Dolly's Dreamings

The calm before the storm

It's been gorgeous here - very mild at 10 degrees and lots of sunshine, but it is all set to change with gale-force winds and heavy rain. So we made the most of today and went out to Poole Park to put Nigel's new camera through its paces - and it is good. It is the grown-up version of my little Panasonic Lumix and it is really really good. I hope it will re-awaken the photographer in him. He used to like taking photos but these days he only ever takes them on holiday and even then doesn't take many. I am hoping now he has a super-duper new camera he will take more. He has a very good eye and so the few he takes are always cracking. we will see.

It was gorgeous in the park. We took our lunch - delicious fresh baked bread he made. Oh yes - he is a man of many talents!

I finished two commission portraits on Friday and they have been sent off to what I hope will be a very happy customer. Please consider me if you are thinking of having your pets painted. I will

share these two once the person has received them.

We were meant to go to the cinema Friday to see 1917 but I wasn't very well so we had a quiet day instead (and I spent much of it in bed) but was all better Saturday.

I have new scrapping to share - of course. My aim is to do at least one page a day this year (and hopefully not too many more though that isn't going well as I have made more than 30 this month so far!)

These are two Grand Canyon pages (there will be more int he fullness of time as it was a terrific trip)

 

 

 

 

This one was based on a page I did for a previous holiday album and really liked so decided to scraplift it. it is a good page to get a series of photos on

 

 

 

and this is another using one of my all time favourite collections - Simple Stories Vintage Traveller

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• a lovely day
• fresh baked bread
• sunlight

 and I share these amazing works of street art (Yup Bored Panda again)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just some random scrapping

As schools go back I am still, three years in, relishing the fact I am no longer teaching. 

 

I miss the children - sometimes - but I miss precious little else. I certainly don't miss being piggy in the middle with parents wanting one thing, staff wanting another, governors wanting another and trying to balance all three whilst really only caring about what was right for the children I had promised to do the best for. It wasn't easy and much of the time it wasn't fun. So heck - I hope all my teacher friends enjoyed their half term and I am glad I am NOT going back.

 

Some random loveliness because I am at home and NOT at work then.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And some new scrapping to share too (see you get to do more of that when you don't work too)

 

This one isn't new but I realised I hadn't posted it and she is my little girl and she deserves to be posted

 

 

 

 

 

And it wouldn't have been fair to have one and not the other now would it!

 

 

 

and finally - late because it is now past Halloween - but heck - this was our Hollywood and Vile -  sorry Hollywood and VINE - dinner with Mickey and Minnie last year at Disney Hollywood Studios. It was nice to see the characters dressed up for Halloween but it was our worst dining experience of the Disney part of the trip. It wasn't our worst dining experience of the entire trip - that record is still held by Enzo's Pizza in Lincoln which was an unmitigated disaster and didn't even have the redeeming feature of characters.!

 

I don't like this page as I don't like Daisy Duck. I have no idea why but I find her quite scary!

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• Not having to go back to school
• retirement and scrapping time.
• Poole

 

And these were just some great ideas I found on the internet -why are they not mandatory everywhere.

Easy way to see which cubicle is free - mind you in the ladies there are usually NONE free.

 

 

Much lighter weight cast and lets the air circulate

 

 

 

 

Parking bay lines continuing up the wall - everywhere should have then. So simple and yet so effective.

 

Flushing the toilet by pressing a pedal with your foot NOT using your hand appeals to me

 

 a disabled swing - such a good idea

 

 

 

this would stop everyone knocking everyone else's doors

 

 

 

This one I am not sure about - it would kind of take the fun away!

First Traveller's Notebook

I have finally completed my first - very basic - Traveller's Notebook of our trip last year.

The idea is that I will try and do one for our next trip as it happens but I thought I would do a dummy run of one as a practice.

The point of this one was to see if I could do really really quick sketches spending no more than 10 minutes per sketch as this is a way I can meld art and scrapping together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last part of the holiday was all Disney for 12 days so rather than do it daily I did a page for each park and then some general pages

 

 

 

 

I have learned a great deal from thee process. I have learned that I am not good at 10 minute sketches. I have learned not to draw horses, I have learned that my purple ink runs when wet, I have learned not to write so much and I have learned that I like this new project.

 

We will see how it goes when it is done in hotel rooms though!!! Obviously without photos. I am NOT taking a printed with me. The paints and brushes are enough.

 

Today I am thankful for

• a hobby where I can meld my hobbies together - kind of
• Autumn - I love Autumn so much - it has the best light and the best feel

 

 

And I found these on line and they were fascinating - no idea if they are true

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Class catch up

I have been busy scrapping but it is new stuff not for release yet that I cann0t quite share and so I have delved and found things I haven't shared but are now legitimately 'out there'.

 

Way back we had an awesome cyber crop at A Trip Down Memory Lane. It coincided with the release of Toy Story 4 (I am still in two minds about that one, to be honest ... I didn't like Bo Peep and didn't like that Woody left the gang)  but it was so much fun to have classes and challenges Toy Story Themed so I will share a few of my things over the next couple of days.

 

I hosted a class called Mr and Mrs Potato Head and they insist it was nothing to do with the way Nigel and I looked in photos - honestly. It was based around the gorgeous Kissing Booth Collection from Simple Stories that I love so much so I was thrilled to use it for a class. 

You can find the class instructions HERE if you want to have a go yourself. It doesn't need to be with the same papers.

 

This was my first page. I loved the idea of using a jigsaw piece and so that was what I set out to do - there are templates in the instructions too.

See we don't look too like the potato heads!

 

 

It was a bit fiddly to cut but great fun to play with. You need to select your photo carefully though as it probably wouldn't look good across someone's face.

 

 

This was the second page

The colours worked so well for our niece's wedding in June. And of course, it was love-themed. And no - they don't look like Mr and Mrs Potato head either!

 

 

 

 

 

And this was the third which also included a small mini-book for extra photos

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do go and check out the class and, if you do make one of the pages, I would love you to share what you make both with me and with A Trip Down Memory Lane.

 

Today I am thankful for

• being on a design team I love so much with gorgeous things to play with
• a busy - but very enjoyable day

 

And just some cool stuff I spotted ... I thinkt hey are very clever

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I appear to live in a laundry

I wash clothes all the time - I don't iron often!

Most of our things - if I dry them carefully - don't need ironing. But somehow I had a basket full of ironing this week. 

I put it off because of my ribs but today it had to be tackled.  We needed the clothes!

 

Actually ironing is one of the few chores I enjoy. It has instant gratification! If you dust or polish it doesn't really look any different. I don't hoover (long story - chores divided up when we first married - he got floors!) so ironing has instant results and I love the smell of clean linen and the look of everything neat and crease-free. So it wasn't too bad really.

 

I did find a little time for scrapping too.

 

It was my turn to set the challenge on UKS and until I actually made my own page for it I didn't realise it was as hard as it was with so many things to be included. Sorry ladies. I was pleased with this page of our niece on her wedding day though using Dita B products from Pickleberrypop.

I have also made a few pages for the FTLOPP winter challenge. I have decided to make an 8 x 8 album and have 4 pages so far - all very simple

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• scrapping time
• clean clothes all ironed.

 

And these amazing photos were on bored panda today, none of which were photoshopped - just the right angle at the right time.

This viaduct is in the UK

 

 

 

 

 

perfect timing

 

a special process where the reflection is different

 

The importance of shadows - a levitating horse

 

 

 

tallest bus in the world

 

 

 

 

apparently it broke like this

 reflections and surface tension

 

 

from a doorway in a tent

 

 

 

 

Wyoming - called the highway to heaven

perfect placement

 

even the water is an elephant

perfect pole placement

 

perfect timing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making the most of a day

Goodness me - not like us at all.

By 11 am this morning we had taken my car in for a service (boy that is an expensive game these days) collected it back three hours later washed and done, been to the hospital for blood tests for Nigel, changed the bed, done the housework, been and dropped charity goods off, been for a Starbucks and made a scrapbook page and all before I am usually up and about. 

So THAT's what early days are like.

 

I do have new scrapping to share but I have also a lot of new scrapping I cannot share - new classes for ATDML and they are lovely papers and goodies to work with. If you are thinking of buying a kit - they are lovely.

 

I had great fun with this one - a lovely cut file from Paige Evans and a cut file I recoloured with inks and watercolours. 

 

 

 

I loved scrapping these photos of the family as we were all looking at what to have for lunch. The photos just made me laugh.

 

 

 

and this was a rather failed attempt at mixed media - I knew what I was aiming at but didn't quite pull it off.

 

Today - and it is only half way through I am thankful for

• a productive morning
• jobs completed and leisure time ahead
• sunshine - it is a glorious day

I loved these ...

 

 

 and I just have to share these

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A special day

It was my best friend's daughter's 30th birthday this weekend and there was an amazing party yesterday.

She loves Glastonbury - well any festival really - and so it was a festival style party in her parents garden with bunting and lights and pinatas and live music and even festival bands for our wrists.

It was really lovely and so nice to see everyone. I think she had a wonderful da and although we didn't stay until the end we had a fab time and were thrilled to wish her a happy birthday. Proud to have spent all of her significant birthdays with her and her lovely family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And I can now share the book I made for her to fill with pictures from her birthday thanks to a great tutorial from Cal Summers

 

 

 

 

 

Oh and I made this this morning

 

I also did a craft fair - not a great day. It is a fair that has been running for years and years as an antique and bric a bracfair and so people were NOT in the mood to look for crafts. Still - you have to be in it to win it even if you do lose! 

 

Today I am thankful for

• a lovely party
• special people
• laughing until I almost disgraced myself at the craft fair with Nigel - we do laugh A LOT
• almost coming to terms with the mess that is state of our parliament - almost. I am so sick of it and so sick of the country being held to ransome by self grandising MPs on all sides of the house. Children behave better. 

 

 

A chilled end to the week

I love that our weekends start on a Thursday ... and last until Tuesday night!

Yesterday was quite a chilled day and I read the latest Mark Edwards book which was very good. I also did my first gouache painting ... haven't taken a photo of it yet - and watched the last episode of The Handmaid's Tale which was good.

Today we cleaned house and shopped and went to see the new film It Chapter 2 which I thought was much better than It - much better story running through it. The needlessly graphic violence int he first scene was horrible though - well it sounded horrible. I had my eyes shut. 

I have a bit of new scrapping to share.

 

This is a paper page made for a UKS challenge

My American folks!

 

 

And this was for a challenge on Pickleberrypop and features my cousin's gorgeous granddaughter. She is just so pretty.

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• just a lovely couple of days

 

And I happened on these which I just thought were very clever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New toy

I have been struggling a bit recently for a variety of reasons and so we ordered a cheer Karen up and make her feel better present and it came today.

My Silhouette was 6 years old and was acting up and the latest Windows upgrade finally did for it as it messed with the USB it needed. So a new silhouette Cameo was ordered and arrived today and I went for the black and am thrilled. It looks very smart and it works! result. 

 

 

I was busy with a mess of things today but did manage to scrap this afternoon - a page that worked for the Mind the Scrap week 4 and for the UKS weekly. I love it when things combine like that.

 

 

The dog is one I fell in love with when we were on the wareham river cruise. He was adorable.

The other new scrapping I have done cannot be shared just yet as it is for the new releases at Pickleberrypop and I have to tell you they are lush this month.

 

Today I am thankful for

• medication which seems to be working
• a new Cameo
• sunshine - always lifts the soul

and I found these whilst surfing -really amazing innovative designs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A bit of a square moment

It's been a busy few days just catching up on the everyday things of life but, of course, I have managed to slot in some scrapping too and have a couple of pages to share.

This is one I made this morning. I am taking part in a summer holidays challenge and this week one of the aspects is using square photos, which I am loving. However, this page was a bit of a square frenzy.

 

 

I used some much loved Lily Kate Basic grey but - and this was a good but - I used the supply sheet which has small blocks of all of the papers and just cut out squares from that (so I didn't have to use the actual Basic Grey - I can keep it and continue to stroke it!)

It took ages to glue them all on and then faux stitch but I was quite pleased with it in the end. 

I also uploaded this which was another page made for the challenges at ATDML

 

My little boy - studying!

 

Today I am thankful for

• catching up on things I needed to do
• Quiet times
• Kindle Unlimited - enjoying the extra reading.

 

I shared some beautiful embroidery style tattoos the other day - these are not so pretty but my goodness you can appreciate the artistic talent that has gone into them