Desenzano, Italy (Day 2)

Hi Everybody,

On day two of the holiday we take the train journey from France into Italy and the scenery is spectacular as we cross more high,  snow covered Alps

We arrived at the hotel that will be our destination for the next five nights and this is the view from our bedroom window.

The weather is sunny and warm and the town of Desenzano on the edge of Lake Garda is very pretty.

This is looking at the pretty  harbour with the  boats all moored up.

We sat for a pleasant hour people watching and enjoying a Bacardi and Coke and Griff had a beer.

Along the front of the harbour there are some speed boats that can be hired

Once you sit at these tables they bring you dishes of pretzels, crisps, nuts or pizza slices all free of charge ....

There are many lovely squares with bars and restaurants with tables covered in bright cloths all dotted around.

This is the bar attached to our hotel,  where most of our group met each evening to enjoy a cool drink before going in to dinner.

So tomorrow we are off to discover another part of Italy.

I hope you will join me for day three as we take a coach trip to Verona .... home of ill fated lovers Romeo and Juliet

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Holiday with a difference (Day 1)

Hi Everybody,

Here I am back at home again after a fabulous week away and what an adventure this has been.   I would like to share some of my photos with you and hope that you will enjoy the journey too.  For this holiday we decided to go to Lake Garda in Italy and do it all ... by train.

We went with a company called Treyn and they provide a Tour Manager who escorts the group the whole time... and her job is to ensure that all runs smoothly.

We went via the Euro Tunnel from the very elegant St Pancras station in London into Paris and then switched to the TGV towards Italy.  

We arrived at   Gare du Nord and then had to cross Paris to the  Gare de Lyon  and this part of the journey was to take place by coach  ....  but the coach did not turn up 

Now if that  was my job I would have been in a panic but  Louise the TM ...stayed as cool as a cucumber,  did some neat haggling with a taxi driver and managed a deal that took 26 people,  in his large fleet of taxis across Paris in rush hour ... which is no mean task

This is a journey that can take up to an hour  in all that traffic ... but those taxi drivers were fabulous.

They weaved in and out of other traffic ... used the bus lanes and got us all to Gare de Lyon with about seven minutes to spare.... 
  
              Panic over ... medal to Louise !!

The scenery on the route was spectacular with white fluffy clouds covering the tops of the high mountains... as we sped past on a very fast train 

This was the first nights stop  in a pretty town called Chambery in France, with the beautiful snow covered Alps in the background.

We arrived late in the afternoon and just had time for a quick look around before going  for dinner and this picture was taken looking down one of the tree lined roads on the way to the restaurant.

The scenery was breathtaking along the way so far and tomorrow is another day of travel.

This time we go into Italy for our destination by the side of  beautiful Lake Garda for  a five night stay in a hotel by the waters edge.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Californian Collection - Background

Hi Everybody,

For todays card I have used another  of the dies from JGD Crafts and this is the Californian Collection  Background die designed by Sue Wilson.

I have simply cut the pattern out of white card and then  cut it into strips and backed each one with pink card. The card is from Papermill Direct

I have mitred each corner and added it to an embossed panel
with foam tape to raise it up






There is a smaller frame over the verse and a little  pearl from Want2Scrap added to the centres of each pattern

The verse is from Crafters Companion

The tiny bows are off a new pair of pyjamas ... as they look much better on my card

The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts  and are a lovely mixture of Roses, Tulips, Cosmos Daisies and Sweetheart Blossoms.

All sprinkled in glitter from Glitter Magic

It is quite a big card at 7 inch square but it does look very pretty.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

With You in Mind ...

Hi Everybody,

So here today is a pink card .... just for a change !!  And once again it has many layers

I have used California Collection - San Francisco as the topper and layered it over the second die in Elegant Labels Four.

The Sue Wilson Collections are available from JGD Crafts   and they will ship worldwide

The matching bling for the Labels Eleven comes from Want2Scrap

The lovely pink satin ribbon is from Mei Flower    and I have tied it into a double bow ... and  added three Sweetheart Blossoms from  Wild Orchid Crafts  

A really pretty card with lots of depth to it.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Spellbinders S6-001 Nestabilities Matting Basics A Die Templates, 5 by 7-Inch

Spellbinders S6-002 Nestabilities Matting Basics B Die Templates, 5 by 7-Inch

Spellbinders S6-005 Nestabilities Elegant Labels 4-Die Templates, 5 by 7-Inch

Spellbinders Grand Calibur Nestabilities Dies, Labels 11

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So Thankful ...

Hi Everybody,

The beautiful ribbon on this card has a wire edge to it which makes it easy to form into a beautiful bow.

The card is made to the Hinged Card Style  and then layered up with Spellbinders ... and the dies are listed at the bottom of the post

The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts  with the addition of fine glitter from Glitter Magic 

 For me the two go hand in hand for a lovely sparkly effect.

The pearl spray in with the flowers is made by me and added to the corsage along with green leaves.

The sentiment is part of the Good Friends set from JustRite Stampers

The background is embossed with the A4 folder called Basket Weave from   Creative Expressions

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Spellbinders S6-001 Nestabilities Matting Basics A Die Templates, 5 by 7-Inch

Spellbinders S6-002 Nestabilities Matting Basics B Die Templates, 5 by 7-Inch

Spellbinders S6-003 Nestabilities Enchanted Labels 28-Die Templates, 5 by 7-Inch

Spellbinders S5-127 Nestabilities Labels Twenty Eight Die Templates

Spellbinders Twisted Metal Tags and Accents

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