Dolly's Dreamings

Template weeks are fabulous

I am a lover of templates but I especially love Dawn Inskip's templates.

They take templates to another leverl.

they are always so detailed and have things no others seem to have.

So as one of her CT members I love it when it is template week.

This is the collection released today at Scrapbookgraphics

 

 

And this is my favourite set

 

 

I couldn't wait to create with them last weekend.

 

Here is the first page I made with them and I also used Dawn's Primeval kit.

 

It was such a thrill to meet ... and touch ... this gorgeous chap at Amazon World. The colours and details on his skin were just amazing

 

I will share more of them tomorrow, but do check out the collection as it is on special at the moment and templates are always so useful to have in stock and Dawn's are superb.

 

Today I am thankful for

• not being cold ALL day, just since lunchtime! (Some days you have to really really look for the positives!)

 

 

 

A story to live by

I find myself in reflective mood today.

 

There are days when life is a bed of roses and everything is swell and you cope. You cope well.

There are days when life is manic but you cope.

There are days when the unexpected happens but you cope

There are days when you don't feel 100% but you cope

There are days when all of the above conspire and do you know what ... you cope.

Because, each and every day is important.

Today is called the present because it truly is a gift. A gift so special it has to be lived and enjoyed and celebrated. Every crazy moment of it.

Because you never know. You really don't.

I want to share a story today that speaks very much to my heart because, through my Mom, I lived it.

 

A Story To Live By

by Ann Wells (Los Angeles Times)

My brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sister's bureau and lifted out a tissue-wrapped package. "This," he said, "is not a slip. This is lingerie." He discarded the tissue and handed me the slip. It was exquisite; silk, handmade and trimmed with a cobweb of lace. The price tag with an astronomical figure on it was still attached. "Jan bought this the first time we went to New York, at least 8 or 9 years ago. She never wore it. She was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is the occasion." He took the slip from me and put it on the bed with the other clothes we were taking to the mortician. His handslingered on the soft material for a moment, then he slammed the drawer shut and turned to me. "Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Every day you're alive is a special occasion."

I remembered those words through the funeral and the days that followed when I helped him and my niece attend to all the sad chores that follow an unexpected death. I thought about them on the plane returning to California from the Midwestern town where my sister's family lives. I thought about all the things that she hadn't seen or heard or done. I thought about the things that she had done without realizing that they were special.

I'm still thinking about his words, and they've changed my life. I'm reading more and dusting less. I'm sitting on the deck and admiring the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden. I'm spending more time with my family and friends and less time in committee meetings. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experience to savor, not endure. I'm trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them.

I'm not "saving" anything; we use our good china and crystal for every special event-such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, the first camellia blossom.

I wear my good blazer to the market if I feel like it. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can shell out $28.49 for one small bag of groceries without wincing. I'm not saving my good perfume for special parties; clerks in hardware stores and tellers in banks have noses that function as well as my party-going friends'.

"Someday" and "one of these days" are losing their grip on my vocabulary. If it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now. I'm not sure what my sister would have done had she known that she wouldn't be here for the tomorrow we all take for granted. I think she would have called family members and a few close friends. She might have called a few former friends to apologize and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think she would have gone out for a Chinese dinner, her favorite food. I'm guessing-I'll never know.

It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew that my hours were limited. Angry because I put off seeing good Friends whom I was going to get in touch with-someday. Angry because I hadn't written certain letters that I intended to write-one of these days. Angry and sorry that I didn't tell my husband and daughter often enough how much I truly love them. I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives.

And every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself that it is special.

Every day, every minute, every breath truly is...a gift from God.

 

I so understand that story as it could have been about me. When my Mom died, very suddenly at only 58, she and daddy had been planning a special holiday. My Mom had only been abroad twice, two short package trips to Spain that they could ill afford but that they had gone on so I could go as a teenager.

They had retired from the hotel business just twelve months earlier and they were celebrating with a trip to see my dad's sister in Australia. It was all they could think about and talk about. They had saved and saved and so had we. It was to be the trip of a lifetime. They were due to go in April and Mommy died suddenly in March.

The whole thing was so shocking and heart-breaking but I will never forget having to sort out some of Mommy's things and finding that her underwear drawer was full of new things. Things that she was saving for the holiday. Her wardrobe was filled with things she was keeping for best. Her cabinet was filled with best glasses we never used. And she never got to enjoy those things. They were waiting for the 'special' times and she never realised those special times were right there and then.

I am still not good at that lesson and I still sometimes keep things for best ... but I do consciously try to remember there may not be any days more special than the one we are living right now.Our srystal gets used, I wear new clothes as soon as I buy them, I even use new scrap stash. We do the things we have always wanted to in case we don't gett he chance int he future. Whilst still planning for a future we hope we have, we live each day tot he full.

And so every day needs to be enjoyed, embraced and celebrated. Every day is precious, every moment needs to be lived.

Not always easy ... but always worth trying.

 

 

 

 

Changing rooms

I was playing catch up at the weekend and realised I hadn't scrapped these two pictures.

They were destined to be a page for the 2013 album.

We decided, on impulse on New Year's Day that we wanted to transform our spare room. It was a bit of a dumping ground and we rarely use the bed so decided to go for a sofa bed instead.

It was all done very quickly.

We bought the new sofa bed and they said they could deliver the next day - wow.

We dismantled the bed and sold it the same day

So by the end of day three it was all done and dusted - literally

 

I am actually quite sad as we have no more decorating to do.

I wish we did.

I love changing rooms.

 

 

The paper is very sparkly in reality - lots of glitter and shimmer (and so very unlike me)

 

I have been for routine - well I hope they are routine - blood tests today so sport a really attractive bruise on my arm. I am not easy to get blood from as - apparently - I have tiny veins. There is always a drama getting blood and as I am a fainter at the best of times it is never a good experience.

 

Today I am thankful that

• they got blood more easily than on some visits
• the portable porrige in a pot was actually very nice

 

And a few more dogs and cats to enjoy

 

 

 

 

Technology in all its glory!

 

 

Wow

What a day

It started badly … as days sometimes do. Technology is a marvellous thing … when it works.

We have an electric garage door opener. It was actually the first thing Nigel ever fitted when we moved here 22 years ago. I love it. I would never put my car in the garage if I had to stop, get out, open the door, get in, drive in etc.

One press of the button and I am done.

And in the morning one press from the inside the house controller and I am done.

Sometimes.

Not today!

It has been having a funny recently and often won’t work when I leave for school. It works perfectly at every other time of the day and is almost like something interferes with it.

Well it was a little stressful today … a bit of a domestic. Oh yes, we may be soul mates, but that doesn’t mean we always agree about everything.

Anyway – eventually – my car was released and we are still married … just!

And it sort of escalated from there with just manic manic manic.

But I am home now after a mere 10 ½  hours and no real break and just a few more hours to go.

I have a page to share today which was made for our 2013 album and is the Venice page. Whilst Venice has its own album, there has to be a page in the yearly album to indicate that we went to Venice.

 

 

 

 

• Today I am thankful for
• Technology … at times
• Forgiveness
• Home

 

And today some dogs and cats... mortal enemies .... perhaps not!

 

 

 

 

Catching up day

Today has been a bit of a catch up day.

I have caught up on work.

I have caught up on reports.

I have caught up on washing

I have caught up on setting challenges

I have caught up on my 2013 album.

All in all a productive day.

It was also weigh in day.

We are all doing well. I have lost 13.5 lb, Fiki and Kira have both lost a little, Nigel has lost 4lb and Boo hasn't lost any - which is good news.

Between us I almost expect the house to fly away LOL

 

I have a new page to share made with gorgeous Pickleberrypop goodies. They are by Fayette Designs and Sarah h graphics and are both from the April Pickle Barrel which I have to say was my favourite colour combo ever!

 

 

and in case you want to read the text

 

Today I am thankful for

• being up to date

 

 

 

 

 

Finally made it

Today was THE day.

We have tried to do the Poundbury walk several times and today was the day we made it.

We managed to get there when it wasn't wet, when it wasn't cold, when it was actually quite pleasant.

YEY

We did the treasure hunt but there was a clue we just couldn't find at all.

 

But we had a nice time.

That is until we came to come home. There was a serious accident just outside Dorchester and they closed the bypass in both directions. Thank the Lord we were not in it and also that I wasn't driving. The detour took us down single track lanes and even an unmade road at one point. It was narrow for one car let alone traffic both ways. I would have just had to stop and sit it out. I was panicing even with Nigel driving. I hope the people in the accident were OK.

I spent the afteroon making some cards for birthdays coming up.

I made them for a couple of the challenges on Jennifer Grace Creates

This was for the free as a bird challenge

 

I stamped the bird and then coloured it with Promarkers.

 

This was made with one of Dawn Inskip's fab doodlesand was made for another Jennifer Grace challenge - inspired by the large bold lettering

 

 

I liked the concpet and wanted to make one that was a little less masculine

 

I had fun!

 

I also want to remind you to not to miss the fun at Pickleberrypop and go and snag the Pickle Barrel goodies at just $1 each and the freebie too if you spend $12

 

 

I shared two pages yesterday.

Here is the one I made with the free collaboration collection - it is packed with goodies ... I only used a tiny portion of the collection

 

 

and this is a page I made with the fabulous collection of kits by Sugar Kissed Designs called Blue Jean Baby

 

 

Kim you asked what a jumper is. I guess in the US you would call it a sweater.

 

Today I am thankful for

• days out
• inspiration
• challenges
• brownies .... long story and I mean the edible kind

 

Finally I shared this on Facebook - I loved it.

A while back, at the entrance of a gym, there was a picture of a very thin and beautiful woman. The caption was "This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?"

The story goes, a woman (of clothing size unknown) answered the following way:

"Dear people, whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, seals, curious humans), they are sexually active and raise their children with great tenderness.
They entertain like crazy with dolphins and eat lots of prawns. They swim all day and travel to fantastic places like Patagonia, the Barents Sea or the coral reefs of Polynesia.
They sing incredibly well and sometimes even are on cds. They are impressive and dearly loved animals, which everyone defend and admires.

Mermaids do not exist.

But if they existed, they would line up to see a psychologist because of a problem of split personality: woman or fish?
They would have no sex life and could not bear children.
Yes, they would be lovely, but lonely and sad.
And, who wants a girl that smells like fish by his side?

Without a doubt, I'd rather be a whale.

At a time when the media tells us that only thin is beautiful, I prefer to eat ice cream with my kids, to have dinner with my husband, to eat and drink and have fun with my friends.

We women, we gain weight because we accumulate so much wisdom and knowledge that there isn't enough space in our heads, and it spreads all over our bodies.
We are not fat, we are greatly cultivated.
Every time I see my curves in the mirror, I tell myself: "How amazing am I ?! "

 

 

Pull up a chair and have a coffee

It's Friday  .... gotta love that ... and it is also Pickle Barrel Day .... more reasons to be happy today.

It's been a lovely day in all sorts of ways today.

And Pickle Barrel just adds more to the happiness.

 

You know the deal by now ... loads of new goodies each priced at $1 and all int he same colour themed palette so you can mix and match and make wondrous kits up.

And remember spend $12 and you get a free bonus collection too - so a good deal all round.

 

I worked with several of the collections this month and will also share more tomorrow and what I made with the bonus kit.

But to start off there is a whole selection of wonders from Fayette Designs called a Pocket Full of Posies.

 

 

The colours are lush this month aren't they.

 

This is what I made with Fayette's gorgeous creations

 

I also worked with Everyday Life by Lorie M.

 

 

and I created this page

 

Today I am thankful for

• a lovely day
• a jumper ... taken by accident. I thought I was grabbing a cardigan to take to work in case it was cold. It turned out I had grabbed a jumper - but it WAS cold and I was actually glad of it.

 

 

Now I am not sure if this will work but let's give it a go.Mike sent us a super e mail ... a life lesson and very inspirational ... all wrapped up in a cup of coffee.

 

I hope it works and that you enjoy it as much as we did .

Thank you Mike x

 

 

CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO

 

 

 

 

Tick Tock Tick Tock

I think, the older you get the more aware you become of the passing of time and of how quickly time passes.

I am in no doubt at allt hat the older you get the faster it speeds by.

 

I have no idea, already, where 2013 has gone. It seems only days ago we were celebrating Christmas.

Yet we are in May, almost half way through another year.

The older you get the more precious each moment becomes and the more important it is to savour each one.

 

This week I learnt of the passing of my cousin's grand-daughter, a beautiful young lady with an incredible voice. 

Each day is, indeed, more and more precious.

 

It is therefore timely ..... see what I did there ..... that the new collection I am sharing this week is called Tick Tock.

 

Designed by Dawn Inskip at her Scrapbookgraphics store it is just amazing and has some of the most stunning papers I have ever seen.

 

 

 

 

This is my page with it

 

The best way you can spend your time is to spend it wisely with those you love.

It has become very clear to me over the last couple of days that you only get one chance ... just one shot at this thing called life ... so you need to make the most of every single second.

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• having the courage of my convictions
• trying to make a difference

 

 

 

 

A touch of Monty Python

I feel like I am living in a blogging world with a very definite touch of Monty Python.

 

You know ...

....

the sketch about spam

.....

In case you don't ... and it is very dated ... this is the sketch

 

 

Well I have more spam than I need. Not the vile processed meat sort. The totally iritating blogging sort.

I am being bombarded by spam comments.

I had 120 comments yesterday on old posts which were selling me everything I needed to be more virile, see better, save money and all manner of other things. Spam the lot of it.

So I apologise to commenters that your comments now have to be approved. I hope I only have to do this for a couple of days as it is a periodic fault and may well get resolved.

My post today is brief becasue there simply are not enough hours int he day at the moment. I am jolly glad I am on a strict diet as eating is only taking a short time! See - good in everything eh!

 

Today's page was made for the weekly challenge on UKS last week and is a Florida page

 

 

 

It was to us the colours of the flag of your country. Well my country is the UK so red white and blue. I would LIKE my country to be the USA - also red white and blue.

The pictures are from Epcot a couple of trips ago.

 

Today I am thankful for

getting a lot done (though I still have a lot to do)

a short walk at the end of the day in the sunshine. Fabulou. I was shattered when I got home and was about to start work straight away and Nigel refused to let me and forced me out for a walk. He was so right. 

 

And finally I have an article to share which I thought was fabulous. It received mixed comments but I loved it.

 

One of the women - Jane Goodall - I am proud to have met and she was indeed inspirational.

 

It is from The Daily Mail here 

Mother shuns Disney Princess ideal and dresses daughter up as five REAL heroines from history to commemorate fifth birthday

By Margot Peppers

PUBLISHED: 16:43, 13 May 2013 | UPDATED: 20:59, 13 May 2013

A photographer has commemorated her daughter's fifth birthday by dressing her up as five different influential women from history - Amelia Earhart, Coco Chanel, Susan B Anthony, Helen Keller and Jane Goodall - and capturing the images for a photo series.

Jaime Moore from Austin, Texas, wrote on her website JaimeMoorePhotography.com that instead of dressing Emma up as a Disney princess - which is 'an unrealistic fantasy for most girls' - she decided to take photos of her emulating real women worth admiring.

'My daughter wasn't born into royalty,' the mother-of-two explained. 'But she was born into a country where she can now vote, become a doctor, a pilot, an astronaut, or even President if she wants and that's what REALLY matters.'

Real-life heroines: For her daughter Emma's fifth birthday, photographer Jaime Moore dressed her up as five inspirational women from history, including designer Coco Chanel (left) - minus the cigarette, of course

Taking flight: Emma (right) imitates aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart (left) by sporting pilot goggles, a fur-lined leather jacket and a white scarf

The mother-of-two said she chose five women since it corresponds to her daughter's age, but that 'there are thousands of unbelievable women (and girls) who have beat the odds and fought (and still fight) for their equal rights all over the world.'

What's more, she said she wanted her daughter to learn about women who 'without ever meeting Emma have changed her life for the better.'

In the series of black-and-white images, called 'Not just a girl', even Emma's hair is styled to look like the heroines she is imitating.

True heroine: Emma is captured looking peaceful and pensive in her accurate interpretation of Helen Keller (left), the famous American author, lecturer and political activist who was both blind and deaf

 

All walks of life: Emma rests on her hand with her hair in a ponytail as she impersonates 79-year-old British anthropologist Jane Goodall (left)

One photo, in which Emma is pretending to be civil rights heroine Susan B Anthony, sees her in black top and white collar, her brunette locks pinned up in an old-fashioned braided hairstyle.

In another, Emma wears strings of pearls, a black hat and and black long-sleeve top in the manner of Coco Chanel - minus the cigarette hanging out of her mouth, of course.

And to impersonate aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart, Emma wears pilot goggles and a fur collar, perfectly copying the famous woman's whimsical stare.

Each of the images is accompanied by an inspiring quote from the woman being portrayed.

Beating the odds: Emma imitates civil rights activist Susan B Anthony (left), one of the 'amazing women who had gone against everything so she can now have everything,' explained Ms Moore

 

In the photo that sees her impersonating deafblind political activist Helen Keller, for example, the quotation below reads: 'Be of good cheer.

 

At the end of the photo series, the photographer has written: 'Let's set aside the Barbie Dolls and the Disney Princesses for just a moment, and let's show our girls the REAL women they can be.'

Ms Moore's final pictures show Emma as herself, donning a pin on her shirt that says: 'Emma for president 2044', a testament to her overriding message that her daughter should dream big.

 

 

 

Home again

 

I made it ... I am back. 

The conference was very useful and informative as well as enjoyable.

But the food was way too rich and I have paid the price for that.

 

Awful journey home of 4 hours in traffic in heavy rain where the spray was dreadful so I feel shattered and relatively poorly.

 

 

The hotel was lovely with a huge comfy bed I would have enjoyed more if I hadn't been poorly and very unusual these days to have bath and a separate shower.

 

I am glad to be home

Obviously no scrapping for a few days but this is a page I made a while ago

 

 

 

I printed the campanile on a transparency and then sewed it on to the page.

The views from the top were amazing and there is a second page with more photos.

 

Today I am thankful for

• the chance to meet with and talk with colleagues
• Getting home safely (I really don't like driving and 4 hours was too much for me)
• being home