Item of the week: 'Wool Ball' necklace

Hello everyone,

Wanted to share with you all my 'Item of the week' from my Etsy shop. I have been working hard recently on making lots of new things for my shop (particularly necklaces). I made a range of necklaces with pearls and crystals and glass beads which I recently launched. The necklaces are mainly in light colours; pinks, light blues, clear and white. I love the new collection but also wanted to make something completely the other end of the spectrum so.....introducing my new 'Wool Ball' necklaces!

Each colour mix is one of a kind and I made some in bright colours link the one shown above and some in more muted colours.

I think this one is my favourite colour combination in my shop at the moment (although I keep changing my mind!!)

Hope that you all like them too, I had a lot of fun making them.

Find this 'wool ball' necklace over in my Etsy shop by clicking here

The Dorothy Days X

Style Saturday - Industrial and copper bathroom design ideas

Today I was thinking about what to do for my Style Saturday post and I was thinking of my friend who has recently moved into a new home with her boyfriend and they are together doing the house up. They have been looking for different ideas on how they could decorate. We were talking about the bathroom and what sort of style she could create the bathroom in but has been feeling quite uninspired by lots of the bathrooms which she has seen in DIY showrooms and wants something a little different. Who said that bathrooms had to be clean white lines?! So, we have been looking into different bathroom designs recently and I love this one and want to try and persuade her to do something similar in her home!

This would require quite a large bathroom (which they have) and they could look at creative ways to do this on a tighter budget. I love the cabinet and console as they provide lots of storage. The cabinet could perhaps store the bathroom towels, candles, nice room sprays, un-opened toiletries and jewellery. All the bathroom things that look quite nice on display. The console could then be used in a more practical way as storage. 

I love the whitewash brick wallpaper design as it is a great way of adding some character to the house  and texture to the walls without having too much pattern or colour which would detract from the fittings and furniture.

The copper bathtub is stunning but could also work well if it was a white roll top bath. The copper with the grey industrial style cabinets and the white work really well. If you were unable to buy the copper you can of course add copper elements in elsewhere in the room. This could even be as simple as plant pots painted in copper or the pipping being on show.

What do you think?! Is this a look that you like and what are your ideas for doing this cheaply?

British vintage archive film - Swimming Caps from the 1950s!

Yesterday evening I decided to go for a swim. It is something I have not done for such a long time. The pool is in a building which was built in the 1930s and as I was swimming up and down I was thinking about the history of the building and what it must have been like when it opened. It got me thinking about vintage swimwear and I found this fabulous clip from the 1950s on swimming cap fashion! 

As if having a whole fashion show for swimming caps wasn't strange enough, just to make things a little more weird, the fashion show is set within a Punch and Judy show! For those who aren't familiar with Punch and Judy, Punch and Judy is a puppet show. It has a long history but is often associated with traditional British seaside culture. The first record of a Punch and Judy show in Britain was in 1662 in Covent Garden, London. The show features violence but is also meant to be a comedy show.

The designs in the video range from glamorous to outlandish designs. My favourite I think has to be the swimming cap with fringe (bangs). A fake fringe is attached to the front of the swimming cap which can then be trimmed and styled meaning you could have the look of a fringe without getting your hair wet! I imagine I would turn a few heads if I turned up to the pool wearing that next time!

The commentary itself is pretty hilarious too. 

Some of my favourites are these gems...

 'Most of the new caps are strapless which does away with the double chin effect that straps often give a girl....or at least some girls'

'Here's a cap which is so captivating....' (we see what you did there!)

Hope this video made you smile and have a wonderful weekend everyone!

The Dorothy Days Xx

Master Penman - Jake Weidmann

Hello everyone,

Today I thought I would share with you all something a little different. Something I really love is seeing 'behind the scenes' videos or photographs from artists. I find it fascinating to hear about their process, what inspires them and how they go about making what they do. I came across this video of Master Penman Jake Weidmann and just had to share. His work is incredible! I thought it was also rather fitting with back to school. Something I wish I had continued from school was my handwriting practice. I used to have really quite nice handwriting and write with a fountain pen but now my handwriting after not practicing and using the computer so much has changed. It is a lot bigger, less swirly and not always completely joined up. I have been watching calligraphy artists on Instagram for a while and although I don't think I could ever do calligraphy well I would love to start trying to improve my handwriting. Perhaps this can be one of my goals for September! I will let you know how I get on.

Jake Weidmann - Master Penman and Artist 

A photo posted by Jake Weidmann (@jakeweidmann) on Jun 29, 2015 at 12:17pm PDT

Jake is a certified Master Penman and received his certificate from the IAMPETH in July 2011. He currently lives and works in Denver, Colorado and this influences much of his work. He is one of just eleven Master Penmen in the world and is the youngest by three decades. 

His work is a mixture of calligraphy and art.

Working by the glow of the light table.

A photo posted by Jake Weidmann (@jakeweidmann) on May 29, 2015 at 8:58am PDT

Jake receives a lot of comments that he 'makes it look easy' but reality he spends a long time perfecting each letter and often works later into the night. There is little room for error in his work so mistakes have to be binned and the work started again. 

Jake explains, 

"I will fill a page with the same letter over and over and over just so, that when it comes time for me to execute that letter in an actual piece, I am able to do so without thought. It's already imprinted into who I am, into my makeup, into my muscle memory that I am execute it when the time comes."

I think lots of crafter and artists who are reading this will have heard that at at least one point during their career. People see the end result but they don't see the process in between and the hours of trying to perfect something.

A picture of me in 2011 working on my Master Penman certificate. The certificate is the final test and greatest example of skill of the penman. Mine was done on traditional calfskin vellum with a pen I hand carved out of antique ivory in the shape of a key as a symbol to represent guardianship of the art form. #calligraphy #type #typography #typographyinspired #instagood #artfidovideo #art_collective

A photo posted by Jake Weidmann (@jakeweidmann) on Mar 2, 2014 at 10:26am PST

In his artwork he says he is trying to "preserve the past and forge the future". He says that he takes what other artists have learned to be beautiful, the shapes of beautiful lettering and how to do certain calligraphy, and makes that into a new artwork. 

"What was once beautiful, in the past and is still beautiful today, holds the promise that it will still be beautiful in the future"

He believes handwriting to be "deeply personal" and that it is important to use handwriting especially in an age in which we use computers so much.

And as if this calligraphy and art isn't enough Jake also carves and his carved work is also highly detailed and beautiful.

Main carving done- onto final detail and sanding.

A photo posted by Jake Weidmann (@jakeweidmann) on Dec 10, 2014 at 5:27pm PST

I hope that you have all enjoyed reading this blog post, I hope to do more features on artists on my blog so if you liked this post and would like to see more blog posts like it please let me know by leaving a comment in the comments section below.

Please be sure to take a look at Jake's work and particularly his Instagram account (it is really addictive to look through, especially watching the short videos on there).

The Dorothy Days X

Throwback to August fruit picking day out

Hey everyone,

I thought today I would share with you something I got up to in August which I kept meaning to post on my blog. I had a really lovely day out with two friends at the fruit picking farm. We drove for ages to get to it but it was so worth it and was a lovely day out.

We weren't quite sure what to expect from the farm and called ahead to check it was going to be open to be greeted by possibly the best answer phone recording I have ever heard! The man who owns the farm each day records what produce there is, what fruits are particularly delicious and ready for picking and even the weather...we called twice just so we could hear it again!

On arrival we realised that it was not only a fruit picking farm but also had it's own farm shop with fresh produce not only from the farm but also from other local sellers so had local honey, vegetables and fruit, eggs and even plants. How fantastic if you had this on your doorstep.

The farm is positioned quite near the main road and near a big Asda supermarket so I just hope that lots of the locals come here to support the local businesses and to get their fresh fruit and veg and local produce as well.  It certainly seemed quite busy there.

As well as the farm shop the farm also has it's own tearooms and I was really glad to see that they also support local makers there and had a selection of craft products for sale. Hooray for amazing local businesses supporting other local makers, growers and crafters!

Of course it would have been rude to have gone to the tearooms to have a look around without stopping for a cup of tea and after the long drive we all thought we deserved one! The tea room was clearly popular with the locals and was a good start to the day. We were feeling really excited to start fruit picking and nearly finished our teas when it started raining a lot so unfortunately (!!) we also had to stay and have some cake while we waiting for the rain to stop! Oh what a shame...!

We tried to decide what to pick before we entered the fields but they all sounded amazing so in the end we just wandered around looking at the different fruit before deciding what looked yummiest!

The farm was actually much bigger than we thought and you can even get a tractor ride around the farm which was perfect for visitors who had children. It stops at different points around the farm next to the different fruit so you can just jump off at whichever fruit you would like to pick.

The farm also had signs letting you know which fruit were ready to pick and which weren't.

We picked lots of plums as they looked particularly delicious!

 Even though the farm was by the main road, you did feel like you were right in the countryside and it was really relaxing walking around. The rain managed to stay off after we left the tea rooms (although big grey colours stayed overhead!)

I really liked the signs at the farm so spent more time photographing those than the actual fruit (sorry guys!). Aren't they lovely though?!

As well as plums we also picked raspberries and then when we got home made a raspberry and plum pie (it was super delicious!). We held a 'perfect raspberry' competition between us to find the most delicious, juicy and biggest raspberry. This caused much debate but I am pretty sure I won!!

Was lovely to have such fresh fruit. You can't get fresher than this and it was nice to be able to pick all the best of the fruit rather than when you buy at the supermarket and some are always too ripe or not ripe enough or a bit squishy!

It was a really lovely day out and I hope to go back again soon.

Hope you have enjoyed reading this

The Dorothy Days X

Hello September

Hello everyone,

Can you believe it is September already!? Where did the summer go? I am hoping for some lovely sunny September evenings as lots of August did seem to feel like a bit of a wash out. I really love this time of year as there is a good mix between sunny days and colder autumnal days.

I have sadly lost my lovely bobble hat that I bought last year and was rather in love with so I am on the hunt for a new one. If anyone knows where I can get a lovely warm bobble hat please let me know in the comments section below.

I always feel quite motivated in September. I think it must be years of September being about going back to school that September always feels a bit like the beginning of something so this month I am hoping to get lots achieved particularly with getting my shop prepared for Christmas (eek I know I said Christmas ALREADY!). I also hope to reach 6000 Twitter followers this month. It would be an amazing milestone especially as Twitter is one of my favourite platforms to use. I am currently on 5958 followers so not far off. I would like to get more active on my Instagram page and my Facebook page. I only recently relaunched my Facebook page (a few months ago) so am still trying to get used to posting to it but have really enjoyed being back on Facebook and the interactions I have been receiving. I hope to make lots of new stock for the shop and finally I also hope to keep blogging much more regularly. I do love writing on here and recently have started chatting to other bloggers which is exciting and reading their blogs really makes me want to work more on my own blog!

Big hello to any bloggers reading this, please feel free to leave your blog links in the comment section below, I really enjoy reading other people's blogs.

Got some exciting blog posts coming up. I am going to try and keep the posts quite varied so please expect everything from my ramblings to style posts and from art blog posts to craft tutorials!

Have a great September

The Dorothy Days X