Wednesday 24 December 2014

Christmas Countdown - 1 day to go - Merry Christmas Eve!



Hello everyone,

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE! 


As is tradition, I thought I would share with you a verse from the poem by Clement Clarke Moore called A Visit from St Nicholas (also known as Twas the night before Christmas)


'Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro' the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar plums danc'd in their heads......

- Clement Clarke Moore


Hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas. Does anyone have any family traditions for what they do on Christmas eve? In my household we gather everyone together and pick one gift from under the tree and the person has to try and guess what it is and hand it around to everyone else who has to try and guess too. They then get to open the gift. It is good fun and has resulted in many hilarious guesses over the years. What are your Christmas or Christmas eve traditions? Let me know in the comment section below.

Merry Christmas everyone. Have a wonderful day tomorrow.

The Dorothy Days Xx

Tuesday 23 December 2014

Christmas Countdown - 2 days to go - Zee Avi No Christmas for me


Hello everyone,

Merry Christmas Eve Eve!! How are your Christmas preparations coming along? Are you all sorted for Christmas or are you manically dashing to the shops and trying to get the food shopping?!

Today I thought I would share with you all one of my favourite Christmas songs. The song is by Zee Avi and she has such a beautiful voice and I thought it might be calming for those who are rushing around getting things ready!

She says of the song....

"This song was inspired by everything i've experienced/read/watched/heard of from movies or stories, about one's lover being far away for Christmas, be it serving in the army, college, another country, peace corps etc... In a way, it's also about not losing hope."



The Dorothy Days Xx

Monday 22 December 2014

Christmas Countdown - 3 days to go - Dean Martin, Let it snow


Hello everyone,

Christmas is really near now with just 3 days to go....who is excited?! I certainly am! Christmas is one of my favourite times of year and I get excited about it coming soon even when it is still summer time! Thank you to everyone who has been visiting my blog and following my countdown, hope that you have enjoyed it.

Here is Dean Martin with the Christmas classic Let is Snow, the perfect music to do your Christmas gift wrapping to! Apparently this song was written on one of the hottest days on record in California which makes me feel much better about getting excited about Christmas from mid summer!

Enjoy.....




The Dorothy Days Xx

Sunday 21 December 2014

Christmas Countdown - 4 days to go - Quick and Easy Christmas Recipes


Hello everyone,

Who is in the mood to do some Christmas baking?! Today I thought I would share with you all 3 Quick and Easy Christmas Recipes by the Vlogger Tanya Burr. All of these recipes look delicious and really simple. They would be great if you were hosting your own Christmas party.

As always, please let me know in the comment section below if you try any of these. It always makes me smile getting your comments and messages.




The Dorothy Days Xx

Saturday 13 December 2014

Winter Decor - Christmas decorations


Winter Decor: Deck the Halls

Hello everyone,

Really enjoying writing my Christmas countdown, it is really getting me excited for Christmas. I hope that you are all enjoying reading it! Today I thought I would share with you this wonderful winter themed interior which is great for inspiration for decorating your home this Christmas. For those of you who do not celebrate Christmas, I hope that there is also some interior design ideas for you for the winter season. One of the things I like about this collection is that the decorations aren't overly 'Christmassy' and they are more subtle. Not only does this add to the design element but it also means that you can keep some of decorations out for general use after the holiday period is over. I love the stars and these could certainly be kept all year round if you wished. I also love the deer pillow and again that could be something that was kept all year round if you wanted to. The Christmas tree mug is so sweet, I would love to drink my tea from that but my favourite item in this collection has to be the coffee tables. They look as if they are made from pallets with wheels attached, what a wonderful idea and great way to reuse and recycle something that often gets thrown away or chopped up.

12 days to go….!

The Dorothy Days

P.S - To see last week's Style Saturday Christmas themed post please click here!

Saturday 6 December 2014

Winter Decor - white and rustic winter wonderland


White Wonderland: Winter Decor
Well the first Style Saturday in December of course had to be Christmas themed! Turn your house into an elegant white wonderland with simple rustic style decorations, soft cosy blankets and fabrics and candles. You could even make your own wreaths and spray paint pine cones to hang on your tree. 


19 days to go…..!

Tuesday 2 December 2014

How the Grinch Stole Christmas - Dr Seuss

Made by The Dorothy Days

How the Grinch Stole Christmas is one of my childhood favourites and I love the film they made for it too with Jim Carrey so I thought I would share with you all this quote from the book today. Maybe we should all focus on the 'little bit more' part of Christmas more than ever this year and not stress too much about all the finer details and making Christmas 'perfect' but instead enjoy the day with those we care about. 23 days to go…..!

Monday 1 December 2014

Christmas Countdown Begins!

RhB Ge 4-4 II Wiesener Viadukt
A RhB Ge 4/4 II with push-pull train crosses the Wiesen Viaduct between Wiesen and Filisur in Switzerland 
Pinch, Punch first of the month and the countdown to Christmas begins! Who is excited?! I will be blogging regularly throughout December and running a Christmas countdown so please come and stop by and get excited that Christmas is approaching with me!! For those who do not celebrate Christmas I will also be posting winter themed posts, style guides etc. 

Hope that you will enjoy my blog posts this month

The Dorothy Days Xx




Thursday 27 November 2014

Dorset Christmas Fair - 6th December -10am - 4pm - Wimborne Minster

Photo Credit - Donna from Little Vagaries who will be coming to our Dorset Team Christmas Fair in Wimborne on the 6th December 2014.

Hello everyone :)

We are now on countdown to The Dorset Team Christmas Fair! Just 9 days to go. I can't believe it has come around so quickly after being months in the planning. I am so excited for the event. In the past few days banners have gone up, flyers have been put into shops and through people's doors. We also received a rather large and exciting box from Etsy UK with goodies for the fair! Not going to reveal too much (you will have to come along to see!) but Etsy have kindly sent us some really great bits.

Been so excited to hear what different stallholders have been making. Donna from Little Vagaries has been making these beautiful illustrated stones which she draws free hand. Aren't they beautiful? Please come along to the fair to meet Donna and see her latest works. You can also see some of her designs on her Etsy shop here https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/littlevagaries

Hope to see lots of you coming along to the Dorset Team fair, it is a fantastic way of support local independent businesses this Christmas. More information about the event can be found on the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/events/1433547900231175/

Entry is FREE and the fair is on the 6th December 2014

Best wishes

The Dorothy Days X

Saturday 22 November 2014

Polka Dot Interior Design - The Dorothy Days



Polka Dot

Hello!

If you haven't already noticed, the theme for this week's Style Saturday is polka dots! I am rather fond of polka dots and have lots of polka dot items scattered around my house as well as some polka dot jewellery. I really like the monochrome polka dots as it makes the fun pattern into something a bit more sophisticated. My favourite item from this collection has to be the box at the very top, it would be wonderful for keeping photographs and keepsakes in.

What are your thoughts on polka dots? Love them or loathe them!? Let me know in the comment section below.

The Dorothy Days Xx

P.S - If you missed last week's Style Saturday you can find it here! Enjoy :)

Sunday 9 November 2014

New addition to our family - 4 month old cockapoo rescue with behavioural problems

Hello everyone,

Well if you have been looking on my Twitter account you would have seen I have some very exciting news to share with you all…..we rescued a 4 month old puppy! He is a beautiful apricot cockapoo with some behavioural problems and some aggression issues. He was very loved in his old home by his family but they just couldn’t cope and had 4 young children. He may look like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth but he growls, barks and nips which was all too much with 4 children. We have taken him on and our work is going to be cut out but he is a lovely dog and very intelligent. Luckily because he is so young, with the right training all this can change and he can be the perfect pooch! When he is good he is very very good but when he is bad….not so much! I am hoping to blog about the process.






Day 1: After a drive which was meant to go AROUND central London but ended up going THROUGH central London we finally got to meet him! Smaller than I thought and fluffier. We picked him up with all his beds, toys and other bits and bobs (seems that puppies and like children and tend to come with lots of stuff! A whole back car full!) We thought he might be unsettled on the journey but he slept the whole way in his car carrier or played with his toys and seemed perfectly content. We stopped off at my sister’s house to give him a loo break and did get to see his first growls and attempts to bite. We then got stuck in rush hour traffic and a 1 hour 30 mins journey took over 5 hours (remind me never to travel out of London in rush hour again!). The first day was really hard and we had lots of incidences of growling and trying to bite us which is quite scary when it is a dog that you don’t know. Between this though he was the perfect dog and more than happy to sit and cuddle.


Day 2: He cried a lot of the night but did settle but then woke up early crying again and wanting to be let out. He needs lots of encouragement to do things, he is very nervous and unsure about stairs for example so getting him to go down them is quite a mission. He also does not like it when you try and take off his harness or put it on and this is when he tries to bite the most. He slept with it on last night as we unclipped it but he was too aggressive to remove it completely but we managed to remove it today and put on his collar instead. We have taken him on lots of walks to the park but getting him there is a slow process, he needs an awful lot of encouragement and does bark at people and sometimes growl as they go past. As the day went on, through and using positive reinforcement and distraction techniques this reduced. By the end of the day he was barely growling (a huge improvement from the previous day!) and even met some people in the park who stroked him without him biting and some other dogs and puppies. One of his problems is that he is so cute everyone wants to stroke him (particularly children). Not allowing children to stroke him at the moment as can’t risk him biting but we explain to adults that he is rescue and his problems and they are sympathetic and often do still stroke him which he has been fine about with 1 exception. He is super intelligent and I believe some of his aggression comes from frustration and boredom. In the day we managed to teach him paw and he already knows how to wee on command (!), sit, lie down and how to take a treat from you gently. He spent the evening snuggled on our laps.


Day 3: We have already fallen in love with him but weren’t too impressed by his 5am wake up call! We ignored his cries last night (hard as it was) so to teach him he needs to settle in his pen at night but 5am he needed the loo so we had to get up and let him out before he woke all the neighbours! We bought him a new toy yesterday which you stuff with food and treats so as I write this now at 6am he is trying his best to get some chicken out of the toy! We are speaking a trainer today for some more advice and going to buy some clickers to clicker train him. He is intelligent, learns fast and is eager to please so we are considering something like agility to try channel all his energy into something fun and positive. Also going to get a new harness and work to create positive associations with this harness as he hates the old one! Will keep you updated on how it goes! 

The Dorothy Days Xx

Friday 7 November 2014

Dorset Team Christmas Fair - Wimborne - Featured stallholder - Do A Little Dance


Hello everyone,

How are you all? Hope that you are all well. Have you got your head around it being November yet?! I don't think I have! Less than one month to go now until the Dorset Team Christmas Fair and time to share with you another stallholder who will be appearing at the fair. I hope you are enjoying these 'sneak peeks'. If you are in the area please do come along to the fair, it is going to be a fantastic day of Christmas shopping and lots of stallholders will be offering items for sale which they do not have listed anywhere else, some are offering special offers and it is a fantastic opportunity to see some of the talented makers and sellers in our area. I am certainly very proud to have some many talented local people coming to the fair.

Today I wanted to share with you the work of Sojung Kim McCarthy who runs Do a Little Dance (isn't that the cutest name?!). Her shop is adorable. I think I was sold the moment I saw tea themed items and tea cosies but I also love her bags, jewellery and embroidery hoop art.

The lovely thing about Sojung Kim's embroidery hoops are that they are light so would be easy to package up and send as a gift to someone and it would be a really unique gift that nobody else has one quite the same. Sojung Kim has not sold at one of our Dorset Team fairs yet so I am very excited to see her stall.

If you are local, please come along to the fair in Wimborne. It is on the 6th December 10am - 4pm. FREE ENTRY at Wimborne Allendale Centre. There is plenty of parking nearby.

You can find more information about the fair on both our Facebook event page by clicking here and also our Event Brite page which you will be able to find here


Hope to see you at the fair!

Best wishes

The Dorothy Days Xx

Wednesday 5 November 2014

Extreme Dad dancing - hilarious youtube video to brighten up your day

Hello everyone,

Wednesday is not my favourite day... I know Monday's are normally the day in which everyone moans about but I tend to feel quite positive on a Monday as it is like a fresh start and a brand new week. Wednesday for me are instead always the "AHHH I haven't done this and it's already mid way through the week" kind of days. Today I spent the day catching up on emails and paperwork so when I stumbled across this (yes, I was being naughty and procrastinating!) it cheered me right up and made my day much brighter. The video actually made me cry in laughter, I love how his children are just sat there ignoring him dancing like it is an every day occurrence!

Hope that this video brightened your day a little too.

Thanks so much for checking out my blog.

The Dorothy Days

Click below for 1 minute 20 seconds of pure hilarity! 

Monday 3 November 2014

Claude Monet painting to start your week!

Claude Monet - The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-ROM, 2002. 

Good morning!

Happy Monday :)  Normally on a Monday I share an inspirational quote to get the week started but today I thought I would share with you some art instead. I always find it nice to get up in the morning and have a few moments to relax, be quiet and have something to focus on and think about which is calming, really make a difference to a day. So today I am sharing with you all this beautiful work by Claude Monet.

Have a great week everyone!

The Dorothy Days

Sunday 2 November 2014

Sundays = Relaxing and some making! Raspberry Jelly Cosmo tutorial

Hello everyone,

Happy Sunday! Did you all have a wonderful Halloween? I hope so and a relaxing weekend after. I know that lots of you like to use Sunday as a day to unwind and relax before a busy week ahead and that lots of my followers have told me via Twitter that they also love to use Sunday as a day to make things and bake things! Today I thought I would share with you all a tutorial of how to make Raspberry Jello/ Jelly Cosmos for all of you who like to make things on a Sunday. Now that everyone is gearing up for Christmas I thought these would be idea for Christmas parties and the colour makes them really festive!

Enjoy!

The Dorothy Days Xx

Saturday 1 November 2014

Home styling - Home office space






Hello everyone,

First of all, HAPPY NOVEMBER! Can't believe November is now here, that came around fast! Thank you to everyone who looked at my yellow and black themed style saturday

Very excited to share this week's Style Saturday. I know lots of my blog readers work from home so this week's Style Saturday is for you! With the dark mornings and evenings it can be a bit more tricky to get yourself motivated and productive so I thought this Home Office Pick Me Up was perfect to bring some colour and fun into your office space!

Re-Fresh.

If you are reading this from your home studio or office please say a hello in the comments section below. What do you have in your office space to make it a nicer environment to work in?

The Dorothy Days X

Friday 31 October 2014

Dorset Team Christmas Fair 2014 - Wimborne Allendale Centre - 6th December


Hey everyone,

Happy Friday! Where did the whole of October go?! The Dorset Team Christmas Fair is now fast approaching and will be here before we know it. It has been months in planning so am really excited for the big day and seeing everyone's hard work come together.

Today I wanted to show you the work of David from Beneath Bright Waters. David sells fine prints inspired by the rivers which he likes to fish by. His shop is beautiful with minimalist black and white prints of the fish he encounters at the riverside. They would make a wonderful Christmas gift for a keen fisher or just someone who appreciates unique and unusual prints. 

David says of his work ''My prints are the result of days spent by the river over the last few years. Sometimes alone, sometimes with friends or family. Occasionally there's a picnic, often a beer, but there's always a smile as I squint through the sunlight on the lookout for rising trout.'' 

If you like David's prints, please come along to our Dorset Team Christmas Fair to meet him in person, see his beautiful prints and browse around the fair and see what the rest of the Dorset Team has to offer and their beautiful handmade and vintage items.

Date: 6th December
Where: Allendale Centre, Wimborne
Time: 10am - 4pm
Entry: FREE, children welcome

You can find more information about the fair on both our Facebook event page by clicking here and also our Event Brite page which you will be able to find here


Thanks for reading and hope to see some of you there!
The Dorothy Days X

Thursday 30 October 2014

Cool Video to brighten up your day - OK GO - The Writings On the Wall

Hey everyone,

If you are like me, you will find yourself quite often getting lost on Youtube looking at various videos. I watch everything from vloggers to funny animal videos to music videos and craft tutorials. I particularly like watching videos which are really creative and so today I wanted to share with you all a music video from a band which is just that! You know the video of those 4 guys on treadmills who glide across the treadmill, go under it, over it etc to music? It was a viral video a while back. Well its the same guys in this video.

Take a look and I hope it brightens you day a little :)


Tuesday 28 October 2014

Dorset Christmas Fair - Wimborne Allendale Centre - 6th December 2014


Hello everyone!

Well Tuesday is normally my day for telling you what I am up to in my shop or what I am making but at the moment I have been busy busy busy with preparations for the Dorset Team Christmas Fair so I thought I would tell you about that instead!

The Dorset Team are a team of over 300 Etsy sellers. We come together to support one another with our online shops and have a fantastically active forum which we use to share tips, cross promote and ask and receive advice. As well as being active online both on our team forum and social media pages, we also like to put on events! We hold meet ups and organise craft and vintage fairs. We have held several fairs in Christchurch and for the first time we are holding a fair in Wimborne Minster.

The fair will be our biggest fair to date with 80 stalls all by members of the Dorset Etsy Team. It will be wonderful to get together so many members of the team selling at the same event. Lots of the sellers have very successful Etsy shops so mainly (or sometimes only) sell online so this is a fantastic opportunity to see their wares in person and also meet the seller behind the shop.

Above is a photo collage I made of some of the items made by stallholders coming to the fair. This is just a very small selection of stallholders who are coming. To just mention a few.....

*Katie Rewse who is a local designer who sells surf and skate items including prints and decorated decks and surf board fins

*Nicolette Dawn who makes amazing wire sculpture animals. You can see her ducklings on the far left second row.

*Jilly from Jilly Bird who makes retro and Scandinavian inspired home wares including mugs and prints

*Susan from Bound who makes beautiful hand bound leather books

Lots of the stallholders are offering special discounts and you of course will save on postage fees by coming to the event. I have also heard from many stallholders that they will be bringing exclusive items which have never been shown on their online shop so a really great opportunity to buy some unique Christmas gifts.



Monday 27 October 2014

Erased de Kooning Drawing - Robert Rauschenberg - An Art blog post!

Erased De Kooning Drawing, Robert Rauschenberg, 1953.

The work is in the collection of SFMOMA and the image above is copyright of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation with the photograph by Ben Blackwell. 


Hello everyone,

While I was unwell it was what would have been Robert Rauschenberg's birthday. I have not blogged about art in ages so, even though his birthday has now come and gone, I thought I would share with you this clip of Rauschenberg talking about his piece Erased de Kooning Drawing. I once gave a presentation on Rauschenberg and since then have always found his work interesting. This is mainly because his work pushes the boundaries of art and what can be considered art, an area in which I always love writing about.

Robert Rauschenberg (22nd October 1925 -12th May 2008) was an American artist. He is not normally considered to be part of any one artistic movement but his work was extremely influential especially to the Pop Artists. His work is often discussed because of his use of appropriation. In art, appropriation is when an object or image is taken from one source and made into art with little or no changes being made. This is image or object is normally a 'non-art' object but is appropriated and becomes art. One of the most famous examples of this is Marcel Duchamp's Fountain in which he places a urinal on a plinth and signs it 'R. Mutt 1917'. This ordinary object them becomes a work of art. Here Rauschenberg takes an artwork by one of the most famous artists of the time from the Abstract Expressionist movement, Willem de Kooning and erases it. He therefore is appropriating De Kooning's work but unlike Duchamp, where the urinal was before a non-art object, the object was already an art piece before he appropriated it. He transforms a work of art into a totally different work of art therefore allowing new and different interpretations to what was originally intended.

In this clip Rauschenberg talks about how the work came to be.




'The power of Erased de Kooning Drawing derives from the allure of the unseen and from the enigmatic nature of Rauschenberg’s decision to erase a de Kooning. Was it an act of homage, provocation, humor, patricide, destruction, or, as Rauschenberg once suggested, celebration?'
SFMOMA

Rauschenberg once said 'An empty canvas is full' and here, even though the canvas only has traces of the original artwork, the canvas is still full of meaning. As the SFMOMA puts it, 'Erased de Kooning Drawing eludes easy answers, its mysterious beginnings leaving it open to a range of present and future interpretations.' 


Hope that you enjoyed this blog post.

Let me know what you think about the work in the comment section below and if you would like to read anymore about this work please take a look at the SFMOMA website which I have linked. It is full of information and is where the image and video is from.

The Dorothy Days Xx

Saturday 25 October 2014

Style Saturday - Bedroom inspiration

Under the Canopy
Now that the colder weather is here and the darker nights it is nice to have somewhere warm, cosy and relaxing to come back to. I really love this collection. The bed is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G and would be like waking up every morning feeling like you were in a luxury hotel! The rocking chair looks super comfy for curling up and reading a book in. The trays would be perfect for being brought breakfast in bed and the candles for romantic evenings in. The whole room looks very tranquil and relaxing and would be perfect to come home to each evening.

What do you all think? Would your dream bedroom look like this?
Let me know in the comments section below

Thanks for reading

The Dorothy Days

P.S To see my previous week's Style Saturday please click here…. http://thedorothydays.blogspot.com/2014/10/yellow-and-black-fashion-inspiration.html

Hellooooo!

Hey everyone,

Sorry that I have been so quiet on my blog recently. I have unfortunately been really unwell (much better now!) and also super busy with the Dorset Team Christmas Fair planning! It is really exciting but also means that I am not finding I have much time for blogging, tweeting or making new bits at the moment.

Feeling back to my normal self so thought I would write a little blog post to say hello! Thank you to everyone who has been reading my posts.

Actually managed to do some creating and making today. Was so nice as I haven't done much lately. Super excited about sharing which I made but will keep you in suspense for a little longer!

Thanks for all your lovely get well soon tweets, very kind and cheered me up even when I was feeling really poorly!

The Dorothy Days Xx


Friday 24 October 2014

Heidi M Illustration - Dorset Christmas Fair in Wimborne, 6th December, Allendale Centre


Hello everyone,

Happy Friday to you all, did you have a good week? Over the last few weeks I have been showing you some of the stallholders who will be coming to our Dorset Team Christmas Fair. If you would like to see last week's feature please click HERE and see the wonderful work of Isobel Barber.

This week I would like to share with you Heidi's work for Heidi M Illustration. Heidi's paints with watercolours magical storybook style characters. She is inspired by Quentin Blake and Shirley Hughes, two of my favourite illustrators. I particularly like Heidi's cat lady illustrations! 


If you are reading this from Dorset please come along and meet Heidi and the other sellers at the Dorset Team Christmas Fair. It is a large event in Wimborne for Christmas shopping and celebrating the work of local artists, crafters, artisans and vintage sellers who form our Dorset Team


Date: 6th December
Where: Allendale Centre, Wimborne
Time: 10am - 4pm
Entry: FREE, children welcome

You can find more information about the fair on both our Facebook event page by clicking here and also our Event Brite page which you will be able to find here

The Dorset Team is also organising a fair on 26th October. please see the Facebook event page for details by clicking HERE. The fair will be in Christchurch

Saturday 18 October 2014

Yellow and Black fashion inspiration

Hello everyone,

Welcome to another of my Style Saturday blog posts. For those who are new to my blog, every Saturday I post a style collection to my blog. Collections include fashion, interiors, DIY style etc. Last week I posted a wonderful Mint Green outfit inspiration for you all to enjoy. The colours were really sweet, dainty and pretty with floral garland crowns, white roses and a beautiful floaty dress. This week I thought it would be fun to do something totally different and show you a collection which is bold but still chic!

Yellow and black are pretty hard to pull off together without looking like a bumble bee! However, I think that this collection has managed to make this colour combination look totally chic and stylish. The outfit itself is very plain and unfussy so it lets the colours remain the focus. The turned up sleeve of the blazer gives it a more casual look and the simplicity of the LBD allows for the boldness of the yellow in  the blazer. Isn't the lego clutch cute?! I also love the earrings and the shoes.


Bold LOVE..

What is your favourite part of this outfit? Would you wear it or not be seen dead in it?! Let me know in the comments section below

The Dorothy Days 

Friday 17 October 2014

Isobel Barber - Dorset Etsy Team Fair - Wimborne 6th December - Dorset Fairs - Christmas Fair

Hey everyone!

Another wonderful stallholder from the Dorset Team Christmas Fair to share with you all.... this time I wanted to show you all the work of Isobel Barber. Isobel is from Bournemouth and is an artist and illustrator. She makes her prints using recycled paper. She says of her work ' I am inspired by colourful snippets of day to day life and create bright and playful illustrations made to make you smile or capture a moment of nostalgia.' She has recently been featured in the local newspaper, the Blackmore Vale presenting her limited edition print to Wimborne town crier Chris Brown. You can find the article HERE

Isobel will be selling her work at our Dorset Team fair, we would love for you to come along, meet our sellers and browse their beautiful works. There is plenty to see and it is going to be a fantastic Christmas shopping day out (I have already started to write my Christmas wish list of my family and friends for the fair!). There is a huge range of different craft and vintage stalls. Crafts include paper cuts, jewellery, ironwork, illustration, painting, fabric items etc.

Please come along and meet us all and see what the Dorset Etsy Team is about. Details for the fair are....

Date: 6th December
Where: Allendale Centre, Wimborne
Time: 10am - 4pm
Entry: FREE, children welcome

You can find more information about the fair on both our Facebook event page by clicking here and also our Event Brite page which you will be able to find here

The Dorset Team is also organising a fair on 26th October. please see the Facebook event page for details by clicking HERE. The fair will be in Christchurch

Tuesday 14 October 2014

The Dorothy Days - Vintage and Handmade - Happy Tuesday!


Good morning everyone :)

Busy busy busy here at the moment in The Dorothy Days HQ! Lots of preparing for Christmas... working on some new stock and also preparing for our Dorset Team fairs. Very excited about the run up to Christmas and running the shop always makes me feel more festive especially when I am gift wrapping! I feel like a little Christmas elf!!

Hope you are all have a great week and thanks to everyone reading my blog so far this week. Been looking at where people are viewing from and been getting views from all round the world which is so exciting. 

Please let me know in the comment section below where you are reading this from :)

The Dorothy Days X

Monday 13 October 2014

20 things we should say more often - Kid President - Inspirational message

Hello everyone,

Normally I post a quote on Mondays but for a change, today I thought I would share with you some inspirational words from Kid President.

Kid president, for anyone who hasn't already watched one of his videos, is both adorable and inspirational. In this video he talks about 20 things we should say more often. Hope that you enjoy the video and make a special effort to use some of these words more frequently this week.

Enjoy!


The Dorothy Days Xx

Sunday 12 October 2014

The Dorothy Days - Things I am loving this week...

  • Blueberry Muller Rice (I can't get enough of this at the moment!)
  • Mint tea made from fresh mint leaves and boiling water
  • Thick socks!! It has certainly been cold this week so my thick socks have been in high demand!
  • That it feels more like Autumn. I miss the sunshine but I do also love the Autumn and can't wait until it is cold enough to get the fire lit!
  • Spending time catching up with friends and family. I have been doing a lot of it this week and you just can't beat it! 

Saturday 11 October 2014

Mint outfit inspiration




Hello everyone,

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. For this week's Style Saturday (do you like my new banner?!) I wanted to share with you all this beautiful mint collection. I LOVE the dress she is wearing on the left with the big chunky ring. White roses are one of my favourite flowers and mint green one of my favourite colours. In fact I love pretty much all of this collection! I hope that you like it too!!
Tea is the finest solution!
The Dorothy Days X

Friday 10 October 2014

Dorset Team Christmas Fair - 6th December - Wimborne - Nicolette Dawn

Hello everyone,

Happy Friday! I hope that you are all having a wonderful week so far and looking forward to the weekend.

Today I wanted to share with you all another Dorset Team Christmas Fair stallholder who will be coming to the fair on the 6th December. Nicolette from Nicolette Dawn will be selling her wire sculptures which she makes at her home in Christchurch. The sculptures are made from chicken wire and then painted. She makes different animals including chickens, robins (perfect for a Christmas gift or decoration), rabbits, ducks and even penguins and dogs! She is makes beautiful hand knitted bags.

Please come along to the fair to see Nicolette's and other members of the Dorset Team's stalls. There will be a huge selection of different high quality handmade and vintage items as well as food stalls.


Date: 6th December
Where: Allendale Centre, Wimborne
Time: 10am - 4pm
Entry: FREE, children welcome

You can find more information about the fair on both our Facebook event page by clicking here and also our Event Brite page which you will be able to find here

The Dorset Team is also organising a fair on 26th October. please see the Facebook event page for details by clicking HERE. The fair will be in Christchurch

Thursday 9 October 2014

5 Kitchen items I love this week

Hello everyone,

Today I thought I would share with you some more items which I love from Etsy. Hope that you are enjoying these posts and the items that I am showing you. 

This week I thought I would show you items which would be perfect for if you are hosting a supper party or just want to brighten up your kitchen now the darker nights are drawing in.







Wonderful colour combination of blue and orange on this dish towel/ tea towel made and designed by Nadine Westcott




Please take a look at these shops, they have wonderful handmade items in each and buying from them will be supporting independent sellers. To browse Etsy in general please click here

The Dorothy Days Xx

Wednesday 8 October 2014

The Dorothy Days - Tea cup necklace with blue flower charm


Do you love tea....or are you more of a coffee fan?! As you might have probably realised I am a big tea fan so I couldn't resist making some tea themed jewellery and started making these tea cup necklaces. They have proved to be really popular with both tea and coffee fans and so I have started to make them with different colour flower charms. This is my blue flower charm necklace, all the different colours are listed in my shop. Please click here to take a look to have a look at my blue flower necklace. The flower is removable so can be worn alone on the necklace or with the tea/ coffee cup and the teacup/ coffee cup can also be worn alone.

The necklace has a vintage look about it and would make a fantastic gift for a tea/ coffee lover or just someone who likes quirky jewellery!

The Dorothy Days Xx

Monday 6 October 2014

Duke Ellington inspirational quote



Happy Monday everyone

An inspirational quote for you all to start the week by the great jazz legend Duke Ellington.

I hope that you find this inspiring and have a wonderful and productive week.

The Dorothy Days Xx


Dorset Team Autumn Fair and Christmas Fair - Christchurch and Wimborne

 Hello everyone,

For anyone reading my blog from Dorset I just wanted to remind you all that the Dorset Team, a group of small shop owners who sell their wares on Etsy.com, will be holding two craft fairs this Autumn/ Winter. 



Do you love handmade items? The Autumn Craft Fair will be in Christchurch and will have 40 stallholders selling a variety of different products. Dorset Team Autumn Craft Fair - Click here to view the event page which will give you more information about our fair and also a taster of some of the products to expect at the fair.


Looking to buy from independent sellers this Christmas and pick up some really unique gifts? Our Dorset Team Christmas Fair on the 6th December 2014 is the perfect opportunity to do so! Please click here for more information. The link will take your to our Facebook event page. This fair will have 80 stalls again selling a variety of different handmade and vintage items as well as some wonderful festive themed items.

Both events are not to be missed! Please come along and say hello, there will also be an opportunity to speak to Etsy sellers and gain advice about starting up your own shop and gain some more information about what the Dorset Team is about.

The Dorothy Days Xx

Saturday 4 October 2014

Style Saturday - Creative weekends outfit

Hello everyone,

Hope that you are all having a wonderful weekend so far. Today is my Style Saturday so I thought I would share with you all this outfit collection. I love creative weekends and so this outfit would be perfect for just that and would be stylish too! The jumper looks super comfy and cosy and I love the jeans too but my favourite has to be the shoes, I LOVE them!artist

What is your favourite part of this outfit? Let me know in the comment section below 

Friday 3 October 2014

Dorset Team Christmas Fair - Wimborne - Featured Stallholder: Lynn Davy from Nemeton


Hey everyone,

How are you all? Thanks for stopping by my blog. Getting very excited about the Dorset Team Christmas Craft and Vintage Fair now so I thought I would share with you all another stallholder who will be attending the event. Local jewellery designer Lynn Davy from Nemeton will be exhibiting and selling her amazing necklaces and jewellery at the fair. Lynn often is featured in beading magazines and her jewellery wins competitions. I have been lucky enough to see Lynn's jewellery up close (and also had a little tour of her bead room - it is AMAZING!) and it is even more impressive when you see it up close rather than in photographs. Each piece is so beautifully intricate and cleverly put together and is like wearable art.

Lynn is one of my Dorset Team leaders so plays a very active role in the Dorset Team. She is also a very experienced Etsy seller, having been on the site 6 years. If you are interested in buying a new necklace you should most certainly head down to the fair to meet Lynn and see her jewellery. Lynn will also be selling kits so if you fancy giving beading a go it is a great opportunity to meet Lynn in person and gain a few extra tips! She is also a fount of knowledge on all things Etsy!

Date: 6th December
Where: Allendale Centre, Wimborne
Time: 10am - 4pm
Entry: FREE, children welcome

You can find more information about the fair on both our Facebook event page by clicking here and also our Event Brite page which you will be able to find here

The Dorset Team is also organising a fair on 26th October. please see the Facebook event page for details by clicking HERE. The fair will be in Christchurch

Saturday 27 September 2014

Style Saturday: Autumn is here

Hello everyone,

Time to drag out the winter wardrobe or hit the shops to revamp your wardrobe with some new items. I thought I would share with you all some autumn wardrobe inspiration...

This outfit combines autumnal colours of brown with a glittering gold peter pan collar and gorgeous yellow top and shoes which remind me of the autumn leaves.



smile. autumn is here.
What do you think?

The Dorothy Days X

Thursday 25 September 2014

Man's Best Friend - 3 dog themed items I love this week from Etsy

Hello everyone,

This week I thought I would share with you all three items I love for man's best friend! These are all handmade by sellers on the online marketplace Etsy. This is the website in which I have my own shop, The Dorothy Days and it is filled with sellers selling beautiful handmade and vintage items


Your dog would be the coolest dog on the block with this collar from London designers Amy and Bee who run Hiro and Wolf. In fact, your dog would be the coolest dog on the block with any of Hiro and Wolf's dog collars and leads!


Morgan from The Pup Loft in North Dakota sells these handmade dog cushion covers. She says 'no need to throw away perfectly good pillows. Reuse your current pillows and give your pets a stylist renovation!' 


Completely collapsible dog bowl for when you are out and about or travelling by Stickdog. The bowl is waterproof and machine washable. It is also made from organic cotton, printed with water based inks and lined with recycled raincoats.  


I hope you liked this blog post, I had a lot of fun researching for it and it makes me really want to get another dog!

Are you a dog owner? Would love to hear from you in the comment section below what breed of dog you have and what his or her name is!

Thanks for reading
Best wishes

The Dorothy Days