Dolly's Dreamings

Sunny Sunday

It is glorious here again today after two days of a bit of rain - sadly I think we need more rain but heck - I don't complain.

 

It's been an odd two days as no exercise which is unusual. I have no idea why but my ankle just gave up. It is my very damaged ankle - I smashed it quite literally to bits when I was 12 and it's been an ongoing issue. I have also fractured it again since then three years ago. However, it holds up pretty well all things considered except yesterday I couldn't move it, couldn't stand on it, couldn't do anything. I hadn't fallen, twisted, slipped etc it just 'went' It wasn't swollen but hurt as bad as when I last fractured it. It is a little easier today but very odd.

 

Still sitting down and scrapping was OK!

Before I get to scrapping someone asked how long we quarantine stuff for. We have a standard three day rule and it is very exciting when things we had forgotten come out of quarantine. Food that isn't perishable goes into quarantine, anything else from the supermarket plus post and anything anyone leaves for us.

 

It has been the A Trip Down Memory Lane cybercrop this weekend and I can finally share some of the pages. This was my class for them and the three pages I made as a design team member for the class using gorgeous Bo Bunny Papers. Do go over the blog HERE where you can find full instructions for my class, a further 6 classes and loads of challenges. It is free and fun and you ought not to miss it really.

 

 

 

This was meeting a friend Kay who is also ont he design team for Pickleberrypop and we met up with her in Albuquerque

 

and my wonderful godson and his beautiful wife, currently enjoying life in Japan.

 

I have also made the first of the birthday pages for the CFH

 

Pink for a girl

 

 

 

Blue for a boy

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• another lovely day - Nigel is treating it like a holiday and whilst it does get to me at times, most of the time I can pretend too. He makes me laugh as he says they keep spoiling his holiday talking about the virus. We are happy in our little bubble as long as we don't overthink the world.
• my ankle being easier
• lots of scrapping time

 

 

These things always make me laugh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and finally - cats and jigsaws. I feel the pain of these people - we experience similar when we do jigsaws

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good Friday Greetings

I was so grateful for technology this morning - as I am every day - as obviously I couldn't go to church today and Good Friday is always absolutely key for me but I could stream my worship and celebrate and meditate at home. Technology is wonderful and we are blessed to have it at the moment most of all, as without it we are even more isolated. We are able to have visual calls with family and friends, keep in touch with communities we belong to on social media, stream news and worship, puzzles and games, books and newspapers. It is keeping us in touch and I feel so sorry for the people who do not have this, especially the elderly.

 

The weather has been gorgeous and we have been spending a  lot of time on the balcony. Nigel did the shopping - oh my goodness that is an ordeal we both hate, and we have enjoyed our daily walks. People are still driving to walk on the heath but I have to say there are fewer. However the news remails worrying, the death rate is still rising, and we are scared. We try hard not to be, but we are and we only really feel safe in our own home.

I have been scrapping again though and whilst I cannot share some of the things that I have made I can share the things I have made with the free products from A Trip Down Memory Lane - this month they were Bloom Street by Paige Evans - Pink Paislee papers.

 

 

 

 

 

This was the euphoric moment that Nigel fetched our first small shop from Asda - amazing that shopping brings us such relief when it is over.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also finished this lockdown project which has been thoroughly catscanned

 

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• technology
• streamed acts of worship
• sunshine
• Kira's continued healing

Another sunny day but worrying news

The weather has been glorious for the last couple of days. Nigel - and our next door neighbour and they next door but one neighbour!) decided it was time to get the pressure washer out. He was planning to clean the front wall, the side wall and the front step area but after working hard all morning, the pressure washer said 'you have got to be kidding me' and gave up the ghost. we have ordered a new one but he is now allowed time off for good behaviour and what he has done looks awesome. I gardened. I always seem to get the jobs that make little difference. In the house I can dust and polish and clean for hours. Nigel comes along and does the hoovering in ten minutes and it looks fab. I can weed for hours and it doesn't really look very different. Nigel mows the lawn and it transforms the garden. Hey ho - we compliment each other.

Two more jigsaws have been completed - we are really enjoying those - and the balcony is getting good use. Bread has been baked, daily walks have been taken and I even sorted my wardrobe, putting away thick winter jumpers and getting out the summer tops (though not for quite yet I suspect.

 

I think the nation has been worried about the news about Boris Johnston being moved to not just hospital now but into intensive care. We are huge Tory supporters but neither of us was 'in love' with Boris, though we did not dislike him. Over the business with Brexit and with the coronovirus we have been really impressed and we feel he is exactly the kind of leader the country needs. It needs a man who is a libertine at heart, full of life and energy, a blustering man with really savvy ideas. I am so pleased he is leading our country (and we remain eternally grateful 'the other chap' didn't get in which I think would have been ruinous and we would have been governed by the politics of envy. So we, like so many many people, are concerned for him, and for his family, and we hope and pray he makes a full recovery because we need HIM at the helm of our ship at the moment.

 

In addition to everything we have been doing I have also been scrapping.  I had a new Design Team kit from A Trip Down Memory Lane (so I was given free stuff to create with to promote the products) and this month I had papers from Pink Paislee Bloom by Paige Evans. It is gorgeous stuff and these are my first two pages.

 

This is our every day at the moment - we are taking a long brisk walk round our neighbourhood to get our daily exercise as advised. we are lucky that we can walk in a nice environment and we see very few people on our walks and everyone is very respectful and either we or they will cross over the road so good distances are kept.

 

 

 

 

 

And this was the day before lockdown - we went for a walk in Poole Park

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• things to keep busy with
• a good mix of work and play, relaxed and busy
• that we remain healthy in this crisis

 

 

I hope you enjoy these award winning animal photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fear not Friday 13th and a little bit of girl power

Well, it's been quite a week, hasn't it.

The world seems to have gone into overdrive with coronavirus. Italy in total lockdown, America closing Disney and banning travel from much of Europe.  Countless other countries taking special measures, closing schools, stopping large gatherings. And here int he UK we are in the delay phase and await other measures but for now... hot soapy water for 20 seconds should see us through. Made of stern stuff we Brits. However, I am confident we will be following suit all too soon.

 

We have, I am sure, enough food to survive on should we need to self-isolate. We haven't bought special stuff, just our normal food but I am sure we will not starve. (Starbucks might be an issue though!)  However if just one of us has the virus the other is safe to live as normal, going out etc,  provided we stay 6 feet away from each other at all times. How bizarre.

The really good news is that if we go into lockdown I have plenty of scrapping supplies to see me through the first year!

 

I am taking it seriously, really, although I feel there is so much fake news out there and misreporting of facts that no-one really has the full picture. Nigel's Mom's care home closed its doors yesterday - as have most others - and I think that is a really good thing. The elderly and those with underlying conditions are vulnerable and must be kept safe, but I think maybe the mass panic isn't helpful.

 

The school I work at is still all guns blazing so I have worked a lot this week. Thankfully only 4 more sessions left (I am tired) and we also enjoyed a wonderful night out at the theatre to see Fascinating Aida. This truly wonderful talented trio of older ladies are such good fun - not for the fainthearted but we had a truly fabulous time.

 

We also fitted in a cinema slot before they close the cinemas and saw Misbehaviour and I STRONGLY recommend it. I grew up watching Miss World but I also grew up and have spent my whole adult life championing the rights of girls and women to be whoever they want to be. I was at an all-girls school from the age of 11 and have always taught in all-girls schools where demonstrating in every possible way the importance of equality was key. Go and see the film. Times have changed so much since 1970 but we still have a way to go.

 

 

I have also scrapped of course.

I have been lucky enough, as part of my Design Team work for A Trip Down Memory Lane to be given a new scrapping kit made up of Heidi Swapp Storyline Chapters and it is beautiful.

 

This photo was very special. It was taken as we were waiting for our lift before going on our holiday of a lifetime and we were so very very excited after all the planning to be finally going

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and I had fun with a cut file for this one

 

 

 

 

 

Wherever you are stay safe from coronavirus

Today I am thankful for

• a wonderful night at the theatre
• a great film
• girl power
• gorgeous scrapping kits to play with

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A great weekend in process

The good thing about working is that when you are NOT working you really appreciate it. I have had a lovely coupleof days and crammeda lot in.

 

I spent time sorting out my finances, setting up a new e mail system (I didn't want to but it is done now and I am glad) the housework, the laundry and still had time for fun.

We went to the cinema yesterday and saw Military Wives. Go see it. It was fabulous but take tissues - lots of them. It was a really good film. We also had dinner out at Pizza Express which was a lovely treat.

And I had time to scrap. I caught up on a few of the Mojo Challenges at Pickleberrypop. If you don't usually do them I urge you to check them out. There are really good challenges and for some of them you get freebies to use like a kit or a template. The Forum is here   

I made this with the template this month

 

 

I made this with a free mini kit - also a mojo challenge in the same forum

 

 

And I made this for a challenge on UKS

 

And I also found time for paper pages too

This was for a FTLOPP challenge and very different to my usual style but the photos of Fiki holding Nigel's hand were too cute.

 

 

And this was a challenge on UKS. I think probably the only time I will ever scrap a brothel. Part of the old wild west times and - according to the sign - it is only SLIGHTLY haunted.

 

Barb thank you for the comments on my nails in the wedding photo. It is the first -and last - time I have ever worn false nails. They were not proper acrylic nails like you get these days, just the stick on sort. Having said that, my nails these days are usually that length but real.

 

Today I am thankful for

• a lovely couple of days

 

There is a definite pink feel today

I have had such fun over the past week creating new pages with the most gorgeous Pickleberrypop products. Love was definitely int he air this month and the Berry Big Deal (they are so cheap it is criminal) collections are just fabulous.

You can find them all HERE and below are the 8 - yes 8 ... it was a productive month - I worked with are below and the collection picture is a link that will take you straight there

 

 

I had such fun with this page popping fiki outside of the frame ... he is such a poser

 

 

 

 

I don't often get good photos of Kira - she does NOT like posing - this is quite an old one of her before her left eye changed completely. It is now completely black.

 

 

 

 

This just begged to be a love story and so I used photos of my lovely godson and his gorgeous new wife (not so new now but just as gorgeous) on their wedding day.

 

 

I loved this kit as it spoke to my heart. I so often say that one of the most important things in our marriage is laughter. We laugh - a lot - every day. This photo was the culmination of about 8 attempts of old people to take a selfie with them AND a sign. We failed but it was so funny.

 

 

 

 

As soon as I saw the cute little kitties I knew I had to play with this one... HIM again - when he was just a baby lying in our bathtub and washing - as you do!

 

 

 

And James and Gemma again because this kit was MADE for that photo

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had such fun with this one - I love film strips as you know and these are all selfies that kind of worked from our most recent trip. We do get it right sometimes.

 

 

 

And I loved this one as it had camera's and I am a sucker for cameras. It tells the story of how we visited Niagara Falls 30 years apart and how the second trip was sooooo much better

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• well it is early so I am sure there will be plenty of other things but I am thankful for getting to work with such great designers all the time
• thankful that Nigel got an emergency dentist appointment this morning as he broke a crown at the weekend.

 

 

 

A bit of Fikiness

It's new release day at Pickleberrypop and it seems I have been a bit Fiki obsessed this week.

 

This is a new set of album templates from TirAmisu Designs

 

 

Fiki memories

 

 

And this is a gorgeous love collection from Palvinka

 

Nigel and I all poshed up for a ball

 

 and this is the berry blends kit this month from Dita B and Simplette

 

 

 

We now have a fixed fence, albeit temporarily until we replace the whole lot, but the new posts are in ans we are safe again.

 

I also did some more with my DT kit from ATDML using Dear Lizzy Here and Now - the brights are the perfect antidote to glumness

The celebrates the wonderful brand new Joann we went to in Omaha with a wall of wool that was simply gorgeous

 

 

 

I couldn't resist the title I'm afraid

 

 

 

 

This was just a picture we snapped of someone's deck overlooking Lake Erie - what a view eh!

 

 

 

And this is the companion page to the other of dia de muertos. It just screams Fiestas

 

 

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• my jaw/teeth being a bit better today. Yesterday was horrible. I think it is a TMJ flare up rather than toothache but it is so hard to tell.

 

And some amazing handmade dragons by an artist called Alena Pogrebniak

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More on the storm and a bit of brightness

So our storm was a bit of a doozie really and we lost more fence panels and Nigel's lovely orange netting. But we are having the concrete posts fixed tomorrow and we have a new solution for fencing for the future. Let's see the wind knock down our concrete fencing!!!

It all made for a horrible day yesterday and a sleepless night last night as we were very exposed. There are still some strong gusts of wind but, thus far, all is reinstated albeit temporarily and we are secure. And we were so lucky compared to many across the country. we lost fences. One man locally lost his life to a tree falling on his car (I remember int he hurricane of 1987 we lost a parent at school the same way - such a dreadful tragedy) and so many lost power, were flooded dreadfully, were stranded, and suffered structural damage. So once again we feel blessed that it was just fences and our thoughts and prayers go out to those who suffered terrible things.

 

Barb you asked about watercolour paints. The set I had before was a good set, but the better the paints the better the pigments and we were learning how to do flooding work and blending and my paints kept 'breaking down' and not giving such a nice effect. They were perfectly good Windsor and Newton but the Cotman range which is like a student range so not real cheapies but not fabulous either. The set I have bought are meant to be much better- we will see. they are not top professional quality - they are silly money. I treated myself to the new set as I sold my Cricut and cartridges so I gained space and new paints! I have yet to try them.

 

The weather has been so awful it was lovely to have some brand new sunny papers to play with. I am blessed to be on the Design Team for A Trip Down Memory Lane and they send me beautiful new things to play with each month. The new Dear Lizzy Here and Now papers were my gifts for this month and I have loved playing with them. I don't tend to use brights a lot so it is always fun when I do and they leant themselves to lots of fussy cutting too.

Here are a couple of the 5 pages I made.

 

I am not a big supporter of Halloween I am afraid, but I do love the concept of Dia de Muertos which seems such a respectful celebration honouring the dead and remembering past relatives. I loved the film Coco and it inspired me to find out more about the festival. We were therefore thrilled when we went to the Old Town of San Diego on 31st October to see it all decorated up for the festival and it was so very photogenic too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The papers also shouted out flamingo pink to me so I couldn't resist this one of the flamingos in San Diego Zoo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I enjoyed all the fussy cutting so much and it sure did brighten my day.

 

Today I am thankful for

• not having to be in work for as long as I thought today
• ATDML for having faith in me as a Design Team member
• new pretty papers
• resolutions to problems
• lower winds

 

And these just made me smile - do designers and advertisers seriously just not check stuff!

 

 

um - if I am flying direct I would kind of like to get there!

 

 

um - just no!

 

 

seriously!

 

no matter how many teeth you have apparently

 

 

 

This lady holding the boards has incredible arms and hands

Still posting ATDML - a fussy cutting fest

Once I started I realised I had been very remiss about posting my ATDML work  here and so - as I don't have any new scrapping that I can share just yet - I am sharing more of that. I am very lucky to be on their design team and it means I get wonderful new goodies to work with every month to showcase products they sell and also new goodies to play with to make classes for them

This was my work from April when I busy with my Paris album and working with such lovely papers

 

 

Regular readers know I love a bit of fussy cutting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This photo always makes me smile - our 'reception' after renewing our vows, paid for by my bestie and her hubby.

 

 

 

 

 

And this had fussy cutting and colouring and makes me laugh- When we went to Paris on our honeymoon we were broke and ended up sharing one crepe between us for a meal. One of the first things we did for our 25th anniversary was buy two whole crepes just because we could!

 

 

 

 

and finally this one was not a Paris page but the papers just matched the vintage singers Aphrodite so well.

More fussy cutting

 

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• mindless activities like fussy cutting that bring so much pleasure

and I just loved these vet signs - too funny not to share

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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