Saturday 25 February 2012

A sunny saturday

This week has been a really busy week in a good way but I am also really glad that it's the weekend and I can relax! The sun is shining over England today and it is set to stay this way for a good few days.

The link up party was really fun yesterday, thank you to all who joined in. There were some beautiful creations :). You have all been so busy this week!!! The link party is still open so feel free to still add your link if you haven't already done so :) . What do you all think of the link party ?! Great as a one off ? or would you like to see it as a more regular feature of my blog ?! Please let me know in the comment section.

Thanks to all my new followers :), really makes me smile when someone new follows the blog. As I write this 97 of you are following :). Hopefully will hit the 100 mark soon :).

This week I have also been updating my shop and adding some new items. I now stock Vintage Glassware as well as china :).

These are probably new favourite new listing. They are a set of 5 vintage cake plates, made in England. I love the English roses and flower design. It reminds me of English gardens in the summer time. They would be fabulous for a tea party! Please click here to take a look

I have also listed these lovely cordial/ wine glasses. They are both elegant and sturdy and the detailing on the top is rather lovely. Please click here to take a look


Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and thanks for reading

The Dorothy Days

Friday 24 February 2012

Feature Yourself Friday- Linky Party

Hi everyone :),
Very excited to announce that today will be my first ever 'Feature Yourself Friday'!! Horray!!

This is a chance for you to show off what you have been creating this week. Please post any crafting projects, home baking and recipies, photographs you have taken, art projects and decorating you have taken part in this week.

One link up per person and please link something you have created rather than your shop. Please spread the word and lets get as many people as possible to share what they have been doing this week :). Hope you all enjoy this, I am so excited to see what you have all been creating.

The Dorothy Days (who is enjoying the beautiful sunshine!!)





Thursday 23 February 2012

Feature Thursday- Jennifer from LadyshipDesigns

Another week...another Etsy shop to be featured for my Feature Thursday!

This week I am featuring Jennifer from Ladyship Designs 

Jennifer is originally from the U.K but now lives in Austin, Texas and has been knitting and sewing from a young age. She was taught to knit by her mother and this is where her passion for making beautiful hand knitted items began. Jennifer creates a whole range of knitted goods including cotton dishcloths (what a good idea!), handmade pillows and scarves. She recently has released a range in very fresh spring colours. Here are some of my favourite items from her new range....

I love the Spring colours of this chunky knit neckwarmer


This handmade pillow case is wonderful :). I love the detailing of the leaves.

Here are her handmade dishcloths in fresh spring colours. They are such a good idea and are much more ecofriendly.

Please take the time to have a look through Jennifer's shop :).

The Dorothy Days

Spring is nearly here...

I can't wait for Spring, its such a lovely time of year here in the English countryside. The snowdrops and crocuses have already bloomed and I am waiting until all the daffodils spring up as well :). It makes everything look so bright and cheerful when the ground is covered in yellow! In the spring time in the country we also have lots of lambs in the fields surrounding my house. I can't wait!!

This morning my earrings were included in this Springtime treasury by Apryl who also lives in a small English village. I really love the pastel theme to this treasury so thought I would share it with you all. What are your favourite thingss about spring?



The Dorothy Days (Vintage and Handmade)

Sunday 19 February 2012

Beautiful Sundays...

Well I know I always talk about the weather (how very English of me!!) but today was such a beautiful day. There were perfectly blue skies and the sun was beaming down but still with an ice cold chill. Sitting inside you could have been fooled that it was the middle of summer! Had such a lovely lazy Sunday afternoon.

Here are a few things which made my Sunday afternoon so perfect....


Playing with Boo out in the garden and watching her enjoy the sunshine!

Having one of these to warm up.....YUM!!

Delicious homemade cakes

How did you all enjoy your Sundays? Hope that you had a good one.

The Dorothy Days X

Thursday 16 February 2012

Feature Thursday- Susana from Lemon Dear

Thanks to everyone who followed my blog this week and also to those of you who have left me such lovely comments :). They really make me smile!! 

For my Feature Thursday this week I am featuring Susana and her shop Lemon Dear. I have fallen rather in love with her shop, she creates the most beautiful handmade items including paintings, illustrations and embroidery. 

Childhood and developing a passion
As a child Susana and her parents moved from Canada to Ecuador for a couple of years. School in Ecuador was very different to what she experienced back in Canada and one of the main requirements was to do a project for the arts and craft class, something that she was not used to. Her mother contacted the nuns at her school and asked if the project could be embroidery related, since that was the only craft her mother had ever learnt. They agreed and her mother patiently taught her. Susana says that this is where he love for embroidery began.

Growing up and work as a filmmaker
Growing up Susana wanted to become a film maker more than anything else in the world so studied theatre and also took painting lessons as she feels that painting and film are two very closely linked artistic mediums. At college Susana studied film and made documentaries and short films on a wide range of genres. However, in her own words "the threads and canvases and needles and papers always lured me" so for the past few years she has concentrated on her embroidery and painting and opened her Etsy shop. 

Now and future plans
Susana's art has been exhibited in galleries across Canada (where she lives) and you can see why….her art work is absolutely beautiful. This year she has embarked on a project to create a new watercolour every day and so far she has managed to stick to it. She has recently updated her Etsy shop with more beautiful and unique items. In the future she hopes to expand her Etsy shop and also to embark on a project to make wearable art. Please take a look at her shop, it is well worth a visit :). I particularly love her embroideries made from up cycled vintage handkerchiefs. 

The Dorothy Days X

Tuesday 14 February 2012

Happy Valentine's Day :)

Happy Valentine's day! 
Hope that you all have the most wonderful Valentine's day :) and spend it with someone you love whether that be your partner, best friend, parents or siblings :). Today I am leaving my hidden love notes around the house and garden for my boyfriend and enjoying a nice meal in together tonight. I am also baking love heart cookies for all my single friends!
Would love to hear what you have all been doing for Valentine's day and if anyone received a special Valentine's surprise! Please let me know in the comments sections :). I would also love to hear any nice Valentine/ love themed quotes :).
Lots of love
Rachel from The Dorothy Days :)

P.S I shall leave you with this lovely Valentine video :)




Happy Valentine's Day! XO, Etsy from Etsy on Vimeo.

Friday 10 February 2012

More snow and my favourite item this week

Just as the last bits of snow started to melt away a new downpour of snow came this morning :). I love waking up early when all the snow is untouched and perfect and there are no footprints. Snow makes everything look so beautiful and fresh.

My favourite item in my shop for this week are these vintage style bird earrings. They remind me of my little sister. When my little sister she was about 5 years old asked my mother for a pet blue tit! My mother had set up bird nesting boxes in the part of the garden which backed onto the woods so we had lots of blue tits visiting the garden and nesting in our boxes. My little sister's bedroom looks over the garden so she had been watching the birds and was fascinated by them. I remember my mother trying to explain to her why she could have a pet blue tit and how they prefered to be outside. Instead we bought her a small photograph of a blue tit and also a blue tit ornament which when she was younger was her most treasured possesion!
 They have recently been included in this beautiful bird themed treasury list :) I really love the cherry blossom wedding shoes that have been featured.





For these earrings and other bird and vintage style earring please take a look at my shop.

The Dorothy Days (Vintage and Handmade)

Thursday 9 February 2012

Feature Thursday- Rockthecustard

Hello everyone :),

Its Thursday today so that means it is Feature Thursday!!! For those of you that are new to my blog (hello!) Feature Thursday is when I choose another shop from Etsy that I have found and love to feature on my blog :).

This week I am featuring a shop from the English/Welsh border which is run by a lady called Eilidh. The shop is called RocktheCustardand sells art prints for both children and adults. 

She has a lovely range of 'Fizzswigglers' monster characters for children but my favourite are the retro style art print with inspirational and humorous quotes :). The typography is beautiful and I love how she will make your print in any colour you would like to match or compliment the colour scheme of your house.

Here are some of my favourite items from RocktheCustard





How lovely are those?! Please be sure to take a look at Rockthecustard :), there are so many beautiful prints.
Rachel from The Dorothy Days (Vintage and Handmade)

Wednesday 8 February 2012

Snow day and weekend at home

Well if there is one thing you should know about me it is that I am awful at surprises....I either accidently slip up and mention it or I get far too excited and have to tell somebody! It is very rare that I manage to pull off a proper surprise and my family and friends know this so don't really expect me to surprise them. This weekend I decided to attempt to surprise my family by travelling home in secret and arriving at their doorstep and I actually managed this time to pull it off!! Horray :). I think they were as shocked that I have managed to surprise them as they were actually seeing me!!!

There is nothing quite like going back to your family home. I had a great weekend catching up with my family and having my mums amazing home cooked foods. To make the trip home even better, over night a thick blanket of snow covered the U.K. Even though my two sisters are grown up there were still squeals of delight when they realised it was snowing! It is funny how snow turns people back into little children.


 The blanket of snow covering the English countryside, it makes everything look so beautiful and magical :).
We also made snow angel!!



How are all my U.K followers are enjoying the snow?  A big hello to those of you who are following from across the other side of the world, what is the weather like where you are?

With love 
The Dorothy Days

P.S- Please remember that all my images are copyrighted. Please do not use them or repost them without permission. Thanks!

Wednesday 1 February 2012

Valentine Love Notes

Today I have been busy making love notes in preparation for Valentine's day. They come in packs of ten and the idea is that you hide them around the house with little love messages on so whoever they are intended for will stumble across them throughout the day :). They come strung so will be easy to attach to objects around the house. Another idea is to attach them to trees and either go walking that way or leave them on a route that you know your Valentine is going to go on. Will make a lovely romantic surprise!
I have used a small heart punch so there is plenty of room for a love note, poem or quote.

 Here is one with the love note written on :)


A Valentine's note left in a book to be found :)!

Please take a look at them here in my shop :)

Is anyone doing anything special for Valentine's day ?

Rachel Xxx