Dolly's Dreamings

It's officially Christmas

It is officially Christmas.

The blog header has changed so it must be true. Mary thank you for the reminder - I had clean forgotten!!!

 

Plus the first mince pie has been eaten so that proves it.

 

I have been scrapping again today.

We went for a walk - bitterly cold but beautiful - at the beach today and the surf dudes have a Christmas tree up - too cute not to scrap.

So it became the focus of my Day 2 page (a Scrap Squad sketch) but it also lifts up for more photos.

 

 

 

 

The page also documents how it is a year to the day since we said goodbye to our beloved little girl Kira. We have lost 6 fur babies - Cinders, Simba, Pebble, Boushka, Fiki and Kira - and I think Kira hit me the hardest as there was seemingly nothing major wrong with her physically but she had just given up and wanted to be with her brother. She was my special little girl and will always be missed so much. She was such a little fighter through several issues and I loved her so much

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also scrapped today's prompt at DAF and Scrap a Sketch

Almost a year ago - the day we brought the boys home. December will always be a month tinged with happiness and sadness combined.

 

 

 

and still working with Stuff your Stocking kit

 

This was made with a mini by Heather T available FWP tomorrow only with purchases of $5 or more and her own shop is all discounted tomorrow

 

Today I am thankful for

• having had precious Kira for 17 wonderful years
• beach walks
• scrapping time

 

Happy December

Gosh I have been so excited about December coming - last December was all a bit of a nightmare one way and another. This year will hopefully be much better.

 

I haven't had an advent calendar for a long time and this year I have 2 - an amazing Dotty about Flair calendar plus an advent swap box. I was so excited to open them today and they were lovely.

 

I also started my December Daily/Journal Your Christmas today for the amazing 16th year. I have never failed to finish yet - lets hope I manage it this year.

This year I am using a Simple Stories album which is 8" x 6" which I covered and decorated

 

 

 

 

I used a bramble fox perspectiveon the front plus some very old thickers I embossed and gilded. The edges are also gilded and I stencilled holly leaves

This is my opening page

The wreath was from a Christmas card I saved and is very dimensional on foam pads

 

and this is my Page 1 using a scrap squad sketch but making it into an opening page. The photo don't he front is Fortnum and Masons in London which is decorated as an advent house

 

Inside it documents my two advent calendars plus Nigel's calendar and the cats' calendar

 

 

The sticker and santa and washi was off Day 1 of my DAF advent calendar

 

I also have two pages to share of new releases at Pickleberrypop

This uses Holly Jolly by Reginafalango

 

 

and - BIG NEWS - Pickleberrypop have launched their stocking stuffer event which is incredible. All of the designers have made mini kits available FWP for the next 12 days and they all coordinate and build into one utterly awesome kit. Believe me - as a DT member I have been given the whole massive kit and it is awesome.

 

This page was made with today's and tomorrow's free mini kits

 

 

and finally  page made for three different challenges - a Peartree Cut files challenge - a Scrap a Sketch challenge and the DAF challenge. DAF are having a real holiday celebration throughout December

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• the optician helping sort my glasses out (I had my hospital appointment today too ... it's for AUGUST 2022!!!
• Advent
• Challenges

 

Cyber Monday

Pickleberrypop are celebrating cyber Monday with amazing $2 deals. In the interests of transparency I get these for free to showcase them.

Do go and check them out because they are lovely

 

Credits

Foundations: Words #24 by Fayette

City Sidewalks by Fayette

 

 

Credits

Amazing moments Mini Kit by Chunlin Designs

 

 

Do go and check out the $2 deals - they are awesome.

And some quick photos from a walk at Hamworthy today watching the birds and enjoying the light

 

 

 

 

 

 

A scrappy weekend

Well, it's been an interesting weekend - jolly cold and Storm Arwen broke a massive branch off one of our trees. Of course it didn't break it off completely - just half broke it off. The winds were up to 60mph and so it was not a lot of fun out in the garden, under the trees, trying to chain saw as much off as we could. We couldn't get to the join of the branch to the tree as it was too high and too windy to have a ladder but we removed as much as we could and chopped it up. Loads didn't fit in the green bin - I suspect we will be getting rid of it for a fair few weeks to come. However, it could have been much worse and we are not surprisedthe branch came down as it was very exposed after the pine tree next to it was removed.

 

Other than that and keeping warm there has been shopping and scrapping. I did some Christmas shopping today in real life (most of what I do is on line) and I can tell you for one thing, I am jolly glad mask-wearing is going to be enforced again. I have never given up my mask but few people in crowded stores wear them and I don't like it. The trouble is all the COVID stuff has just made me more of a germ-a-phobe than I already was and I might wear my mask for ever!

 

I have also scrapped a fair bit for DAF challenges, Scrap Squad challenges, Scrap a Sketch and PearTree Cut Files

I know this isn't a great picture of a page but its good enough for you to see what I have to deal with!!

This was the Scrap Squad weekly

 

 

 

This was a PearTree cut file challenge

 

 

lots of gilding wax on this one

 

 

Another Pear tree challenge

 

 

 

 

 

another Peartree and Scrap Squad combined

 

 

and a DAF nd Scrap a Sketch

 

 

The Jolees tree must be almost 20 years old. I have been saving it! Why??? It looks so much better on a page.

 

Today I am thankful for

• a lovely day
• central heating
• chain saws
• Christmas music - yes I have started

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a difference 12 months makes

Twelve months ago today we 'met' our boys for the first time. Well not in person - but via video and photos.

I had been searching for breeders with kittens available and was on half a dozen waiting lists. We wanted to try and bring kittens home for Kira as well as for us. She needed babies to focus on and nurture as she was slowly dying from a broken heart after losing Fiki. Sadly it was not in time for her.

However, I found a breeder who had two boys (we initially wanted a boy and a girl again but I am so glad we had two boys) and I contacted her then had a long long phone conversation with her about their background and it was clear they were meant to be ours. We had agreed to take them even before we saw them, but she sent video and photos and we were so smitten.

These were the first photos of them we saw ... tenny tiny and in the fuzzies

 

 

 

 

 

 

from then on it was very hard because we had to wait 25 days before we could fetch them and from that day it really felt like someone else had my babies and I wanted them with me!

So today marks 12 months since we met them for the first time by video and what a 12 months it has been. There have been ups - lots of them - downs over health fears, laughs, tears and so much love. They have grown into two stunningly beautiful very loving boys who have helped mop up our grief and given us new hope and a new family. They are very much individuals, each totally unique and each wonderful. We celebrated today with a new toy - yes they are spoilt. I couldn't keep it until Christmas as they already have so very many presents!

 

 

 

 

and a couple more from this week (they had Kevin and Katie Carrot this week too)

 

 

In bed with mummy

 

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for my boys (all three of them!) xxx

 

 

 

It's new release day at Pickleberrypop and there are also loads and loads of Black Friday bargains to be had.

In the interests of openness remember I am given these collections to work with as part of my creative team work - and yes I know JUST how lucky I am.

I worked with several of the new collections and we are also starting to feel quite Christmassy

 

Credits

Winter Wonderland Carol W Designs

 

 

Credits

Believe Mega Bundle and Templates by TirAmisu Designs

 

 

Credits

Joyful Season Lorie M

 

 

Credits

Thank You Bundle – On a Whimsical Adventure

 

 

 

Do go and check out the amazing bargains in store.

 

Yesterday we had a wonderful Thanksgiving day - we do celebrate here as I believe that being thankful is important and we also do it in honour of our many family members int he US - it's nice to think we are celebrating with them.

A lovely dinner and a bottle of bubbly was enjoyed.

 

Today I am thankful for

• Thanksgiving
• being on PBP creative team
• central heating - it's gone very cold.

 

 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Yesterday there was a chill in the air and a Christmassy feel as we visited the tree festival in Bournemouth.

We like to go early when it is quiet so we had a pizza at Prezzo where we were one of only two tables (the way we like restaurants these days)

and then we braved the cold and enjoyed the lights. we didn't think it was quite as magical as the first year and of course they didn't have it last year. It was still lovely to see and enjoy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Those were just a few of the displays so it was fun.

 

A little scrapping today but not much I can share as it is for Design Team things

 

But this was a challenge at Dotty About Flair ... and I found it hard. I had to use random letters and I ended up spraying hem with my new as yet untried gloss accents.

 

 

and I used a new cheetah print stencil

 

 

and lots of gilding wax

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• a lovely quiet day
• baking together - Christmas scones - not fabulous!
• our boys
• a tidy garden
• Christmas coming

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Chilly blast

The weather has turned colder and I am probably odd because I like it. I like bright blue skies and cold air. I like Autumn light and wintry feel. I am sure if I didn't have warm weather clothes and central heating to come home to I wouldn't be so keen but as it is I love it.

Yesterday we took a drive out to the Purbeck hills and visited Swanage which was lovely and then dropped off at Wimborne to call into a craft fair.

 

 

 

 

I loved these huge leaves on the ground

 

 

 

 

 

Today we had a beach walk - of course - and did a little Christmas shopping

 

 

 

 

 

 

and these huts are the same as the beach hut we had when I was growing up. There are not many of this style left now. At the time they were the really posh ones as they had double doors rather than a drop down front.

 

II have new scrapping although a lot of it I can't share yet as it is design team work

 

Both of these were for DAF challenges.

 

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• a lovely couple of days
• proper late Autumn weather but a warm house to snuggle in too

and I just loved these

 

 

 

and some Halloween costumes where they nailed it

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walking, scrapping, relaxing

It's been a quiet couple of days. I haven't been feeling brilliant so we have done little but it has been lovely.

We did go out last night to see the Global rainbow that is in our home town for three days.

Global Rainbow

The Global Rainbow is a large-scale public art light installation created by Yvette Mattern. The artwork beams seven rays of laser light representing the color spectrum of a natural rainbow: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet. The 120+ W power laser light projection beaming in parallel horizontal lines creates a natural perspective horizon arc simulating a natural rainbow. The presentation is poetic, magical and powerful. It encompasses the skyline and its viewing perspective is as ephemeral as viewing a natural rainbow. Theoretically and symbolically its presentation encompasses geographical and social diversity in its reach throughout distinct points across the globe.

We had quite low expectations but it was actually really beautiful and we were so glad we went to see it. It can - on a clear night - be seen for up to 50 miles. Last night wasn't clear but it was beautiful in Poole Park

We took a LOT of photos. I made no apology.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There has also been scrapping of course.

This was for a scrap squad challenge

 

 

 

and this for a Scrap a Sketch challenge

 

 

 

 

I am determined to make a small dent in my Autumn supplies.

 

Today I am thankful for

• Nigel looking after me
• beautiful things to brighten our days

 

 

More of Vicky Boutin Fernwood

I have loved my DT kit this month from A Trip Down Memory Lane.

I had great fun today fussy cutting like no tomorrow.

The papers are beautiful but I needed them to work in the way I wanted

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this one had to be cut up into different bits to work for A4 but it was fun

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• a quiet day with a walk and scrapping
• lovely DT stuff to play with