Dolly's Dreamings

The value of home

I am adding in a piece of word art that I made the other day and it just seemed appropriate to share it today.

We all need friends - people who are there for us when we need them and we all need to be friends - supporting thiose who matter to us.

If you would like this word art you can download the png file HERE

I haven't had a very nice day. I am not going to go into why - because frankly I don't want to even think about it any more.

But i do want to say that rotten days make you realise what realy matters.

What matters is to come home to the best friend you could ever have who also happens to be your husband, to a home that is warm and safe and to three fur babies who love you without question. I am so glad that I am so lucky.

I was also pretty lucky to snap my picture of the day. Kira does not like the camera. I must have ten times as many photos of Fiki as I do of Kira. She runs away fromt he camera - he is a poser! He knows he is handsome and flaunts it.

Kira is, I think, a bit embarressed that she is a little tiny bit cross eyed, that her fur has never come back quite right and so is camera shy bless her.

I was able to snap this picture of her just now whilst she was sat on the dining room table.

I haven't much new scrapping that I can share at the moment but I did make this card the other day for a Pad challenge. the challenge was to use something yellow 9why do so many of us not like yellow!) a button and a flower.

This was what I came up with (I really had to search hard for yellow paper - I had just a couple of tiny scraps)

The bee is a button and the stitching and dots are just drawn on the card.

For the first time today I have also joined in with kelli's papercraft Thursday - another addiction I fear!

Feeling stronger

I am feeling a little stronger and a little better today.

Just as well as I can now become Nurse Dolly - Nij is poorly.

These bugs seem to take on a life of their own. He has a horrible cough and a stuffy nose. He must be ill - he came home from work early and even took pills I gave him! I am not sure if it is the same bug as mine or a totally different mutated one.

Ianaged Christnas dinner last night - though it wore me out completely. MIL had a nice time so that is the maint hings.

I made a very quick digital page for the scrap like you mean it challenge - Emily teaching poor old Uncle Nigel how to play the Wii. They had such fun.

My picture today (should have done it yesterday but too exhausted to think of it, ) was a photo of the telly on Obama's first full day as president. I am mad as hell I missed the day yesterday but at least the news coverage says it was day 2. And at least it features this week.

Christmas in January

I kid you not. It is Christmas here today.

Turkey, stuffing, parsnips, Christmas pud, the lot.

Even crackers on the table. They are my photo for today.

No I haven't lost the plot completely. It is my MIL birthday today. She spent Christmas with her vegetarian son and missed her Christmas dinner so I promised I would make one for her birthday.

Seemed like a good idea at the time.

I actually feel way too weak and feeble to be doing this, but a promise is a promise.

The page here was made for the scrap like you mean it challenge on UKS.

It uses chipboard letters and a chipboard heart I covered to match the page.

Very quick and simple because, let's face it, it is all I can do at the moment!

Just a quick word

V ery brief blog for me today. I feel most odd and think I may have thought I was better before I actually was.

My picture a day was a disaster. I took a picture of this cute cat sign in my office. But it was so awful and out of focus I have had to use one I took for another project a while ago. That's not a good start is it.

It is the same picture but taken on a different day. Ah well. I meant well and the words were so apt.

The page I am sharing here is one I made for ATDML last month. I had made a digital page using the same photo but wanted a real paper one for my album.

The photo is Boo with her new Christmas mouse.

we have two stunning Bengal cats but there is no denying that our little rescue tabby is a stunner and outshines the others on mnay occasions.

Life is a Mission word art

Not sure I have cracked the grungy style

But it was fun having a go LOL

If it is of any use to anyone at all - and I realise it may very well not be!!! You can download it here

There are two png versions - with and without wings.

Return challenge

I challenged Nigel yesterday so he issued a challenge to me today.

Actually he issued two. The first (I may still yet do it) was to scrap a holiday photo that was not in America or Canada. Toughie. I had none stored on the computer (we don't very often holiday elsewhere so they would be old photos scanned) So I refused the challenge LOL. Then he issued a second challenge. Scrap a photo fo the cats with a TV based title.

His suggestion was Strictly Come Prancing but I couldn't find a suitable picture so Big Brother to the fore.

The picture is Fiki in his favourite summer place, stood up against the screen across the balcony doors. Watching HIS world go by.

Today has been back to the grindstone. I have done the cleaning, am about to do the ironing and I confess I am pooped.  But no-one else looked like they were offering LOL

I did go outside to the garden to take my PAD and called Nij to come with me there was great light and great shawdows so I took a picture of the two of us. OK - so sometimes it is hard to think of a picture LOL.

I'm sorry - the layout looks a bit washed out on here. A bit over bright. I looks better in reality.

Promise!

Lucky Girl and an odd challenge

I am feeling much better today - though very very tired. Nigel took me out for some fresh air and we ended up at the jewellers. Turned out he felt so sorry for me being poorly he decided that Doctor Nigel's cure for the post illness blues was a blue troll bead. Actually - as it turned out - it was 2 troll beads.

I now have a blue set on my bracelet and will take a picture one day so I can share them. I fel very spoilt.

The picture of Nigel with the bag of goodies outside the jewellers is my picture of the day today.

Now there was an odd challenge on daring cardmaers this wee and it seemed like great fun. It was to get someone else to make a card whilst you played being teacher.

So I did.

It is Nigel's Mum's birthday next week and so I decided he should make a card for her rather than me make it.

She will love that he has made it and I think he did a really good job.

I took pictures as he made it and was quite cruel to him as I made him sew, ink, stamp and cut all on his first card.  And he did them all extremely well.

The only thing he struggled with was the herma and I know that can be a challenge for lots of people who don't like them.

I put the pictures on a very very simple digital page which I have printed off so his Mom can see what he did to make her card. We will pop the printed copy inside the card for her to see.

So - challenge fulfilled and a really nice card for his Mom. (I would never have chosen the words/sentiments he did. I would have gone for something much more traditional but he had the choice of all my stamps to use and that was what he chose.)

Now - I am off for a little rest. Today has been quite tiring after days of doing nothing but try and sleep.

Have a great rest of the weekend.

A Little Better

Well - I have managed two hours up today. Not dressed, but up.

That's the most I have managed since Tuesday so I am getting better.

The aches in the joints have gone, the swelling in my face is less (even Jakki noticed my face was swollen when she dropped some work off yesterday), my body thermostat seems to be working more efficiently and for the first time since Tuesday I have been hungry (OK so that might not be a plus!!!)

I still have sinus pain, a hackingc ough and a beautifully developing cold sore (That was inevitabe I guess) but heck - it is progress.

I am uploading two more pages made last week with dawn Inskip's new kits Project 365, Fingerprints Alphabet and Pigment of Your Imagination papers, alll available exclusively at The Digi Chick. I am glad I made them last week. Sitting at the desk and scrapping is NOT appealing at the moment.

The first page made me giggle. When I saw the alphabet and the magnifying glass it made me think of crime scenes which, of course, led right to Fiki! Mmmmmm funny that.

The second page explains why he has lived to be 5 1/2 years old.

He is so bad he should have been removed a long time ago, but the trouble is that he is too darned cute for his own good. He does bad stuff then looks at you with those big green eyes and adorbale face and instead of beating him, I melt.

My photo a day today is of a new book I am intending to take up to bed with me now.

For the past few days I have not been able to read much. My head was pounding too much and my eyes running all the time. Plus i was just so tired.

So this afternoon I am planning on taking a book to bed and seeing if I read any of it.

It was a Christmas present from Nigela nd is good staple chick lit. Nice and relaxing!

Bet I just go straight to sleep though!

It is show and tell friday and so I thought today I would use more of the tissue box. seemed apt and I had the photos so less stressful.

If you want to know more about show and tell friday hop over to Kelli's house and check it out. Be warned - it's addictive!

I used to do a lot of folk art painting. I went to classes for a couple of years to three different teachers, each of who was fab in their own way. 

I have to say though that Lynnette was fabulous. I made some of my favourite pieces with her - including this tissue box.

Her husband was wonderful at making the bare woodware for us and so we had some really fab pieces to work on.

Some of the things he made were so unusual - you would never find them in the stores, and then we could paint them up.

It was a very small group and we would go for one off special project classes which were an all day class. Apart fromt he painting and the company it was also a joy to be in her home as it was filled with so many treasures she had made.

I used to paint every Sunday. Nigel used to go out to cycle speedway and much as I hated him going because I missed us having time together, I did enjoy the me time - my painting time. It was my creative artistic outlet at the time. This was years before scrapbooking.

I confess, I haven't done any proper folk art painting for 4 years now! Must dig it all out again one day.

We were taught traditional folk art painting - where the brush strokes and how the brush was loaded were all important. It wasn't the Donna Downey one stroke painting, but based on similar tarditional principles.

Oh how I remember the practice boards we had to make and perfecting the all important double or triple loaded comma strokes.

But it was worth it and it paid off in the end.

I loved making the roof on the tissue box with the crackle effect too - just nice and simple but effective.

Thanks for looking at my show and tell. I am off to see what you have all been doing.

A picture paints 1000 words

This is just a quick companion piece to the word art from the other day.

I thought it would make a nice touch on some of the 265 pages.

I am struggling with the photos but enjoying the pages LOL

You can download it HERE

Thankful

There was a challenge on Hodge Podge which that naughty Kate Hadfield prompted me to take part in.

I have been feeling so rotten and went and lay down but the cough was worse lying down so sat and did a little very quick digi page on the laptop.

The challenge was to think of a word that you want to focus on in 2009. I picked the word thankful. I guess, like everyone, I go through phases of wanting/needing/yearning for all manner of things. But I am very very lucky. (I need to focus on that cos I feel pretty blooming rough at the moment)

I have been lucky enough to marry my soul mate and best friend. I have a safe, warm home, three fur babies I idolise (I have to remind myself of that with Fiki sometimes) work I enjoy, many many friends and am very very lucky.

I want to focus on being thankful for the many blessings I have.

I used all papers and elements designed by Vendula Sediva aka Natali