GROW YOUR BLOG!

Hello, welcome to my blog. I am Jackie or sometimes Jacqui and I really look forward to meeting new people and hopefully making some new friends.

This Grow Your Blog Event is hosted by Vicki Boster of 2 Bags Full blog it is in its second year and this is the first time I have participated you can see the full list of blogs on the link to Vicki above. So here we go!

I live in England by the sea in a tall old house high above the harbour with my husband and daughter. I have always loved the country, fields, woods, moors and high places too, I love animals and enjoy gardening, I used to ride horses years ago and helped out at the local stables when I was still at school!

We have always had animals around us and dogs this is the first time the family have been without a dog or two but we do have a dear cat called Borris, as a kitten he was bought up with our last dog and has a lot of dog like ways bless him.

I was born in London and enjoy returning to visit friends and relatives when I can, my daughter and I usually go up each year to gallery exhibitions, visit museums, markets and maybe if funds will stretch go to the theatre. I take a camera with me when I travel even for local trips you never know what you will see and its a good way to find inspiration I love to travel!

I enjoy painting in either water colour or mixed media these days, though I have used acrylic and oils in the past.

I was a soft sculpture artist till I hurt my wrist some years ago and had to stop, I never got back into it somehow, but I do love fibre and needlefelt little animals when the mood takes me, I also make scarves from kimono silk or wool, I also like to embellish clothing and upcycle.

But mostly I enjoy designing and making jewellery in coloured gemstones and pearls and I have really got into Polymer as it is so hands on, I really like that! I combine it with gemstones etc and often use appliqué techniques. My daughter Lara is an artist too she makes amazing Polymer sculptures.

If you have read this far you will know a little bit about who I am and what makes me tick. As you have been kind enough to read to the end there is a surprise, I am going to do two giveaways, one will be for a bracelet and the other earrings, if you would like to be included in the draw please let me know in your comment and make your email address available or I won't know how to get in touch with you.

Thank you
~Jackie~

Length 81/4 inches

 

Little sterling silver Aventurine earrings

 

The heather and gorse on Holdstone Down, a place of natural beauty just a few miles from where we live.

MY NEW LOOK BLOG!

My dear daughter spent some time this morning making a new banner for the blog. I had previously sorted out a few pictures of some flowers from the garden and a few pieces of jewellery, it wasn't easy to choose and we tried several photos but I think these work fairly well together. I also changed my icon to one of my polymer flower pieces which I love.

I hope you like my new look too?

This orchid has just finished blooming, its such a lovely colour.

~Jackie~

NEW YEAR NEW BEGININGS!

I have decided to start with a new look to my blog, I wanted a pretty colour that would reflect warmth and light so have gone with this pink one for a change. I want to change the banner across the top too and am planning it for next week all being well and have popped some pictures that may work in an album all ready to go!

I think joining the Grow Your Blog Party ( see the lovely logo on the right hand side ) may have had something to do with my decision to try something different, see you next week!

~Jackie~  

Our Turkey Trip

Just a little bit about our trip to Turkey. It was actually a birthday present from my daughter, we had a wonderful time, each day was very full and our guide was knowledgeable and interesting. Neither of us had any experience of this sort of trip before so we didn't know what to expect. Our days started at 7am with a hotel call and we had breakfast and were on the road by 8.30.
This was the view of the Torus mountains from the bedroom at one of our hotels!

Our base was just outside Antalya and from there we drove along the coast to Myra to visit an ancient Greek Theatre and cliff graves, these mausaleums were extraordinary and looked more like temples than graves...!!!

 

From Lycia on another day we took a boat trip to Iztuzu beach a nature reserve, this is one of the few places the Loggerhead turtles lay their eggs in the sand all these were gone of course when we visited or we would not have been allowed on the beach but we did get to see a baby Loggerhead which was swimming among the reeds as the boat slipped past.

 

Our next trip was to Ephesus one of the most important archeological sites in Turkey, there was so much to see here but the Celsus library was really amazing.

 

 

I have waited for years to see the limestone terraces at Pamukkale and they are magnificent, their dazzling whiteness highlighted by the turquoise water of the hot springs within them. Later at the hotel we were able to bathe in the thermal waters.

 

 

There were many other highlights to our trip, including a trip to a very ancient mosque, I had hoped we would visit one. 

The hotels were very nice ( although in a couple of them the beds needed to have new matresses as the springs left a lot to be desired but everything was very clean and the food was delicious.

 

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

~Jackie~