

I then took a playing card which had flowers on the face, cut it in half diagonally and glued it to the front of the card, leaving a gap around the edge and through the middle.

The little leaves that I stuck randomly down one side are punched from a variety of different coloured papers. Inexpensive but effective!

I hope you like my design. Today I am sorting all the ATCs out and will get them in the post on Monday. Have a great and Arty day x

Free Downloadable Images.

Here are some lovely vintage ladies to use in your artwork. Just right click on them and save. Resized they are great for artist trading cards, zap pages or Decos.

Have a great day and enjoy your art !

ATC Swap - Wild Animals

Thank you for taking part in this months swap which was Wild Animals. As always a great selection of Artist Trading Cards arrived , and due to my hand still being a bit sore , my friend Ingrid came over and has sorted out all your return swaps and they will be in the post tomorrow morning.
The next months swaps are as follows :
JULY - FLORAL
AUGUST is a month off as most people in the UK have their annual holidays then.
SEPTEMBER - VINTAGE
OCTOBER - AUTUMN

These are all mixed media swaps and are 4 for 4

I have scanned a selection of this months ATCs and the picture is above. I havent added the pics to the photo page that I usually put them on due to a problem with bandwidth.
I hope you are enjoying great weather and having some fun with your crafts.

I love this picture from 1908, I hope you can use it in your craft work!

I had this email sent to me today and I would like to share it with you all, have a great day x

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me.

It is the most-requested column I've ever written.

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:"

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6 You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful, or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, and wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save them for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over-prepare, and then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words, "In five years, will this matter?"

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative--dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

***

Honey Bees

The weather was warm and sunny before the storm and it was a pleasure to sit in the garden in the sun. A couple of days ago, I heard a faint buzzing which got louder and louder and as I looked up I could see that the sky was black with insects. Time to get indoors quick!

As the cloud subsided I was able to go out and see what had caused it; a swarm of honey bees had taken up residence in my plastic compost bin.

I telephoned the local council who gave me the number of a beekeeper who came round with a swarm box. It was fascinating to watch as the bees soon decided that this wooden box was a far nicer place to live than my compost bin!

The box was left here for two days and then collected once the swarm had taken up residence in their temporary home, then they were transported to a hive in Tuddenham where they will live out their rather short lives.

I think the bees may have been attracted to this lovely yellow Buddleia tree in my garden.

Honey bees are very clever and the gentleman who collected my swarm was a mine of interesting information and he brought me and my neighbour a jar of his home made honey.

So I would like to give a big thank you to all Suffolk Beekeepers.

http://www.suffolkbeekeepers.co.uk/

http://www.britishbee.org.uk/index.php

ATCs and general ramblings!

Well, I cant believe its Artist Trading Card time again! I have one more set to receive then I'll be ready to swap them out for you all.

I wont be making any myself this month as I had an accident and badly bruised my right hand, so no crafts for me for a while. Its amazing how you adapt and I've become quite good at left hand typing :-) The swelling is going down now so hopefully I'll be back crafting soon.

Yesterday, after brilliant sunshine here for several days, we had a storm. The noise from the hailstones was unbelievable and it looked just as if it had been snowing!

The picture is from my front window looking out at the hail, it was far too stormy to go outside and take the picture!

ATC swap - Oriental

I would like to give a very warm welcome to this month's new players.

Thank you for joining in and I hope you enjoyed the theme.

Our May swap was "Oriental" .

I have sorted them all out so that your swaps will be in the post on Monday morning.

As always, I enjoyed seeing your interpretations of the theme and I hope you all enjoyed it and that you will enjoy your returns.

The individual ATCs have been photographed and can be seen here :http://www.picturetrail.com/englishroses

The next swap is "WILD ANIMALS"
which as always is open to new players as well as the regulars.
Closing date is the 15th JUNE and it is a 4 for 4 swap.

I am enclosing another ATC swap letter in some of your envelopes. Its a great way to get lots of ATCs. I am still receiving them from all over the world because of the last letter we had.

You just need to send out 6 ATCs to the names on the list and sit back and wait for the ATCs to arrive!

Have a great week and enjoy your art!

Vintage Lady

I think this vintage picture is lovely so I thought it may be useful for your artwork.

Just right click and save!

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. - Proust
Its raining here, just what the flowers need!

Light a Candle

Light a Candle.

In many different traditions lighting candles is a sacred action. It expresses more than words can express. It has to do with gratefulness. From time immemorial, people have lit candles in sacred places. Why should cyberspace not be sacred?
You may want to begin or end your day by the sacred ritual of lighting a candle on this website. Or you may want to light a birthday candle for a friend. One single guideline is all you need: Slow down and do it with full attention. From here on, you will be guided step by step.

http://www..gratefulness.org/candles/enter.cfm?l=eng

Birds of a Feather ATC Swap.

I hope everyone had a peaceful and happy time at Easter.

I have just changed my countdown banner to a Christmas one but dont panic - first we have the beautiful summer weather ahead of us!
Thank you all for your lovely ATCs, they have all been photographed and sorted and they will be posted out to you later today!

I am sorry but the images haven't turned out as clear as usual, by the time I had realised that my photographic skills weren't up to much, I had already put the ATCs in the envelopes ready to post.
This month we had the Birds of a Feather theme which must have been enjoyable as once again we got some great ATCs.
I have uploaded individual pics into our photo album which can be accessed here: http://www.picturetrail.com/englishroses

I hope everyone enjoys their swaps.
The next swap is "ORIENTAL"

which as always is open to new players as well as the regulars.

Closing date is the 15th MAY and it is a 4 for 4 swap.

Have a great week and enjoy your art!

Grey Squirrels

Abbey Gardens stand in the heart of Bury St Edmunds on the site of a great Benedictine abbey. The gardens contain magnificent floral displays and impressive ruins of the abbey.

They stand adjacent to St Edmundsbury cathedral that is only now in the final stages of completion after nearly 500 years with the addition of a central tower.

http://www.suffolkcam.co.uk/bury04052003.htm

If you sit on a park bench, the beautiful squirrels will come right up to you. They are a joy to watch as they play in the lovely grounds of the Abbey.

PROFESSOR ACORN SAYS.....
PLEASE HELP PROTECT ME FROM THE CONSERVATIONISTS AND DEFRA!

I am native by birth - condemned by origin

http://www.grey-squirrel.org.uk/

Lakenheath Fen

Lakenheath Fen RSPB Bird reserve.

These pictures were taken on my mobile phone late afternoon yesterday.

This is a lovely place of calm and peace in Lakenheath.

At Lakenheath Fen, the RSPB has converted an area of arable farmland into a large wetland, consisting mainly of reedbeds and grazing marshes.

The new reedbeds have attracted hundreds of pairs of reed warblers and sedge warblers, as well as bearded tits and marsh harriers.

Bitterns have been seen increasingly in all seasons of the year.

In early summer, hobbies catch insects high over the marshes.

Golden orioles breed in the remnant poplar woods on the reserve, along with blackcaps, garden warblers and woodpeckers.

Barn owls and kingfishers are regularly seen during the winter months.

There is a new visitor centre where you can find out more about the reserve, its wildlife and history.

Find out more here:

http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/l/lakenheathfen/about.asp

Family Tree

I love searching for my ancestors and have spent many hours looking at Census and Birth Marriage and Death records. I use http://www.ancestry.com/ and http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/

After lots of searching I have found members of my family that I hadn't known existed. Its a lovely feeling. Now I can search quite quickly and have researched friend's trees as well.

Its always exciting and often sad when you find interesting information and really brings history to life. A friend sent me this via email;

The 1500's

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be.

Here are some facts about the 1500s:

• 
  
  Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odour. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

• 
  
  Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water..

• 
  
  Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying It's raining cats and dogs.


• 
  
  There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house.. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

• 
  
  The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, Dirt poor.

• 
  
  The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance way. Hence the saying a thresh hold.

• 
  
  In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old..
  
• 
  
  Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, bring home the bacon. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat..
  
• 
  
  Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.


• 
  
  Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.
  
• 
  
  Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days.. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.


• 
  
  England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer.

And that's the truth...Now, whoever said History was boring ! ! !

Ribbons and Lace

Thank you all for your lovely ATCs, today I have photographed and sorted them all and they will be posted tomorrow!

This month we had the Ribbon and Lace swap which turned out some great ATCs.

I have uploaded individual pics into our photo album which can be accessed here:
http://www.picturetrail.com/englishroses
I hope everyone enjoys their swaps.

I have added a small goodie bag this month with your ATCs.
The next swap is "Birds of a Feather" which as always is open to new players as well as the regulars. Closing date is the 15th march and it is a 4 for 4 swap.
Have a great week and enjoy your art!