Geishas & the Red House

I made so many sample cards in a hurry for Japan Day on Sunday (I only got the new plate of UMs that I designed for Stampattack a couple of days before, hot off the press) so I'll show some day by day.

This hanging shows the two traditional geishas with a parasol.

Here are the Chinese toddlers we sneaked in to Japan Day! The images are separate but they work well together either masked or, as in the RH pic, decoupaged.

A simple card with the geishas on an orange background.

I helped so many visitors, on Sunday, to "Make & Take" these fans with honeycomb paper inside. It fascinated everyone at the way it pulls out.

The Red House

Yesterday we went out to buy a new car, a Nissan Note....(new to us that is!) and ended up buying it from a showroom near Chester. The saleswoman recommended a local restaurant for our lunch and it ended up being an amazing experience. When we arrived it looked quite uninteresting from the road but....it certainly surprised us! I must add that we had a late lunch and I waited until after our meal to take these photos, when it emptied, but it looks like no one is there bar us!

The Red House is set on the banks of the river Dee and the tourist cruise boats pass by at the end of the garden. There's one just going out of sight behind the trees as I rushed to get out my camera.

It's such a lovely setting and view, with the cathedral and town hall of Chester on the skyline.

The restaurant is multi levelled and the glass is the same system as used in the London Gerkin with special properties that keeps an ambient temperature all year round.

Decks and garden terraces lead down to their own mooring on the river and it must be lovely to dine outside in the Summer. I'd also love to be there in a thunderstorm with lightening flashing round!

A cosy corner on the ground floor.

Best of all the food was superb and (whilst pricey in the evening), their lunch time specials were well priced to suit us. Delicious and we'll definitely return.