🌿🍁🍂Autumnal feeling🍂🍁🌱

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The cottage felt a lot cooler this morning, a real nip in the air when I made my 6.45am cup of milky coffee. I peeped out the back door and lots of Autumnal coloured leaves lay on the hill top steps.Its such a peaceful time in the morning just before busy routines.... We'd had a lovely long weekend Friday and Monday - it's been lovely having extra holiday time with my partner who has been using up unused holiday time. I think he still has a floating 6 days to use so I might get a few more long weekends leading up to winter. The Monday was a Bank hol due to the Queens funeral. But Friday we decided to head to Market day in Totnes. Oh its just such a wonderful atmosphere every time we visit, musicians playing on the street, lots of organic produce, friendly cafes, lots of little independent shops, antiques market, thrifty shops... And bookshops... And of course I came home with goodies! We definitely needed some a cheerful escape... The News has been awfully sad of late. 

We enjoyed tea & cake... And just mooched about taking in all the sights and smells. It was an incredibly busy day, so many people. We walked back along the river below the town towards the car park. 

The weekend Sophia was with us we visited Buckland Abbey, National Trust. We had another picnic there and it was beautiful... Such an Autumnal feeling in the air. 

The biggest pumpkins and turnips and gourds I'd ever seen. Beautiful array of colour and varieties. I love exploring the gardens during Autumn... 🍂🍁💕⭐

The colours leading up to Autumn are my most favourite... ⭐🍁🍂🍁🥀✨ The Abbey, museum, old monks barn were lovely to walk around & the volunteers there are so knowledgeable especially loved the kitchen and as it was a Heritage weekend they showed us sneeky peeks of the parlour cupboard and stairs leading to the servants quarters - those parts fascinate me most. I love looking at the kitchen wares, old kitchen utensils & dresser tops, cupboards and hidey holes. How they preserve foods, storage and huge big open spit fires. The fireplace is huge! Two in fact. 

Such an amazing place to explore... Especially the gardens, estate orchard, woodland walks. 

I've still been junk journaling my way through September... 🖌️📖Here are some more pages using lots of fussy cut pieces, ephemera, old book pages, magazine cut outs ect.... 

I'll do an end of September 'show & tell' of all the prompts from Instagram

 # junkjournalsept 

Also a junk journal page that inspired some pen & ink illustrations... 

My Hill top garden sky.... My market town one early eve.... And a fond farewell to the Queen🥀👑

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⭐👸The Queen & journaling September ✨⭐

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Firstly, the sad News of the HM Queens passing... What a wonderful lady she was. She was the same age as my late grandparents and they lived in London. As a little girl they would take me to lots of royal family occasions at Buckingham Palace outside in the crowd ... I think I remember being 6 years old when we waved with flags at Andrews wedding to fergie as their wedding carriage went slowly passed. And despite not all people being into the royal family they have been apart of our whole lives... And like any grandparent passing It is incredibly sad. To mark this occasion and a little fondness to the Queens jubilee film with her and Paddington bear eating marmalade sandwiches I decided to do this watercolour. 

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I've also been joining in on the prompts # junk journal Sept over on Instagram. 

The first 10 are begin, kindness, season, lost & found, change, cracked, envelope (didn't do muted), dreams & pattern... 

This is the junk journal cover finished for September. 

I've been enjoying the process of not spending too much time but just loving the slow creative flow... ❤️

A trip to the Cornish coast... Vitamin Sea... Just blissful. 🌊💙🐚⛱️🌊

Good to escape the sad News and watch the waves... Turned into a beautiful sunny day. 

We also had a wonderful Sunday (a weekend ago) family walk at Stover Nature Reserve in Devon. 

Sweet September days.... 

My daughter will turn 16 soon & her final academic year of school. 

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⭐🌻Summer's end🌻⭐

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Summer's drawing to a close... 

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Last days of August and the weather has been lovely (not too hot!)... Myself and this Summer have had a rather odd relationship almost wishing it was over before it had started... But, these last weeks I've enjoyed it. Lots of walking the moorlands on early evenings & little adventures to Cornwall. 

Watching the swifts and swallows last dance in the skies above the hill top and having quality 'staycation' holiday time with my family. We have walked miles due to petrol prices and the looming energy hikes in bills to come (shockingly worrying) ... But we're very used to making the most of what Devon & Cornwall have to offer, we are incredibly lucky to live in such a beautiful area and I definitely don't take that for granted. We're very used to cutting back, simplifying our life and keeping to a budget. But I'm concerned on how dramatically high bills will become😬 but we will have to cross that hurdle over the next months. Anyways, as always looking for a happy escape and sharing our little adventures here... 

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One of our walks takes us along the Tamar River in Cornwall starting at the rather pretty village of Calstock... I think I've mentioned it quite a few times here on my blog but it basically leads up river to the woodlands and set on a hill amongst the wood is Cotehele estate, national trust property, also a mill and Cotehele quey with museum. There is a river side community cafe, a kind of help-yourself & put money in the tin type of situation... We didn't buy anything but we did sit on the quey where there is a boat yard and boats being restored and little creative studios there too. Just watching the sparkles of sunlight on the flowing river... It was a beautiful day. 🌞Then we walked past the river cottages and up to the woodland hill... Steep climb. 

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We headed towards the Apple Orchard at Cotehele to have our picnic and drinks... I cannot describe the beauty and bounty of all the apple trees... Full to busting point with apples. So many varieties. My apple trees have done well this year but cutting the trees back quite harshly I'd noticed a lot less apples. Maybe it takes time to establish the growth and and quantity after being cut. My mum took a bag home with her to make some pies. And I've made two crumbles. 

I wanted to move in to the Apple Orchard house🍏⭐✨🍎🌻🏡🍎⭐

The Christmas garland which is made up of all the dried cut flowers on the estate which they put up in the great Hall... Its spectacular at Christmas there... ✨⭐✨✨The garden volunteers were cutting, gathering the flowers to hang and dry. 

(The Box Museum) 

We walked the rest of the estate, looking at the gardens, potting shed, pond, woodland, great Hall, medieval home, bedrooms & kitchen. Then walked back down the woodland hill & back towards the tamar River. A really lovely family day... 💕

We've also been to the Box museum in Plymouth and walks along the Moorland... Its beautiful up there at the moment with array of colour from the Heather and gorse bushes.... 

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Wonderful dartmoor... 😌💚So colourful. 

I've still been busy in the early mornings or an hour in the evenings... Mixed media painting. Working away in my little Pin Dolly Studio 💕🏡💕🧚‍♂️✨⭐🌼✨

Also I just love making junk journals... Especially the front covers using old books... Lots of cuttings from magazines, ephemera, wrapping papers, vintage images. ✨⭐🧚‍♂️✨

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... And soon it will be back to busy routines as September days kick back in... 

But... Just for a moment Sipping on warm milky tea in the late Summer evening haze in the garden... And soaking in those last rays of beautiful Summer. So peaceful 😌✨⭐🌞

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⭐🌻⭐August days so far⭐🌻⭐

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A little catch up of our Summer... 

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         💛🌞A very hot, humid summer. 🌞💛

We've been quite busy lately... Lots of work inside & outside of the house. A pipe burst & a new boiler fitted.  But I won't bore you with all the headache issues with had with one thing and another! It's definitely not been a good summer on that score.  And the heats drove me literally bonkers 😔🌞

Being ill at the beginning of the summer really took its toll on me... 

But,  me being me and that sort of person that despite everything & getting down in the dumps puts her rosey tinted spectacles on and tries to look for the bright and happy in my days... ⭐🌻⭐

So, here's my Happy escape days... ☺️💛

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Lanhydrock, National trust House and estate, Gardens including its own garden cottage on the estate and church. It was so very hot that day... But we drank lots of water and had a picnic under the giant oak trees. ✨🌻✨🌻✨🌻✨🌞

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The Intensity of heat this summer had completely drained me of creativity, but slowly as it has cooled a weee bit I've found in the last week it's come back. Yay!

I've loved feeling inspired again and drawing vintage inspired dolls... 

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Thinking of Autumnal days has inspired me too... 

✨⭐✨⭐✨🌻We had a lovely trip to the moors to cool off a bit ✨✨💚✨✨

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Still so lush and green up there on Dartmoor. Mossy covered trees are my favourite 💚

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A wonderful trip to Exeter and I love the bikes in bloom... 

✨⭐✨⭐Thrifty finds... The illustrations are beautiful 💚 I do love my books. I also got some wonderful art supplies including stacker style paints... We took my daughter & her friend with us and they had a wonderful time creating a 'build a bear'  for each other and clothes shopping. 

The skies over the hill top.... Just beautiful... 

Love a Summer evening sky... 

And lots of Apple & blackberry picking

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