News & Updates from Helen Howell Designs · Page 3

Recently I had a few days away, and one of the places I visited was Sovereign Hill in Ballarat, Victoria, OZ.

It is a Historical Re-creation of an old Gold Mining Town. Very interesting to walk around.

I have been to see this place a couple of times before and never get tired of it. There is a main street with the shops of the time, there is a section on a gold mining camp and the conditions they lived and worked in.

A street with houses of various sizes and expense was available to walk around and into - these were the luckier ones instead of living in tents.

Of course there was also two gold mines you could go down on a tour. I thoroughly enjoyed my step back in time.

Its that time of the year when in late summer when those summer veggies and fruits are in abundance in the shops, all at a much cheaper price.

Tomatoes caught my eye this year, although vowing I was going to have a break from making chutney, I have found the shop bought varieties cannot hold a star against homemade.

So I took advantage of the good price now available and bought some, which I turned into my tried and tested tomato chutney.

Lovely with cheese and cold meats - yum!

Apart from designing cards, I also have another love - Watercolour Painting. I have been pursuing this hobby for over 30 years and I never get tired of it. Recently I discovered Liquid Charcoal which can be used like watercolour.

I have tried drawing with normal charcoal but more often than not got it everywhere. So liquid charcoal was a nice alternative for me. I love the effect I can get when using this medium, especially with portraiture.

One of our day trips out this summer was to the Blue Lotus Water Gardens situated in Yarrow Junction, (Victoria, Australia.) It is always a pleasure to visit this garden and it is only open between January and April, thats when the Lotus Flowers are flowering.

These are the most beautiful things when seen en masse. The Giant ones are amazing and the various colours are just lovely. Predominantly the main colour is white, and these are still a wonder to behold.

For Christmas my 8 year old Granddaughter got a Boogie Board. As I live near the beach, she naturally brought it along when you came to stay. So off to the beach we went to try it out.

After a few attempts she finally got the hang of it and had a lovely time boogie boarding in the sea on a hot and sunny day.

I was amazed at how quickly she picked it up and was using it like a pro by the end of the afternoon!

Go Girl!