Dolly's Dreamings

Beautiful home town and another class

We are so blessed where we live - we truly are. I love our home town and so often say it. Poole is beautiful but shhhh- don't tell people or everyone will come. 

Just a lovely day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am also still working on sharing classes I have done for ATDML and have shared almost none of them - because I forgot to to be honest.

 

This class used the Kaisercraft Rose Avenue collection which is stunning and you can find the class instructions here

 

This was one of my favourite photos from our 2018 Fabulous Fall trip - The Wildflower Inn in Vermont

 

 

and this is one from Animal Kingdom ont he same trip.

 

and this was also from the same trip - Myrtle Beach

 

Do go and check out the class and I hope you enjoy it if you have a go.

 

Today I am thankful for

• living in Poole - it is so beautiful (though I prefer it in the winter when it is quiet)
• the chance to work with A Trip Down Memory Lane - I am very lucky

 

 

The second class catch up

I was aware this week that I have not been very diligent in sharing the classes I have done for ATDML and I shared one class the other day. Today I am sharing the second class I made for the Toy Story Cyber Crop which was called Andy. Andy, int he films, was noted for writing his name on his toys so they knew who they belonged to and so my class focussed on journalling.

Those of you who follow my work will know that journalling is a big part of most of my paper pages. I like to tell a story because for me that is what scrapping is all about. It is recording the memories and some stories are longer than others.

You can find the instructions for this class here  and buy the class kit from ATDML too. 

I absolutely loved the papers in this Pen and Ink Collection from Kaiserkraft

 

This first page tells a story of our trip to Paris - a very special trip for us as it was a chance to renew our vows for our 25th wedding anniversary.

It also shows that not everything we scrap has to be momentous. Scrapping is also about recording the little everyday things in life. Because it is those tiny moments that make life so precious.

 

 

 

 

 

This second page tells a slightly more bizarre tale. We had never been in the US for Thanksgiving before and 2017 was THE YEAR. We had spent the day before Thanksgiving with our family in Nashville but the day itself was spent on our own in St Louis in the most beautiful place I highly recommend - Union Station - now a Curio Hotel. It is gorgeous. The Thanksgiving meal was not - but it was funny. I love the vegetarian soup - with meat!

 

 

 

 

The bonus page was also another of Paris - this time Versailles.

 

 

 

 

I hope if you check out the class you enjoy it. I have several more classes to share over the coming days too so watch out for those. 

 

Today I am thankful for

• having a life filled with those little things that matter so much and cherishing them

 

 

And just sharing these because I loved them

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sketch Saturday ... yes I KNOW today isn't Saturday

I am thrilled to post here that I am hosting a sketch Saturday every second Saturday of the month over on the ATDML blog - Created by ATDML

 and before you say - I know today isn't Saturday. I am just giving you the head's up for next Saturday and sharing what I created for October.

The blog is fabulous and full of inspiring ideas from the fab team over there (and still grinning to be back a part of i)

 

This was my sketch last Saturday and you need to watch for the next one coming out next Saturday. Hopefully, these sketches will inspire you to scrap - even if the connection to the sketch is somewhat lost.

This is the sketch I posted last month

 

 

 

And this is the page created - using the gorgeous Come Away with Me papers from Graphic 45 and available in store here 

 

Life has been quiet but lovely here and whilst it is getting colder it is STILL my favourite time of year ... darker morning (snuggle up in bed time) crisp days (walks on the beach time) and dark evenings (snuggle up in front of the TV) What's not to like?

And Autumn means great sunsets - and there are few places to better them than evening hill. This is a painting I have just finished based on a picture I took last year - not great but I do like elements of it. I used acrylics, a medium I am not comfortable with really - and it shows

 

 

 Today I am thankful for

• art which brings me so much joy
• scrapping which also brings me so much joy
• Nigel - brings me the most joy of all

and I just thought these were cool

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UK Scrappers Autumn download

This is the autumn clip art that you might want to use for the challenge

 

You can either copy and paste or download the file by clicking the link that says view this photo

 

 

View this photo

 

 

Amazing what an early start can do and my first ATDML project

Retirement has slowed us down - no doubt about it. We rarely make it out before 10 am unless one of us is working - and that's fine, but it does make for shorter days.

Today. by 9.20, we had been up, had breakfast, taken Nigel's car for a service,  had a blood test - him not me and just routine - and been to Starbucks. Unheard of. That's a whole day's activities in just that first hour!

Consequently it seems like it has been a long day and we have done a great deal. We started another mammoth jjigsaw, were thrown about time and so had lunch at 11.30 and went to the cinema. Today was A Simple Favour and I am not quite sure what to make of it really. Nigel summed it up by saying 'Mmmm - it wasn't quite sure what it wanted to be was it?' Think Gone Girl, but not as good but that was a comedy. Nope - doesn't make sense does it. Hey ho. The trailer made it look fabulous and there were some good bits, but neither of us were sure what to make of it. Second film this week as we saw Blackkklansman on Wednesday which was a totally different watch.

 

I have some new scrapping to share today - it was a class page ... well two actually ... I made for ATDML - did I mention I am now a bona fide full on design team member again. I was a DT member for ATDML for several years a long time ago and then work interferred with my scrapping. I was so thrilled to be asked back.

One of my first tasks - which was a pleasure not a task - was to host a class and this is one of the class pages I made. You can find the class here and they sell all of the supplies - Graphic 45 Come Fly With Me here on their blog (along with other classes)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can find all of the instructions by following THIS LINK

 

Today I am thankful for

• a lovely long day accomplishing 'stuff'
• a definite feel of Autumn in the air
• Being back on a DT

 

 

 

Stop with the crops!

There has been so much inspiration in the scrapping world recently. Seriously!

I have more challenges than I can get my head round and it is awesome.

 

The scrapping community is a very genererous one and the cyber crops and crop days and challenges are fabulous for getting you scrapping.

This weekend I have been playing along with the GoGo Getaway cyber crop. My goodness they have had some fab fab challenges this weekend and I have managed about 5 of the 12 so far.

Here are a couple to share

 

I still bear the marks of this one - even though I have had a shower my fingers are still blue ... the challenge was stamping. Well, that was all I used - stamps and inks. No other embellishments at all.

 

The picture is a fake picture but as it was printed I figured I would use it. It is a composite picture I made for an art class (that's why it was printed so I could pint it). The view does not exist in reality.

 

 

 

This challenge was hand stitching so I made some die cut flowers which I handstitched in various ways and even added beads to

 

 

 

and it wouldn't be complete without digital challenges too. The mojo challenges on PBB are fabulous this month - and not just the one I am hosting. The challenge I am hosting is a title challenge to use an Elton Jognsong and this is what I made 

 

 

and the template challenge even gives you a totally free template to play with and you can find it here and the challenge forum here

 

I made this page using Sweet September by one of our new designers PavlinkaDesigns 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• the generosity of the scrapping community sharing ideas and inspiration with all
• scrapping time
• fun

 

NSD Freebie word art

Happy (Inter)National Scrapbook Day everyone.

 

I am hosting a range of challenges today and one of them needs a quote so I have made a free word art you can grab today if you want to.

There is a JPEG and a PNG version and the large size should print beautifully

Have fun This is the full size PNG file for printing

View this photo

If you make a page using it I would love you to share int he comments.

 

Have a fun filled scrappy day x

 

 

News of all sorts ... and Freebies

The news in the media has not been good worldwide today and my heart bleeds for the people suffering so much. There is so much natural suffering int he world that it makes it even harder to stomach when it is man's inhumanity to man that is causing the pain and distress. I pray that the leaders of the countries around the world are given the strength and courage and resolve to make the right decision, whichever way that decision goes.

I felt I needed to share some good news here and so I have decided to start doing sketches and templates and word arts and things for free again. 

I will have a freebie to download every month and a sketch to play with every month and may - possibly - even have a class or two as well.

 

I will aim to do the sketch at the start of the month and the freebie mid-month but those times will be very very flexible as life, even when you are retired, gets in the way at times.

 

So to kick us off here is a free piece of word art for you to use if you would like to ... There is a PNG and a JPEG

 

 

THIS IS THE PNG LINK

 

THIS IS THE JPEG LINK 

I have made good progress today with my painting of Kira. It is slow going as each bit has hundreds of teeny tiny brush strokes, but it is coming along and eventually, it means I will have a picture of both of them and then the two frames can go up. I felt so guilty painting Fiki and not painting Kira, unable to put his up in case she felt I didn't love her as much. (Yes I KNOW it is wrong to anthropomorphise the cats)

Anyway - this is stage 1 and stage 2 (I think there will be a lot more stages)

 

 

 

I also have new scrapping to share

 

I don't have many family members in this country but I do have more around the globe in America and Australia  and we were blessed to see almost all of my American family at Thanksgiving last year.

This page celebrates that

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• the weekend being here again
• a lovely time painting - slow but steady
• celebrating 32 years of married bliss with Nigel ... I am a very lucky lady

 

 

It's in the bag - free instructions to download

There is a most definite feeling of Christmas int he air and I love it. Sitting scrapping to my Christmas playlist, all warm and toastie - what could be better.

Actually my Christmas playlist os on no matter where I am ... and if I am not at home I can guarantee the shops will fit the bill too.

 

I have another project to share that was already on UKS for their Christmas countdown.

 

It's a very simple gift bag to make for some little last minute gifts.

 

I made these one year for all of the gift cards we gave. I just stuffed it with tissue paper and popped the card in amongst the scrunched paper. It made a cute way of giving them. But they are also ideal for things like jewellery.

 

 

This is the download for the PDF instructions (much easier to just give you the PDF as all the pictures and step by step are right there.

 

Download Christmas bag box

 

and this is the PDF for the template

 

Download Bag box template

 

I hope you have fun if you make one - or several - and please do share them.

 

Now I am returning to my humming and my scrapping and my being all Christmassy

 

Today I am thankful for

• warm cosiness
• Christmas songs - old and new I love them all
• My iPhone which makes playlists so easy to create and use and I can play it in the study, the car, through the stereo in the lounge. Just perfect

 

 

 

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