Sunday 31 May 2015

Cool interactive video for you to enjoy!

Hey everyone,

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend so far. I thought today I would share with you all something fun that I found to pass a few moments of the day.

I won't tell you too much but open this Youtube video in fullscreen and put your finger in the middle and keep touching your screen while the video plays. It is pretty cool

(Nothing scary or nothing not work safe....don't worry!)




The Dorothy Days 

Saturday 30 May 2015

Rufus the Cockapoo after his operation

Hey everyone,

So I realise it is a whole week since I last blogged.....eeek! I have been a little quiet on social media this week as Rufus my cockapoo puppy has had a operation and is feeling pretty sorry for himself so I have been spending most of my time looking after him.

He is doing okay but his recovery is going to be a little slower than hoped and he has been quite unsettled so had to take some time off from doing my social media. Hopefully I will be able to do some more next week.

Here is Rufus in his new (and much hated!) vet cone. He can't understand why he keeps crashing into everything and getting stuck!


Hope to be blogging/ tweeting/ face booking/ instagraming/ pinning (!!) as usual next week.

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend

The Dorothy Days Xx

Saturday 23 May 2015

STYLE SATURDAY - Perfect outfit for visiting the galleries

La vida es bella.

Hello everyone,

Happy Bank Holiday weekend! I hope that you are all having a great one so far. I can't wait for the summer holidays and have just booked a trip away so my mind is turning to holiday shopping! I love this outfit. It is fresh, summery, chic and pretty all at the same time! The skirt is beautiful, I love the print and the colours. It reminds me a bit of Georgia O'Keeffe's flower paintings. The note book is super cute, perfect if you are a bit of a geek like me and like to visit galleries when you are away and then jot down artists names so you can look them up when you get home!! 

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend

Thanks for reading my blog!

Sunday 17 May 2015

Item of the week: Acrylic pony necklaces in different colours


My item of the week for this week are my pony necklaces that are new to my shop this month. They are on long silver chains with a lobster clasp and come in a range of different colours....which one is your favourite?!

Please let me know in the comment section below

You can find the pony necklaces in my shop here:
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TheDorothyDays

The Dorothy Days Xx

Saturday 16 May 2015

Style Saturday - You are never too old to wear jelly shoes

Mint Jelly

I am rather obsessed with my jelly shoes! They are one of my favourite things in my wardrobe and I always can't wait to get them out once the summer is here. They also remind me of many happy summers spent down at the seaside in Dorset. I love these mint jelly shoes, the sunglasses and the pastel mascara too! 

Hope you are all having a fantastic weekend so far

The Dorothy Days X

Wednesday 13 May 2015

A month in photographs....April's Instagram photos

A photo posted by The Dorothy Days (@thedorothydays) on

A photo posted by The Dorothy Days (@thedorothydays) on

A photo posted by The Dorothy Days (@thedorothydays) on


A photo posted by The Dorothy Days (@thedorothydays) on

A photo posted by The Dorothy Days (@thedorothydays) on

A photo posted by The Dorothy Days (@thedorothydays) on


A photo posted by The Dorothy Days (@thedorothydays) on

A photo posted by The Dorothy Days (@thedorothydays) on

A photo posted by The Dorothy Days (@thedorothydays) on
A photo posted by The Dorothy Days (@thedorothydays) on
A photo posted by The Dorothy Days (@thedorothydays) on
A photo posted by The Dorothy Days (@thedorothydays) on
A photo posted by The Dorothy Days (@thedorothydays) on
A photo posted by The Dorothy Days (@thedorothydays) on
A photo posted by The Dorothy Days (@thedorothydays) on
A photo posted by The Dorothy Days (@thedorothydays) on
A photo posted by The Dorothy Days (@thedorothydays) on
A photo posted by The Dorothy Days (@thedorothydays) on
A photo posted by The Dorothy Days (@thedorothydays) on

What a great month and May so far has been wonderful too.

I hope you enjoyed looking at these photographs. If you would like to view my photographs for May so far please take a look at my Instagram account which you can find here: https://instagram.com/thedorothydays/

The Dorothy Days Xx

Tuesday 12 May 2015

#DorsetTeamTools - photographs of crafters tools from the Dorset Etsy Team

Hey everyone,

A while back some of you might remember I posted about the Dorset Etsy Team's latest project, #DorsetTeamTools (If you missed my original post on Dorset Team Tools you can find it by clicking here).

The Dorset Etsy Team are a group of crafters, artists, vintage and supply sellers from Dorset in England who all sell on Etsy.com. The idea behind the Dorset Team Tools project is that members from the team post photographs of the tools they use to create their handcrafted products using the hashtag #DorsetTeamTools . The hashtag is running across different social media platforms including Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. I have had great fun looking at the photographs which members have been posting. Last time I posted some photographs by some of the jewellery makers in the team (please see the link above) so today I thought I would share with you some more of my favourite photos posted to the hashtag.


I think this photograph is probably my favourite photograph which has been posted to the hashtag so far. Colleen makes beautiful hand forged ironwork. Her work ranges from small pieces such as key rings to huge garden sculptures. Please take a look at her work here https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ArtisanIronwork


Wendy makes crocheted items for her shop and she posted this photograph of her very cute Cath Kidston pencil case which she keeps her crochet hooks in (I also spy a Etsy pencil from one of our Dorset Team fairs!) To see Wendy's work please click here https://www.etsy.com/shop/DollyDaydreamCrochet

I am a massive fan of Heidi's work and especially like her Frida Kahlo collection so was excited to see this #DorsetTeamTools photo of Heidi working on one of her paintings. Do you love this painting too? Please have a little look around Heidi's shop here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/HeidiMillustration


This annotated photo by Cara made me smile. I often wonder not only what tools people use to craft but where they work when making something and do people listen to music, watch TV etc when they craft. Please take a look at some of Cara's finished work here https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/CararaDesigns

Hope you have enjoyed this post, for more photographs please see the #DorsetTeamTools hashtag. Any retweets, reposting or spreading the word about this project would be really appreciated.

Thanks for reading!

The Dorothy Days Xx

Monday 11 May 2015

Inspirational quote of the week - Greg LeMond


Hello everyone,

For the quote of the week for this week I thought I would pick a cycling quote. I have been trying to learn a little about cycling recently as it is a sport that I am totally clueless about! So far, I am actually really enjoying learning. The quote for this week is by Greg LeMond who was a professional road racing cyclist and won the Tour de France three times. The quote is not only true for cycling, but for life itself.

The Dorothy Days

Sunday 10 May 2015

Item of the week: Pink Eiffel Tower Necklace


Last year I went on an amazing trip to Paris for my birthday. I spent a week eating good food, drinking wine, visiting the most beautiful places and mooching around some of Paris' art galleries. I got to go on a river boat trip along the Seine at night and watch the Eiffel Tower sparkle (it lights up every hour). I spent time in coffee shops reading my book and eating French patisseries and the weather was amazing too. It was wonderful and such a perfect trip. I have been dreaming of going back for a while and so decided to make a range of Eiffel Tower necklaces for my shop all in different colours including purple, blue, yellow, green and orange.

Some of my different colour Eiffel Towers


My item of the week for this week is my pink Eiffel Tower necklace. The necklace is on a short silver chain. The charm is small so is easy to wear but also eye catching because of it's bright colour. I hope that you like it! I always keep one of each piece of jewellery that I make and I have been wearing my pink Eiffel tower and it makes me smile when I look at it and reminds me of happy memories in Paris.


Have you ever visited Paris? I would love to know if you have been and if so, what is your favourite thing to do in Paris? If you haven't been before, I would love to know where you would like to visit in Paris or what you would like to see and do if you ever got the chance.

Please leave me a comment in the comment section below

Can't wait to hear your replies

The Dorothy Days Xx

Friday 8 May 2015

Rufus my Cockapoo puppy has had a haircut!

Hello everyone,

Rufus is now nearly 1 year old and growing fast! I can't believe how big he has got. He has long wavy fur which I love but recently with him running through the fields it has knotted and with the beautiful weather we have been having he is getting rather hot so needed a hair cut!

I dropped him at the groomers and 3 hours later he returned looking like a totally different puppy! It has taken me quite a while to get used to (and I miss him looking all fluffy!) but I think for the summer months it is much better for him.

Today I thought I would share with you all his before and after pictures.....


Before:

Long and fluffy and enjoying the park

After:

Short coat but still a handsome boy!


What do you all think!? Do you prefer him long or with a shorter coat? Please let me know in the comments section below.

Thanks for reading!




Thursday 7 May 2015

Memories of our holiday to Cornwall

Hello everyone,

Today I was looking back at some of the photos from my holiday to Cornwall. I went in February and had such a lovely time. We stayed in the most beautiful house overlooking a bay and spent the time catching up with friends and family and just relaxing and switching off for a few days. The bay was really quiet at this time of year so it was lovely to go down there with the dogs and get some sea air!

I found these photos of the dogs on the beach and couldn't resist sharing them. I love how happy and excited both of them look and how covered in sand Rufus got! He couldn't believe his luck that not only did he get to run and dig in the sand but also that he had a playmate! It was less fun getting him in the car and taking him back to the house as his fluffy coat seems to just absorb sand and of course he only decides to shake once he has got home and into the house!

Rufus on the beach
Boo on the beach
Hopefully I might get to go to Cornwall again next year. It is such a beautiful part of the country and I particularly like it in the colder months when it is less busy.

Hope these photos of two very happy dogs have made you smile as much as they did me!

The Dorothy Days

Wednesday 6 May 2015

Wordless Wednesday - Dorset Bluebell woods



On Wednesdays all over the internet, bloggers post a photograph with no words to explain it on their blog. Hence the ‘wordless’ title. The idea is that the photo itself says so much that it does not need any description.

Thanks for reading and I hope you liked this post

The Dorothy Days Xx

Tuesday 5 May 2015

A productive May and only 5 days in!

Hello everyone!

Wow, what a busy May it has already been and we are only 5 days in! Did you all have a wonderful Bank Holiday? Hope you all had a relaxing one and got to spend it doing things you enjoy.

My bank holiday was really busy. I spent the weekend doing shop things and Monday relaxing.

I have high hopes for this month so here is what I have been up to and achieved in the first few days of May, here's hoping May is going to continue to be a great month.


Firstly I reached 1000 followers on my Pinterest page which was super exciting. Big thank you to everyone who has followed me. If you missed my post I wrote the other day about my different pinterest boards please take a look here HERE.

Secondly, super big news..... I RELAUNCHED MY FACEBOOK PAGE!



I have not run my Facebook page for a long time so am super excited to relaunch! I would love if some of you were to pop over to my Facebook page and say hello! The link is here: https://www.facebook.com/thedorothydays

Thirdly, and probably the MOST exciting news...you know the news that I couldn't tell you all yet?! Well, it was that I have been working on a whole new range of items for my shop AND working on a new way to photograph my products. I wanted to make my photographs more consistent as previous I had been using different backgrounds and trying different styles. I am super pleased with how they have come out and have also re-photographed some of the items already in my shop so that the shop looks a lot more uniform.

A before and after photograph showing my improved (I hope!) shop photography.

Here are some of my new products and also the new shop photography. What do you all think ? I hope you like them and please keep checking back in my shop as I am adding even more new listings.
Thank you so much for all your support and for reading my blog too.

Monday 4 May 2015

Spice girls - the perfect remedy for a Monday morning!



Hello everyone,

Normally on a Monday I like to post an inspirational quote to start the week with.  I am not a morning person at the best of times and especially not on a Monday morning so I find that having a quote to start the day and to start the week sets me up for the week, helps me get going and puts me in a positive mood. Last week was a good week but also a busy one so, as I am writing this, I know that this Monday is going to be a bit of a struggle! So...the best remedy for this is of course turning up Spice Girls really loud and having a good sing-a-long to start the week!

So before you start your Monday morning, turn up your music loud and have a bit of a sing-a-long to Wannabe by the Spice Girls....you know you want to!

Enjoy!!!

The Dorothy Days X x

Friday 1 May 2015

A glimpse inside my studio - The Dorothy Days

Hello everyone,

A few of you on Twitter have been asking about my studio and asking for some more 'behind the scenes' photographs. I thought this was a really fun idea and so when I was taking photographs the other day of products I also took some 'behind the scenes' shots so I could share them with you all and hope this gives you a little insight into how I create the products that you see in the shop.

I don't have a proper studio but instead everything you see in my shop is made in my home in the English countryside. I often take over the kitchen table, spread out all my jewellery tools and beads, stamps and tags and get making! This is also a great place for me to take photographs of my vintage items as the light is good and it is by the window.


First things first, I always start off a making or photographing session with a cup of tea! This is usually from one of my vintage tea cups (I have quite a large collection myself). My favourite tea at the moment to drink while I am making is Earl Grey


Because I sell quite a range of products (both vintage and handmade) I think it is important to me to have a motto so that my shop stays focused. I have used this motto as my shop motto for the past few years and it works well for me. 



Whether it is the garden, the beaches nearby or the rolling hills of the English countryside, it all inspires my work.


When I am making new pieces for my shop I like to get everything out in front of me, play around with different colours and combinations.


Here I am trying to work out some new colour combinations for my necklaces. I am a very visual person so playing around with different things and trial and error is how I work out what works best for my jewellery. I often will string up necklaces and then take them totally apart and try something different until I find something that works!

Some of the latest pieces I have been working on....






As well as making jewellery and tags, I also sell vintage. Here are some photographs I took recently when I was getting ready to set up a shoot for vintage tea cups. A lot of work goes into checking the condition of all my tea cups and researching patterns and shapes etc.





Hope you have enjoyed this little glimpse into what I do and 'behind the scenes'!

The Dorothy Days Xx

Goodbye April, Hello May!

Pinch punch first of the month! Goodbye April and hello May! I hope that April was a great month for you all but that May is even better!

Thank you so much for your continued support for The Dorothy Days. I really appreciate it.

The Dorothy Days Xx