My French themed Collages

This is one of the pages

I made for my dear friend

Suzy of

Suziqu's Threadworks

for our French themed

Collage Swap.

The laces, fabric pieces

and trims are some

favorites from

my collection.

I've been waiting to use this

beautiful image of a little

French girl - and my swap with

Suzy was the perfect time.

On the back I created a little

organza and lace pocket

to hold a lavender tag

and an old french postcard

which I picked up at a Brocante

in my daughter's village

when I was in France this year.

Je t'aime label came from 

my friend Lilla

it is perfect for this collage and

I combined it with tulle and lace

for a lovely soft look.

Lilla has a great blog

where she has lots of

amazing on-line

tutorials.

Here is the link for

her etsy shop called

La vie en Rose.

I love this sweet image too

it's from Karen of

The Graphics Fairy

Thank you Karen

you inspire all of us with

your amazing images.

The French label is also

from Karen's collection.

I'm very fond of these old organza

flowers and this one came

from Karla of Karla's Cottage.

Karla collects old hats to

get these exquisite flowers.

She might have some in her 

etsy shop.

I included some pieces of fabric

and laces from my stash

for Suzy

and wrapped it all

in this french themed

paper!

I'm linking to the following parties

please have a look and even join in the fun!

Claudia at A Favorite Thing Saturday

Mary at Mosaic Monday

Kathryn at Make it Pretty Monday

Mary at Masterpiece Monday

Becky at Blissful White Wednesday

Thank you all for visiting my blog

and a big

WELCOME

to my new followers!

Take care dear friends and

Be kind to one another

hugs

Shane ♥

Collage Swap with Suzy

Ever since I started my blogging journey

I've been a huge admirer of 

Suzy of

suziqusthreadworks.blogspot.com

As you can imagine I was

"over the moon"

when Suzy suggested we have a swap of

two collage pages.

These are the beautiful pages that

Suzy sent me.

my heart was skipping beats

as I carefully opened her parcel....

I think she knows how much I love PARIS!!

The beautiful detail of an artist at work, 

like this delicate stamp on the cream silk

Mon Cher Ami

Layering of fabrics, laces, ribbons - 

everything I love

and pretty trims.....

and more....

flowers, a message and a diamond too!!

and just look at what Suzy sent me,
some precious pieces of fabric
from her wonderful stash -
I can't wait to have a play!

and such a sweet hand made card

Thank you Suzy
I feel very spoilt to have two
beautiful collages made by you.

I really enjoyed making
my two pages for you too!

Please visit Suzy's blog to see
her exquisite collages and books.

suziqusthreadworks.blogspot.com

Thank you dear friends
for visiting my blog,
especially those of you who
leave such lovely comments!

WELCOME
to my new followers
thank you for joining my blog
YOU
make it all worthwhile!

Take care and
be kind to one another
hugs and love

Shane ♥

my pressed Violas 

A Village in France

As a lot of you know I spent two months in

France this year visiting my daughter and

three beautiful granddaughters!

Almost every day I had a walk 

through their picturesque village.

I was accompanied by baby Jessie in her pram

and Roxy their old Jack Russell!

Their Village is only two hours from Paris

and many of the houses have been

bought up by Parisians

as a country retreat.

They come up most weekends.

Those with children are more inclined

to become involved in village life.

As you can see most houses

are very well protected

by high walls and solid gates.

Everyone is security conscious.

Gardening is a passion with the French,

I'm amazed at the number of magazines

one can buy on the subject....

but that is another story!

I do hope you've enjoyed our stroll

through my family's village -

it has become quite familiar to me

over the years.

People now call out 'Bonjour'

as I pass their gate -

not a soul speaks english

and my French is still limited, sadly

even after all these years -

I must try harder for next time!!

Today I'm linking this post to

two Mary's

(thank you both for hosting your lovely parties)

Mosaic Monday at Little Red House

Masterpiece Monday at Boogieboard Cottage

Please have a look at both blogs

for some wonderful inspiration!

WELCOME

to all my new followers

thank you for joining my blog!

Take care everyone and

be kind to one another

hugs and love

Shane ♥ 

Rosa Souvenir de la Malmaison, 

introduced in 1843 by Béluze of France

Grace's Marmalade - Note Card Party

Early Spring is Marmalade time.

(that is if you live in the

Southern Hemisphere as I do)!!

Everyone, it seems has a

grapefruit tree in their garden.

We only have a lemon tree,

but there is never a shortage

of fruit - usually passed over the

fence by kind neighbours.

Marmalade making

is a two day process.

Day one I wash and prepare the fruit.

In years gone by I have always

painstakingly thinly sliced

each piece of fruit like this.....

not any more - no way!

Now I remove all the pips

then roughly chop

and put through my Whizz

using the slicing gadget!

The fruit is piled into

the preserving pan

and covered with water

 to soak overnight.

On day two the mixture

is simmered for 40 minutes.

Then the sugar is added -

for each cup of fruit mixture

I add 1 cup of sugar.

Simmer for another 40 minutes
after which time it 
should be set,

then pour into sterilised

glass jars. 

I save all my jars and lids.

The best lids are the ones that

have the press bit in the middle -

when you push it and

hear a click you know

it's sealed - easy peasy .

If you would like the

written recipe I'm happy to

email it to you.

It was my darling mother's

hence it's known in our family as

Grace's Marmalade.

Incidentally this batch made

24 different sized jars
I think I doubled the recipe!

The little jars make a perfect hostess gift

when invited for dinner -

for gifts I just add a label

and a calico hat tied with string!

Incidentally Marmalade making

goes back 14 centuries or maybe

even earlier in Persia,

an interesting article here.

The mention of marmalade

makes me think of my

lovely blog friend Jeanie of

The Marmalade Gypsy

who had a beautiful

marmalade cat called Gypsy.

Sadly, Gypsy left us this year

for cat heaven and I really
miss seeing his little face
and reading about his
escapades.

Please visit Jeanies 

blog here she has many

wonderful travel adventures - 

currently she is in the Netherlands!

Today for the first time I'm linking to 
Vee's Note Card Party
please click on the link above to
visit other interesting blogs
and see their beautiful
Note Cards!
Merci, Vee for so kindly hosting
this friendly party!

Thank you dear friends

for visiting.

Take care of one another

hugs and love

Shane ♥

Image from here

My Pink Post

http://www.whitcoulls.co.nz/pink-ribbon-calendar

My Pink Post

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.

It's about 

YOU and

ME.

I have several dear friends who 
thankfully are

SURVIVORS

of breast cancer.

The Sky Tower

 is the tallest building

in Auckland

and each year it is dressed in PINK

for the month of October

honouring

Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Chateau Vaux le Vicomte

adorned with pink petals...

...another of my favourite French Chateaux.

It is also quite close to where

my daughter lives.

I've been there twice and I will

go back again.

Go here to read more about it.

You will learn how King Louis XIV

came under the spell of

Vaux le Vicomte.

Today I remember

the women (and men) who have

been effected by

breast cancer.

The last photo is of my
darling french granddaughters -
I miss 
their chatter, laughter,
singing me old French rhymes,
their ballet steps learnt at the last lesson,
their cuddles 
and oh how I wish I could be with
them everyday...

Thank you dear friends for
visiting my blog.
Don't forget to visit
my dear friend Ria
and enter her
wonderful giveaway here

Take care of one another
au revoir

Shane ♥