Dolly's Dreamings

A glorious Autumn day - and new collections

It's been glorious here today and so we headed off to our gorgeous Jurassic coast.

A little bit of sea glass collecting first then to west Bay and time walking one of our favourite harbours and a picnic from The Cornish Bakery

 

and yesterday I taught another class for complete beginners and they all ended up with a framed painting at the end of it ... none of the had ever painted before

 

 

Now onto new releases for Pickleberrypop

 

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Art Box no 19 by TirAmisu Designs

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2024 Fall Drink Special Collection by Jen Yurko

 

And the beautiful Berry Blends collection this month

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Autumn Whisper: Berry Blends by Palvinka Designs, Dutch Dream Designs and TirAmisu Designs.

FREE with a $15 PU purchase October 3 - 14, 2024.

 

Today I am thankful for

• a lovely day out
• a sucessful class
• Nigel healing well. He had a skin cancer removed from a very difficult spot on his face between his nose and lip, but it is healing

 

Quite a stressful week

We are at the end of quite a stressful week.

Nigel had to go in for minor surgery on Monday to have a rather nasty skin cancer removed from his face. It was in a difficult place between the side of his nose and his lip and we were not quite sure what to expect. We knew they would need to cut quite a bit away and it was in a difficult area.

The surgery took about 30 minutes and as I was not allowed in the room until the very end, neither of us had seen it. And the dressing was quite impressive! There was nowhere really to stick things due to where it was, so it was stitched and dressed and then stuck across both cheeks and under his nose. It made eating and drinking a real challenge and he looked like he had come off the set of Hannibal Lecter!

Once the swelling started to go down the gauze underneath kept dropping and the outer dressing was lifting so nurse Karen to the rescue and and even bigger bit of tape stuck even further across his face to gold it all in place. It was therefore a relief when the dressing could be removed on Wednesday afternoon and we could also see what it was like.

We were both impressed as it is a small neat wound with just 4 stitches and once his mustache grows back it will be almost invisible -once the swelling and redness goes. Stitches out on Monday and the best news is that he has had zero pain at all from it. (mind you - he is very stoic!)

Apart from that it has been a quiet week. I taught another art class on Wednesday which went well and have another next Wednesday and then two more before Christmas.

I also made the decision to step down from my 14 year long tenure on the design team at A Trip Down Memory Lane. I find scrapping is taking a bit of a back seat to art and also having to scrap class pages in 12 x 12 was taxing as I now tend to do largely A4. So, with much soul searching, I decided to step down.

These are my last 3 DT pages

 

I also complete my Challenge sample for the fabulous event happening over at Scrap a Sketch facebook group at the moment. Do go and check that out

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• Nigel being OK
• the skills of Doctors
• friends being safe from the hurricane in Florida

 

Tesco Clubcard bonus

We had a lovely day out on Wednesday to a place we had wanted to visit again for ages - Blenheim Palace. We had been before we were married (and remember vividly getting stuck on the boating lake as one of us - the one who had the oars - discovered HE couldn't row!

So we swapped some of our clubcard vouchers for tickets and off we went

It is a huge palace, built for John Churchill, the First Duke of Marlborough, and his wife Sarah, a great friend of Queen Anne. It is massive and opulent and the grounds are vast - we explored little on our day but had a lovely time.

 

 

The Blenheim tapestries are very famous and utterly glorious

 

 

Much of the palace was used for filming Bridgerton - which I loved

 

Queen Anne - exquisite carving

The library - A Bridgerton 'set'

 

Obviously huge connections with Winston Churchill who was born there and married there. He almost inherited it but in the end his cousin was born and the line followed through.

His red box from when he was secretary of war

 

 

 

 

 

Stunning butterflies in the butterfly garden

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

all in all a wonderful treat of a day out

An Autumnal Berry Big Deal

I am in my happy place because the Ber months are here and I love them, and Pickleberrypop's New Berry Big Deals have a definite Autumn feel which I love

I had fun playing with them and you can grab the collections at bargain prices until the end of Thursday

 

 

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Autumn Symphony Collection by et Designs

 

 

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September Serenity Collection by TirAmisu Designs

 

 

 

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Apple of my Eye Collection by Carol W Designs

 

 

 

 

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First Blush Collection by Chunlin Designs

 

See You in September Collection by Fayette Designs

 

A bit crazy - calmer now

It has been busy busy busy here but things have now calmed right down.

We had stewarding all weekend, the exhibition to take down and then I was teaching at my regular art group and then teaching beginners at one of my new workshops. So busy for two retirees.

But all good.

I sold a LOT of paintings and art work and cards at the exhibition and I even sold a painting at the local cafe I am in too. So that means I can invest in more art supplies!

These are the things I was teaching at art class

This was last week's lesson - how to draw an elephant

 

 

This was this week's - eye's

 

and this was my beginners class

 

I have new scrapping too

 

 

 

and this is a tiger I drew for Nigel in pastels - I DO NOT like pastels so it may be the last

 

 

The good news is Nigel liked it

Yesterday we had a fabulous (if freezing cold) day at Longleat on a members day for Icons in the sky. It was so cold and then rained that we didn't stay for icons but it did mean the safari was very very quiet and the cats very active so we really enjoyed that

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

boys will be boys!!!

 

 

 

and we even caught giraffe feeding time

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today I am thankful things are a little quieter for a while - thank goodness

 

 

 

 

 

A lovely day out an heading for busy days

I did think that when I retired, return to school would seek to mean little. However it means several things

Firstly it means we get our world back. That's awful isn't it! But everywhere is so busy - and so full of children - int he school holidays and it is nice to have it back quiet after the children return to school. Apologies to all of my teacher friends.

Secondly it means return to teaching for me. I am teaching all month at my regular art club and I am also teaching 3 classes independently so a total of 7 classes to prep and teach. It's not as bad as it sounds as all the prep is done, but I am feeling the pressure a little.

Coupled with the fact the exhibition is still on and we are stewarding a lot and its a busy time.  However I have sold 4 paintings at the exhibition and a whole load of cards so that is good.

We did have a lovely day out yesterday thanks to a tip off from a friend. We went to Caen Hill Locks and Devises (oh and popped into Longleat on the way back)

The 16 locks that form the steepest part of the flight at Caen Hill are not only a scheduled ancient monument, they are an Olympic-sized challenge every boater must do. This 'wonder of the waterway' is a rite of passage.

Caen Hill (pronounced ‘cane'), is one of the longest continuous flight of locks in the country. A total of 29 locks with a rise of 237 feet over two miles with a 1-in-44 gradient. It was fascinating to see and I was glad we didnt have to do all of those locks - it's hard work. Nigel helped a couple f people but it is hard for the boaters to negotiate.

Passing Stonehenge on the way

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then drove through Devises which was such a pretty market town

 

 

 

 

 

I also have some new scrapping to share

This is my July monthly page

 

 

My August monthly page (both open up to look like this and the journalling is all on the flap that lifts up

 

and this is a new collection from Elysian Studios

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• a lovely day out
• a different return to school this year (I don't miss the proper on at all)

 

 

A completed sketch book

I have finally completed my Coast to Coast sketch book and - sad as I am that it is finished as I have LOVED doing it - I am quite pleased with it.

They are not great works of art - nor are they meant to be - but they detail our epic journey acrposs the United States ad many of the small memories that made it special.

It really does combine my love of art and scrapping into one project.

Here is the video of the finished book ... apologies for the length - I tried to speak fast!

 

 

And a few of the final pages

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

my art bringing me joy each day

 

Shattered of Poole

I am exhausted. It's been a busy week and culminated int he church art week finishing today and there was a LOT of tidying up. I sold a pictures and a few cards but it is really about community with this event. I have a big exhibition going up next Wednesday for two weeks and that is going to be HARD work. And I think I am done with exhibiting after that to be honest. It's a lot of work for little or no reward. You sell rarely and I know that it is not because the work isn't nice its just what someone wants at that moment in time - the right subject, the right size etc. But it's hard work and it is spoiling my enjoyment of my hobby. So there  it is.

I do have some new things to share though

New scrapping from classes taught at A Trip Down Memory Lane.

 

 

 

This will be my penultimate class for ATDML as I have decided that it is time for me to step down. I find the class pages challenging as I don't really scrap 12 x 12 in paper anymore, I do it all in A4, and so I am stepping down and relaxing more.

 

I did do a drawing I was proud of this week though. We went to see the ospreys - a very special programme in our local town of gentle reintroduction - and so I cae home and drew this osprey which I was quite proud of

 

 

 

They take hours and hours but I had forgotten how much I enjoy doing them

 

Today I am thankful for

• being on the home straight of exhibitions this year
• Nigel helping me so much
• a clean house - yup housework day too

 

 

Beautiful Berry Big Deals

It's that time again with some stunning new bargain deals at Pickleberrypop that I have been playing with

 

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Music of my Soul Collection by Jen Yurko

 

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Berry Big Deal August bundle by Natali Designs

 

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Dream Explore Discover Bundle by Lorie M

 

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Seaside Treasures by Carol W Designs

 

I'm afraid no pictures of the collections as typepad simply isn't working well again. I think it is one of the reasons I blog less - it is such a battle to add any images.

 

But trust me they are beautiful

 

Today I am thankful for

• managing to get SOME pictures up
• Watching birds this morning... blessed to see three osprey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preparing for exhibitions

It's been a quiet few days here as we have been getting artworks ready for two more exhibitions this month. One is very low key in Church this week and the other is more full on at The Gallery Upstairs in Upton again. I  am taking 16 framed paintings and also 20 unframed plus other bits and pieces.

There has been little scrapping time but I do have some to share

This is a design team piece for Scrap a Sketch using one of the gorgeous August premium sketches and showcases a day at Mottisfont and the hares we bought there.

 

 

 

 

 

And I had fun painting some little miniatures yesterday - not as small as my really small ones but still quite small

 

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• chilled days
• time with my best friend
• art which brings me such joy - and stress!!!