Dolly's Dreamings

A quiet weekend

We have enjoyed a quiet weekend as we prepare for another busy medical week next week.

I have my appointment witht he oncologist on Monday to discuss the medication, radiotherapy etc. We have a long list of questions and I confess to being a bit nervous.

I am then in hospital for day surgery on Tuesday - gynaecological this time. I am hoping it is a one off and I will get the all clear from that and then I really can say I am cancer free. It's quite a week ahead and coupled with the endless headache which I ams ure is medication induced, I have just wanted to be quiet

 

Some recent scrapping for various internet challenges (I am struggling to find the motivation to scrap at the moment)

 

 

This oe is for the Iconic America album I keep dabbling with

 

and a bit of art too

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for quiet times - we need those too

 

 

Sunny walks

We have had a couple f days of nice walks in the sunshine. It is my favourite sort of weather - crisp and cold and sunny. I love it.

Yesterday we went to Weymouth which was lovely

 

 

 

 

 

 

and today we walked at 'our' beach and it was lovely too

 

and I have scrapping to share

 

This was for challenges at Scrap Squad and Hey Little Magpie and it uses a photo of the Kingfisher I painted which I was quite pleased with

 

 

 

 

and this again was for challenges of Osmington Mills from Sunday

 

 

 

In other news I have done a 4 day pastel pencil course. I was stupid enough to buy the pencils - the full set of very expensive pencils - before I realised that pastels are probably NOT for me.

 

They are messy, they are imprecise, I find the hard to control and I love my polychromos

This was what I did before the course of Koda's eye (the left is the reference photo)

 

 

These were the three fur lessons (they are tiny - just 2" square)

And this was the eye lesson

 

I'm not impressed but I will have another go - one day.

 

And I painted this happy little cow too

 

Today I am thankful for

• new art supplies - though NOT the pastel pencils
• lovely walks
• the sea - always

 

The Great Digi Scrap Off is underway

 

The Great Digi Scrap Off has started over at Pickleberrypop and I am thrilled to be hosting the Showstopper Challenge this week.

The great digi scrap off runs all month and there are three amazing challenges every week. If you complete all three tasks you win a mini kit each week and the five weeks add up to one utterly amazing awesomely fabulous mega kit. Isn't it gorgeous

 

I was thrilled to be hosting the showstopper challenge this week and it was to scrap a page about a news event and your reaction to it. I went with the nurses strike which affected one of my appointments but how I still whole-heartedly support them.

 

I also worked with other things this week.

Credits

Our affection Collaboration Bundle by CarolW designs, Dutch Dream Designs, and Kakleidesigns
Save 52% for a limited time and 25% for every single

 

 

And here are three pages I made with just some of that mega collection you can get for free this month by completing the challenges

 

 

Credits

Life is a Dream - GDSO Mega Kit
(if you complete all three challenges each week you will get a part of it - if you complete all challenges in time you will have the complete kit at the end of the month)

 

 

 

 

 

There's a chill in the air again

It's been lovely and sunny here but goodness is there a chill in the air. But I am not complaining - my favourite sort of weather.

We headed out yesterday to Osmington Bay which was lovely - on the South Coast coastal path.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also stopped at St Mary's church and we were amazed at the yew tree which is believed to be 1700 years old - incredible.

 

 

 

here are a couple of really quick art pieces I did last week

 

 

 

and finally some scrapping ... I enjoyed this one of Shepton Mallet Prison - it make me laugh

 

 

 

One of St Mary's hot off the press

 

 

 

 

and more snowdrops

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• a nice painting morning
• finally getting my prescription sorted out

 

 

A quick update

I say it over and over - where do the days go ... they seem to speed by

 

We have had a busy social week with friends over, visiting friends etc and so the time has flown.

These are just some quick pages I have to share

These are for the Wild West album and Iconic America

Visiting Cheyenne

 

 

Mount Moriah Cemetery in Deadwood and the graves of Buffalo Bill and Calamity Jane

 

 

 

 

and finally this one which was a challenge to use the Love Actually poster as inspiration over at Enfield Scrapmates

today I am thankful for 

 

my new pastel pencils that just arrived … now to learn to use them 

Berry Big Deal releases

 

Today it is Berry Big Deal day at Pickleberrypop and the colours are glorious this month

 

This shares 4 collections I worked with

 

Credits

Still my Favourite BBD Bundle by Fayette Designs

 

 

 

Credits

Bookish BBD Bundle by TirAmisu Designs

 

 

Credits

Spring Love BBD Bundle by e t designs

 

Credits

Crazy Friends BBD Bundle by Chunlin Designs

 

 

 

Fireplace renovation complete

I can finally say our fireplace renovation is complete.

 

We have agonised for a long time about what to do with our fireplace. We had the fireplace installed 30 years ago when we had been in the house for just a year. There was massive purbeck stone fireplace there which we had taken out an a new gas fire (real fire effect) and surround fitted. It looked lovely  though they made a mess fitting it and it has slopes at the side of the hearth where they hadn't removed all of the old stone. We couldn't get rid of the slope for fear of damaging the marble hearth. We'd only had it for a couple of months when we had to have the chimnet mesh covered as once the chimney was opened the May Bugs (goodness I hate those things) were attracted to the light and so came down the chimney and into the lounge. The man who fitted the mesh told me I didnt need anything that fine as birds wouldn't get through. I told him I wasn't concerned about the birds!

Then we bought Bengal and from then on we had to have a fire guard for fear the cats would attempt to go up the chimney. I hated the fire guard and we almost never used the fire because it was inefficient and expensive.

So last year we decided we wanted to change the fire. We wanted the chimney blocked to keep the warmth in (blocked so that new people could unblock it easily), the gas taken out and a new electric pretend flame fire. Who would have thought it was so difficult? There are very few shops where you can see these fires in reality and we didn't want to buy it online not having seen it. We went to several specialist stores who were not terribly helpful and who didn't have what we wanted. We didn't know what we wanted really but knew we would know when we found it. Then we found Fire and Flame in Charminster and it was perfect. Ben, the owner and installer, was brilliant, offering lots of advice and we found the exact thing we wanted. We were thrilled.  I cannot recommend him highly enough. We have never had such a clean worker in our home or such a perfectionist. He did an amazing job and we are thrilled.

 

These are the before and during

 

 

 

 

 

The new fire surround is a lot lower and so we knew we had to repaper and paint the chimney breast which we finished yesterday

 

 

 

 

We are thrilled - it has made such a difference.

 

In other news we have some scrapping

 

 

This was from a trip in 2004 on our Wild West tour to Mount Moriah Cemetery in Deadwood to see the graves of Buffalo Bill and Calamity Jane

 

 

 

and some recent quick paintings

 

 

 

 

Today I am thankful that

• renovations are done - it was stressful for Koda - he really doesn't cope with any form of noise or change (he's his Mommy's boy!)
• a job we are happy with

and finally some more amazing tattoo art. I'm not really into tattoos but I admire the skill of these

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Decorating 101

The change of fireplace meant we had to do some repairs to the lounge decor, which we knew in advance. The old fireplace was taller and narrower. the narrower didn't matter - the taller did. We knew we would have to strip the wallpaper off the chimney breast and replace it. Thankfully we had spare paper, there is no pattern match and I had new paint mixed. Nigel worked out we could get away with just three pieces of paper to stripped to those joins and it went in like a dream and now it is painted you would never know it had been any different. I am also pleased because I have been an advocate of paint pads for years and Nigel has always flatly refused to even consider them. He used pads today and agreed they are much better - less messy and far quicker. Yey.

We also found time for a nice drive in the sunshine out to the New Forest which was lovely.

I have some new scrapping to share

 

Seems odd that I should scrap a page called Happy at a time when we were both terrified of the results when we saw the surgeon. However, it was whilst we were on this beach walk that we got the phone call to say my result appointment, cancelled due to strike action, had been re-arranged and there was only a 24 hour delay. Perfect.

 

 

This is a photo I love (I have a copy up on our fridge - and have never scrapped.

 

 

 

 

And this I am rather proud of. I used a photo of a barn owl from Pixabay and he is drawn with my polychromos.

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• jobs completed
• sunshine

 

 

A shopping day

I'm not sure if it is the fact we had 'a near miss' with the breast cancer or if we are just usually so frugal but we had the urge to splurge today. Well splurge for us - it was actually very restrained.

We headed our for a shopping trip and visited so many places looking for the perfect thing to go on the new fireplace. We didn't find it - but we did find other things we didn't need!

Thanks to Jakki I bought some bargain frames for the art exhibition. I fell in love with a bronze effect bird bath - I had been looking for a new bird bath and it had to be bronze style as that is what we have in the garden with the deer and wall art and our spinny things. It is a really nice one with two little birds on but most important it is quite big and deep which was what I wanted. It needed distressing a little but I have added copper rub on gilding wax which I am not sure will stay on in all weathers but does make it look rather fab as I have picked out the details. And it was cheap.  And Nigel, who never ever makes impulse buys, made one today. We saw a bronze (not solid bronze obviously) leopard. He is almost life sized, in fact probably is life sized for a baby leopard, and is rather lovely. He has always always wanted one and I have always always managed to disuade him. The deer look fab in the garden as deer are quite believable in an English garden - a leopard not so much. However, he was less than a tenth of the price of one of the deer and Nigel quite rightly couldn't walk away and so we now have him on the balcony (that was where he was bought for) No-one else can see him but we can see him from the lounge and that is what counts. Maybe he will deter the birds from on there too. I also bought the cutest little bird nesting box (we have three up on the trees in various places and whilst they have a lot of interest no-one has made it their home yet) decorated like a beach hut. That had me written all over it.

I also dropped off my latest 7 blankets for Ukraine - which I think takes my total to over 40 now. Plus some crocheted baby clothes I had made.

 

I have some new scrapping to share. I am one of the creative time at Scrap a Sketch and I did a page for this week's sketch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have also made these pages for various challenges

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• a lovely day out
• simple pleasures and little trinkets

 

 

Happy Valentine's day

Just a very quick post to share a valentine page made with a new release at Pickleberrypop.

Of course Nigel is my main valentine but then there are also my other 2 boys

 

Credits

Valentine collection and FWP by Jen Yurko

 

 

This is what I made using a scrap squad lift

 

And this paper page was also another scrap squad lift

 

 

 

And I haven't a thankfulness yet as the day is just begun but I am thankful for all three of my boys - both of the fur ones and the 'skin' one.

These just amused me