Friday Freebie Card 012

Hi Everybody,

So here we are back to normal after a wonderful holiday and the start of the Friday Freebie  again.

This one is created in the hinged card style and has lots of embossed layers, and the lovely  Quatrefoil pattern   in the panel.

I bought mine from Sunrise Crafts and the link will take you to the die

The pretty flowers are   from Wild Orchid Crafts and they have been sparkled with Glitter Magic.

Glitter Magic were at the Craft Show at the Bolton Arena that I went to on Sunday and I asked Sharon which of the glitters it is that I always use and it is called ... Chameleon 

It gives a lovely sparkly effect to the petals and is something I like to do to most of my flowers.

The ribbon was in a pack from TKMaxx and the lace is from my "Stash"

But on top of the lace I have added in some Diamante for added luxury and that is from Want2Scrap

So if you would like to win this card then all you have to do join the growing list of followers  and leave me a comment at the end of the post.

Then later this evening Griff will choose a name from the hat and the winner will be announced in the morning on this Blog and also on Facebook.

Please come back and check for your name as if you have won you will only have 48 hours in which to claim it. I am happy to send the card anywhere.

But don't add your name if you are not going to be able to check it as the last card Card 011 was won by Millie Thomson and it was not claimed

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 Shapeabilities Dies Fancy Tags 3

InLinkz.com

Mulhouse and home (Day 7/8 )

Hi Everybody,

Today it is time to say Goodbye to beautiful Italy and head back over the border to France.

We have to leave all the wonderful sunshine behind us and once again on another holiday the weather has been really kind.

This view is  from the train window as we are passing Lake Maggiore and heading for Switzerland.

There is not a lot of time to take photos as we change trains in Milan and again in  Basel but this one is just outside the station entrance in Basel and was taken quickly.

From here we go to Mulhouse (Pronounced Mulloose)  for our last nights stay.

The hotel is lovely and the bed so very comfortable  and there are a lot of people staying here ... one of the parties just happens to be another group of Treyn holidaymakers the same as us.

The other party is a coach holiday and both of these groups are leaving before us the next day.  So down we go to breakfast only to find  ... that there is nothing left.

All the food plates are empty ... there is no cutlery... no crockery... no milk ... no coffee ... no tea ... no jams ... in fact nothing.

But we  have a secret weapon in the form of  Louise ...   and  she is not impressed.

She rattles their cage and it takes them a good twenty minutes to get their act together... but eventually we have breakfast.  Another medal for the formidable Louise !!

So now on Day 8 we get the TGV back to Paris and this is the super fast train and this is the fastest speed I could record on camera.

We cross Paris to the Gare du Nord to catch the Eurostar back to UK

This has been a wonderful holiday with beautiful scenery and glorious sunshine and there has not been one place that we have visited that I disliked.

And maybe one day return too ...

We  decided to stay overnight in London both at the start and end of our holiday and it is only a short walk from the station that we are leaving from tomorrow.

So after  a meal  we  walked to the theatre to see if there was maybe the chance to get in to see one of the shows ...  and we were very lucky to get two seats to see Lion King.... and it was wonderful.

Thank you for allowing me to share this holiday with you and for the lovely emails and comments about the memories the pictures have evoked in some of you.

Now it is time to get back to work and make some cards, videos and start my card class at my home again.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Venice, Italy (Day 6)

Hi Everybody,

Today is another coach trip and this time we are off to Venice famous for its many waterways

For this tour we had a guide who told us facts about the canals  and where to go for a pleasant lunch with out being charged the earth.

This is the approach to the city as we entered by boat.

The level of this city has diminished over the years and the water level is now much higher than it used to be

You can see the damage that it is doing to the houses as the brick line disappears beneath the water

We were told that Venice is a little smelly but we did not find that at all and it was a hot day.

But I have to say that it is somewhat neglected in many parts and some of  the buildings look quiet scruffy.

Now of course Venice is famous for its Gondolas.

They are quite pricey to hire ... about 80/90 Euros for 45 minutes ... but they will seat six so if you share the ride with others then it is not too bad

This is St Marks square and it is a very large area

Around the edge of the square are cafe bars with a quartet playing at some of them, which was very pleasant but our guide told us not to sit down.

As soon as you park your bottom on the chairs you will be charged and it is very expensive.

Our guide took us inside and it was beautiful but there is some restoration work going on outside and part of the front elevation was covered in scaffolding and plastic sheeting

This is looking up at the ceiling and it is not painted gold ... it is gold leaf ... and it shimmers in the filtered light.

There was a service going on in one of the side areas and so we wandered round away from them to maintain the privacy.

We sat at the far end of the square on the steps and listened to the music in the lovely sunshine and passed a very pleasant half hour

You can get some idea of the size of the square from this photo and it was very busy.

This is the famous Rialto Bridge  and of course the best way to get the photo is to wander further down the canal and look back.

You can see the amount of people stood on it and there was actually a Bride and Groom in the middle somewhere trying to have photos taken.

This is looking along the Grand Canal at the cafes and restaurants that line both sides.

We are stood on one of the many bridges that cross the canals in many places.

Tomorrow I will combine two days in one post as we start our home ward bound journey.

We go back to France via Switzerland for this part of the journey but there won't be many opportunities to take photos ... though I will do my best

The last part of my holiday will be posted later today and then I will add a Friday Freebie this week as I get slowly back into work mode

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Peschiari Market (Day 5)

Hi Everybody,

This morning was a trip to the  market and we took the local bus to Peschiari.

There was a lot of leather goods and I bought myself a belt and a credit card wallet.

But right at the end of the market ... as we made our way back to the bus ... I spotted this fabulous leather bag.

It is quite large and the smaller one fits inside the larger one as liner to hold purse,  phone and personal items.  On the way home I used the larger one to carry tickets, passports and a magazine as well as water for the journey.  So it was a really good buy at 20 Euros ... and it is reversible too.    Another  medal for Louise our tour manager 

Now the rest of the day was supposed to be free but things kind of escalated in the bar last night ...  Let me explain ...

Griff and I took a walk into town before dinner and on the way back he said  "I would love to hire one of those speed boats for a couple of hours"    so we asked the prices ... which were very good and no license was needed ...  so we said we would think about it some more.

We mentioned it over dinner and Louise and Christine ... that we shared a table with  ... seemed very taken with the idea and said "Count us in too"

The next day we were telling  other people  about the plan and two more wanted to come with us ... so Griff was boasting that he was going out in a boat with  "five birds"   and here we are.

We hired the boat for two hours and we  had a ball and got wet as the lake was very choppy that day as you can tell from the photo.

So the two at the front ... Louise and Debbie ... did most of the steering and we didn't really have a plan ... but the direction we went depended on who was steering.

If Louise was in control then we went round in a big figure eight .... and if it was Debbie we went in a zig-zag line.

The boat is fitted with radar so that if we broke down they would be able to find us on the lake but if they had been charting our progress on that lake they would be saying 

"Where on earth are they going now"  and we giggled the whole time we were out there.

Griff sat up front like the lord of the manor and did not get wet once !!!!

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Sirmione, Italy (Day 4)

Hi Everybody,

The day dawned hot and sunny and the planned excursion was a cruise across the lake to visit Sirmione.

We went via the large ferry that I showed you in the harbour on Day 1 and the trip took about 20 minutes.

The water was a deep, clear turquoise and you could see the fish quite clearly.  Griff even managed to paddle his feet in it at one point 

We walked to the castle and it was very busy but when we got there it was closed ...

So we wandered the main street to the other side and went to see the Roman ruins.

The view across the lake was breathtaking  and to give you some idea of the view that the Romans would have had from this fortress I framed the view with the ruin walls as I took the photograph.

We explored for quite some time taking in the views and the atmosphere and this was another wonderful day on our Italian adventure.

On our way back from the ruins we stopped for a little more of that Ice Cream ... a little people watching and  to rest our tired feet for a short time.

We spent a little time looking at the shops and Louise the TM bought some lovely sandals that had lots of "Bling" attached.

Then all too soon it was time to go and we had to meet the group for our sail back to Desenzano back across Lake Garda.

Tomorrow is a "free day" for us to do as we like but Louise has asked the group if they would like to go to a local market in Peschiara.

The market sell all kind of items including tops, leather belts, sandals and bags.  So we are going to see what is there.... sure to spot a bargain.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx