Dolly's Dreamings

It's a lovely Sunday

It's been a  nice weekend here. Not weatherwise of course. That hasn't been awesome. But other than that, lovely.

My best friend turned 60 and we went for a socially distanced picnic which was lovely.

 

 

 

 

I enjoy teasing her because for 6 weeks of the year she is a whole number higher than me. I will be joining the 60 club next month.

 

I was able to give her the card and present I had made. I painted her beautiful cat for her birthday and I think she was pleased with it. I hate seeing people get my art work as I am always very critical of what I have made.

 

 

 

We had such a laugh Friday night too at our family Quiz night. Sarah and Jerry set a fabulous quiz and one round was movie posters or pictures with our faces on - they were so well done and utterly hilarious.

Nigel, Sid Ant and Chris featured in this

 

This is my 'other mom' rocking it in style

 

Elly made a picture perfect Dorothy

 

Chris and Sam - a great love affair

 

 

and this was hilarious - esecially since the very thought of me singing is more like a horror film for anyone to be witness to.

 

It was such a laugh.

 

A little scrapping today

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• a lovely weekend
• a social distancing picnic
• cooler weather (I like the sun but not the heat)
• fresh strawberries from our neighbours garden

 

 

 

Design Team work .. from the past

There has been little new scrapping that I can share over the last couple of days. I have been busy living (and working) making those memories to scrap so haven't done much scrapping ... well at least not things I can share just yet. 

So I have some older scrapping that I wasn't able to share until now.

A little while ago I was invited to guest design for Charmed Cards and Crafts. I was thrilled to have been asked and had such fun making projects for Karen and her store.

She sent me an amazing pack of the Graphic 45 Deluxe Collectors Edition Tropical Travelogue

I had such fun playing with it making such a collection of pages. I loved that there were blues and greens and brights and then also more subtle things. I added nothing to these pages - no extra embellishments, just the papers an stickers included int he kit - and quite a lot of fussy cutting.

 

I won't bore you with all of them today - I will split this over two posts as it will be quite picture heavy and heck - that's tough!

This was one fo the first I made. I loved the colours that were in the collection and this page used a mess of fussy cut flowers from one of the papers.

 

 

 

You can see that better in a  couple of the close-ups

 

 

 

 

This page is in complete contrast - focusing on the wild and green and jungle aspects of the collection

 

It begged to be used for zebra pictures

 

 

This third page seems to be a combination with some jungle bits but a vacation theme

 

 

 

 

And this one different again - I love the borders that come in the Graphic 45 range - they lend themselves being cut out and used in different ways

 

The pictures are of Mom and me - they were taken about 20 years apart when Mom was about 26 and I was 16 ... I made everything int he picture of me black and white except me so it was more in keeping with Mom's picture. My Daddy carried this picture in his wallet until the day he died. I am not surprised - she looks gorgeous

 

 

 

I loved using the little leather effect journal

 

 

and finally today a couple of the cards I made

 

 

 

 

You can see why I loved working with the collection

 

Today I am thankful for

• being asked to guest design
• having gorgeous things to work with
• Autumn - still my favourite time of year

 

And yes- bored panda - perfect for Autumn evenings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas cards

Now we are officially Christmas bound (and I do love this season so very very much - always have done) I feel I can share Christmassy things with you.

 

Sue on UKS ran a super countdown to Christmas and I was asked to provide three things - which I happily did. I won't share all three here because one was the Elf on the Shelf you have seen already but I will share the other two and today I start with simple simple Christmas Cards.

It is still time to make some of those handmade cards you have been procrastinating over and these are really simple.

There is a PDF at the end but this is the text if you don't want to bother downloading the PDF

 

 

I am drawn to simplicity and I have some ideas for very quick and simple Christmas cards today … all based on the fact that Christmas trees are JUST triangles.

They all work on the same principle – cut elongated triangles out of paper or card and make them into trees.

This first card has trees cut from kraft card stock and then embossed  to give some relief. The Kraft card was covered with a squared of textured red patterned paper and I added a strip of kraft cut with a border punch and some very thin red satin ribbon. The trees were mounted on foam squares. I had some plastic res stars which made good tree toppers.

 

 

This one was the same elongated triangle cut from patterned paper and then double mounted on cream card and more patterned paper. I decorated the card with strips of coordinating papers, added the tree raised up on foam squares and a stamped Christmas greeting.

 

This one was cut from a My Mind’s Eye pattered and glittered paper and mounted on scallop shapes for a different twist.

 

These were die cut triangles  again kept very simple just cut in Kraft card and double mounted on cream and kraft. The sewing adds that little bit more dimension to the finished card.

 

 

This is a less elongated tree and I really liked playing with non traditional Christmas colours. The black and white was a sophisticated twist and I used black stamping on the bottom of the card below a scallop edged strip of cardstock.

 

These cards are really quick and simple, a great way to use up scraps and the variations you can come up with are endless.

 

You don't really need the PDF but if you want it it is here   Download Simple Christmas Cards by Scrapdolly

 

Now having said all that I still have cards I need to make too and I might just replicate these simple Christmas trees this year.
Have fun creating

 And it's the first of December so the house is starting to look Christmassy

 

 

But I also have a challenge page I made that had to be for another season. I opted to use pictures from last year's trip to Disneyland and a collection by Dita B Designs. The challenge was to use black and white photos, but I couldn't resist leavingt he spot colour on.

 

Today I am thankful for

• having the chance to share my work
• a gorgeous lunch - thanks to my hubby
• December - love that Christmassy feeling

 

 

 

Save

Save

It's new all round

Today has been a day of newness.

Much of it has been setting up my new iPhone. In fairness that works like a dream - all the apps copy over etc. The trouble is that to use them you have to re-log in. There by hangs a tale.

Oh my it has taken forever to figure out the passwords for everything, the login details etc but now, thankfully, all is sorted. There was one casualty of the new install. I use a programme called Day One and it no longer works with the new version of Ios. Needless to say, there is a new version but it's £31 a year and the reviews say that it doesn't transfer all the old stuff. I have kept the diary for four years on my devices and I will eb sad to lose it all. I have lost it on my phones and when I update the software on my iPad I will lose it there too. It's just such a shame. It was also a photo a day - every day - for the past four years. I guess I will  live with the loss but it is such a shame.

Other new things have been new Digital kits to work with which has been great fun.

 

The first is a kit called Kindred by Jennifer Labre Designs

 

I made this page of the ever gorgeous Alice and he partner. They are such a cute couple.

 

 

Then I also worked witht his collection calle look out of the window  by Dita B Designs

 

 

In addition to that Dawn has her Artsitry collection on special today only so go check that out in her store

 

and finally I even made a new card using the Countdown to Christmas post today - such a neat idea.

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• all technology being set up now - phew. It's scary how much we rely on it all.

Christmas came

This time last week I had just fetched Nigel from the hospital

Today we have been out for the first time in over a month. And he is getting stronger every day.

I have finished the term I thought would never end and we are both smiling. The stress levels are slowly coming down.

The term and the illness have taken their toll on me as well as Nigel and I collapsed last night and was asleep by 8!

We went to Winchester today for a little Christmas shopping, because that is something else we haven't done this far.

I managed to get some lovely gifts. We didn't walk far - just enough - and even popped to Reeves... our favourite bakery

 

We had something to eat at Nandos and life feels good.

 

I have a card to share today - penguins for the Rooks - made with X-Mas collection by Paty Greif

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• recovery
• holidays
• Christmas shopping

• looking at all the lovely lights on the way home.

 

Out Out

I never go out mid week. Not on a  work night. Not never!

And it is true I am back now and working but I had a lovely time out.

I was whisked off to The White Stuff sale with my buddy and we had fun shopping and trying on and buying.

Then I went to Wagamama which I had never been to before and will most certainly be going back to. I loved my dinner.

 

 

so full of flavour, just the right spice and totally delicious. I felt 'naughty' to be out on a school night and that felt good in its own way. We had a great time and although it means I will have to work later - it was worth it.

 

I have a card to share today - made for a friend's big birthday.

Simple but effective and the main thing was that she loved it.

 

 

 

Today I have learnt

• it is good to escape and play and have fun
• I like Wagamama
• Best friends are awesome

 

Today I am thankful for

• new experiences
• shopping and playing and having fun
• my bestie

What a lovely start ... and a farewell

Holidays are here and I already feel lazy.

I had to go into work for a short visit this morning but now - I am officially OFF

 

We had a lazy frap a lazy mooch round some shops and a lazy lunch and a lazy afternoon. I can see a theme developing here.

I have new crafting to share too ...

I had to say farewell to a much loved colleague this week (though I will still see him often)

I wanted to make him something special but I found it really hard to create something for a man. I am so used to covering everything with flowers and butterflies that it was hard to embellish without them. But I was quite pleased with what I made int he end.

He is a chemist first and foremost  - hence the design.

It is a canvas for the wall with lots of distressing and stitching and stuff.

 

 

It is always a bit worrying when you give a homemade gift in case people don't like it - but thankfully he did

 

 

 

 

and the card was - of course - homemade too

 

 

Sometimes people come in to your life and make a real difference and whilst they may move they are never really gone.

 

Today I am thankful for

• friendship and laughter and support
• farewells that are not forever
• holidays

 

 

and finally - a beautiful video or two to share

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations card

Another glorious day here and we popped out for a while after the electrician had been to fix our broken bathroom light. Not as simple as a light-bulb - of course we had tried that - but the transformer that drives the light with integral extractor fan. Life used to be so much simpler didn't it.

 

We sat for a while at Sandbanks and it was one of the most amazing things ever to see the sea mist roll in and it went from gloriously sunny to being totally unable to see Brownsea Island. Very bizarre. And of course, a quarter of a mile inland it was still gloriously sunny.

 

I have a card to share today. It was shared last week at The Great Scheme of Things blog (do keep checking it out)

I made it for a very good friend who had secured a fabulous new job. I was so happy for him and this card kind of said it all. It is always quite hard to make cards for men I feel, so I was quite pleased with this one.

 

There were so many layers and plastic pop up bits.

 

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• colouring books and journals
• wallpaper samples (you have to be there to get that one)
• sunshine

 

and finally some amazing miniature images by Lorraine Loots - yes I have been on Bored Panda again!

 

She is so incredibly talented.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank goodness it is Friday

I think it is fair to say I am always glad when it is Friday - never more so than this week.

I am shattered.

I think I have been running on adrenalin all week and it has caught up with me. I have bad earache and am just so tried so I am planning a weekend of rest and recuperation and hopefully some crafting.

I am pretty much ready for my first craft fair which is in just three weeks time - I have lots of stock made, have my displays, my signs, my products, my banners and my enthusiasm. I am excited and nervous and hope to goodness I sell something - anything. Or what am I to do with 200 cards, 20 brooches, two dozen bookmarks, loads of frames and plaques and hanging hearts!

Fingers crossed - though I don't expect to do very well the first time. If I sell a few items I will be happy.

 

These are a couple of the cards I have made for sale.

 

 

The background is all pearl and shimmery but it doesn't show up on here

 

 

You get the general idea.

 

Today I am thankful for

• Friday
• rest
• the good wishes of so many people who read this blog .... thank you x

 

 

 

 

Busy and a brief respite

Today has been another full on work day apart from a brief respite for a walk.

Nigel came in with me and we worked for a couple of ours on my room and then we went for a walk along through the gardens and along the beach just to show I did do something nice on my Sunday.

It was a glorious day and less cold than it has been and we had an enormous ice-cream. Bad for the diet - good for the soul.

 

 

 

 

 

 

and you can see us in this big random silver sphere.

 

 

and today a card to share made before the madness
began

 

 

The dragonfly has nice velum wings

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• feeling more on top of things
• a great helpmate with ingenious ideas

 

 

Mmmm - our cats don't like us not paying them the required amount of attention.