Dolly's Dreamings

Sunday Sampler - Free page class -All Partied Out

For many years I have been teaching very simple classes at crops and also producing classes for UK Scrappers.

I have never pretended that these are complex - they are simple, easy to follow guides which may just springboard your imagination.

I have decided that I am going to start uploading them here too as a couple of people from my local crop have suggested I should.  Thanks for that girls. Your confidence in me has prompted me to go ahead and finally do this. I know I have been going to for over a year .... I move slowly LOL.

I will try - but at this stage can't necessarily promise - to upload one a week .... always on a Sunday.

The classes are all in PDF format and, as I say, are very simple but may give you that kick start we all sometimes need.

I would love to know what you think if you download the guidelines and, if it inspires you to make a page, I would love to see it if you can post a link.  

This week is a page called All Partied Out and features Emily collapsed at a party - too full of fun and cake I suspect LOL

The PDF file is HERE Download All Partied Out by Scrapdolly

Hot hot hot

It has been such a glorious day here - and it still is. I didn't want to miss a moemnt of it and so was out at 8.30 to pick up the parcel I missed yesterday.

I knew what it was - lush new SU goodies from Jo. And were they ever lush.

I had two new punches - an oval and a scallop oval and also a new set of watercolour wonder pencils which I totally adore.

I couldn't wait to play and so dashed off a few quick cards (more for the summer fair) using the punches and the stamps I bought last month that go witht hem.

They were quick and simple but i had fun.

The man came to measure the carpet for the hall stairs and landing and the bedroom and he did say he hadn't seen a configuration quite as unusual as ours LOL

I love that the house is split level and very different.

Then we went and sat in the garden, chatted tot he neighbours. We have lovely neighbours and we are both doing up our houses at the same time. We had our kitchen done then they used the same company and had theirs done. they had their bathroom done and we are about to embark upon ours etc. We also have very similar tastes. they have the same wood units in the kitchen - though a different design and we have picked very similar tiles for our bathroom. Lynn also said they are just going to do their bedroom and have chosen duck egg blue and white. Spooky. We have just bought duck egg blue and cream bedding for when we do ours. the funniest thing of all though - they have the picture in their kitchen I have been badgering Nigel for for the hall. Very bizarre LOL

The rest of the day has just involved sitting in the sun and little - and I mean little - half-hearted gardening.

Just off to light the BBQ now.

Finally my picture of the day - there is no doubting that Kira is all wild child LOL. They actually don't like 'outside' and cry to go out and then stay out about 10 minutes and then go back inside bless them.

Phew what a scorcher

OK - so that isn't a new title - the Sun got there first. It is one of their infamous headlines I always remember .... and there have been some classics haven't there.

Anyway it has been an awesome day. I spent a lot of it in the garden reading. I was hot but totally chilled. I did three loads of washing which all dried really quickly and are all ironed and away and that feels good.

I also made three pieces of bunting for the school fair. The idea this year is that every pupil gets three pieces of bunting to decorate as they wish.It is a compeition and they pay £1 to enter. the result is that we get homemade bunting (can you believe that one of the mums cut and overlocked over 700 triangles!!!!) and raise £250 before we start. Good eh!

Anyway I decided to do the easy route and used some transfer paper with logos. The third one was edged in lace (I am going to get more lace and edge the others too) and has a stamped sentiment, a really sparkly metal shooting star and - because it felt right for Mommy and Daddy - a dragonfly.

It was fun making them.

I also sorted out over 60 cards to sell and my scrapping friends have been so wonderful and kind. Many of them have offered to send cards for sale as well and this morning I received gorgeous thank you cards to sell from Helen. What don't get sold on the day will get sold in reception during the year as we are supporting Julia's House, the local children's hospice,  for the whole year.

Thank you so much girls for your never ending support in so many ways.

The page I am sharing today was the other page made for A True friend this week.

 The theme was parenthood and, as my fur babies have never been parents (my goodness can you imagine the demons Fiki would have spawned if we hadn't cut him off in his prime!!!!) I used some pictures I had taken last year of a new forest pony and her foal.

Have a wonderful weekend and I hope the sun shines for you all but that you get cool breezes when you get too hot.

And the hits keep on coming!

OK - so firs it was mother in law that was ill.

Then it was Fiki.

Then it was Nigel.

Now it is Boo.

I tell you - Kira and I are staying well away fromt he lot of them.

We took Boo to the vets this morning. She is obviously in some discomfort from her rear end. She can't jump and cant raise her tail properly. She has loads of scabs all down her back and has to sit in a funny way. We were unable to see our own vet and have to say we were suprised by the diagnosis. the vet we saw said it was flea allergy, in spite of the fact she doesn't have fleas and even when she combed her she could find no evidence of fleas. In 6 years of indoor catting we have never had a flea. I guess there is always a first time, but it seems unlikely. Anyway - she was flea treated and given steroids again and we were told it was an allergy - again.

We will see. She is very down and not at all herself. I took this picture a few minutes ago as my picture of the day. Poor old Boo.

Dawn's new Petite Borders and All About Me kits went on sale at The Digi Chick today and this is another page I made witht hem. Fiki loves to be high surveying his kingdom.

I had a productive day today making 3 layouts - all of which must remain unshared for now - and also getting new bedding.

we are redoing our house big time this summer and one room is the bedroom. It is a very cottagey bedroom at the moment and very pretty but awfully dated. We are having cream wallpaper, curtains and carpet and I have bought a load of cream and aqua bedding for Nij to see. It was from Dunhelm Mill and they will take it back if he hates it. My only worry is that one set is completely cream apart from a decorated border. I have to say I can't see it being a success. I mean the cats sleep on the bed - it is going to end up getting washed every two or three days.

We'll see what he says when he sees it.

Doing what I do best

The page I want to share today is me doing what I do best - not cooking, eating out and enjoying a glass of wine LOL.

The picture is one Nij took last Sunday when we were at Vesuvios - a wonderful restaurant right on the beach.

It is a digital page and uses Another day in paradise by Dawn Inskip plus two brand new kits released tomorrow (I am allowed to post now - honest) called It's All About Me and Petite Borders.

All three kits I have used are exclusive to The Digi Chick so be sure to check them out.

Oh and by the way - the wine only looks like a huge glass because it is close to the camera ..... honest!

My photo of the day is my three little fur babies enjoying home cooked chicken.

Whenever I cook chicken - which is often - i always cook extra for the cats. They have a breast between them and Oh boy do they like it. It was chicken chasseur tonight. I have to say they are very sopoilt and not keen on bland plain chicken - they far prefer it when it has been cooked in a nice sauce.

Spoilt?

My cats?

Surely not!

A very pleasant swarm

It's been very windy here today but sunny and hot so I managed a little sit int he sunshine LOL.

Nij went back to work today as he had the all clear from the doctors. He was going to take it steadily though and not get too tired as the virus has left him with very little energy.

I went down to the beach at Sandbanks with Jakki this morning just to enjoy a bit of sea air.

The beach was empty as it was very windy and, at that point, not so warm so we tucked ourselves away in the jazz cafe and enjoyed a hot chocolate and a latte.

We drove along the peninsular ans it was a lovely way to spend an hour or so and remember why we love living here so much.

When Jakki dropped me off we were  staggered at the lawn. It was covered - and I mean covered - in butterflies.

I have since looked them up and they are painted lady butterflies.

I lay on the lawn surrounded by them and took loads of pictures.  I have decided to use one as the photo of the day as it is such an unusual thing to see so many of them all together.

Whilst googling to see what sort of butterfly they were I came upon this BBC news article about swarms of them. Well we clearly have them here too.

I always associate swarms with something not very nice, but these are gorgeous and there are hundreds supping from the little blue flowers that cover our lawns both front and back.

Bank Holiday Bonanza

Had fun today as we went shopping.

Truth be told neither of us had the heart for it to begin with.

We are desperately looking for new bedding and have had no joy. we felt sure John lewis in Southampton would have a wonderful selection. I thinkw e were both imaginingt he sort of bedding section that sears and J C Penny have int he US.

Shame really - it was rubbish and almost nothing on display.

It was hideously hot and humid and we were both disenchanted. We went to TGI Friday for a late lunch and that is my photo of the day. Yes, I am aware that TGI is my photo of the day way too often but heck - such is life eh!

Anyway, on the way home we called into a new British Home Stores in a  retail park in Bournemouth and it is one of the nicest home stores I have ever seen and we bought loads. we got new lamps and shades for when we decorate the hall later this year and a load of bathroom accesories for the new bathroom that we just fell in love with. Apart from the somewhat heated argument in the store about their poor labelling and a trading standards issue (If you have it displayed that you have 20% off the lowest marked price that is what you should do not say that a green ticket means they have taken the 20% off sometimes and other times it doesn't!) We were very cross - not over the money that was negligible but about the way it was dealt with and the fact that, dress it up as they may, it is wrong.

Anyway, I digress. we got some fab bits. I have done no scrapping, my ankle is very bad but i am a happy bunny.

The second picture of me with the old vino was my photo of the day for yesterday when we met Nigel's brother, sister-in-law, mum and niece at the wonderful beach restuarant vesuvio.

We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the world and this restuarant on the beach is awesome.

Parenthood

Did you know Nigel and I are parents?

OK so maybe not in the traditional sense as such, but I feel we share a lot of the worries - and the joys - that parents feel. It's just that our babies are covered in fur, walk on 4 legs and don't talk in the traditional sense!

The page was made for A True Friend challenge blog - do stop by and check out the pages the girls have made. they are  as ever - fabulous.

This is a digi page and does show our 'fur babies' with their mommy and daddy. Not the best picture as we took it on a timer and the setting was just a bit too long for wriggly cats who wanted to go explore the tripod.

It has been a glorious day here today but i have been good and sat with my Factor 30 on - result ..... white and palid as ever.

No picture of the day as yet but I have a good one planned for later!

Production Line

I have had my very own production line going today.

We have a school fair coming up to raise money for the local children's hospice, Julia's House. It is an incredible place and I want to help in any way I can to raise as much money as possible.

I have made 50 cards or so to sell and have spent today making laminated bookmarks to sell.

I tell you something - I don't want to see another for a long time! They are very simple but the kids will love them and, if they all sell, they should raise another £60  in addition to the cards.

We went out home improvement shopping today - all terribly exciting and a case of getting nowhere fast.

We have picked new carpet for the hall stairs and landing and bedroom but were unable to agree on flooring for the new bathroom.

We bought fence paint and window stain and varnish and the cutest frame for the bedroom. But we can't find any bedding we like that is practical. The cats sleep on our bed so whilst the gorgeous cream bedding sets are wonderful they won't last long and we will end up washing them every few days and constantly getting rid of cat hair. I KNOW there are cat hairs on the bedding we have, but i can't see it LOL Also several of the sets were the sort of fabric with embossed embroidery and ruffles that the cats would pull them to pieces. I know the simple answer is don't let them int he bedroom but, let's face it, that is never going to work now is it.

The page here is one I made for ATDML last month and it uses a gorgeous 4 v 6 transparency overlay fromt he Kay and Co range.

Strawberry Crush

Dawn Inskip has a new kit out called Strawberry Crush and it is all pink and girly and springlike and lush.

It is another mega kit with loads of papers and embellies and also a full alphabet as weel.

I made several pages with it including this one of the two of us at Exbury Gardens earlier this month.

I have to say I am totally and utterly in love with the background paper witht he gorgeous edge.

The second page is the little cutie that brightens our life .... Emily.

She is a little poppet and this photo was so cute and just begged to be scrapped.

She has quite a cake addiction.

The third page, also made using the same kit, is another for my Photo a day album.

Week 18 was an interesting one as it had lots to take pictures of.

It was the week Nigel and Gary attacked the garden with a chainsaw and when we also had to hire a truck to move all of the trees they cut down.

It was also a week when I was away at a conference in leicester so there are a couple of pictures of that.

The big picture was of our day out at Exbury which was a gorgeous day and I really liked the photo Nigel took.

Finally my picture of the day is some gorgeous purple daisies - i think they may be marguerites but I am not sure.

Nij is much better and I came home to all the housework done, Tesco shopping delivered and put away and the lawn mowed.

I am a very lucky lady as now I can have a really relaxed weekend.

I hope you all have a great Bank Holiday weekend. xx