Spring Fashion Trends 2016: Blue Hydrangea

Hello everyone,

Today my retro beaded necklace which is new to my Etsy shop got featured in this beautiful collection alongside other Etsy sellers from the U.K. It was so pretty that I couldn't resist sharing it. I love this shade of blue and it is beautiful for the spring.

Spring Fashion Trends 2016: Blue Hydrangea

Another of the soft nostalgia pastels for spring, this is colour is almost a washed out denim tone. All available from the UK.

Pale Blue Reversible Hand Woven Pashmina with Silver Lurex PashMala £85.00	Pale Blue Silver Earrings, Periwinkle Teardrop Crystal Earrings, Silver Rhodium Dainty Modern Earrings, Minimal, Bridal TheBonnyBoutique $24.99	Pale Blue St Michael Dress UK 10 REVIVAL4VINTAGE £49.99	Retro pale blue beaded necklace - vintage jewellery - retro tea party dress jewellery - light blue - pastel blue -dorset etsy uk TheDorothyDays £9.00
Blue Pearl and Crystal Jewellery, Pale Blue Bridesmaid Bracelet, Bridal Party Gifts, Blue Wedding, Crystal Cluster Jewellery UrbanDaisyBridal £17.95	Vintage Original 1940's Pale Blue Linen Dress With White Floral Embroidery true vintage floral ww2 pinup lindy WillowHilsonVintage £95.00	Victorian Lace Bracelet in Tatting , Pale Blue - Victoria - Adjustable TataniaRosa $25.00	1950s Baby blue lurex knit sweater / 50s dolman sleeve knitted top - M L Veramode £40.00
Sky Blue Felt Disc Fascinator Headpiece CoggMillinery £85.00	Crochet infinity scarf, chunky scarf in Soft Pale Blue, loop scarf, warm and luxuriously soft! SweetMaya £24.00	Ladies Crochet Hat in Pale Blue with nice Crochet Flower. Chemo Hat Nice and Warm. Creationsbykandpj £12.00	Plus Sized Vintage Womens 60s 1960s Pale Blue Sleevless Top Size 22 Womans baileysbits £8.69
Set of 4 Pale blue wedding bridal hair clips, bridesmaid hair accessories, flower girl, bridal floral headpiece, wedding hair accessory FlowersAndConfetti £10.88	Pale Blue/Grey Secretary Skirt | Vintage Pencil Skirt | Vintage Office Skirt ElsieMoonVintage £11.00	Winter Rose TartanMagpie £8.50	Scottish Harris Tweed A4 Tote Shopper Bag in pale blue check *Limited Edition* TweedieBags £60.00

Hope you like it as much as I do

The Dorothy Days

My beautiful new vintage leather rucksack

Hello everyone,

How are you all? Hope you are having a great week so far. Today I wanted to share with you my new rucksack as I am rather in love with it and it is beautiful! I have been looking for a bag for a while and really wanted a rucksack especially a leather rucksack. This vintage one fitted the bill perfectly! I can't wait to start using it and it will be perfect for my trips to the art galleries!

The Dorothy Days X

I am in love with a kitchen...!

Hello everyone,

I just had to share this with you all as I have totally fallen in love with this kitchen! It is full of vintage/ retro treasures and is the perfect blend of bright coloured items with more neutral cabinets so the colour is not too overwhelming. I love the combination of the red and the retro blue too!

Maybe one day....! 

The Dorothy Days X

Quote of the week - week 2 - Oscar Wilde

The Dorothy Days - vintage and handmade shop

While I have been away from blogging I have been working really hard on adding new items to my shop and expanding the range of items that I sell. I am so pleased to see the shop look fuller and have enjoyed making the new items. I hope to continue to add more items to my shop in different designs and also add different items which I have not had in the shop before. For example, I recently added beautiful vintage glove stretchers, an item that I have never before had listed in my shop. I hope that you shall all like what you find in my shop.

The Dorothy Days Xx

20 days to go until Christmas Day - The Dorothy Days countdown!!

Hello everyone,

Well it is just 20 days to go now until Christmas day so I thought I would share with you all a rather Christmasy collection!

I am really hoping that it is going to snow this year and that we will get a White Christmas, is anyone else hoping for the same? It always looks so amazing where I live when it snows as, because I live in a rural location, the snow is left untouched for most of the day and doesn't turn to slush so quickly. We are also in a valley so get lots of snow and it is great for sledging!!

Hope you like this Christmasy themed snow collection. I particularly like the Christmas jumper, still need to get mine out the cupboard!

The Dorothy Days Xx

Quote of the Week- Roald Dahl

Hello everyone,

How are you all ? Hope that you have had a lovely weekend :).

Thought this week to start the week I would share a quote from one of my favourite authors of all time....the rather wonderful Roald Dahl. Did anyone else spend their childhood reading his books?......actually.....silly question.....EVERYONE spent their childhood reading his books!!! This quote made me smile today so I thought it was the perfect one to share.

And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.” 

― Roald Dahl

Have a great week everyone :)

The Dorothy Days 

P.S - What is your favourite Roald Dahl book?

Little update!

Hello everyone :) 

Can't believe it is March already.....time has just flown by! So excited about Spring. The flowers are blooming and there are days where the weather is much milder and the sun shines! Rather exciting. I have been visiting London quite regularly which has been wonderful, I love being over there for a few days and have been visiting lots of exhibitions and art galleries. I went to the V&A last week and to the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery all of which were fantastic. This weekend I also went to the Makers Boutique in Brighton which was a craft fair for local sellers with lots of lovely jewellery, handmade cards, ceramics, art etc. If you haven't been already and live in the Brighton area it is really worth going to. There were some beautiful stalls and lots of very talented people. They even have a little tea room at the back which I stopped at with my friends and had some tea and cake! 

My shop has been doing well and I have had quite a lot of orders recently (thanks so much to everyone who has ordered from me) so have been busy making new items for my shop, packaging up orders and taking lots of trips to the post office!! I am also planning on doing some craft fairs during the summer months. I managed to hit my target of getting 100 items listed which gave me a huge sense of achievement. My next goal is to reach 100 sales :). I am currently on 92 sales so am nearly there, going to be a enormous milestone for me and my shop so I am really excited. Thank you everyone who has been buying for me and supporting my little business.

The Dorothy Days Xx

Feature Friday- Oui Vintage

Hello everyone,

I have not done a Feature Friday blog post for aaaaaaaaaaages so I thought it would be nice to do one again as they are lots of fun and I like to give other shops exposure. So today I am going to feature a very lovely shop run by Maggie, a childrens librarian California. She has been collecting vintage since the 80's and has just set up her shop but already it looks fantastic!!! Her shop is called....

Here is a selection of my favourite things from her shop......

This skirt is fab!! It is simple and understated but also has so much elegance about it Check it out here

How fabulous is this 1970s blouse?! Such a fun print...I love it! Click here to view in Maggies shop

I also love this cute 1980s sundress. Would look fantastic with a big pair of sunglasses!

Hope you have enjoyed this feature and please be sure to take a look in the rest of Maggies shop, she has some beautiful vintage clothes.

The Dorothy Days Xxx

The Dorothy Days December so far...

Hello everyone,

Sorry for being rather absent from my blog recently. Life has been rather hectic with craft fairs, vintage markets, lots of online sales! I have also had quite a busy schedule with work and family commitments so my blog has been rather quiet. 

Can't believe it is December and that we are now on the countdown to Christmas! I am so excited. As I have been away for a while I thought I would share with you all how I have spent my December so far......

• Getting rather excited each morning about a new advent calendar window to open!

• Drinking lots of tea (surprise surprise!!) to warm up after coming in from outside

• Making shortbread biscuits for friends and also for our elderly next door neighbour, she looked so happy when we took them over!

• Doing lots of craft fairs and Christmas markets including Bath vintage market.

• Iceskating (and I even managed not to fall over!)

• I spent a whole day making lots of Christmas wreathes to sell which was so much fun!

• Attempting to learn how to walk in my new Christmas party heels!

• Going to lots of art exhibitions in London which was fantastic. I went to see the Pre-Raphaelite show in the Tate Britain and also looked around their general collection, the Victorian and Albert (V&A) to see their Venetian works they have the most beautiful glass collection and also have some amazing textiles. I also went to the National Gallery to see some of my favourites.

• Saw the Christmas tree in Trafalgar square being put up while visiting the National Gallery

• Went to Jamie Oliver's cafe for Brunch which was AMAZING, the food was so good and it was such a lovely treat.

•  I have been doing some Christmas shopping both online and offline

• Going for Christmas cocktails with my friends and family.

• Lots of nights in with the log fire burning

• Packaging up items which I have sold on Etsy

• .....lots of trips to the post office to send all my items to lovely people all across the world.

• A hilarious night of Pictionary with my friends and family  (who knew that such a simple game could get some competitive?! ) 

• Walks in the woods at the back of my house with my woolly hat on! etc etc

How have you been spending your December so far and what else do you have planned for before Christmas?

Things my followers love about where they live

Hello everyone,

I posted a little while ago about my favourite things about living in the English countryside and asked to hear what you guys love about where you are from. I had some wonderful responses from lots of different places around the world, was really lovely to read all the responses. Thanks so much for sharing and I thought I would share a few here:

Zoe from stone tree jewelry said:
I'm in a rather rural part of the United States in the gorgeous state of Maine. It's fall foliage season here and we had our first wood fire weeks ago. Not for everyone, but I love it! :)

One of my favourite things about Autumn is coming inside slighty chilly and warming up infront of a lovely log fire so I was so glad that Zoe posted this as some of the things she loves most about where she lives.


Grace left me this lovely reply:

I live in a rural part of California's Gold Country and we are enjoying Indian Summer, still in the 90's here this week and tomorrow is October! I love this time of year, just before the Fall season kicks in. The trees are already turning and things are settling in, with the squirrels bustling about, the birds are especially happy and enjoying the birdbath daily. It is fun to watch them take turns. Mama deer and 2 of her triplets came through the yard last evening, and I am sure #3 was nearby.
The weather is mild enough that my hubby and I enjoy our back porch in the evenings after sundown.
I enjoy hearing about your country life too - Life is Good!

Can't believe its still in the 90s over there!!! WOW!! The last few days weeks here in the U.K have been rain, rain and more rain and quite cold so I am really jealous! Having a deer family visit  must be amazing, we do have deer up the back of the garden which leads into the woods but they very rarely venture down close enough to the house for me to get a good look. I usually see them while driving home at night along the country roads.

Jayne from handmadecuties said:

 Hmmm...I loved where I used to live and I'm settled where I live now. Sleeping with the windows wide open, the sound of bull frogs at night, the cool morning air are the things I miss most about my old home.

These are the things that I like most about where I now live...
*I can make a quick trip to the grocery store a couple minutes away.
*Although traffic is bad, I get to cut off the freeway and reach my home without getting stuck in the really horrendous traffic.
*I, at least, have a little fenced in back yard for my dog to run around.
*The inside of our home has a great set-up with lots of space.
*I have a garden.

I think I want to move now...Can I come and live with you?

Living more in town must have its perks as well, I am slightly less rural now than I used to be but it used to be a 24 mile round trip just to get to the supermarket which was a bit of a nightmare if you forgot anything!!!

I will feature the rest of the replies in my next blog post and if anyone else would like to add what they love about where they live I would love to hear from you too :), please leave me a message in the comment section below and let me know where you live and why you love it :)

Thanks again for all my lovely comments, I really love reading them and so interesting to hear about where you all come from. Makes me want to do loads of travelling and see all these different places!

Have a great weekend

The Dorothy Days Xx

Handmade hair grips/ bobbypins by The Dorothy Days

Hello everyone,


I hope you are all enjoying this glorious sunshine. I have been really enjoying sitting outside for breakfast and having tea and toast in the garden, feels great to be out in the fresh air and I can't believe how hot it is even in the morning! The sun has already made my hair much blonder and all my freckles have come out! I love the summer so much but I am torn between spending all my time sat outside in the garden in the sunshine or watching the Olympics.

Last night's opening ceremony was amazing,  felt so proud to be British. There was so much to see, it must have been amazing to be there. The music was really great too. Today I watched some of the swimming and gymnastics which was really enjoyable. What events did everyone else watch ? and which events shall you be following ?

In between sitting in the garden and watching the Olympics, I did some creating for my Etsy shop and made some hair grips/slides (bobby pins) which match my new rose earrings.

I am selling them in sets of three and they come on a hand stamped gift tag as I thought it looked pretty and also meant that people could give them as an alternative to a card or could write their own message on them if they were giving them as gift. It is also a nice way to store them.

What do you all think ? Would love to hear your feedback on them.

Here is the link to them in my store and I have also uploaded a photograph of one in my model's hair.

Observant readers will also notice that I have changed my blog background to white. I would love your opinions on the new look as well, I thought it looked a bit 'fresher'? Love it or loathe it, please let me know :).

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend

The Dorothy Days Xx

The Dorothy Days features Seoul Sold

Hi everyone,

Well it is a another wet, cold and windy Friday here in England, where has summer gone ?! It certainly doesn't feel like it is summer at the moment! I keep being told that July is going to be beautifully sunny but I am not holding up much hope!

This week has been a really busy one and I have been making earrings for both my Etsy site and for the craft fairs which I am going to over the summer. I now have a few pairs up on Etsy so if you want to view them please click here!

This week I am featuring a small Etsy shop which has recently started up and sells lovely vintage clothes. One of the things I love about Etsy is that it connects buyers and sellers from all around the world and this week I am featuring a shop from South Korea.

The shop is called....

and is run by Crystal. Crystal is a Texas girl who married a service member, Rich, and recently moved to Seoul.

Crystal hunting for vintage treasures

Crystal says that she loves Seoul because of its vibrant culture and because it is a city who prides itself on fashion. She says "One aspect of city life in seoul that I adore is the great fashion. With the street-side shops, designer boutiques and local markets there is so much to choose from." Crystal has been searching the city for the best vintage clothing which she then sells on her Etsy site.

Here are some of my favourites from her site

 What isn't there to like about this lovely button up dress?

This swan print shirt would look great with a skirt or with a pair of shorts click here to take a look

and my favourite in Crystal's shop has to be this beautiful floaty dress

 

I hope that you have enjoyed this week's Feature Friday and thank you to everyone who took a look at my new earrings :)

The Dorothy Days

New Listings!!!

Hi everyone,

I have been really busy recently and am so excited to say that I have some new items for my shop! I always get really excited when I have anything new for my shop.

This vintage tea cup set is so pretty. It has a beautiful English rose design and gilt edges. Would be perfect for afternoon tea!

Click here to view this tea cup in my store

 Intricate vintage flower brooch would look great on a summer dress.

Click here to see this beautiful vintage brooch in my shop

The Dorothy Days Xx

What a busy week!

Well this week has been another extremely busy one but it has also been a great week. My week started at 5am on Monday morning when I hit the road to travel to a vintage fair in which I have a stall. When I woke up it was very cold outside so despite saying last week "out with the winter wardrobe", I wrapped up in all my winter woolies complete with extra thick socks, bobble hat and a lovely thick knitted jumper. By 9am I realised this was an awful desicion as Monday was one of the hottest days we have had in the U.K for a little while! Luckily I had a spare change of clothes so on with the flipflops and summer dress!! Had a great day and met some wonderful people including a man who works as a film director who bought some of my pieces to use on the sets for his films!

This week I also took a trip down to the beach which was absolutely beautiful and walked along the cliff tops. Here are some photographs I took which I thought I would share

 

What a beautiful day and what a beautiful coastline!

Boo also found a little friend with the most amazing ears!!

On Sunday I attended another vintage fair, this time one especially for vintage fashion in Bath. It was another really great day and a great excuse to dress up in fabulous vintage clothing!!

The Dorothy Days

Feature Thursday- Anita from ecoPaperie

There is nothing quite like receiving a hand written letter through the post. It has become so rare these day when it's so easy just to send an email or facebook message. Whenever I receive a proper handwritten letter from my family, friends or my partner it always seems really special especially as there is that little bit more effort put into it. I think our generation miss out on what they had in Granny Dorothy's era, beautiful handwritten notes that they could keep and treasure forever.


This week's feature is Anita, a lady from Atlanta, Georgia who shares the same views about how special and lovely it is to receive a handwritten letter. She bought her first ever stationary set in 2nd grade still has it 27 years later!! She makes beautiful handmade stationary from recycled, repurposed and upcycled papers in all sorts of styles from vintage to funky. Here are a few of my favourite sets from her shop ecoPaperie

Here is a set of four handmade cards by Anita. They come wrapped like this so you can also give them as a gift.

This set is really sweet and great for sending to grown up friends who you haven't seen for a while

One of the more funky cards in here collection, such lovely colours.

Please take a look at Anita's store, she has such lovely stationary and surprise someone you love by sending them a little note!

Have a wonderful day

The Dorothy Days (Vintage and Handmade)

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