Dolly's Dreamings

Happy Thanksgiving

Today is our Thanksgiving celebration - it is too rushed to do it on Thursday evening.

We have had an amazing day.

The weather has been glorious with wall to wall sunshine and although the breeze was bracing it was too good to miss.

We headed out to Keyhaven - a place we used to love.

years ago - like 35 years ago - we used to go out there with our respective then partners to a pub called the Gun for a drink.

We decided to revisit.

First we walked along Hurst Spit and it was bracing but beautiful.

 

 

It was that special Autumnal light - beautiful and bright and the colours were just popping.

 

 

Then into the Gun for a drink and a warm by the lovely log fire

 

 

 

 

and finally a walk round Stewarts Christmas store - feeling festive.

 

 

No new scrapping but I do have a festive page made with the freebie that is available with a $10 purchase at PBP

 

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• a glorious day
• tidy cupboards ... long story!

 

Holidays are coming - well they partly CAME! And SALES!!!!!

Our house is looking festive as Nigel put many of the Christmas things round today,. So the sleeps till Santa board is up, the wreaths are all up, the reindeer are out, the nativity is out. We are looking festive ready for Advent.

I have festive news too with some great Black Friday sales.

 

Dawn Inskip has a massive sale on at her store so go check that out.

 

 

Pickleberrypop have an amazing sale too plus a wonderful collab freebie. Trust me - I have worked witht his one ... it is awesome.

 

 

 

 

Plus Fayette has an amazing new collection out

 

 

It is called Christmas with Mrs Claus and it was such fun to work with.

 

This is what I created.

 

 

Have fun shopping today. I am too pooped to shop but I will certain;y cyber shop at the weekend

 

Today I am thankful for

• CHRISTMAS
• a wonderful husband

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving and a FREE GIFT

No blog yesterday as I was away fromt he day on a course.

It was really interesting as the course was in Putney - my old stamping ground. I lived in Putney for 4 years, throughout my time at university. It was all so familiar.

But I didn't like it.

London is incredibly busy- even on the outskirts. There is just, somehow, an edge.

Would I ever go back and livein London - no no no no no

 

I love going for a day - well not a work day, a sightseeing theatre trip sort of day. There is still a childish thrill seeing the landmarks. But I wouldn't want to live there. I would miss the sea, I would miss the heath, I would miss the slower pace.

 

However I did see something remarkable. well I thought it was remarkable but I am obviously behind the times.

I saw five [parrots - yes parrots - in the tree outside the window. Course or not I wanted a picture. I thought it was amazing. Apparently not so! There are loads of them in and around places like Kingston, Putmey, Richmond, Twickenham etc.

This ISN't my photo but from this website  all about them

 

 

 

So nothing unusual but ... pardon the pun ... they brightened my day!

 

Before I ppst today's page - an answer for Linda - yes I live very lose to the Purbecks. We are in Poole so they are on our doorstep and visited often. I feel blessed to live in such a beautiful part of the world.

 

New page today is using the Believe 2 collection by Dawn Inskip. It also uses Believe - they are the perfect compliment for each other.

Nigel is very carefully checking that he has been deemed nice, not naughty

 

 

Today I want to start my thankfulness by wishing all of my readers, American or not, a very Happy Thanksgiving. As so many of our friends and family are in America we too celebrate Thanksgiving.

 

My thanks today are to all of you who read every day, who take time to comment and e mail and the many many who have become good riends through contact that started originally on here.

THANK YOU

 

and if you would like the free word art above just download the file as my Thanksgiving gift xxx

 

GRATITUDE FILE HERE Download Gratitude word art preview

There is also a transparent version include like that below

 

bitterly cold

I am reliably informed - well as reliably as weather can ever be - that it is going to get warmer. Good. It's been biting today to be honest.

A real chill in the air - but nice and seasonal and I am strating to feel very christmassy.

I even changed my playlist on my phone to be playing christmas music. And it is not even December yet.

I have a new page to share which was made for a challenge - to use only cardstock.

That is actually not a great hardship for me to be honest.

 

 

Apologies for the wonkiness again - it was too lumpy to scan.

We love the isle of Purbeck - the isle that is not an island at all.

The photos were from a couple of Sundays ago whent he weather was just too nice to stay in.

 

 

and I am still very much in love with my Cameo

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• laughter
• solving problems
• collaboration

 

and I am planning being fairly thankful for champagne soon!

 

Re-visiting Venice

No

I am not going back.

It wasn't that I didn't like Venice. I really did. I had always wanted to see it and am so pleased we went. We were also so pleased we did it as a day trip. (well two days but that was a whole other story)

There wasn't anything we felt we missed out on and we saw what we wanted to see.

But the title is more about re-visiting the Venice album rather than re-visiting the place. 

I was really pleased that within the space of a couple of months I had filled the Venice album and pleased that - just with a one day trip - i had enough photos for a whole 12 x 12 album (or 3 or 4 actually) 

 

I made an additional page for the Venice album as part of the DT work for Karen at Charmed Cards and Crafts. It uses the fabulous Graphic 45 Typography papers. 

 

 

 

I apologise for it looking a bit crooked - poor scanning and photography is to blame as it happens.

 

 

Today I am thankful for

 

• accomplishing what I set out to - hat doesn't always happen!
• A delicious lunch - beats my usual apple hands down!

 

 

 And finally - we sourced proper white lights (no blue cast) for our new table centre globe with it's frosty white pinecones.

It looks so much better now (still hard to photograph though)

 

 

 

Fixing things

Today has been a bit of a fix it day.

We have fixed our new table decoration with better lights.

We have sort of fixed the broken fence panels. Not well - but kind of. It was fearfully cold out there as we hammered and bashed and tried to make good until the new ones arrive. I am just amazed they stood as long as they did through the high winds.

Nigel has fixed the rest of the outdoor lights and I have fixed all (hopefully) the erros in my reports and have been working on timetable fixes.

Just call me Jim I think!

I have also had some fun scrapping but can't share a lot of that at the moment as it is with lush new products.

 

I did make two cute cards though..

 

 

It was from an idea of Pinterest - see it is wortht he thile.

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• fixing stuff
• Getting warm

 

 

Shopping Saturday

It has been a beautiful beautiful day here and so we headed out this morning for Christmas shopping. It was more productive than last week's trip. We browsed and bought and also visited shops we almost never go to ... never realised that poundland, the 99p store (wow ... even cheaper than Poundland) and Aldi had so much we might need! LOL No that's not where we did the christmas shopping though.

The afternoon was work - mine school, Nigel's putting the christmas lights up in readiness for next weekend. I can't believe it is almost December.

 

I have another page to share today - this time made with a kit called This is December by Two Tiny Turtles at Pickleberrypop

 

 

It was Elinor's second Christmas - the first one she really knew what it was all about.  We bought her Bob the Builder. Yes, she is a little girl but yes, she really really wanted Bob the Builder. Good girl!

 

Today I am thankful for a lovely day in every sense of the word.

 

 

That Friday Feeling

Considering I have been a whole day out all week and thought every day was a day further on that it was, I was not expecting to feel that Friday feeling today.

But I do.

It is Friday - YEY  - and time to catch up on all sorts of things.

 

Firstly I have another page made witht he lovely Believe collection by Dawn Inskip.

 

 

Nothing beats Christmas through the eyes of a child.

 

I have a super cute video to share too. Thanks so much Barb for sending this on to me

 

I hope you all enjoy it ... and stick with it - the end is so worth it.

 

 

 

 

Now I KNOW you are smiling

 

Today I am thankful for

• thoughtful cyber friends who I have never met but who touch my life and our hearts
• animals of all shapes and sizes
• Friday
• Amazon - gotta love that on line shopping

 

Have a fabulous weekend everyone

 

 

 

 

 

Feeling festive and believing in the magic

There are many many things I love about schools but one of the best has to be that working in a school, especially a Junior School, you get to prepare for Christmas way way way in advance.

And for someone like me who loves everything about Christmas, that is an absolute joy.

So yes, I am feeling festive already

 

And so when I saw Dawn's new collection, called rather perfectly, 'Believe' I was very excited.

 

 

I love this photo of Emily when she was little

 

 

The collection would be fab for hybrid work too - I plan on making some cards with it.

 

Today I am thankful for

• things falling into place
• central heating

 

Smiling and a bit of a reveal

Some days are good days.

They are horrible stressful days that you don't want to repeat - but they are good days.

Having spent a fair bit of the day at hospital with Nigel - which was fairly horrible and stressful, the end result is a good one and so, stressful and horrible, but a good day.

Thank you all for your kind words, positive e mails and lovely support. You worked your power!

 

Now - I have a bit of a reveal today

You may remmeber that I was a happy bunny at the start of half term as I had a super lush DT collection from Karen at Charmed Cards and Crafts. She is always so generous and it is a joy yo be able to create for her.

I was working with a fabulous Graphic 45 collection - Typography and I have one of my creations to share.

You can buy the products over at her store here

 

This first page uses a vintage photo. Goodness that sounds hoprrid. How can I be so old that photos of me as a child are vintage!

 

I used the original and it was one of those small square photos - I took them all out of albums a while ago so they didn't deteriorate any more than they already had. I have lots of colour photos of me growing up but still a fair number of black and white as well. I have no idea why they used colour film sometimes and black and white at others. I can only guess it was a cost issue.

 

 

 

The photo is of my older cousin Ann and I on our way to Caroline.

Caroline was our caravan in Wales - nice and handy from the Midlands. She was based at Abberdovey and we always spent every holiday there (bit bleak in the winter but heck - it was a holiday)

 

We always used to travel there via Horseshoe Pass and would stop to feed the sheep ... or int he case of this photo stop to feed Karen to the sheep!

 

 

I had fun with lots f white stamping on the black card and the vintage elements were just perfect for a photo THAT OLD!!!

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• being home safely with the worry lifted and a hubby who, though uncomfortable, is healthier than I feared.  I can't think of anything I could be more thankful for.