Dolly's Dreamings

Dream Makeover

The speshal dare this week was to make something over into something new and that simply isn't my forte. I try doing altered stuff but it never quite works out for me. The other girls did such fab innovative things (Go see for yourself) but I am afraid I had to take the cheats way out and do a dream make-over of one of my cats.
It might be a fun thing you would enjoy doing though. An imaginary makeover of yourself maybe, or a pet, or a family member. A dream makeover of a room or a house - LOADS of possibilities

I think I want to do a dream  makeover of myself actually! And then make it real.

If Kira - pictured below on the page - was made over in her dreams, she would be an Amur leopard ..... in my heart she already is. She is the leopard I am privileged to live with every day. Not nearly the naughty character her brother is, she is simply a stunning Bengal show cat. I have never shown her but in my heart I know she would win every prize! She had the perfect Bengal body and head shape (Fiki doesn't) and stunning spots. And she looks pure wild cat. She is, in reality, only one step away from that gorgeous Amur Leopard. I'm glad she is a little smaller though - less awkward when she forgets she is wild and wants to curl up on your knee.
Products used
Katie Hadfields doodled alphabet
Quote courtesy of
Janice Dye-Szucs aka Maya of Scrapbookgraphics.com
Atomic Cupcake alphabet
Doodled swirls courtesy of Joana Carvalho Designs
joanaac@gmail.com

Still on a makeover theme I have just done a mini makeover on myself. I am still waiting for it to dry but the grey has gone again for a while. Just dyed my hair again - it has needed doing for weeks but I am always too scared to do it in term time in case it goes wrong or too red (as it did once) I now use a colour that is identical to my own just with a tiny hint of red and it actually covers the grey!

I plan a day scrapping and just being with Nij today. I hope that whatever you are doing you have a wonderful Saturday x

I HATE shopping

Sorry - but I need to get something off my chest. I HATE shopping. I am not too keen on clothes shopping, but can manage it with half a smile, but food shopping. YUK! I am normally a very lucky lady as my darling Nij usually does the food shopping. He realised about a year ago how I have hated doing it for the past 20 years and took pity on me and so he shops now, but when I am off work I feel too guilty to let him do it.

As our Tesco is being refurbished and so resembles a war zone I decided to shop at the super duper mega sized enourmous superstore near by. It was horrible. Everyone in town had clearly decided to shop at that exact time too - it was like Christmas Eve crowds in there. As it was new store to me I couldn't find half the stuff I wanted and found way too much that I didn't need. I hate trying to think of meals to cook (I hate cooking nearly as much as shopping!) Then you have to pack it all up, stuff it in the boot, drag it all out again AND put the stuff away! No pleasure in that at all.

I rewarded myself with a day of scrapping afterwards though.

I have been working on design team pieces for ATDML today and am pleased with what I have achieved. I also went to the post office to collect a parcel - it was my next two months design team stuff for Jillybeans. I am a truly lucky girl - I get to have fabulous kits from my two very favourite stores and get to showcase my work in their galleries. Both Mel and Jill and Jill are so generous in what they send out and their things are always an utter delight to work with. Thanks to all three of them so much.

  As I can't share today's scrapping I am sharing soemthing I made for Mel and Jill last month - a CD holder using the scrumptious new Basic Grey papers.

I ended up making another three of them, absolutely identical. It contains a CD of old family pictures as far back as my great grandparents and I made copies for my cousin in Liverpool - the one who has done all the incredible family tree work - my cousin in Australia and my cousin in America.

The holder is so simple to make (There is a class on this blog if you want the step by step) and I was so trhilled with my new printer that prints the CD's as well.

The speshal dares go live tonight so make sure you check that out. The girls have come up with fabulous ideas this week - mine was a real let down and I was tempted to say not to use it. You will understand why when you see the dare.

And - there are just three days left until the Design Collective classes are unveiled. Now THAT is ultra  exciting and I know many of you who read this blog have signed up.

Toffee

Well - a bit of an up and down day today. I woke up to my mouth being much less sore but then that appears to be the pattern. It isn't bad in the morning, builds during the day, reaches fever pitch by the mid to late afternoon and dies down with the use of alcohol in the evenings. And I am serious about that. Paracetamol and ibuprofen don't stop it but a glass of wine does - which kind of fits with the fact it is stress induced and goes when I truly relax.

Went to see the dentist - who is actually very patient again. He hit them and prodded them and nope - i didn't shoot through the ceiling because they were not hurting at that point. He listened to me describe the symptoms and he thinks it may possibly be a problem with the root canal filling I had done through the crown three years ago. He didn't do that a specialist did - so I would have to go back to him. He took x rays but as he is now on holiday for a week I won't get the results till after Easter. He did, however, think there might be a connection with the fact my TMJ has been so awful recently and, Oh joy of joys, he is going to make me a mouth guard to try. I am so excited - not. Still - I guess this is the betetr option than the specialist (yes I have seen a fair few now) who suggested an operation to fix my jaw in place so it didn't move/dislocate/crack like a rifle and cause me to scream!

News just in for those of you who love troll beads (like I do) and who also like the Dolly's as well. Beth (panicmum in many places) has her own forum called No Place Like Home and there is a troll beads sub section on there which is worth checking out.

Anyway - we shelved the idea of Beaulieu and went to West Quay shopping instead. I was able to buy a couple of pairs of shoes (I am a shoe-a-holic) a few T shirts for the summer and ..... best of all .... Nigel bought Toffee for me.

I know I should have grown out of bears a longt ime ago- but I simply haven't. They have a Build a Bear warehouse and I had never been in before. It is where Nigel bought LBJ  from last year for me. I went in, just to see how it worked of course - and fell in love with the softest  bear ever. He is a proper traditional teddy, all rounded and scruffy and sift and with the most gorgeous face. We walked away, without him, and almost got back to the car. But only almost. We had to go back and fetch him. Nigel bought him for me as a special scrap room bear and so this is where he will live. He is sat on my desk watching me now. He is much bigger than he looks in the picture, sitting ata  good 12 inches. The shop was empty and I have to confess to being thrilled with stuffing him, putting his special kissed heart in and his 'microchip' and collecting his adoption certificate. Maybe I should grow up and act like a sensible woman in her forties - but I hope I never do.

As they say ...... growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional .... and I choose not to.

Busy day

How do I ever find time to work? Good questions!

I have been busy busy busy today doing things I cannot share. I was approached by a magazine last week, having had soemone looking at my blog and seeing some things they like, and so I have been working on an article and supporting work all day. It has been a while since I have worked on magazine things and I have to say I enjoyed it. I have to do another next week as they have commissioned two articles as a result of stuff on here - so I am well pleased.

I had a lovely parcel come today from ATDML with some lush Heidi Swapp stamps and some big and little chipboard. I can't wait to play with it all. The bad news is that I finally gave in and booked a dental appointment as I cannot stand the toothache and worry any more. I have an emergency appointment tomorrow - not because I am an emergency but because it is my dentists last day before he goes on holiday. I do so hope he doesn't disturb things and make them worse and leave me suffering whilst he is away. The pain seems to be coming fromt he crown that was then root filled and so goodness only knows what they will eb able to do witht hat. It has been trouble for almost three years (It was easter 2004 I had it all done) and part of me thinks maybe I would have been better losing the tooth. I can arrely chew ont hat side anyway as it is always painful.

I am fit to burst with excitement over the design Collective. It is only a few days now before it all goes live and you all see the first batch of classes that we have been cooking up for you all. I can't wait to try the classes myself - they are fabulous - they really are.

As I couldn't share any of my work from today I am sharing a couple of older pages in this blog. One is from last months ATDML DT - it was a picture of my father's aunty and we only found out her details recently.

The other is a daft page of Jakki and I made for the school album, hence the reason why it is simple so they could copy it. We made a page as a sample for them each week and this was the page for friendship. Their albums were 8 x 8 hence the reason why this is an 8 x 8 page.  The children thought it was hysterical! The picture was taken on Viking Day in school. Just in case you thought we always looked like that!

Eye test

I went to have my annual eye test today. I have to have annual checks as Mom had glaucoma and I am apparently high risk. My eyes have always been a problem and today they proved totally bizarre. I actually thought I was seeing quite well at the moment - apart from the fact I really need to go to varifocals as my glasses are off more than they are on when I am scrapping. However, when I did the sight test I could see very little with my right eye. My left eye was totally compensating and, take that away and I was stuffed! Aparently I developed an atigmatism the last time I was tested and now - and apparently it is unusual, the astigmatism has changed sides of the arc and almost trebled! It was the most bizarre eye test I have ever had. At one point she asked me to say when the dircles were clearer and I couldn't see a single circle - I swear. When she changed the lens it was unbelievable. the lines I could see were actually circles! I was scared when I realised how poor the vision was - with my current prescription - and staggered at how good it was when she corrected it. It was the most amazing test ever.

I now need to have new glasses made up - but will go when Nij is with me so he can help me choose. And I know they will be ablout £300 to £400  YIKES! I have such a strong prescription that unless I have the really ultra thin high index lenses it looks like I am wearing a pair of milk bottles! But as Nigel says - what price is vision and what else do you wear 365 days a year.

Whilst I was in town two very nice pairs of shows also fell into my hands LOL. Ah well, sorted from head to toe eh!

I have been tinkering with this page for ages and got to the stage where I just wanted it done and out of the way. It records a very bizarre day we had. We were staying at the Grand Canyon and knew we had read somewhere that you could take a trip to Monument Valley - one of the most bizarre landscapes and the scene of so many films. When we asked at the hotel they were staggered - not unless you fly, they said! We looked at a map and thought - oh what the heck - let's do it. So we drove, for hours, through horrible barren Arizona landscapes and visited Monument Valley. It was indeed spectacular with the huge buttes rising from the flat plains. However, not wanting to end our adventures too early we also continued on to Four Corners - the only place where four states intersect. It is markes, quite literally, with an X and you can cruch down and have two hands and two feet in 4 different states. Yup - we did it! Just the five hour boring barren return journey and we were back at the Grand Canyon. Was it worth it - you bet ya!

Shooting Big Cats

We have had the most incredible day today. We went to Marwell - we like to go often and it is always good, but today was extra special. The reason for the visit today was to see Nigel's Christmas present. I adopted him a pair of ocelot cubs but one of them has already gone to another zoo to be mated. Nigel was given an additional adoption of the mother and father to compensate LOL And what a compensation.

I think the ocelots are my favourite cats of all. They might be smaller than the leopards and tigers, but their markings are stunning and they look so much like Kira. You could almost believe you could have one at home. However, play rough and tumble with one of them and they'd rip your throat out! We stood and watched them for ages, though they were behind glass and the light was poor in the enclosure. I was quite pleased with his picture though.

The park was incredibly quiet as the school have not yet broken up and so we had many areas completely to ourselves. It was a gorgeous sunny day, though very cold, and so we were treated to several of the big cats just sunning themselves in patches of light which just happened to be right by the glass panels in their enclosures. I have never seen  the snow leopards so close. they were literally lying against the glass. The glass does give some reflection so they are not perfect photos, but we were really pleased with the pictures we got.

The snow leopards were stunning and we must have just watched them for a good 40 minutes. Their huge paws were very furry to keep them safe on the snow and ice and their coats were thick and dense - totally different to the Amur Leopards.

They have the most incredible grey eyes - though they were not much in the mood for showing them off today - they were too sleepy in the sun.

There are three of them in the wonderful new enclosure and all three were sunbathing. As it is one of the newest enclosures there, they have used a lot of glass, right round the front of the enclosure.

We were also blessed with a stunning show from the gorgeous Amur leopards who are so beautiful. Like the snow leopards they have unbelievable tails - thick and long and bulbous at the end. The sun picked up their coats so beautifully but again the glass does mean a little of their glory is lost - but we took pictures with our hearts as well as with the cameras and just sat watching them and drinking in their beauty.

It is horrifying to think that these animals are all endangered and that if action is not taken then we might lose them from the wild altogether.

Doing what we did today is, without a doubt, the ONLY way that anyone should ever shoot these big cats.

Spotty Cats

I want to share another mini book with you. I made this when I was still a member of Caroline's design team, but even though I left a while ago it was a class that has only just been released so I couldn't share it until now.

It is a really simple mini book. It looks very plain at the moment as I only used what came in the kit, but I will add my own embellishments now and pretty it up. It showcases my fur babies of course and is such a simple mini book to make. You only need one sheet of cardstock and bits of patterned paper and ribbon. You simply cut the cardstock into pages 4" x 4 3/4 " round the corners and then punch holes through to thread the ribbons. You have a little mini book with pages 4 x 4. No mini book could be simpler than that, now could it?

They make such quick and simple books and are lovely gifts to give away to people. I have made loads of them for all sorts of things. You can see others I have made in the Design Team Gallery at ATDML  (a Disney parade mini book) and also at Jillybeans (My all time favourite mini book of autumn)

Today is a lovely day (not weather wise you understand - that is pretty horrible) because it is Sunday but I don't have to worry about trying to do everything by the end of today. I have weeks to do things and that is fabulous.

I have done a couple of design team assignments and am going to spend the rest of the day working on more travel pages. I am loving doing them but am trying to space them out a little bit as I don't want the album to be finished. Does that make sense? You know, when you are loving something so much you don't want it to be over. I also bought some lovely little altering bits at Hobbycraft yesterday. I always said I didn't DO altering, but I am almost ashamed to say I am quite getting into it LOL. So I plan on doing some of that too.

Whatever you are doing for your Sunday I hope you have a wonderful day sharing it with the people who matter in your life.

The Contents of Fiki's toybox

This weeks speshal dare  - The contents of - has gone live and everyone has done incredible things again. I love how they are all so different. Do go and check them out

I wanted to go with something amusing and so opted to look at the contents of Fiki's toybox. And I must point out - cos it is very very important - IT IS NOT DIGI. I know it might look like it but it really and truly isn't. The flower and heart are torn out of cardboard - honest.

Not that my boy is spoilt or anything, but he has his own toybox. It is quite a large cardboard box stuffed with toys we have bought him and his sister, but he 'adds' to it on a regular basis and we find all sorts in there.

I wanted a box feel to the page so used a piece of ripped cardboard for the title block (I knew those Lindeman's wine cases would come in handy!) I made it rougher and then used Basic Grey letter stickers inked and outlined for the title. The sub title was added to the photo of his toy box before printing. I also used the cardboard box to make the heart and the flower.
The journalling is printed on scanned images of the cardboard box, torn and inked.


It looks digi BUT IT ISN'T - HONEST

The journalling reads

Fiki has a toybox ... of course he does. He has dozens of toys which he scatters everywhere and we pick them up at the end of the day and put them in the toybox for the next day’s onslaught. Trouble is, every so often I go through his toy box and find the things he has hidden in there all by himself. And it can be quite a revelation. These are just a sample over the past three years!

The strips detailing the contents say - in no particular order -

one stick of dynamite (heaven help us!)
12 ping pong balls
9 assorted small balls
two fish on sticks (well bitten)
2 toys dogs, one frog and a leopard
one small torch
empty cat treats packet - ever hopeful
computer memory stick (Nij was furious)
rubber door stop (he’s had that twice)
28 mice - assorted colours, chewed and with/without tails, eyes, ears etc.
four pens and several pencils
7 of Mommy’s ‘speshal’ mice - some wrapped others bitten open
two corks
a large hook
a small toy car
sweet wrappers plus 2 wrapped toffees
piece of plastic packaging - source unknown but looked important
a sock (mine!)
sundry bits of paper and card
a Trivial Pursuit playing piece
a teaspoon
bits of potpourri
an electrical connector - no idea
a small rubber

You gotta love him haven't you!!! (I keep having to remind myself of that when he is bad LOL)

Techno-Phobe

I had fun making this page as it details my swish new phone. OK - so it is probably not state of the art for many of you trendy babes, but believe me - it's the swishest phone I have ever owned.

Nig bought it for me as a combined mother's day and inspection present last weekend and I lost almost the whole of Sunday figuring out how to put a ring tone I liked on it. As it happened I did way more than that. The little beauty is also an mp3 player and so I downloaded the appropriate software and downloaded a load of music. I now have 'Don't Worry  be happy' as my ring tone and loads of music. No idea on earth when I will ever listen to it, but hey! That's not the point. The point is that Little Miss Technophobe sussed it out and I was dead proud. I even sussed out Nigel,s bluetoothing him the stuff he wanted. But the cutest thing - the little bobbing animated duck on the screen saver. Yup - I am easily pleased.

I feel much better today, but very chesty and so know there is soemthing ycky brewing there, plus I have bad toothache yet again. One day I will be pain free in the old mouth area - just wish it was now really.

Work finished today and so I am looking forward to scrap scrap scrap scrap scrapping, to reading the gazillion books I bought from Amazon the other day and to sleeping. Nigel is off too and so we have lots of nice things planned, including a visit to Marwell to see his Ocelot cubs.

Sleepy Girl

Went into work this morning thinking I felt much better but I was back home in bed again by 11.45!

I feel nauseous and ache all over and am soooooooo tired. have slept most of my day away.

Two things to share with you today. Firstly, as I have no new scrapping to share. this is a page I did for Mel and Jill this month to showcase the new Basic Grey. To me the papers shouted vintage and I wanted to share this page especially as last week would have been my parents' 51st wedding anniversary (and three days ago it was the anniversary of my Mom passing away 17 years ago .... how can it be that long ago). I might not be able to see their joy in celebrating it, but I know that they are together and that every day is like an anniversary of love for them. They really were soul mates - for eternity. My Mom was always sad that they were broke and so had a cheap registry office wedding. She would have loved the full church and white dress wedding that they gave me (and I am so glad they were both there to see me married and happy and settled with my own soul mate) She may not have been married in church but there is no doubt they were blessed - none what so ever.

Secondly a fab e mail - all about teachers. It is so true. I have a request for all of you who read this blog. When you take or send your child to school in the next few days, send a thank you in for a teacher. We get precious few thanks in the great scheme of things and, by and large, teachers teach because they love children. It is a vocation - a job of the heart. Thank your child's teacher for loving them and caring for them.

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?" He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers: "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach.." To stress his point he said to another guest; "You're a teacher, Bonnie. Be honest. What do you make?" Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, "You want to know what I make?" (She paused for a second, then began...) "Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I make a C+ feel like an award in the honours list I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can't make them sit for 5 without an I Pod, Game Cube or movie rental... You want to know what I make? (She paused again and looked at each person at the table.) I make kids wonder. I make them question. I make them criticise. I make them apologise and mean it. I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions. I teach them to write and then I make them write. I make them read, read, read. I make them show all their work in maths. I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know in English while preserving their unique cultural identity. I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe. Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life. (Bonnie paused one last time and then continued.) "Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant... You want to know what I make? I MAKE A DIFFERENCE! What do you make????"