The Lords My Shepherd Bracelet

This is one of a series of Bible story and verse bracelets

With each bracelet you get a gift box and a high quality card that has a design on the front

The centre shows the bible verse or story

The back of the card shows the key for your bracelet.  No two cards and bracelets are the same.

These make wonderful gifts for adults and children for Baptism, Christening, first Communions, Confirmations and other  Christian ceremonies and celebrations.

Show someone you care and share a Christian message at the same time.

Papier Mache Beads ~ Pinks

I have been getting very messy making these beautiful papier mache beads.

The beads have a lusterous finish.

I have used the beads to create these lovely necklaces which are finished with satin cerise ribbon.

You can see further details of the necklaces HERE

more beads and necklace to follow in the next few days.

Winter's Light ~ Chloe Agnew

A Childhood Memory ~ Allerton Park

Yesterday I added a venue onto Crystal Velvet Weddings that brought memories flooding back.

As a child, I went to Acomb Baptist Church  in York and our Church used to have family away days.  I remember trips to Marske beach, but my favourite memories were of visits to Allerton Park (now known as Allerton Castle).

Seeing the elaborate interiors, far more elaborate than I remember, I decided to look into the history and find out more.
It turns out that at the time I went there, the house was under lease to a Christian Charity that disbanded in 1999.  Victory Mount Trust provided holidays, breaks and comfort for those who were with out funds.
When we went to Allerton Park, the first bit of the day was a short service in a room to the left of the main door.  I know that as children we couldn't wait for it to finish before we were allowed out.  Once out of the meetings, we were given full reign of the house.  we could explore all the rooms and discovered servants stair cases etc.  I know that now a days, more structured events would be provided, but the excitement of exploring the big house was so much fun.
The grounds were beautiful.  Not ornamental and kept, but wild meadows.  We would walk down from the house to the huge parkland tree and see the lake, walk in the woods and gaze up towards the folly.
In 1983 the house was sold to a Doctor Rolph and then in 1986, restoration started to bring it up to the amazing standard of design it now boasts.
In 2005 a fire ripped through parts of the castle destroying it.
You can read all about the restoration work on the web site.
Allerton Castle has been used for many film and TV programmes, but my favourite has to be the Secret Garden.  I felt that like Mary, a young girl taken into the huge house, I understood the awe and wonder that she felt as she explored the corridors and rooms.

How To Make Elderflower Cordial

remember only pick the flowers above waist height!!!!

The Fathers Song

A Catch Up

As well as keeping up with my own blogs, I also write for the UK Crafts Forum Blog, my latest posts are:

How Colour Works

Mother Natures Colour Palate ~ Spring

Mother Natures Colour Palate ~ Summer

Crafting The Olympics ~ The clamp Down

Peter Sewell

How To make Paper Flowers

The Queens Award For Voluntary Service ~ Mires Beck Nursery

Today I heard the exciting news that Mires Beck Nursery has been awarded

QUEEN'S AWARD FOR VOLUNTARY SERVICE

This award is granted to organisations within the voluntary sector which have an exceptional record in working with volunteers and benefiting from their skills.

This year, Mires Beck Nursery, based in North Cave, is one of just a limited number of organisations in the whole of the United Kingdom which has received the award as part of the Jubilee celebrations.

Set up in 1984 as a private venture, Mires Beck became a Registered Charity in 1994. Its main role is to enhance the lives of people with learning and other disabilities by providing training and work experience in horticultural skills. Some eighty services users benefit from this provision.

The nursery now employs more than thirty people, many of whom first came here as volunteers.

Additionally it has a large group of voluntary helpers. Their skills include working with our service users, maintaining the site, helping with sales and very much more. Their help is backed up by our support organisation, the Friends of Mires Beck, which now has over six hundred members. 

The Nursery has six trustees from a range of professional backgrounds and they too operate on a voluntary basis. Their role is to ensure that the Nursery remains true to its vision.

We are thrilled that the endeavours of everyone involved in the nursery have been recognised in this way. It is a fitting testimony to all the help we continue to receive.

A formal presentation will be made at the nursery by the Lord Lieutenant of the County on a date yet to be decided.

The Nursery, based at Low Mill Lane, North Cave,  sells to the public a wide range of plants, including perennials, wildflowers and herbs. It is open from Monday to Friday (Saturday from March to September)  between 10. 00 am and 4 pm.

 mires Beck has a website which you can visit HERE

A Love Letter From God

Handmade By God ~ Heidi Shirra

When I moved back up to South Cave 13 years ago, Heidi was one of the first people I met.  She was a beautiful little girl and was playing in her garden whilst her mum and I had a cup of coffee.  Over the years it has been lovely to watch her grow up and find her gifts and talents and to see her journey into womanhood.
Heidi is a gifted dancer and when she finished school she went off to university to study dance.  It was whilst doing this that she found herself in the grip of the eating disorder anorexia.
Heidi returned home and battled to regain her life.  This battle taught Heidi some truths that she has chosen to share in her book Handmade By God which is released today.  Handmade by God is a series of 52 bible verses that inspired and encouraged Heidi to re-see herself in the way that God wanted her to, rather than the altered self image that anorexia had given her.
Heidi is now studying to be a nurse and is back to her beautiful and happy self.  She regularly shares her talents by encouraging other people of all ages to dance in worship which  is a beautiful media for worship for those dancing and those watching.  To see this beautiful young woman shining with the love of God is such a blessing.
Heidi's book is available to purchase HERE