Dolly's Dreamings

I could get used to this

I could get used to this not working lark.

Oh wait.

I can get used to it.

 

Yesterday I got my retirement gift of my iPad Pro and I love it already. I am an apple girl through and through and so a new apple product works like a dream. You simply back up and whoosh - it's all synced.

I am loving the pencil. As a serial doodler and colourer I am going to love it. And I am so glad they bought out the 9.7. I would never have bought one if it was full size.

 

Today I sorted all my work clothes out - and they are no longer in my wardrobe. I am officially a slob!

I also started on our photobook as I had an email to remind me my credits need to be used up. This one is an animal photobook. No frills - just photos and my goodness do we have a lot of really nice animal photos. OK so they are largely big cats - lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, pallas cats, pumas etc etc But there are a few other animals too - merekats, giraffe, deer, elk, chimps, apes, lemurs, elephants, butterflies. We love them all.

 

I am also guilty of an afternoon nap with my little Fiki monster. I haven't slept well for a few weeks with all that has been going on so today I went and lay ont he bed to read with my boy - who am I kidding. I KNEW I would nap! I am NOT going to make a habit of that though.

 

I have new scrapping to share today made with a  fabulous new bundle by Dawn Inskip called snap happy here, here and here

 

The pictures are from Ghent from Graffiti street which we loved.

 

 

 

Dawn also has special offers on today for Something Old Something New.  One of the items is a mixed media template set which is amazing - you can find her bargains here

 

 

and this is a page I made with it - another Ghent page funnily enough but from a previous trip

 

 

I have a video to share today too. I never share images of the girls etc unless they are int he public domain as they are not mine to share. However this video has been on facebook and are on You Tube so I have copied it here. It is part of the concert they staged for me and as it is where the whole Junior School sing together and it is mind-blowingly awesome. Well it blew my mind.

They sing two songs - I got the Power in me which is totally amazing - and also a song where my own class re-wrote the words for me.

 

Enjoy - I am so proud of the girls.

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• relaxation
• tidiness
• such a wonderful send off - still in awe

 

Forever

The title of the blog post isn't how long today has seemed - though that would work. I do feel shattered after 1 day back. It has been a full on day with so much going on and I have another couple of hours left to work yet. So yes I am tired and yes today seems like forever, but actually it refers to the page I am sharing.

 

This is a page made for the weekly challenge on UKS last week when I had time to scrap.

I was also inspired by one of the classes over at ATDML with a pie chart.

It was a more complex page than I intended as I decided - no idea why - to cut the pie chart out of the black card on the silhouette and infill with different papers.

 

 

The challenge also needed to have a heart and a script word. In my sorting out I found the word Forever - a very old making memories rub on. I used to love those rub ons and have a serious amount of them. Note to self - use them up.

 

 

I wrote a suitable bible verse around the edge of the circle and also added faux stitching.

 

 

It was so special to be at the ceremony the night there had been atrocities in Brussels - it made it doubly moving. I was so touched by the fact this ceremony goes on every single day and - god willing - will go on forever as a tribute tot he fallen.

 

Today I am thankful for

• several big jobs tackled and completed.
• my shocking tummy ache and head ache starting to recede. I hope it isn't a bug coming. I simply do not have time.

 

 

 

Sunny days and runny eyes

I am so going to have to get my hayfever sorted out.

It has been a glorious day (way better than yesterday that saw me eat both lunch and dinner at my desk and I was at work for almost 14 hours with no break ... grim ... and hence why there was no blog post yesterday. ) And so I came home topless - the car of course, not actually me, and then I went and sat on the patio with Nigel for a quarter of an hour. Result - I have been sitting with cold cotton wool pads on my eyes trying to undo the damage caused by the pollen. How stupid am I?

It was nice to feel a bit of sun though.

 

I have a new page to share today - another made for the Holland and Belgium album which is filling well

It was made a few weeks ago and was for a challenge

 

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• sunshine - even though I am paying the price
• almost half term. I am awfully tired
• a canvas we ordered for the bedroom arriving - it's lush

Another gorgeous day - I think

I was work bound and indoors all day but on my brief forays outside between buildings it looked like a lovely day.

So lovely my wonderful hubby pressure washed the patio and steps and they look fabulous.

 

One day I might get to use them!

 

It is a quick work week post today of a page I made a while ago.

It is another for the Belgium and Holland album.

 

The trip was primarily to celebrate out 30th wedding anniversary and when we checked in tot he hotel in Ghent they asked if we were there for any special reason. We said yes our anniversary and when they asked how many years they seemed quite shocked. Obviously it was my age shocked them - I must have been a mere child when I wed, clearly!

 

Anyway, when we returned to our room after sightseeing we had a knock on the door and it was the manager with a bottle of champagne, some chocolates and a card from the staff. It was such a wonderful and touching thing to do and quite made our trip.

 

 

 

 

as always there is lots of stitching - real and faux

 

 

 

 

 

today I am thankful for

• sunshine
• sorting
• a project going well thus far
• taking Ruby to school

 

and finally some more of those gorgeous teeny tiny quotes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Busy day in all sorts of ways

I have caught up on a mess of stuff and ready to start a new week with a clear - well almost clear - desk.

I also managed to make a page for SLYMI #15 which was a challenge to use black and white.

 

 

The page documents the fact we wanted to stay in Ghent overnight so we could see the buildings floodlight at night. It was a very strange experience. The old city bustles with tourists duringt he day and we expected it to be the same at night too. We had experienced Bruges at night and it was still very busy.

Ghent was completely different.

It was empty at night. As we walked the streets after dinner there was almost no-one else about. Plus not many of the buildings were illuminated (unlike Bruges where they were all lit)

I was glad we saw it - but it was an odd experience.

 

Today I am thankful for

• catch up day
• a little scrapping time
• summer coming - the toes are painted! One day I may even wear open toed shoes!

 

 

OK definitely Florida

So I thought this might be humid like Florida.

Well today took that to a new level.

I am certainly in Florida now.

It is hot and humid and sticky and then - as I arrived home - the sky was black and we have just had a massive thunder storm and Florida style rain - real proper tropical rain.

 

So I am sure I must be in Florida.

 

So my next question is .....

where have all the palm trees gone and why can't I go to Disney?

 

Today's page is another made a while ago - actually made weeks ago - for the Belgium and Holland album

 

It documents how we love to laugh and how we laughed when we had the most gorgeous looking waffle and yet it was so hard it snapped the cutlery - but Nigel was undaunted!

 

 

 

I love the way he is using the tiny snapped off plastic blade

 

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• the cold sore isn't any better but it is not MUCH worse
• cooling down
• a convertible car
• tomorrow being Ruby Friday!

 

and finally some gorgeous miniature quotes - beautiful sentiments and stunning art work

 

 

 

 

 

I'd never really manage it - or would I?

It's been very humid today. Humid without the sunshine for the most part.

I hate the humidity.

I am not sure I would ever cope with Florida humidity full time ... or would I. Well, I would have an air conditioned car, I would have air conditioning at work, I would have an air conditioned home and I could go in the pool. Yeh - I guess I would cope!

I have a new page to share today made a little while ago and - at last - it is the title page for the Belgium and Netherlands album.

I love doing title pages but I find I often have to wait until the album is getting established before they 'come to me'.

 

I started by googling maps of the places we went and the route we took. I had to screen shot the map in several parts and then digitally stitch it together.

 

 

The cardstock colour was dictated by the map colour - the sea.

I then drew our route on the map digitally before printing.

 

The trip was to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary so that kind of had to be the title.

 

 

I stitched the map and paper to the background and added thickers and the word Adventure that was from a digital kit and printed onto cardstock.

 

 

There is a lot of fussy cutting on this page. The luggage label was also hybrid and printed onto card.

 

I added pictures of some of the places we visited that seemed to sum up the trip

 

 

and the little button just summed up things so well. That is also digital and just printed out.

 

The album is almost complete for now - there are a few more pages I want to tackle but it is going to make its way to the cupboard for a while ... probably until school finishes.

 

Dawn has a sale on with so many of her products she is retiring.

Please do check it out

The bargains are immense.  You can find it here

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• a successful day with great teamwork
• drizzle that at least keeps the pollen down

 

Away ... not with the fairies

 

I am posting this in advance as, all being well, I am away with ... well not with the fairies but a lot of excited girls.

 

If all has gone to plan I should be on the Isle of Wight - hopefully in sunshine - having a  whale of a time with lots of excited children doing all manner of amazing things in the sunshine. If it hasn't I am cold and wet and longing to be home and suffering from sleep deprivation.

 

I am sharing a page made a little while ago

 

 

It was made for one of the challenges on UKS and features one of my favourite pictures from our Holland and Belgium trip. I so wanted to take a picture of a bike on a bridge and figured we would have to look hard for it. Turns out not so much. They were everywhere, but this was a nice bike and a nice view.

 

It was take in Ghent not in Amsterdam. I really didn't like Amsterdam!

 

 

I used lots of stamps and some very very very old papers and the alphabet was one of the first I ever had in an old Hot off the Press book. Does anyone remember those?

 

Hopefully today I will be thankful for

• being more than half way through my trip
• hopefully staying dry and warm this year

 

 

No pressure Sunday

All too often Sunday passes in a  bit of a frenzy as I realise I have to return to work the next day, but a Bank Holiday means no pressure. (and I only have 8 more Sundays ever where I panic as I have to go back to work the next day and so must get EVERYTHING done on the Sunday.

I really cannot quite believe it.

 

I have been a proper scrapper today and made three paper pages, all for the Belgium and Netherlands album which is looking quite good now and has 15 pages completed.

 

This is one of the pages I made today

 

 

The papers are from one of my favourite paper pads ever - bought in America a couple of years ago - a My Mind's Eye pad and I love the colours.

 

The photo was another windmill taken from the car as we drove by

 

I made a journal block and printed it and used various supplied by Lorie M at Pickleberrypop

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• a nice walk down the brick path to the supermarket. I love that walk. It is like we live in a little village as we walk across the heath to do our shopping. Just wonderful
• my hair being long enough now to tie back when I need to
• my nose slowly starting to be a little less red
• a tidy craft room - well tidier.

 

and some very funny examples of vandalism at its best!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and the person who did this in a store is soooo clever

 

 

 

It's England ... of course it's changeable

Yesterday I froze ...seriously.

There was no heating on and it was C_O_L_D

I felt chilled to the bone.

Today - Oh so different.

It was warm and bright and sunny and lovely and we even went for a walk which was a real treat.

English weather.

Nothing quite like it eh!

 

I have a new page to share today which is another for the digital album .. this time of our trip to Ghent and using a  fab kit by Heather T called A Taste for Travel

 

 

I loved using something really different like a candy stripe in a  lush pink on a travel page.

 

Today I am thankful for

• sunshine to warm the old bones
• someone to work through a problem with - we didn't resolve it - we still have number that don't add up - but we will get there.

 

 

and oh - those good old days eh!