Dorset Team Christmas Fair - Gift Guide for creatives!

Buying for a fellow creative can be super tricky. Lots of my friends are super talented creatives and I want to buy them some unique gifts this Christmas but it can be hard to find something so this week I have put together a gift guide for gifts for artists, makers, crafters and fellow Etsy sellers.

All the sellers who are featured in this collection will be selling their wares at the Dorset Team Christmas Fair in Wimborne on the 5th December as well as having their own online Etsy shops. 

For more information about the event please see our event page Dorset Team Christmas Fair

1) Handmade Business Card Holder

William Morris once said “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”. These handmade business card holders by Sonia from Layoutlines tick both boxes!

Perfect for a friend who does lots of shows, fairs and events

Shop online at Layoutlines or visit Sonia's stall at the Dorset Team Christmas Fair

2) Bunting

Everyone loves bunting right?! I love this vintage style doily bunting by Anna from Tinker Temptress which has been made by crocheting. This would be a great gift for a creative friend who has a work room, studio or shedio!

Shop online at Tinker Temptress or at the Dorset Team Christmas Fair  

3) Fabric Basket Organisers 

Craft rooms deserve to look pretty too! These handmade fabric baskets are perfect for organising and storing craft materials, fabrics etc

Suzanne from Sunny Bunny Craft sells them in a range of different fabrics and sizes on her Etsy shop  or come and browse Suzanne's stall at the Dorset Team Christmas Fair to see her latest makes! 

4) Crafting Kit

If who your buying for crafts or makes for a living perhaps they would like to learn a new skill or craft to do for pleasure which is totally different from the craft they sell in their shop.

I particularly love this beading kit and tutorial by expert beader Lynn Davy. Not only does it have step by step instructions but there is everything you need to make one her designs.

Lynn has a beautiful online shop  and will also be showcasing some of her prize winning designs as well as kits and jewellery for sale at the Dorset Team Christmas Fair. Lynn has recently written a book on beading which will be available to preview at the Christmas Fair and available on Amazon for pre-order. This would make a fantastic accompanying gift.

Hope this has given you some gift inspiration and hope that you have enjoyed reading this blog post!

All the makers in this blog post are Etsy sellers based in Dorset and stallholders at the Etsy Made Local Christmas Fair in Wimborne on the 5th December. Please come along and say hello and meet the sellers behind the shops.

The Dorothy Days X

Bicycle - A short film by artist Dana Sink

Hey everyone,

Hope that you are all having a wonderful week so far. I thought today I would share with you all something a little different. I like to try and start my day by watching something creative, reading something inspiring or doing something creative myself that isn't related to the shop but rather just for total enjoyment and fun. I find it is a really positive and nice way to start the day!

I started my day today watching this short film which is just over a minute long. The film was made by Dana Sink who lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and has been shown at many different film and animation festivals.

Dana is also a painter who works in the medium of oils and his interpretations of space. You can find out more about Dana and his work here http://www.danasink.com



Bicycle from Dana Sink on Vimeo.

Hope that you enjoyed the video as much as I did.

How do you like to start your day?

Would love to hear, please either tweet me @thedorothydays (there is a Twitter box over ----> there on my blog) or leave me a comment in the comment section below.

Have a fantastic day!

The Dorothy Days X

Quote of the week - Bear Grylls

Hello everyone,

Hope you had a wonderful weekend and that you are looking forward to the week ahead. My motivational quote of the week for this week comes from British adventurer Bear Grylls

"If you risk nothing, you gain nothing"
- Bear Grylls


What is your favourite motivational quote? Please let me know in the comments section below or tweet me @thedorothydays (tweet box on the right hand side of my blog)

The Dorothy Days 

Featured Item - My new house key rings

Hello everyone,

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. Today I wanted to share with you all some new products that went live in my Etsy shop this week.....

I have been working on making some new house key rings for my shop. I made and sold some of my house key rings a little while ago but they were popular and as they are all one of a kind, I almost sold out of them.

This week I have been busy making some new house key rings. The houses that I draw are based on the houses in my village and surrounding area. In my village all the cottages look very similar but each house has their own slightly different features. I wanted to try and keep with what traditionally you think of a house but also include all the little extras that make each house different. So, the key rings have different colour front doors, some houses are tall and skinny, some are wide, some have lots of windows and some have a few and some have flowers growing up the front or chimneys.

I really enjoyed making them and hope that you will all like them too.

To find them in my Etsy shop please take a look at my keyring section which can be found here: Keyring Section

Thanks for reading!

The Dorothy Days X

Style Saturday - Christmas Styling

Hello everyone,

I am WAAAAAY too excited about Christmas so couldn't resist doing a blog post about Christmas styling today for my Style Saturday blog post. 

I really like this collection as nothing is too obviously Christmas themed (well okay, maybe the Christmas tree!!). This means you can decorate and enjoy the decorations a little earlier in the year and it gives the house a lovely wintery feel.

 This collection would also be fantastic if you live in a smaller house or flat so don't have space to store lots of Christmas decorations. The few added 'extras' such as the moose and reindeers that add the 'Christmas' into this collection could be packed away but the other elements could stay.

 I love the minimalist, nordic style and use of traditional materials like the wood along with more modern and man made materials such as acrylic, steel and plastic.

This collection looks really warm and cosy and light and fresh at the same time. My favourites are the use of branches to make decorations for the table. How easy and simple is that to do but still super effective. I also love the big lampshade as it really completes the room!

The Dorothy Days X

Name That Mouse!

Adorable Mouse Necklace by The Dorothy Days 

 Hello everyone,

My little mouse necklace has been super popular this month so I decided it was about time that he had a name. I have had some wonderful suggestions on my Facebook page of what to call him but still can't decide which one to choose! Which name do you like the best? Please head over to my Facebook page and like the name you like the most https://www.facebook.com/thedorothydays/

At the end of the month the name with the most votes will become his official name!

Will he be a Brian, a Pipsqueak, a Norman or even a Sir Reginald Winston Chessington III?!

You can also find my mouse necklace in my Etsy shop

The Dorothy Days X

Beautiful time lapse of Dorset Coastline

Hello everyone,

Happy Monday :)

Today I wanted to share with you all this amazing video by Mattia Bicchi Photography. The video shows a time lapse of some of the most beautiful places in Dorset (the place that I am lucky to be able to call home!)

I know that I have quite a lot of readers from outside of the U.K *waves* (particularly from the U.S.A and Russia) so I thought it would be fun to show you a little glimpse of what Dorset is like.

Lulworth Cove is just a short drive away and has the most amazing little tea shops all the way down to the beach where you can buy cream teas and have a bite to eat. The beach itself is rugged which I love. Just along from Lulworth Cove is Durdle Door (the archway you see in the video) and from here you have the most spectacular views across the landscape before carefully climbing down the coastal path to the beach. In the summertime the beaches are a really relaxing place to come and enjoy the sunshine but my favourite time to visit the coast has to be in the Autumn and Winter where there is a chill in the air and the waves high and the beaches quiet. It is stunning. A few years across I waited at Durdle Door on the cliff edge for the sun to rise and took photographs. Such a beautiful and magical experience.

Feel so lucky to have this on my door step!

The film is by Mattia Bicchi who is an Italian born photographer who lives and works in London. He specialises in Time Lapse, Hyper Lapse, Architecture and Landscape photography. Find more about him and his work here: http://www.mattiabicchiphotography.com

The Dorothy Days X

Paris - My thoughts are with you Xx

The weekend has been filled with such shock and sadness after the Paris attacks and news of other tragedies happening around the world. I really don't have any words. It has just been such a sad weekend. 

I know quite a lot of you who read my blog are based in Paris so I just wanted to send my love and thoughts to you all and all of those affected.

 Xx

Photo Credit: Jean Jullien

Battle of the Christmas Ads!

Hello everyone!

Isn't it funny how most of the year we try we hover over 'skip' when an ad comes up on Youtube or we dash to the kitchen to grab a cup of tea when the adverts play on TV so we don't have to watch them or we have our hand ready on the remote so the moment that the programme goes to a break we can fast forwards through the adverts but a Christmas we look forward to seeing some of the adverts! We even find them on Youtube and share them on our social media and here I blogging about them!

Over the past few years there has been some really great and creative adverts (the John Lewis one with the penguins was one of my favourites!) and this year has been no exception.

Here are a few of the Christmas adverts for this year.....

Mulberry Advert 
The nativity Mulberry style!

]

Cadbury Christmas Advert


Sainsbury Christmas Advert 

Sainsbury has given me a blast from the past with this advert featuring Mog from the Children's book by Judith Kerr (who also wrote The Tiger Who Came To Tea). Judith herself can be seen in the advert  as one of the neighbours. I think this is my favourite advert this year!



Harrods - Once Upon A Christmas - Festive mice!


John Lewis - Man on the Moon

John Lewis have gone for one that tugs on the heart strings with an acoustic cover version of Half the World Away (originally by Oasis). But....is it as good as last years penguins?! Would love to hear your thoughts!



Which is your favourite?! I think mine has to be Mog! :)

Christmas Gift Guide - Shopping for Children

Hello everyone!

As you have probably seen on my other social media accounts, I am super super excited about the Dorset Team Christmas Fair. I have been involved with the planning of the fair so have got to know quite a lot about the different stallholders and the products they will be selling so, for this week's Style Saturday post I wanted to share with you a gift guide I put together with some of my favourite products that are coming to the fair. 

Not local to Dorset? Each of these sellers also sell online on Etsy.com so you can also shop online! Hooray!

Buying gifts for children can be rather tricky especially if you are not completely au fait with what the latest trends and 'must have' product is but why not get them something unique this Christmas that you won't find on the high street.

Anna from The Tired Bears makes the most amazing animal tails to help enable children's imagination and promote creative play. She says " A child's imagination is so vivid and need to be nurtured and encourage, and it is so easy to strap the dragon tail around their waist and all of a sudden they are a fire breathing monster!'

Find Anna's shop on The Tired Bears on Etsy 

or, if you are local, please come along to the Dorset Team Christmas Fair on the 5th December and Anna will be bringing along her full range of different tails including unicorns, killer whales and sharks!

How adorable are these?! These circus bears are made by Claire from The Bear in the Hood. Claire also makes and sells personalised children's wear, hand knitted hats, nursery prints and teepee patterns so if you are looking for something a little different this Christmas her shop is a great place to have a look.

Find Claire's shop on Etsy Bear in the Hood

or come along to the Christmas Fair to see more of Claire's work

Get ready to welcome fairies into your home with this toadstool manor by Lizz from Mid Summer Lily.

The toadstool has been hand painted and would make a really lovely decor piece for a child's room. I have heard lots about parents using things like this as a way to comfort children who are struggling to sleep by knowing the fairies will be watching out for them.

Find Lizz on Etsy or at the Christmas Fair

The final product on my gift guide is this personalised vintage style print by Phamie from Fizzy Lemonade.

I chose this as I remember the delight I had when I was younger and someone would buy me something with my name on it. It always felt super exciting and special. This print is something the child can treasure and keep when they grow up and is as much a gift for the parents as it is for the child.

Find Fizzy Lemonade on Etsy or at the Christmas Fair 

Thanks for reading. I hope you have enjoyed reading this post as much as I have enjoyed writing it!

The Dorothy Days X

Gift Guide - Gifts for women from the Dorset Etsy Team

Hello everyone!

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend so far.

Now that November is here I know that lots of you are starting to do your Christmas shopping so I have decided to put together a series of gift guides to help you find the perfect gift. Where better to look for amazing sellers for my blog post than my local Etsy team, the Dorset Team?!

I love buying from independent sellers and even more so when they are local sellers too!

All of these sellers will be exhibiting their work at the Dorset Team Christmas Fair this year. I am heading there to do my Christmas shopping so if you are local please do come along and if you are not, please check out these Etsy sellers' amazing Etsy shops to purchase online.

Lucy from The Cat in the Shoe makes the most incredible dolls.

They are all mini works of art. Lucy's shop is hugely popular so she releases her dolls in batches and they often sell out within a few hours.

Top tip: Follow Lucy on social media by searching The Cat in the Shoe to see when she will be releasing the next batch of beautiful dolls.

Find Lucy's Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/thecatintheshoe

If you are local to Dorset, Lucy will also be bringing her dolls along to the Dorset Team Christmas Fair in Wimborne on the 5th December. This provides a rare opportunity to see a large range of Lucy's dolls and purchase dolls that are super hard to get your hands on online!

Know someone who loves items from days gone by?!

This art deco style hair comb would add a touch of vintage glamour to an outfit.


Find Amy's Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/DaydreamBridal

or visit her stall at the Christmas Fair in Dorset

Next up is this beautiful embroidery hoop art work by Natalie and Jo from Studio Pickles.

These best friends from Dorset have a superb eye for colour and always have an eye catching stall.

This piece would make a fantastic gift for someone who is difficult to buy as they have everything....I am pretty sure they won't have an embroidered button art hoop in their collection ;) !

Find their Etsy shop Studio Pickles here https://www.etsy.com/shop/studiopickles or come and have a browse at their stall at the Christmas Fair if you are local

This beautiful faux opal changes colour with the light so if you know someone who likes their sparkle this would make a fantastic gift!

The ring was made by Katherine from Wildkat Jewellery who is based in Bournemouth, Dorset.

Katherine also makes beautiful wrap bracelets and her shop is well worth a browse!

You can find Katherine's Etsy shop or come and meet Katherine in person and browse her full range by coming to the Dorset Team Christmas Fair in Wimborne on the 5th December

Wildkat Jewellery

Hope you enjoyed this gift guide and it has given you some gift ideas for those who are a little more tricky to buy for! Please do take a browse in the shops of these amazing makers and hope to see some of you at the Dorset Team Christmas Fair! 

Thanks for reading

The Dorothy Days Xx