Grey's Court in winter

Last weekend I went to Grey's Court with Richard.

It is a National Trust property, and it is open every

day for the first time this winter. It was a good place

to visit on a mild winter's day, and very popular with

families and dog walkers too. Guided tours of the house

are available, and some pleasant walks around the

estate. I enjoyed wandering round the gardens 

and spotting  bulbs pushing up here and there, 

 a sign that Spring is not too far away, 

after we have got through the cold spell, and

the snow, which has fallen this weekend.

The Old Dairy has been converted into very nice 

tea rooms, and we like the shop too! 

In the garden I was rather taken by the hydrangea heads, 

which are decomposing on the stems, 

and the lace effect which

is forming.

Grey's Court

Set in the Chilterns

I love the varied textures of the trees

Walled garden

Old door way

 Hydrangea flowers

 Hydrangea with lace effect

Tag Tuesday-TextureTuesday

I was thrilled with this week's theme on Tag Tuesday,

 as I absolutely love

texture, as you can guess by my blog being called Texture Trail!

I couldn't resist using the word Tuesday and making 

a textured tag with it!

For the background I used my favourite printing

technique with a gelli plate, creating texture using salt

and different types of acrylic paints. For the letters I used

gesso through a stencil which made it stand up in relief, then

cut out  the letters.

I took a photo of my tag against a wooden board, as I 

thought the grain of fabric would show it off well.

Christmas Books

The time since Christmas has been flying by so fast, that I am only just

 posting about the books I received this Christmas . I think that books

make excellent Christmas presents, and  really look forward to reading them/

looking at them at Christmas. The best thing is that then they stay with you, and 

you have time to browse them at your leisure. At the moment, as I

am studying drawing and painting classes, my favourites are these new ones.

A Short Book of Drawing by Andrew Marr

A Shetland Notebook by Norman Ackroyd

Hockney's Pictures published by Thames and Hudson

Tag Tuesday-Diva

                                 The theme for this week's Tag Tuesday is Diva.

                         

I have been tidying my studio today, it is always a 

suprise to be reunited with treasures! I haven't been in

there much over Christmas, so it was lovely to reclaim it

and restore order.

I really enjoyed  making  my Diva tag, especially being back

in the creative groove and in my creative space.

I chose an image from a book on Victorian costume, of an elegant

lady in evening dress. She looks ready to perform on stage at the opera.

I put her on a stamped background of flowers and French writing, and added

some paper flowers and an archway to frame her, and finished off with a

shiny gold trimmed ribbon.

Blowing the Cobwebs Away

After the Christmas festivities it is a pleasure to

go for a walk by the River Thames and to "blow the

cobwebs away"

The first two images were taken on a very cold day at Henley.

The River Thames at Henley

Egyptian Geese

By contrast the other photos were taken the following day

a few miles away at Hambleden in the sunshine. The weather

felt so mild that when we stopped for a mulled wine at the

Stag and Huntsman, we sat outside in the sunshine, along 

with all the dog walkers and children, and very jolly it was too!

The speck  hovering above the hills in the photos below is a red kite!

Hambleden Hills

Hambleden Lock

The River Thames at Hambleden Lock

 Lots of walkers out and about

Beautiful clear reflections in the water

Tag Tuesday-Winter Wonderland

The first theme of the year for Tag Tuesday is Winter Wonderland.

For my Winter Wonderland tag I have combined some of my 

favourite things:- gelli printing, wooden print blocks, snowflakes 

and washi tape.

Happy New Year!

Wishing a

Happy New Year to you all!

I hope 2015 will be a good year for you.

I thought you would like this cheery image from The Graphics Fairy. It is from a French vintage 

 New Year card.