Bury St Edmunds & an afternoon out

Hello to all the ladies who came to see me

at the Stamp Hut in Bury St Edmunds on Saturday - it was a very busy and enjoyable day. My journey down there was long but the wonderful scenery along the way made it pass quite quickly. The train passed through wonderful rolling hills in Derbyshire with little lambs frollicking in the energising sunshine. As we neared the latter part of the route, the landscape flattened out to endless fields - a much starker, yet equally dramatic vista. I was not quick enough to capture the wonderful view of Ely Cathedral which was gone before my camera would whirr into action...so frustrating! Not many birds along the way, though I did see rather a lot of Pheasants and loads and loads of Bunnies - very sweet! I arrived in time to have a look around the town and, unlike my last visit in November, it was still daylight so I was able to take in the sights. Here are just a couple of views of the very atmospheric Abbey which held a beautiful park within its' walls. It had centuries of history etched into the walls and doors as you can imagine. I spent the evening writing some articles for a project that I am working on at the moment and had a great night's sleep....too good really, as I could hardly believe how quickly the morning seemed to arrive!

All the ladies who visited the Stamp Hut were so eager to see new ideas and I hope that you are all having fun with your purchases and not getting too light headed when making the trees! I was so busy that I just didn't get chance to take any photos of the day and even missed the chance to snap the new cards I had made. Oh well! Above you can see a Starbuck's mint tin which I decorated using Personal Impressions canvas coloured with Alcohol inks...I loved the leathery effect that this gave. I used Shrink Plastic to create the little medallions and strung them from gold thread which I wrapped around the tin. I used a gold Decocolour pen to add some swirls and a few bronze coloured gems added the fiishing touch.Here is the tin surrounded by the "Moo" cards which I made to fill it with. I don't think that I have made them the correct size for Moos, but they fit my tin so I don't mind! For those who may not have heard of these little cards, they are a standard, smaller sized business card, which, like ATC's, can be swapped or given away to share ideas or your details. I had great fun making this little set and it was very simple to do. I used JEJE double sided adhesive sheet to stick the canvas around the tin as it's a strong, all over adhesive so it gives a smooth finish.

My friend Elaine came to see me at the end of my demonstration, helped me pack everything away into my special Tardis suitcase and then we hot footed it to a restauant for a quick meal and a catch up before my train was due to depart. I don't get to see Elaine very often, so it was a lovely chance to get together, even if it was a bit rushed! The journey home was rather tiring to say the least - train travel in the dark always seems so much longer with no views to speed things along.

I didn't get to mum and dad's for Mother's Day, but my sister took them out for lunch. So, mum had a second treat today as we went over to see them and took a trip to a rebuilt garden centre which had been beautifully designed and was a feast for the eyes with unusual displays, well thought out decor and gorgeous flowers. There was a customer survey to vote for your favourite three from a selection (over a hundred) of brand new Violas and Pansies. They are among my favourite garden flowers and there were some exquisite little blooms of countless colours..very hard to choose!
Here are mum and dad by two Pansies, though I hasten to add that these were artificial ones and were not a new Triffid variety, though, judging by mum's face she's not too sure! Carrying on the oversized theme, we found this rather unusual planter. Dad thought he'd better check if there was a cuppa in there though! It was a lovely afternoon and a nice change for all of us! Well that is all for the moment. I thought that I'd better write a longer post as I have been away from here for a few days. I'll be adding new cards and some new Blog Candy soon, so keep an eye open for that. I'll be in Ashton Under Lyne on Friday and Wrexham on Saturday, so pop in and see me if you are around - details in my diary on the left of course. Take care folks! Lindsay