Dolly's Dreamings

Fresh and crisp and clear

The air has a much fresher feel today than yesterday. Yesterday was really really humid.

They have been threatening storms for a few days but they haven't really come.

Today was wet and miserable and drizzly this morning - typical when you have to be outside ... but that's England.

It's lovely now and so much fresher.

 

I have scrapping to share that is crisp and fresh too.

Dawn has a great new kit out today called Relax. It is lovely and fresh and crisp. Reminds me of something cool and minty or a really lush granny smith apple.

 

 

 

The photo is one that brings back very happy memories. My best friend took me for a birthday treat out to a very posh local hotel called The Chewton Glen. I had no idea where I was going and we had the best afternoon tea either of us had ever had. It was massive and beautiful ... and whereas we didn't think we would, we polished off the lot!

 

I needed to chill after in one of these fab swing seats.

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• the chance to res my ankle which is sufferng this week as there has been a lot of standing
• my little Kira being such an adorable little poppet who genuinely is no trouble.

 

 

and finally - I have to share my sunset picture from the other night.

The colours and clouds were stunning.

 

Mini book in a boy - 3 in 1

I wanted to share this project that I made for my slot at IACW and today is the perfect day as I can post this in advance as I KNOW I won't get to blog today.

I think I must have a bit of a reputation amongst my friends for the person who hoards boxes of every shape and size to ‘alter’ and transform. One of my friends brought a notelet box in and aid that as it opened in a really unusual way she thought I would like it.

And  I did.

It as a really unusual box – approximately 4 ½” square – that opened by pulling the little ribbon at the corner to reveal three little trays, perfect for holding three little mini books.

 

 

We have three favourite hotels that we have been lucky enough to stay in many times and so that was the theme I went with – one mini book for each hotel.

I made the three mini books as 10 page (5 each side) accordion albums cut from cardstock.

 

 

 

 

I kept them simple but themed each one in keeping for the hotel so lots of pastel coloured tropical flowers for the Caribbean Beach resort and of course playing cards, dice and money for Las Vegas

You can see how the box opens in the picture with the three books nestled in their individual trays.

 

 

The problem was how to decorate the box as due to the way it opened, covering it with paper was not going to be an option. I knew that just painting it would be difficult as the box was very shiny and that paper covering would crack as it had to bend in several places.

 

 

In the end I coloured it with alcohol inks to try and give a sort of tortoise-shell effect using five different colours and building up the layers.

 

 

I decorated the top with a piece of leather effect thick paper I bought a sheet of in Michaels years ago. I added a couple of stamped images and a leather word strip and finished it off with some paper roses.

Finally I printed suitcases on glossy card, mounted them on really thick chipboard and then stuck them to the sides using foam pads.

 

I'm glad people know they can give me their 'rubbish'.

 

Well THAT was interesting

My day has been VERY interesting in all sorts of ways.

 

First a question ...

 

How do you turn a potential disaster into a roaring success.

Team work, commitment, diligence, willingness and a fair bit of laughter. That's how.

 

Secondly how the heck does a mouse which never ever had a squeak inside it suddenly become a squeaky toy. Kira has a mouse she has had for a LONG time and it has suddenly developed a squeak - and a loud one at that. Most odd.

Life is full of mystery.

 

I have a new page to share today using a favourite picture. This one is Emily with her new baby sister and I just think it is so cute.

It was made witha  new kit called Brighton - Designs by Laura Burger at Pickleberrypop.

 

I am aware it is a brief post today but it's been a bit of a day and - well it is THAT time of year when teachers stretch to near breaking point just before the total collapse that is the summer holidays and should, by rights, be called sanity restorer.

 

Today I am thankful for

• the way people pull together - it's fabulous
• comfy shoes - you had to really feel the pain to understand
• chocolate dormice - I kid you not

 

 

 

When did they move June?

Rumour has it that it is June.

I am not sure that can really be right. Certainly when I was at school I was taught June was in the summer.

I was also taught that the summer was when the weather was warm … nay hot even. That in the summer the sun shone. That in the summer we could do loads of things outside.

So I am guessing by now you can see my dilemma.

It is cold (though at last the wind is warmer as we start to head for what they say will be a period of humidity). It is so cold we debated putting he heating on and if our last bill hadn’t been so horrendous we may have done so.

It is so cold my legs have yet to be devoid of tights. It is so cold my summer clothes are sadly neglected though my winter woollies are getting good value for money.

It is so wet we feel like ducks much of the time.

So I think, in the quiet dead of night when no-one was looking, someone has moved June out of summer and placed it elsewhere.

Because we are NOT IN SUMMER.

Enough of a rant. I have another page to share with you made with new Pickleberrypop products, this time by Amber Shaw. The kit is called Sunday Afternoon and it has a lovely soft and gentle feel to it.

 

 

 

The picture is again of my three favourite girls.

Today I am thankful for

• ·         A cardigan, tights and a coat! Seriously!
• ·         Making headway with my speech

I really want to thank Barb - who is such a lovely lady and a great follower on here - for the beautiful poem yesterday which I wanted to share with you all

In Our Hearts
by Rose de Leon

We thought of you with love today,
But that is nothing new.
We thought about you yesterday,
And days before that, too.
We think of you in silence.
We often speak your name.
Now all we have are memories,
And your picture in a frame.
Your memory is our keepsake
With which we'll never part.
God has you in His keeping,
We have you in our heart.

 

An

AI

A

Bigging it up

I used to scrap with huge photos a lot when I started scrapping.

I think I enjoyed the novelty of being able to print big photos that were high wuality.

It is something I don't do so often now so I was really happy to try the challenge on UKS to use a big big photo.

I decided to scrap a page for my 10 album.

I love my 10 album as it is such a mix of all sorts of things - but each giving 10 reasons or ideas.

This is ten things we will always remember about our day trip to Venice.

 

I deliberately left the 'dead' areas in the photo as I knew I wanted to overlay embellishments on top of it.

 

 

There is a card at the top that pulls out with the 10 things written on (the tab says photos at the top)

 

Today I am thankful for 

 

• seeing our first pair of goldfinches in the garden. They were so very very pretty. I wish they would find the nyger seed as no-one is eating it and I bought it for the finches specially.
• Boo seeming a bit better and wanting to be in the house with the others rather than just the study. She is, however, stillt he worst thief we have ever ever had.

 

I did my father's day tribute the other day, but I did think this was kind of cute

 

 

Bargain Hunt

For a little while now I have fancied getting a really pretty tea set.

I am not a very floral girl, to be honest, but I really fancied a pretty floral tea set, a vintage cake stand and the chance to have afternoon tea at home.

I am very choosy about what I drink out of and I much prefer the thin bone china mugs to the thick and chunky. I am also very picky about handles. I couldn't begin to describe my preference - they just have to 'feel right'.

So the idea of some nice bone china tea cups was very appealing.

It's funny how times change isn't it. I remember my Mom having a bone china tea set - just cups and saucers. They were so thin they were transluscent, and we never used them. She got rid of them. I have no idea when, I just know they went. I am sure they were not very valuable - as a family we have never done 'valuable', never had any antiques etc. But they were pretty.

So - I set out in a quest to find a pretty vintage set.

I started on line and they were looking like £50 or do for the kind of set I wanted. There were loads around and very few I liked. And I couldn't cope with a mismatched set. That wouldn't do my OCD any good at all.

Today we decided to have a visit to Molly's Den just to see if there was anything that took my fancy. I was prepared for about £50 but no more. I know, in my heart of hearts I won't use it often.

And I found treasure.

They had lots of sets and lots of individual trios. Some were, I am sure, quite good makes and I guess if you knew your stuff you would know what to look for. I was just going for pretty.

And I found exactly what I was after.

The cups were the right shape.

The pattern was very pretty - and a little over the top which was kind of what I wanted - and the bonus was there was a set of 6 matching cupsa, saucers and tea plates, a large cake plate and even a cream jug and sugar bowl.

I was smitten.

 

I was even more smitten when I saw the price.

It was £10 for the lot.

Now when you think a nw chunky mug that I would hate would be £4 - £5 I think it was a steal.

So did the lady who packed it up for me. She said I'd got a real bargain and it had been reduced the day before.

It's not good china. It's not a special make - it is Imperial Bone China. But I love it.

I love it so much I scrapped it.

 

I used some very thin gold tape as I wanted to echo the gold edging (it says it is 22 carat gold on the tea set  ... I am sure it is not) and some scraps of Basic Grey Euphoria. Euphoria seemed fairly appropriate as I did feel pretty darned happy to have found it.

 

I need to get a tiered cake stand and a tea pot and I know I won't get them to match, but I am still thrilled.

 

Today I am thankful for

• a bargain
• pretty things

 

animals and wheelchairs

Had a great day today at Marwell.

The rain didn't happen

The wind eventually dropped

The sun came out

And Nigel came along to push me as I was under orders NOT to try and walk all day otherwise I would do more damage.

It was a great day out, everything went smotthly, no accidnets, no problems.

But it is everso nice to be home.

I think I only took a couple of pictures, not like me, but I still enjoyed the day.

 

I have a new page to share today too.

It was made with a brand new collection at Picxkleberrypop by Studio Lalie Designs

It is called Feeling and is lush

 

 

and here is my page made with it

 

My three favourite girls.

 

Brief post today as I am tired and a drinka nd the sofa are calling.

 

Today I am thankfulf or

• everyone out and back safely
• a wonderful caring husband
• fabulous girls

 

 

Fathers' Day ahead of schedule

I find it very hard to celebrate both mothers' day and fathers' day.

I miss my parents every single day of my life, but those days given over to mothers and fathers are especially hard for me.

I do, however, like to pay tribute to them so when I saw Dawn's new collection - called Dad, from her scrapbookgraphics store I knew I wanted to make a page with it.

This is my page dedicated to my Daddy.

I was always a Daddy's girl and ... in my heart .... I always will be.

I was very much a tomboy and whilst I shunned the cooking, I'd spent hours in my Dad's shed making stuff with him. I learnt car maintenance, woodwork, all sorts of repair and decorating work. I guess I was in some ways the son he never had, but in fairness, the adoration was mutual. I was his little girl and we were inseparable. We were also very alike .... very very alike and I don't just mean physically. We shared many character traits and boy were there fireworks at times.

I miss him - and my Mom - every single day. He was, in every sense, my hero. I believed he could do anything - and everything. Apparently I once told the trolley bus driver when the bus came of the trolley that it was OK as my Daddy would fix it. I brought home broken toys from school saying it was OK my Daddy would fix it for them. I beleived he could do anything and ... most times ... he could.

Daddy my bedroom is very very teeny. So Daddy built an extension. He helped build a new building for my school when I was in the infants - he and other fathers. Can you imagine that happening now. And no - he wasn't a builder, a carpenter, a plumber or a mechanic, but he did all those things.

Daddy we have bought a wreck of a house as it was all we could afford for our first home- can you help us? Yes chick, he'd say as he re-wired, decorated, re-did the plumbing, built units. And he taught us to do it too. You name it.He did it. You name a tool - he had it. And now Nigel has them and uses them with pride and skill.

In the eulogy at his funeral Nigel called him my Mr Fix It and he truly was. He was a dare-devil who rode the wall of death, did death defying tricks on motorbikes (and broke so many bones in the process), he was super intelligent, so politically incorrect it wasn't true and had a wicked sense of humour. And most of all, he had boundelss love, he pushed me to be the best I could be with his constant ... yes that is good BUT and this page is a tribute to the fact I am proud to be a Daddy's girl.

 

Today I am thankful for

• my parents - who truly were remarkable people. Yes I know I am biased ... butt hey were
• driving - first time I have driven today since my accident and yes it hurt but it also felt really really good.

 Dawn is running a competition on her blog as well so go check out HERE and see what you can win

 

 

And I leave you with this today which I thought was terrific

 

 

 

and breathe

There are days when you hit the ground running ... and in my case that is strictly metaphorical.

I'm not running anywhere

And according to the nurse I am not running anywhere - or walking - for a while.

 

Not a great ankle day. The green bruising has all gone. The purple is now coming out! Yikes.

Don't look if you have a sensitive stomach.

The bruising is all along the foot and ankle to the toes and up the leg to about 5". But it is odd as although it looks like a bruise it doesn't feel like a bruise.

It just aches inside.

 

I used to have an ankle bone. I believe, rumour has it, it is somewhere in amongst all that fluid.

 

On to cheerier things ... a new page to share.

The theme of this class by Shimelle was then and now.

Oh my

 

I am so not proud of the first picture.

The two pictures are three years apart

 

Thank goodness I eventaully took myself in hand.

The pictures were taken at Angels games in both cases - Nigel's team.

 

 

The embellishments were all printed from a fab baseball kit by Lindsay Jane at Pickleberrypop

 

 

• Today I am thankful for the new re-useable ice pack and pocket thingy with velcro strap that is so much easier

 

Phew ... and breathe

I have that slightly hysterical, slightly odd feeling of euphoria.

Partly borne of exhaustion and partly borne of relief.

Apart from the last minute tinkering bits, the timetable is done and it is such a relief when it is.

On a different note Nigel and I were thrilled when we stopped for our meal a short while ago as we are fairly sure we saw a buzzard... or possibly a red kite.

We do see birds of prey quite a bit from our window as they hunt ont he heath. We have hobbies and merlin and kesterels galore.

However this guy was much much bigger and very reddy brown in colour and he hovered and swooped and was just magnificent.

I love our blue tits and great tits, robins and blackbirds, thrushes and woodpeckers but wow - he was magnificent.

I did stop late last night and do some scrapping as I just had to do something to try and unwind and relax (and it didn't work as I didn't sleep and started back by 6 anyway)

But this was my page for the weekly challenge.

And I just couldn't wait to use the new punch that arrived Saturday. I felt I needed a treat and when I saw that David had the new Martha Stewart Circle Edge punches in I had to have a play.

It is a really ingenious system and punches circles from 6" - 12" which is amazing. It punches card and paper equally successfully and I fear a lot of circles are on the horizon.

 

Photo is of Jamaica at the Caribbean Beach resort

 

and I even used some striped ribbon I had in a pack from Bonanza in 2005 when I did a L'il Davis class I loved.

 

Today I am thankful for

• a job completed
• seeing wildlife ... and on that note I have to share the fact that the cows are back grazing ont he heath and so spend a fair bit of time right by our fence. They arrived late yesterday and Nigel said .... and you gotta love him .... 'so you did the timetable till the cows came home'
• the bruising almost gone on my ankle - though the swelling seems worse than ever and I am going to get nurse to check it tomorrow.