Dottie Designs

Swanky Weddings!

2012-01-30T04:40:00.001-08:00

I really like selling my books and albums on Swanky Maison. My shop is smaller there than some of my others but I think that is showcases some of my best work.

I was delighted to be chosen as one of the Top 10 Wedding Gifts and thought that the other 9 were totally gorgeous too!

I have blogged a few to show you. Click on the name under the picture and it will take you straight to the Swanky shop!

This is my best selling Album so far this year, it's so pretty and it's great it's popular!!

A Pot of Love Teapot by Eclectic Tea

PersonalisedWedding Art by Sal|tri Designs

Real Love Stories by Me & Thee

Hope you enjoy having a look around! There is a sale on at the moment too! Enter SMSALE10 at checkout for 10% discount from your order!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-23T05:56:00.000-08:00

Oops! Bit late!

If you ever are tempted to move house at Christmas time all I have to say is don't!

So it has been busy at Dottie HQ, getting HQ sorted and

some new snazzy designs! What do you think?

I am loving my new look HQ, particularily by new riibon storage that my lovely oh put up for me at the weekend.

It is galvanised steel guttering and I love it!

Back later this week....promise!

Oops - a bit late! Merry Christmas!

2011-12-30T04:35:00.000-08:00

I hope that everyone has had a truly wonderful Christmas! We have been busy settling into our new home which has had its fair share of challenges! Before Christmas though we managed a truly magical visit to see Father Christmas in Lapland. It really is the most amazing experience to have!

We got to drive snowmobiles. There was even a tethered one for the small people to drive!

Sledging of course!

The most amazing Ice Palace where we sat on ice seats and had hot chocolate!

A rare photo of all of us before we headed into see Father Christmas!

And of course the main event - meeting Father Christmas! Always good to hand your list in personally, especially if you've just moved house!! Happy New Year :o)

Tequila cake - My kind of recipe!

2011-12-06T13:19:00.001-08:00

How to make Tequila Christmas Cake!

1 cup water

1 tsp.Baking soda

1 cup sugar

1 tsp.Salt

1 cup of brown sugar

Lemon juice

4 large eggs

Nuts

1 bottle tequila

2 cups dried fruit

Sample the tequila to check quality.

Take a large bowl, check the tequila again.

To be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink.

Repeat.

Turn on the electric mixer.

Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl.

Add one teaspoon of sugar.

Beat again.

At this point its best a make sure the tequila is still OK.

Try another cup...just in case.

Turn off the mixerer thingy.

Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.

Pick the fruit up off the floor.

Mix on the turner.

If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry it loose with adrewscriver.

Sample the tequila to check for tonsisticity.

Next, sift two cups of salt. Or something.

Check the tequila.Now shift the lemon juice and strain the nuts.

Add one table.

Add a spoon of sugar, or some fink.

Whatever you can find.

Greash the oven.

Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over.

Finally, throw the bowl through the window.

Finish the tequila and wipe counter with the cat.

CHERRY MISTMAS!

Moving House!

2011-12-04T07:47:00.000-08:00

No smell of Christmas @Dottie's yet as we are moving house on Tuesday! It is total chaos as we try to pack everything up and keep the children's lives as normal as possible! This week in addition to moving we are attempting; swimming lessons, ballet, piano lessons, brass lessons, Judo, a Nativity, 2 Christmas concerts and 2 parties!

Dottie's is still open for orders although any orders placed in the next day or so will be dispatched by the end of the week rather than my normal 24 hour turn around!

It's an exciting move (although only 2 miles) and the beginning of a new adventure!

I'll let you know if we survive the move!!!

And the winner is......

2011-11-28T13:18:00.000-08:00

Tanya from Cards With A Difference!

Please get in touch with your address so I can send you your book :o)

Happy 6th Birthday Dottie Designs!

2011-11-22T04:06:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me!

It's hard to believe that Dottie Designs is 6 today! It's been a long and winding road and was started with Greetings Cards whilst I was still serving in the Royal Navy!

Not a card in sight now (although I do have some loyal customers who buy all their cards from me without even knowing what they are getting!!)

So to celebrate I thought I would have a little giveaway! If like me you cut "good idea recipes" out of magazines then you need one of these to stick them in to keep them all together!

No tricky stuff to do, just leave a comment if you would like to win it! Of course it would be very lovely if you were to follow me on Twitter or like me on Facebook (links on the left) but don't feel you have to!

Recipe Book

The book has 28 pages, 56 sides to stick, glue, write...whatever you like really! It comes with a lovely box so you can keep it nice and clean!

Giveaway winner will be announced on Monday 28th November and will be selected by some as yet undecided random choosing method.

Good Luck!

I'm off for some celebratory cake!

Brushing Shoulders (almost) with Theo Paphitis!

2011-10-20T03:38:00.000-07:00

I really like Twitter. It is an endless source of information and inspiration. There are people to chat to day and night about anything!

Every Sunday night there is an opportunity to have your business tweet retweeted by Theo Paphitis of Dragons Den fame. 1000's of hopeful businesses send a tweet with links to their website and hope that he might pick them to retweet to his zillion followers!

Well last Sunday it was me - yay!

By monday I had a 4000% increase on my website traffic, some orders and lots of enquiries!

Exciting times at Dottie HQ!

We Plough the Fields.....

2011-10-08T04:25:00.000-07:00

I love Harvest Festival.

The Autumn has officially started, almost the countdown to Christmas in fact!

Little Miss Dottie has now finished her (very long) induction to the school and has her first full day on Monday - woohoo!

On Friday she took to the stage for her debut in the Harvest festival assembley. It's a lengthy affair - around 1 1/2 hours in fact as each class does it's homage to Harvest.

Here she is....but you have to guess which one? Hint...she has the biggest smile :o)

Have a great weekend!

Toohwit Toowooh!

2011-10-05T11:46:00.001-07:00

I love owls - not really sure why, whether it's for their wisdom or majestic appearance. Or maybe it's because they are quiet which is something that rarely happens in my home!

I'm doing a Baby Show - quite a big one (details to follow!) in a couple of weeks. I'm trying to get different idea and stock that will appeal to everyone. I try to personalise things at shows, but it's nice to have some made things that are off the peg!

So the little owl book was born! The perfect place for Grandmas or even Great Grandmas to record their pearls of wisdom to be handed down through the generations.

I then found some really gorgeous owl items that other folk had made! They really are a smart looking collection! Click on the photo to go to the sellers shop!

I hope that you have enjoyed my little owl collection!

New Beginnings....

2011-09-27T13:40:00.000-07:00

It only seems like yesterday that our little Miss came into the world!

But now she is all grown up and was off to school yesterday for her first whole morning!

(Looking very smiley!)

It was very sweet to see them all together - so smart

with my biggest in his new High School uniform!

Then today I had an ahhhh moment hanging their shirts on the line!

Had to do them in size order!

Only another 3 weeks until Miss P goes for a whole day and Dottie HQ can get back to some sort of order (before we move house!)

Trinket Box

2011-09-18T08:06:00.001-07:00

Just before I set off on my holidays I responded to a question on Twitter by Sophie Franck of the beautiful shop Trinket Box who was looking for a review of her jewellery. Having been a fan on her shop for some time, I was more than happy to oblige!

What I received was truly stunning and it looked ebven better in real life that it had looked on her Website.

Beautifully packaged it really was like receiving a fabulous gift with pretty business cards and everything wrapped in tissue paper.

When I opened the final layer I was stunned, it is truly beautiful and of the highest crafted quality.

The necklace has a fine silver rectangle which was handcrafted from art clay silver [a precious metal clay, when fired it is 99.9% pure silver], it has a lace texture. Sophie then oxidized the piece to enhance the texture. Then the bead is ceramic, strung onto a handmade sterling silver headpin and wrapped in wire :) The wire on this is also oxidized! And the chain is sterling!

All in all a stunning piece that I am very happy to add into my jewellery box. I'm quite difficult to please so the fact that I have just commissioned Sophie to make a matching set of earring for me is a pretty good recommend!

You can follow what Sophie is up to on her Blog
She is also on Facebook !

You can see her beautiful collections on her Website

Even better from now until the end of September if you enter Dottie15 at the check out you will qualify for a 15% discount!!

Epic Holiday!

2011-09-12T05:42:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a long time coming, but finally here is a resume of our "French holiday"!!!

First of all on the ferry we decided not to go to the Vendee but to turn left and head to Switzerland! We were very happy about that as you can see! The scenery was spectacular, my hubby's driving along the passes superb and it was all so very clean!

None of us had been there before so it was an adventure for all of us!

Next we headed down to Italy, stopping at some spectacular lakes as we made our way down towards Pisa!

Then a few days on the Italian Riviera and we went to Monaco! We did the grand prix circuit in the motorhome which was very funny!!

We then made our way back though France. We stayed at this place at Chateau Neuf de Pape which was amazing! Free to park there, swimming pool included and a selection of wines to buy in the morning! The sunset was superb!

Finally we spent our last day at Disneyland Paris - as you do!

A great big adventure....2500 miles, 7 countries in 14 days!...Where to go next year!

Practice Holiday

2011-08-04T02:13:00.001-07:00

So we set off in the Motorhome for a practice holiday before we head off to France later on! We stopped at Golden Cap that was beautiful before heading down to Plymouth.

We had a few jobs to do in Plymouth (like selling a house!) then we headed up to North Devon. We had some great days on the beach at Croyde Bay before heading homeward with a heap of washing! Practice complete, we now know what goes where, who sleeps where etc etc!

France here we come (but not til the washing is done!)

Not that she's loud, but she does have a very large mouth. This is apparently a Lady Gaga impression!

Brothers together (no fighting for 5 minutes!)

Ahhh...they don't stay little long!

Did you say NOT to go through here....oops!

Hope you are all having a lovely Summer!

Dottie x

See who is in charge?!

Moving onwards and Upwards!

2011-07-27T03:50:00.000-07:00

The last few days have held big milestones in my Family Life. My littlest graduated with a Diploma (!) from her Nursery and is ready to go off to "big school" in September. It seems like only yesterday that she was born!

Then my eldest moves on from Primary School to Secondary. He too is full of enthusiasm and is ready for the move. He did a reading at the end of term Eucharist and has achieved so much at his school.

Thankfully the Middlie stays at the same school! I definitely couldn't cope with all 3 of them moving!

Sats has been all he has done really this year, so he came up with a fab idea for a leaving gift for his teacher that was based on one that I had which says "Peace, Love & Serenity. This comes from the fabulous shop Dottery Pottery.

Sarah sells the most fabulous things and was so great to work with his idea to come up with the perfect gift.

It was voted the best teacher gift by all the teachers and his teacher wore it at the Eucharist!

My blogs are likely to be a bit few and far between as the whitlwind of the Summer Holidays takes hold! So in case I don't make it back at....have a fabulous Summer and see you in September!

Music Everywhere!

2011-07-22T01:24:00.001-07:00

This has been such a proud week for me with my clever, musical boys on centre stage! Their school does a great Summer Concert and they were both involved. Master E sang "Memory" from Cats as a solo which was enough to bring a tear to the most battle wearied parents at the concert! He also played "Singing in the Rain" on the Baritone and played one of his Grade 5 exam pieces beautifully on the piano!

Master T had been selected early into the band, usually not until Year4 and was delighted to be able to join his big brother playing Euphonium in the band! He can't carry it yet as it's quite heavy but he plays it brilliantly!

So as you can imagine our house has been bursting with music practice this week so I thought I would show you a selection of goodles that I found whilst searching for a musical gift for the teacher for the end of term.

I am biased, but cute value very high!

Click on the photo to be taken through to these fabulous shops!

Hope you have a lovely sunny weekend!

Craft Carousel - Come and See!

2011-07-17T06:49:00.001-07:00

Today I am going to tell you all about the Craft Carousel!

This was the idea of Maryann from OneStopPamperShop

and Sarah from SilverBirchCrafts

Basically this is how it works!

Click on the picture above to go and look at the carousel!

Take a look though the featured shops, Choose any item that you want to buy! Then check the comments below to make sure that "shop spot" is still available.

Leave a comment to reserve your spot and go buy!

Then you can replace it in the treasury with a item from your own shop.

You don't have to buy the featured item shown , just something from one of the featured shops.

If you buy something let Maryann know and tell her which of your products you would like in its place.

And if you're not a seller and want to join in?

Well why not nominate one of your favourite shops!

It's first come first served so please comment and reserve your spot first!
Feel free to tell people about this, Tweet, Facebook....

The volume of sales that there have been since it started have been incredible! At Christmas time last year the Carousel was spinning so fast it was difficult

to stay on for more than a few minutes!

Why not give it a try!

PS I am on it at the moment and if anyone buys from me after reading my blog

I will throw in a free gift!

And the Winner is......

2011-07-15T05:36:00.001-07:00

Jan at busybeecards/craftybitz!!

It was decided by a very boring random number generator! All the kids were out and I didn't want to wait til tonight! Jan please send over your address for delivery!

Thanks everyone for entering! Next giveaway when I reach 2000 Twitter followers!

Have a great weekend x

Dottie's Summer Giveaway!

2011-07-05T03:08:00.000-07:00

Thought it was about time for another giveaway! This one is fairly simple although you do need to pop over to my website if you don't mind!

When you get there could you please google +1 the homepage on the left hand side!

Click on the logo to go across.

The Giveaway prize is for a fab beaded journal, but.........you need to find them on the website and pick which colour you like best! Just leave a comment on the blog to say you've been over and which colour you would like if you are the winner!

Giveaway will finish on Friday July 15th and will be picked by some random method!

UK entrants only please :o)

Good luck!

A peek in the house!

2011-07-02T10:51:00.001-07:00

Having listed a great gardening book for men too it seems to get a lot of love on the Forums it seems that actually everyone just want the playhouse!

So not wanting to disappoint I set up an appointment with the house co-owner aka Little Miss Dottie and she said she would like to show you around!

The house used to be a dodgy orange colour and then when we moved by the sea it was decided that it should become a bit "beachhutish!"

Little Miss Dottie - ready to do her tour wearing her favourite T Shirt that she had made for her by the lovely Mary @ Polkadotsandposies The link is to her blog which is fabulous and has all the links to her shops!

This way please!

Excuse the ironing! A girls's got stuff to do! Notice the lovely flowers and butterflies on the walls? They are from 1oopercentdelicate

This lovely bunting is from Birgitta Designs who is taking some time out at the moment :o)

It's a long way to the first level, but will a cosy little bed up there it's worth the climb!
Yawn........off for a doze! Be back soon!

A Sneak Peak!

2011-06-27T15:15:00.000-07:00

I love making personalised gifts, it makes them so special. But..........by doing that I severely restrict any form of pre-making as everything is literally "made to order".

So I decided that I needed to think about having some unpersonalised books and boxes and see how they go! Here is the first of my Gardening Journals.

Do you like it?

Lots more to follow!

Summer-time!

2011-06-21T05:26:00.001-07:00

I thought I would do a "Summery" blog today to mark the first day of Summer! The sun was up at 4.45 and from here on in the days get shorter!

I've started with my tropical washing line book! Normally made with Orange ribbon this colour was a request from a customer at Gift Wrapped & Gorgeous. I rather like it!

All the other listings are from the Folksy June Bugs listing club. They all have a lovely summer feel to them. Click on the pics to go to the shops!

Hope that has given you a bit of Sunshine today!

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T14:27:00.000-07:00

Today I have been remembering my Dad who was a brilliant Dad and who I miss like mad.

For those of you with Dads please cherish them as we all think that people will be with us forever but sadly that's not the case.

I did this blog for my Dad last year.

He printed it off and gave lots of copies to people! I like that :o)

http://dottiedesigns.blogspot.com/2010/06/my-brilliant-dad.html

So back in 2011 we decided to get away for the weekend in our new Motor home!

We stayed in a great place at Littlehampton where there were lots of things to keep the children entertained whilst we drank some wine!

Often arch enemies, my boys look like they are getting on really well here!!

Littlehampton is lovely. I love the way that the beach huts are clustered and form a slight arc.

We had some fun chilling out - no piano practice today!!

And of course we had some ice creams!

Hope that you had a nice Father's Day, whatever you have been doing....

x

Friday Rain

2011-06-17T10:05:00.001-07:00

Rain Rain Go Away!

Come again another day!

Unless you are a duck and it's probably pretty nice!

Hope you have had a fun day in the rain whatever you have been doing!

Busy Busy!

2011-06-11T09:19:00.000-07:00

Just in case you were worried that I hadn't blogged............I've been at Centerparcs!

Lovely walks

Fab weather!

Lots of swimming

and lots of fun!

Then it was back to catch up on orders.....nearly there now!

Little Miss Dottie is 4!

2011-05-30T14:42:00.001-07:00

Today Little Miss Dottie turned 4! Seems like yesterday that she was being born with her full head of black styled hair! She was very pleased with her gifts!

A battery driven car so that she can escape from her big brothers!

A splendid Dolls House from John Lewis that she has had her eye on for months!

She was very proud to be 4.

Although the last thing she asked before she went to sleep was "will I still be 4 tomorrow?"

What a great age!

PS Model is wearing a T Shirt beautifully made for her by polkadotsandposies

Lots of love....

2011-05-26T10:38:00.001-07:00

The Wedding season certainly seems to be upon us now. I have sold so many books and boxes with hearts on this week, well over 1/2! I also have a slight obsession with hearts and when I tidy up will show you where they all are on a tour of the house! For now, here are a few of mine that sold this week.

Here are some of my other favourites that I have come across in the last week or so.

I hope that you enjoyed my heart love! Have a great bank holiday weekend x

The School Run....

2011-05-25T03:52:00.000-07:00

It's a long story.....but my children go to school 14 miles from where we live. Not your average school run! I was thinking today though what a splendid journey it is and thought I would share it with you.

This is where we start at Lee-on-the-Solent - We drive along the seafront to leave the village and this morning we saw a cruise liner on its way into Southampton.

Next we drive through Stubbington Village, a really old fashioned village with lots of quirky little shops, a reqally good Chinese Take Away and a fabulous Study Centre where schools go for a week at a time badger watching and beach combing.

Next we drive through Fareham - not the nicest place, but Fareham Creek is very pretty (when the tide is in!)
Then we have a choice to either do the M27 or to go over the top of Portsdown Hill. No choice if we are running early as the views are just incredible - in the summer! In the Winter you can do the whole journey across the hills in the clouds!

There is a really cool Fort that we pass by. It's free to go in and has tunnels from wars various to explore :o)

Then we come off the top of the hill!

Nearly there now - Havant is our destination!

As we come down and head towards Havant we pass Bedhampton station and have a quick look for any trains!

Then we are there! Phew! Time for the return journey then!

I hope you enjoyed sharing my journey!

Smiley Sundays!

2011-05-22T02:32:00.000-07:00

I love Sundays! The slower pace, bit of a lie in and maybe even lunch out! Smiley Sundays :o) So today I have showcased some lovely things for sale on Folksy that have made me smile today. Whether pretty or quirky, they just made me smile!

But first I'm showing you this splendidly girlie keepsake box that was my listing yesterday. The majority of my non-wedding orders are for girlie items, whether it's memory books or keepsake boxes. I can "girlify" my white boxes but thought it was about time to add a pink box to the mix. So here is a bit of a prototype, I'm going to list various shades and sizes and then plump for the most popular. Because it is a prototype, it's Sunday and the sun is shining, it's 1/2 price! Only 1 available though so when it's gone it's gone (for the time being!)

All of these items are available for sale now - click on the photo to be beamed into the shop :o)

Have a lovely Sunday x

A bit of Dottie Branding!

2011-05-20T05:13:00.000-07:00

For a long time I have been thinking that I need to capitalise on repeat orders. I get lots of repeat orders from happy customers, yet my Guest Books, especially the Wedding ones are seen by 100's of people and although I'm sure (I'd like to think!!) that they are admired, there is no branding on them. I had tried various stickers and to me they just cheapened the look of the book so I abandoned them. I was delighted therefore to come across this fab company whilst on Twitter.

To hear other people raving about their stickers is as good a recommend as you can get and was good enough for me!

I contacted Tia at Who ate my Crayons with an idea and what she produced is perfect. It's tranluscent so looks subtle and stylish on the book inside back cover.

I am really pleased and hopefully it may inspire lots of other people to place orders with me!

Next stop was packaging! Whilst my parcels have always looked fine I decided (after receiving some splendidly packaged goodies recently) that I needed to up my game and make my parcels a bit prettier.

I printed off my own labels - couldn't decide which colour I liked best!

Here is the final product! I would like to think that this would get opened before the bills!

Have a good weekend!

Cards....oh yes, I remember!

2011-05-18T12:43:00.000-07:00

I used to make cards.....just cards. It was fun but was never going to be a source of sensible income trying to handmake and personalise individual cards. These days I rarely make them as Dottie Designs has changed direction and continues to pick up pace.

I used to sell cards when I was starting out in the staff room at All Hallows School in Somerset where my Son was being educated there.

In fact the tremendously lovely Becky Peabody - of Dots and Spots fame who was teaching there used to take my box of cards to the staff room for me!

Here is the school....fabulous buildings and grounds.

In 2007 we moved East into Hampshire and it is very flattering that I still get the annual calls to make cards for them. Today was to make a batch of First Holy Communion Cards. I enjoyed making them!

Here they are!

It took ages though and as I plan my evening around making up album orders and keepsake boxes, I know that I made the right choice to change direction!!!

Eurovision!

2011-05-14T10:18:00.000-07:00

Love it or hate it!! Eurovision! In our house the kids love it! We have stocked up on random European goodies from Lidl and with be cheering on....

The older 3 in the house!

The little 2!

Sadly my 8yo thinks that Jedward are ace!!

Meanwhile I though that the evening might go a little quicker playing this game I cam across on the internet!

The rules are very simple.

You take a sip of alcohol every time:

1) Bucks Fizz or Sandy Shaw or Cliff Richard are mentioned.
2) Either of the hosts attempts to sing.
3) Either host pretends to be surprised at something said or done by the other in a clearly well rehearsed piece of improvisation.
4) Either of the hosts loses track of their autocue.
5) Anyone sitting in the room with you mentions Terry Wogan. Drink an entire shot if someone says something along the lines of ‘It’s not the same without Terry Wogan’ - he's been gone for two years people! Deal with it!
6) The video shown before an act contains shots of people in traditional costumes. Drink two shots if anyone is seen doing the traditional Norwegian Halling dance. And, yes, I know it looks eerily similar to some of the scenes from Monty Python's Silly Walk sketch...
7) You see an elk. Drink an entire shot if it’s a person dressed in an elk costume.
8) You aren’t entirely sure whether the singer is man who looks like a woman, or a woman who looks like a man.
9) A country is represented by a singer from somewhere else in the world.
10) The act involves people on stage banging large drums or industrial objects acting as large drums.
11) An item of clothing is removed on stage. Drink an entire shot if it is removed by someone else.
12) The act is bald. Drink an entire shot if they are also female.
13) The act possesses a large moustache.
14) The act is dressed in leather. Drink an entire shot if they are dressed in leather and have a large moustache.
15) If you hear a language used other than that of the nation who is singing (i.e French singing in a song by Malta). One sip per language. If in doubt, take a sip.
16) You recognise the song immediately as being a blatant rip off of a previous winner of Eurovision.
17) The song is an ode to world peace. Drink three shots immediately if there are any children on stage at any time during the song.
18) Every time there is an awkward silence and/or miscommunication between the hosts and the people reading out the votes. Drink an entire shot if the votes get mixed up.
19) Every time you hear "Royaume-Uni? Nil point!"
20) Every time a country gives top marks to someone for geographic, political or ethnic reasons. Drink an entire shot if they give them to Russia because they’re worried they won’t get any gas next Winter otherwise.
21) If there is any alcohol left once the show is finished and you’re physically capable of coordinating the movement of alcohol from the bottle to your mouth.

Have fun! (Please drink resonsibly...ahem)

A splash of pink!

2011-05-11T12:07:00.000-07:00

I have no idea where the time goes, but go it certainly does and I have been working hard to stay on top of my orders as they seem to increase weekly which is great and very exciting! I have done a lot of keepsake boxes recently for 21st and 18th Birthdays and decided to do something different which is here!

I also have been enjoying the pink influenced listings in todays Mayhem listing brigade! Click on the items to have a browse around some gorgeous shops!

Happy Shopping!

New beginnings!

2011-04-28T10:47:00.000-07:00

My youngest Son's teacher has just had a baby on Tuesday - ahh! Love babies! So being me I thought I would make a lovely keepsake box for her baby daughter Rachel to keep all of her little keepsakes in. It looks fab!

But then I thought that as she is a lovely teacher and has also taught my eldest Son that I would maybe put something in the box too! Starting with some tissue paper....

The teddy seemed to like it too and every baby needs cotton wool....

And shampoo and talc in sweet little sizes. Then a bit of a clothes bundle happened with mittens, tiny socks, a vest and a babygro! All tied up in the same ribbon as the box!

I thought that it looked just perfect!

Miss P thought that the teddy might be a bit unecessary and that it should live in her room!

Think I will have to do the finishing touches after she's gone to bed!

The Early Bird....

2011-04-25T00:08:00.000-07:00

Catches the sales! Well maybe! All of my featured sellers today are prone to listing early (or in the middle of the night!) and they all have had lots of sales in their shops!
I have included a few of my latest listings for you to see too :o)

Click on the picture to be taken to the sellers shop!

Happy Easter Monday, hope that yours is filled with fun and holiday type things! Despite my very best intentions of encouraging the children early on in the holidays ours is going to be filled with homework, reading diaries, spelling tests and times table!

Must try harder in the next holidays!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T06:46:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter! Not too much chocolate now......................x

New Branding for Dottie & a Thank you

2011-04-22T02:24:00.000-07:00

I have long been thinking that I needed to tie together all of my shops with the same type of branding. My Website was different to my Folksy/Etsy shops and none were based on the logo that I had originally wanted to use. This was designed by my first Wed Designer and based on a logo that I used to hand draw on the back of my cards starting in 2005.

As things had developed and my original website disappeared the logo had got lost in the changes.

After posting a "what shall I do?" thread on Folksy a lovely lady called Jools offered to help me! She designed a new logo/banner and avatar for me for nothing! Very very kind and way beyond what I could have achieved myself.

Have a click through on the links to see what you think of my new look website! Any comments greatly received :o)
Jools has a blog so pop over and check out who this lovely person is! She also has a shop on folksy

Her ethos is to provide evolution of projects in stitch, papercraft, felt, bookbinding, knit, fabric, watercolour and jewellery. She works from home with a range of inspirations and materials, recycling where possible and always hand painting, sewing, colouring and dying. Her aim is to put new things into the world without taking too much from it....

So thanks Jools - great work that you did for me and I am very grateful :o)

Dottie x

Getting Ready....

2011-04-06T10:59:00.000-07:00

For Easter!! Although Easter is actually over 2 weeks away, most schools have broken up already or do so on Friday. Today Miss P and I set to making some things for her Nursery teachers as it is the last day on Friday.

I say making, actually Mr Sainsburys made the cupcakes, but he has far more time on his hands than we do! We thought that we did a marvellous job wrapping them up to look pretty!

Miss P made the cards, each decorated beautifully and very individully as I'm sure that you will agree that that is important!

Finally we dressed as pirates in honour of the bit of the Easter story where the Disciples wrestle the pirates for the Easter Eggs, you know the bit?!

Happy Mother's Day

2011-04-02T15:22:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the lovely Mums out there! I'm not holding out much hope but I night of unbroken sleep would be good and maybe a lie in past 6am? My oh is (still) away so what I would really like is a day of harmony :o)

I miss my Mum and these flowers are for her as she loved freesias and I wish that I bought them for her more often.... Hope that you are all being pampered and showered with special gifts on this Special Day x

A Special Showcase....

2011-03-31T11:47:00.000-07:00

The Monthly listing clubs on Folksy have been a fabulous success. Whilst the forums are full of people moaning about their lack of sales, the listing clubs have gone from strength to strength. They have been running for a year now with the first on starting on April 1st last year.

This month has seen over 1000 sales for the listers who try to list every day. It is certain that this regular listing which gives you a constant visibility, combined with interacting on the listing thread brings the "sales fairy" that remains elusive to so many.

The backbone on the listers for the last year has been Natalie Ofkants. From starting the thread daily, to encouragement and a great deal of "happy dancing" Natalie holds the infrastructure together. We all pop onto the listing thread and she joins in the successes and trials and tribulations of all all. all day, every day.

Natalie...........Thank you x

So here are some things from this fabulous ladies shop. A very large shop having been listing for a whole year but one that I can personally recommend having bought both jewellery and woolies from her :o ) NOfkantsCurios

Natalie, you are a legend x

PS it all starts again tomorrow with the April Show-ers!

Cherry Picked for You....

2011-03-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

I have recently started selling on a new site called CherryPickedForYou.

It is a fresh new site with some unusual items for sale that I've certainly not seen on sale anywhere else. Nina says "Our mission is to showcase artists who work to a very high standard. Cherry picked for their stunning designs and exceptional quality of work, we think you will be delighted with the goods on offer. You will find a fantastic range of ideas for beautiful handmade gifts for the special people in your life or as a treat for yourself and your home." Here are a few of my current favourites. Click on the picture to go to the item on the site.

Nina is always on the look out for new artists. She states that all the artists on Cherry Picked For You are professional designer-makers. Artists have been selected for their stunning designs and the exceptional quality of their work. They are always on the look out for talented individuals who create beautiful products that make great gifts. So if you produce high quality, handcrafted items they would like to hear from you.

Blue is the colour..........

2011-03-27T15:32:00.000-07:00

Today I am having a blue day! No not a sad day, infact I am very happy! The sun is shining, I have a busy day ahead and washing on the line!

I am continuing with my new range of books. I really like this blue variation. I love the contrasting of the inky blue colours against the white background. It makes it look really fresh,

Here are some other blue things that have caught my eye recently amongst the Folksy March Hares! The picture link takes you to their shop front, so grab a cup of tea or a glass of wine (if it's a bit later on!) and have a bit of a browse!

Have a nice end of March week!

Bit of Design Time....

2011-03-27T03:17:00.001-07:00

It's been pretty hectic this year @Dotties! Orders have been coming in from all quarters and people rush into the Post Office to get ahead of me in the queue. Whilst it's brilliant to be busy, I realised that I was just making the same popular items over and over. So I decided it was about time for a bit of creativity and have designed a few new products. This Wedding Guest Book is so pretty. With gorgeous pink and cream tea roses it feels very summery. This will be available in a range of colours including red, chocolate brown and purple.

These new baby books are less fussy than my normal books with not a sign of organza anywhere. They are modern and simple yet very effective designs. The "perfect gift for a newborn" commented somebody on Twitter. I hope they are right!

Wednesday Goodies!

2011-03-23T11:52:00.000-07:00

What a day!! It started with my 8yo falling over and scraping all the skin off his arm at 0750 whilst running into school to not be late for Judo! As it was he didn't make it at all and spent the next hour in the medical room with me playing nurse!

Luckily he is fine as I was a poor (impatient) nurse and I managed to get back and take some photos of new things to list. I did this album for my ironing lady! She hardly ever gets money from me, just albums, boxes and cards. Win win for me! She is planning to fill it with photos of her 3 year old Daughter. What a lovely gift!

There were a few other things that caught my eye on Folksy today in the Hares listing. Either because they were jolly and colourful or as they are things that I might just buy for myself!

It's been lovely and sunny in Hampshire today, I hope it's been lovely where you are x

Mother's Day Giveaway Winners

2011-03-23T04:14:00.000-07:00

And the Winners are...............

After putting some paper strips in a hat..............

Card No 1 - Fairly Girly

Card No 2 - CH Ceramics (Twitter Entry)

Card No 3 - Christals Creations

Please DM me your addresses via Folksy to make sure you card arrives in plenty of time!

Thanks to all for entering!

Mother's Day Giveaway

2011-03-21T03:35:00.001-07:00

I used to sell a lot of cards. In fact I used to sell only cards! However as Dottie HQ has changed direction I have taken them off my website and have ceased selling in most of my Bricks and Mortar shops. In fact probably the only place you will see my cards now is in the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Somerset where they stock a very strange range of wartime and aeroplane creations by me!

Anyway, I have 3 Mother's Day cards that need to go to good homes! All you have to do is leave a commment saying if you were to win which card you would like!

3 cards, so 3 winners with the names announced this Wednesday, the 23rd March so there is plenty of time for it to get to you and for you to post out!

Good luck!

All mine!

2011-03-20T04:27:00.000-07:00

I have been busy this weekend working on a bespoke order from my Website for Lee & Felsa. The layered ribbon has worked beautifully and I will be trying out some other colour combinations soon!

I have also been busy lately buying as well as selling! I've looked back at what I've bought over the last few weeks and there seems to be a bit of a heart thing going on that I hadn't realised!! All of these sellers have top rate personal service and beautiful products.

This is hanging on a kitchen cupboard!

This is on the kitchen door handle....

This was a birthday pressie for my gorgeous 14 year old Niece (with a cheque!)

This was for me!

This is hanging on the other kitchen door and smells divine!

I have my eye on a spotty mouse next..... so dangerous being on line and in shops 24/7!

Red Nose Day!

2011-03-18T04:39:00.001-07:00

It's Red Nose Day!!!! In honour of this I am planning to give away 10% of all sales today to comic relief!

I picked out some lovely and jolly red things to go on my Folksy Friday today! Today the link takes you to the shop rather than the item - so go browsing!

And finally from me - some gorgeous red dragonflies :o)

Have a great weekend!

A New Look

2011-03-13T15:45:00.000-07:00

For a while I have been on a quest to find the perfect photographs. I've tried all types of wooden backgrounds, cloths, indoors, outdoors and I even bought a light tent. But I still struggled to photograph white books on a white background.

I needed this as Gift Wrapped and Gorgeous are keen to send off some of my product shots to Wedding and Baby magazines. So I called upon a professional photographer to take some shots for me and I'm rather pleaed at the outcome!

I posted on Folksy as a "what do you think?" question and a lot of them actually preferred my original wood backgrounds!! Still I'm pretty happy....Do you like?

Bags Galore!

2011-03-07T02:35:00.001-08:00

My 8 year old Son commented the other day on how many of my creations have bags included on them! I hadn't really thought about it but he's right! So today I have showcased some of my "bag items" along with some other gorgeous bags that have been listed today by the March Hares on Folksy.

These are mine! All available in one or other of my shops!

And these lovely things have been listed today on Folksy :o)

Hope you enjoy my choices!

I'm the Winner!

2011-03-06T09:41:00.001-08:00

I was very lucky the other week to be the winner in a blog competition run buy Mummy Loves. it was for the most gorgeous pair of earrings by the very talented Viv at Poppy Sparkles. I could pick any earrings that I wanted from any of her shops.

It took ages to choose as the is a mega busy lady and has shops on Etsy ,Folksy ,Kiddie Base ,Gift Wrapped and Gorgeous and she also has her own Website

In the end I chose a pair of Aqua-marine earrings that look like these (only blue!) :o)

She has so many lovely things, I'm sure to be back again shopping really soon! You can also follow the exciting developments in her business on her Blog

Here are some other things that caught my eye!

So a very lucky winner I am! Thanks Viv xxx

March Hares - a treasury woo hoo!

2011-03-01T14:20:00.000-08:00

This is my first go at a treasury!! All shops featured are new to the listing club on Folksy which is called the March Hares!! With over 1000 sales for the February listers it definitely works to list everyday!

Good luck everyone and thanks as ever to Natalie for your tireless encouragement!

Too pink? Is there such a thing?!

2011-02-23T14:01:00.001-08:00

Today I have been having a mainly pink day in my making world! I tweeted a link to the box below and it was suggested that it was so bright that it needed a health warning!

The other things aren't sooo pink, but they are definitely girlie! Not sure where I'm going to list these yet...so they are just advance previews!

So I had a look around the Valentinos listings today and there was a lot of pink going on there too! Lovely! Just click on the images to go to the shops!

Hope you enjoyed my pink blog!

Something different....

2011-02-19T03:31:00.000-08:00

Most of the things that I make can be reproduced which is obviously great for business but does make me feel sometimes a little unoriginal.

There has recently been a lot of activity with ACEO's on Folksy where people have shown themselves to have an enormous amount of talent. A few artists I have really loved their offereings and it struck me that I could encorporate their talent into my items.

So the first I am going to show you is using an ACEO from Lilipopo at the Glass Mountain I really love the detail that has gone into this tiny piece of artwork and think that it would be perfect for an engagement or Wedding Keepsake Box.

I have a few other people's consent to use their ACEO's and wherever they end up being listed the artist will get full recognition of their talent (and maybe some new customers!)

What do you think?

And whilst the Glue was drying.....

2011-02-17T11:59:00.000-08:00

Today I updated my very best selling book across all of my shops! The Bride's dress is a gorgeous 2 layer affair - most stylish! Whilst the glues were drying I gave my entire attention to little Miss P and she wanted to do baking!

This is the "I've got my own way" look!

Super important to try the ingredients before you put them in!

Vital to try the mixture as you are mixing!

Triumphant - they are edible!! Now to try not to eat them before the boys get home!

Black is Back!

2011-02-16T12:19:00.001-08:00

As anybody who follows what I sell knows, white is the main backround for all of my designs. White albums, white keepsake boxes and white Guest Books.

It was a surprise therefore when I was contacted to do a large trade order of black items! Some of the places that I sell don't have any black items in them at all!

So I've been busy making things, it is really nice to do something difference and I am always up for a challenge!

I have a fabulous idea for a book with peacock feathers that should arrive by then end of the week. I'll report back with what I did with them!

Some of these are available on-line in my shops and some aren't quite yet!

Would love to hear what you think!

Stylish Blogger Award!

2011-02-11T14:16:00.000-08:00

I am very proud to have been awarded this award by the lovely blog Creating Trouble.

Now, being a little cynical, although flattered to have been awarded it I almost didn't respond to it as it feels a little too much like hard work for my liking.

Then I thought about how I felt when I received the 'nomination' for a Stylish Blogger Award!! Really chuffed! I'd clicked on the links to some of the other blogs listed, as well as the one that nominated me. I found some really interesting blogs that I'm now following that I definitely wouldn't have just stumbled across! So I decided to join in!

There are 4 things that you have to do. They are as follows...

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award. (See above for Creating Trouble!). Tick!

2. Share 7 things about yourself. mmmm here goes!

I spent 20 years working in a dark room.... no, not what you are thinking!
I was an Air Traffic Controller!

I live 2 minutes from the beach and like to go there everyday. No matter how you are feeling your spirits are lifted.

I have a slight addiction to red wine and then when that runs out, white!

I'm have recently become a Flylady and my house is super organised and clean!

I'm trying really hard to make my business pull in a wage so I don't have to get a "proper" job when my youngest starts school in September!

I get paid a military pension every week - winner!

I have 3 beautiful children, 2 boys and
a girl that dresses like a boy and thinks she is Buzz Lightyear! Tick!

3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers.
15?! Really?! Ok, here goes.

1. Sew Scrumptious

2. Cheery Mish Mash

3. Damselfly Gemma

4. Fairly Girly

5. Maxine Veronica

6. Booties by Dannie

7. NOfkantscurios

8. Lilly's Night Garden

9. Little Crane

10. Wellydog

11. Trinket Box

12. Crafty Bride

13. Quite Contrary

14. Woolly Lakes

15. Averilpam

Tick!

4.The final thing to do is to let everyone nominated know that they have the award and tell them the details! Tick!

Phew - off for a lie down now!

The Dangers of Selling Online...

2011-02-11T04:57:00.001-08:00

I love selling on-line. I love the fact that you can sell things whilst you are out for dinner, asleep or away on holiday! The problem though is that to sell in on-line shops you have to go in on-line shops! The temptation sometimes is just too much....and many a day have I bought more than I've sold!

Here are a few of my favourite shops that I have bought things from this year. They all sell wonderful things and have perfect customer service. Just click on the photos to be taken to their shop fronts.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend. We are going cycling in the New Forest on Saturday on the most brilliant cycle route. I'll blog about it and show some photos next week.

Favourite colours!

2011-02-09T00:58:00.000-08:00

I love the combination of black and red and it appears all over my shops. Sensual, stylish, fun....just a great combination. This book has been selling like "hot cakes" this week which is fantastic!

I have joined the Folksy February listing club, the Valentinos! Here are a selection of some gorgeous black and red things that have already been listed today and it's only 9am!

Just click on the photos to go to the shops!

Happy browsing!

Wow - A Feature!

2011-02-08T03:37:00.000-08:00

I was very excited to be contacted last year by Prom Magazine who had come across one of my Prom Books and wanted to feature it in their magazine.

So at the beginning of February it hit the streets! Available in WHSmiths, Tesco's and lots of other places too! I was pleased with the photo and the script they cut and paste from my listing so that was fine too!

It was also exciting to be in the Stockists list rubbing shoulders with Debenhams and Dorothy Perkins! So far it has brought a lot of visitors to my website, a few orders and lots of enquiries!

Exciting times for Dottie Designs

And the winner is...................

2011-01-28T02:59:00.001-08:00

Drum Roll.........................

johnsonjohnsonjohnson who won with the entry number 13! Please contact me to discuss your book design. ( Your blog is not allowing me in to say you have won!)

Congratulations!

Thanks everyone for entering. All entrants can have an offer code to use in any of my shops unil the end of January to get 10% discount on anything. Just put DGA11 in the Paypal box and I will refund through Paypal.

Have a great weekend :0)

The workings!

2011-01-28T02:45:00.000-08:00

The Giveaway is now closed to new entrants!

The entrants are now all being given numbers starting at 2 for entry number 1. Entry 1 is IvyDeanDesigns who couldn't leave a comment on the blog!

People with more than one entry for Tweeting etc will have consecutive numbers.

All the numbers are then being put into the machine and the winner is..................

to be announced when I've done it!

Good luck!

Dottie x

It's Giveaway Time!

2011-01-18T03:01:00.000-08:00

It's my first giveaway of 2011!

The prize is a 28 page Mulberry Guest book of your choice from any of my shops or my website! This has pages that are great to write on and also stick photos.

It comes with a matching mulberry box to keep it safe.

All the links to the shops are on the side of the blog, so if you fancy a look around ebay,

Folksy, Dottie Designs or Swanky Maison feel free to browse!

All you have to do then to enter is to be a follower of my blog and to leave a comment on here saying which of the book designs you would choose

and who it would be for.

Whether it's for a Wedding gift, a New Baby's Christening, a Special Party or a journal for yourself, the choice is yours.

It will be designed just for you and personalised with your choice of details.

There are ways to get an additional entry into the giveaway too!

1. Follow me on Twitter and Tweet a link to the giveaway.

Including @dottiedesigns in the test so I see it!

2. Like me on Facebook (link on left)

Here are some examples, but there are gazillions more to choose from!

Winner will be picked by random number generator (I love using them!)
at 1000 on Friday 28th January.

Dottie x

Busy busy busy!

2011-01-16T08:03:00.000-08:00

I have been busy with making more prom items, books, albums and keepsake boxes. I'm not sure whether the magazine is going to link to my website or to Folksy. so I am busy filling up the shelves of both!

It's difficult to guess what a 16 year old might like or whether it's actually the parents that will be choosing the books for their daughters. Also do boys have prom things, they wear make up now so maybe!!

Anyway here are my latest offerings - all very glitzy and sparkly!

Meanwhile I have been tidying throughout my house and today made a really good start on my studio. I learnt an important lesson though that when you have used something you should always put the lid back on! Doh!

Hope you have all had a lovely weekend x

Proms Galore

2011-01-14T05:15:00.001-08:00

This week has been an exciting one! I received confirmation that my Prom Book (seen below) is going to be featured in "Prom Magazine" that is on sale on 28th January in Tesco & WH Smiths! I am busy designing and listing other styles as most of my books have a limited production number!

So I was inspired to do a Folksy Friday as I haven't done one for ages with a Prom accessory theme. Lots of gorgeous things to choose from. Just click on the photo to go straight into that persons shop.

Meanwhile I am secretely a little sad that my generation missed the excitement of an end of school Prom. I make a lot of things for Babyshowers now - missed that too!

Have a great weekend x

Some sneaky peaks!

2011-01-12T11:31:00.000-08:00

It has been manic since Christmas with lots of orders from all angles! I am busy trying to upload my products onto Gift Wrapped and Gorgeous but there's never quite enough time to complete the job!

Meanwhile I have been busy with some new designs for 2011. Do you like them?!

The elephants are handmade by a lovely Folksy lady who is far cleverer than I am! I think that they are gorgeous!!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-04T14:50:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to you all! Hope that you had a wonderful festive season and wishing you all lots of luck, health and happiness for the year ahead.

Dottie Designs has some exciting developments afoot and has some busy times ahead in the coming months.

Watch out for a New Years Giveaway too, coming to this blog very soon!

A Very Christmassy Nativity!

2010-12-20T08:32:00.001-08:00

It only seems like yesterday that Phoebe was born yet here she is in her first Nativity play! She's a bit of a tomboy and initially wasn't happy that she was an angel and not a shepherd like her friends! She was won over by being able to wear her Buzz Lightyear sweatshirt underneath!!

Butter wouldn't melt!! Even my husband left feeling Christmassy!

Dottie on Tour!

2010-12-07T14:11:00.000-08:00

This Thursday sees the start of my Christmas Fairs after all the others were either cancelled by me due to circumstances or cancelled by the organisers due to snow!

I will be in Chichester City Centre on East Street from Thursday am to Sunday pm. Come and see me if you are local, I am between the clock tower and M&S!

It's going to be cold....I've got my thermals ready and I have a reasonable amount to sell, although most of it I will make and personalise on the day!

It was such a great fair last year so fingers crossed for a good one again this year! I will take some photos of my little cabin and blog afterwards how it went!

November is over - thank goodness!

2010-11-30T03:28:00.000-08:00

I'm a great believer that a blog should reflect you and what you do and refuse to follow people who just use it as a selling tool - sooo boring! Well I have had the November from Hell and being a chirpy upbeat sort of a person I was tempted just to restart with jolliness....which I will but I need to tie some things up first.

My Dad has long since loved my blog, I did a special blog for him for Father's Day which he printed off and carried around in his pocket for weeks. Sadly he was taken suddenly ill and died a couple of days later. That was 2 weeks ago today. He was the most incredible person and the 300 or so people at his Funeral spoke volumes. I did the Eulogy and surprised myself at my inner strength.

In the middle of all that my 3 year old Daughter was ill with croup and one night was really struggling to breathe so ended up in hospital where they gave her twice as much steroids as she needed as the weighed her incorrectly in A&E. (She's fine now)

So I have the unenviable job of unravelling my Dad's estate and sorting his house out which is 200 miles from mine. Yesterday I made a start and got a start when first the hoover blew up (flames and everything) and then I found my Mum's ashes (she died 6 years ago and Dad said he had scattered them)in a wardrobe with about 500 LP's!

Meanwhile at home we have had some lovely moments like this one with the children helping to prepare lunch. Tom the middlie would have sprouts at every meal if he could!!

And Dottie Designs.........well the orders have kept me steadily busy and I have my first outing (having cancelled all the previous ones) at Ditcham Park school this Saturday. As I have nothing prepared yet to sell, I have a busy few days ahead of me.

Bring on December it can only be better :)

Sooo Proud!

2010-11-13T06:36:00.000-08:00

It's been a week of challenges behing the scenes at Dottie HQ this week. OH ship broken down on the other side of the Atlantic, cancelling fairs ( losing cash), a Parking Fine, sick child off school with Slapped Cheek ( it wasn't me!!) and then a spot of identity fraud!

Every cloud has a silver lining as they say and for us this week it was Euan who is 10 being elected as House Captain. He had an election campaign, a cracking manifesto and was employing his brother who is 8 to campaign manage the lower end of the school for him.

Well it worked and he is now Winchester House Captain, gets to boss lots of people around which is just up his street. He will go far although not sure where!!

The badges left to right Orchestra, band, House Captain and Librarian....phew!

A little Feedback goes a long way!

2010-11-10T02:52:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share with you the feedback that I got from a lady that I sold a keepsake box to.

She bought this one :)

This is what she said;

Dear Susan

I received my box today. It is absolutely gorgeous, and just perfect for my needs. I have looked in many shops but can honestly say I have not seen anything like what you have made me or as good quality and pretty.

I have left positive feedback for you but unfortunately there is just not enough space in the feedback to write how delighted I am with my purchase and therefore I felt I just had to email you to let you know how happy I am with my box.

Thank you for your fantastic effort. I will definitely be recommending your services to family and friends.

Delighted
Polly Mac

Wow - how good does that make me feel!!

A makeover, a success and a few Sparks!

2010-11-09T14:08:00.000-08:00

I have been working hard over the last few weeks on my website. A self-confessed IT numptee, it hasn't been easy but the site is now useable and looks pretty good (if I say so myself!) Have a look and see what you think? I'm very pleased with my new banner that the lovely Bonnita Moaby has done for me.

Then I had an order, well 2 in quick successsion which was a bit exciting as I haven't submitted it to any of the SEO places as it's still work in progress. Remarkably, one lady found me via google! She googled birthday guest book and there I was!! Here is the book in question!

Meanwhile I am continuing to daily list on Folksy although with no November sales yet an thinking of just stopping, moving all of my Christmassy things to the front page and then leaving it. That would give me time to continue uploading to GWAG and my website! Just not enough hours in the day to do everything really!

Here is what I listed today!

These are some of my favourites from other Folksters today - click on the photo as usual!

Have a good day!

Remember Remember

2010-11-07T14:48:00.000-08:00

The Fifth of November! Hope that everyone had some fun at firwork displays over the weekend. We were very lucky and a neighbour had bought a big box of firworks so we wrapped up warm and set off to the beach which is just a few minutes away.

It was breezy by the sea but lots of fun then we had a great party with a BBQ (a little too much red wine ) and toasted marshmallows on the fire.

Very Exciting & Pretty Pretty!

2010-11-03T11:54:00.000-07:00

I have had a busy day today getting my photographs organised and new listings to put into my new virtual boutique at Gift Wrapped and Gorgeous! I am very excited and lucky to have been accepted and really like the feel of the shop. This elephant book will be listed later but at the moment I only have one thing in my shop!!

I need to develop a system too as I am now selling in so many different places it's important to keep track of what's where!!

So I relisted a ballet box for my Folksy November Sparks and tried to stay away from the forum thread as there are so many beautiful things being listed that I want to buy!

Click on the photo if you like to go straight to the item in the shop!

November Sparks

2010-11-01T13:26:00.000-07:00

Happy November! Today is day 1 of the November listing club called November Sparks. Although I've not been bad at daily listing I have really struggled to keep up with blogging, so here's to starting November well!

My first listing of the month is a little boy's keepsake box. It has the most gorgeous elephant on it which is handmade by a fellow folkster.

All of these other things caught my eye today. I try not to linger too long looking at the listings as I find quite often that all of a sudden I've bought something!

Click on the photos to be taken through to the individual shops where these lovely things can be purchased!

The final listing has to come with a thank you to Natalie for her tireless happy dancing everytime that someone gets a sale :) Thanks Natalie, we couldn't do it without you :0)

Happy shopping!

Ta Da!

2010-10-29T11:56:00.000-07:00

Thank you for all the brilliant ideas for things to go in my shop - should keep me busy for at least a year! The result is in though as picked by my independent adjudicator aged 8 and 2 days (who wanted Sarah at SilverBirchCrafts to win beacause she made him his favourite T Shirt!)

And it's Dottery Potter! Sorry we called you the Dottery Pottery!!!!

Please send me your address details and your super Christmas Card kit will be winging its way to you shortly!

Apologies that it wasn't a Bob hat, it's lost in the half term madness here! Instead we have a gorgeous hat by the talented Mrs G Knits :)

It's giveaway time again!!

2010-10-19T06:17:00.000-07:00

It's giveaway time again yippee!! I'm celebrating breaking through 1000 followers on Twitter and 250 blog followers. Thank you for being interested in me!

As (whispers) Christmas is approaching I thought a nice big Christmas crafting kit might be a nice thing to give away to get you in the festive spirit!

Your kit if you are the winner will not necessarily look like this, in fact it is likely that it will be much much nicer with glitters, scissors and more!!!

Nothing too complicated to do!! Just go to my Folksy Shop and see if there is something missing that you would like to see there. Somebody emailed this morning to ask if I could do a Prom Keepsake Box as they couldn't find one anywhere. So I will now make up a range!! I am in the process of populating my own website and I want to make sure that I cover all areas!

Winner will be drawn out of a Bob the Builder hat on Friday 29th October at 0900.

Good luck!

New Packing Department @ Dottie HQ

2010-10-14T07:25:00.000-07:00

It's been a bit busy around here so the Dottie Team have offered to help out where they can.

My eldest brainbox is going to oversee the accounts, he has more money in his money box at 10 than I had at 25! He has also offered himself to help with my gift wrap service at Chichester Christmas Market. He is only charging £7 an hour ( £8 if he dresses up as an elf!)

My middlie is going to offer artistic advice.

My youngest is very keen on sticky tape and has thrown herself into the packing department - literally :)

October Folkfest - late starter!

2010-10-12T03:09:00.000-07:00

I decided not to do the October Folkfest as it was slightly irritating me that by listing daily I was paying Folksy a listing fee and because of the lack of categories in shops, my Christmas items have gradually disappeared into the middle of the shop!

What I found though was that to try to list daily, even if you don't actually manage it on somedays does really keep you motivated to make and design new things.

I also missed it! The comraderie is lovely and having Natalie NOfkants dancing whenever you make a sale is enough to make the dullest day brighter!!

So I'm back and trying to catch up!

Here are a few of my favourites from other sellers and then a few from me! As ever, just click on the photo to go to the shop :)

Happy Shopping!

Bit of a remodel & tidying :)

2010-10-06T06:14:00.000-07:00

Well I've been having a sort out and now Miss P has decided that she will too!

Check back tomorrow and see how she did!!

A day in the life of....

2010-10-04T14:51:00.000-07:00

Me!!

My Dad commented tonight that my blog was a bit out of date. At the time of chatting to him on the phone I was loading the dishwasher, putting some washing on and making sandwiches for 3 packed lunches tomorrow.

I love my children to bits and would gladly jump off a cliff to save them, but they and their "stuff" is very time consuming. In an ideal world I would have loads of time to make my orders, update my website, design new things, do some paperwork and then blog! And, that's where the problem lies, for me to blog is to have done everything else, the hot chocolate at the end of a busy day!

Still not complaining and I have been busy doing my new website, have a look and see what you think. It's not finished but its getting there!

Have a quick peak at some of my Christmas designs that will be coming to a shop near here soon

Must dash, got 3 sets of clothes to get out, 3 book bags to pack and if I'm lucky the dishwasher might just be ready for emptying!!

Dottie's New Strap Line!

2010-09-28T04:26:00.001-07:00

Dottie Designs is on the move! Well sort of, I am in the process of closing down my original website to open a new one! My old one had really had its day as it was set up to sell cards and didn't really support my evolving into new lines!

But.....I need help! I have brainstormed for day with my workforce (age 10, 7 & 3) to find myself a strap line. It has been Dottie Designs - The Card that's a Gift. Clearly that needs to change now and my competition is find me a new strap line that reflects what I do now!

The winner will receive a super duper prize!!

So come on..........please leave your comments as to what you think it should be!

Something a bit different....

2010-09-24T10:22:00.001-07:00

September Stars is coming to a close now and sooo many things have been sold! Here are some of my favourites for today.

Here is my September Stars listing for today! Something a bit different!

I have lots of bits and bobs left over from projects that seemed like a good idea at the time but that I never quite got around to finishing! I have decided to make them up into Craft Kits that come complete with a fab box that can be reused when all the goodies have been used.

Perfect Christmas pressie for a pre-teen or a crafty inclined teenages. Talking of Christmas I am in the process of making some Green tomato Chutney from out garden, the house smells gorgeously Christmassie!!

Have a great weekend!

Outnumbered

2010-09-23T11:42:00.000-07:00

Forget the sitcom, they should just come and film an average day in my house, it's chaos. 1 step forward and 7 back most days!

Trying to work at home with an over enthusiastically helpful 3 year old provides its own unique set of challenges. If I am cutting she wants to cut, if I'm gluing she wants to glue and is I'm wrapping parcels for dispatch, she's there with the cello tape. It is quite nice that she's helpful!!

My boys on the otherhand ask profound questions such as "what's the profit margin on that?" and "are you ever going to get a proper job again?"

With my OH away (1/2) way across the Atlantic I do find that I don't have enough hands to go around and need to get a Hologram or 2 at bedtime!

Still I'm lucky that I get to do what I want for a job, even if it's between 10pm and 2am :)

Meanwhile, did I mention that my Daughter thinks she is actually Jessie from Toystory and will only answer to that name!!

Not complaining though, wouldn't swap my life for anything (well almost anything) x

Happy Birthday Mr Dottie :)

2010-09-21T14:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to you.................

Most normal people would just say that but as with most things in my life everything is just slightly different. So here is Mr Dottie's cake as he is half way across the Atlantic on his was to the States.

Mr Dottie is a tip top chat who never complains that I have taken over a third of the house for Dottie HQ. He is happy to post my parcels for me, is a good critic and even mans my stand for me when I'm out and about and need a break!

So have a slice of scrummy cake and Happy Birthday xxx

Eventually....

2010-09-21T06:12:00.000-07:00

Dottie HQ has been awash with orders since reopening after the Summer break. I though it would take a while for the momentum to get going again but I was wrong!!

I've been trying to keep up with the September listing club on Folksy and herein lies my blogging problem. I really should be featuring other peoples makes on this blog post, but there's really not time so I thought I would give a flavour of what I've been making over the last few days.

Off to make a Rats outfit for my eldest to wear on Friday - never a dull moment here :)

Tis The Season to be.....preparing to be Jolly!

2010-09-09T07:15:00.000-07:00

Ho Ho Ho - well not quite, but Folksy is a hive of Christmas activity! I listed my first Memory Book today, a very cheeky and smiley angel!

To look at the other Folksters shops, just click on their photos!

Feeling Christmassy yet!

September Stars

2010-09-06T11:58:00.000-07:00

Back to business as the boys are almost back at school! I'm doing the September listing Club called September Stars and will attempt to list an item a day in September! So far I've managed it although from my laptop in Dorset on holiday I had to sit outside to get coverage!

Click on any of the photos to go straight to the shop. Happy shopping :)

I have included one of my albums too! :)

Summer Fun!

2010-09-05T13:08:00.000-07:00

It's been a long sunny Summer for us, just 2 more days until the boys go back to school. Here's a bit of what we've been up to!

Swinging around with cheesy grins :)

Posing!

Playing together nicely ( most of the time!)

Bit of surfing!

And a bit of that age old game of bury your brother in the sand and make a quick getaway!!

Back to normal later this week - hope you've had a great summer too!

And the Winner is...............

2010-08-25T16:22:00.000-07:00

Michelle Cooper!

Well done Michelle. sorry to everyone else but you can always buy one from the shop :)

Next Giveaway at 500 FB followers!

Giveaway Time (again!)

2010-08-18T12:15:00.000-07:00

My OH doesn't understand the concept of giving anything away, I think that's because he is Scottish and has very long pockets and short arms! Me on the other hand as a girl from the West Country loves to give things away and it's that time again :)

To celebrate 200 followers on Facebook I am giving away a Keepsake Box. It's a bit girlie - sorry boys!

To enter all you have to do is " like" me on Facebook and leave me a comment either here or on the Facebook Competition Announcement post saying what you would keep in your Keepsake Box if you were the winner!

Because I don't want to descriminate against non - facebook type people, if you aren't on Facebook but are a blog follower just leave me a comment here!

Here is the prize!

Competition finishes at 9pm on Wednesday 25th August. A list will be drawn up with FB first then blog entries added on and numbers put into a random number generator.

Good luck! :)

Folksy Friday Twitter Style!

2010-08-13T11:02:00.000-07:00

Dottie HQ has been very busy this week with orders and re-organisation. I can see the floor in the studio now (which always helps!) and I have had a stock take and started making some Chistmas lines that will be added to the shops in September. I also have started a new range of football themed books as I often get requests for both Wedding and birthday Guest Books with a football theme!

The only theme to my Folksy Friday this week is that they are all lovely items from people that I chat to daily on Twitter about all sort of nonsense!

If you don't tweet, you should! It's fun! Just click on the photos to go straight to their shops!

Happy Shopping :)

Have a great weekend :)

Honk!

2010-08-09T12:44:00.001-07:00

As a mother there are always proud moments in the year (and not so proud!) but my boys surpassed themselves last Friday with with their appearance in the Kings Youth Theatre adaptation of the musical Honk.

Honk is an adaptation of the story of the Ugly Ducking and although I wasn't familiar with it had some great songs and was a brilliant musical for children to perform.

It was a Summer School week where they turned up on Monday and were handed a script to decide what they wanted to audtion for. Parts allocated, they had 4 days to learn their lines/songs as the performance was on Friday Night!

My 7yo was the Turkey, he was the youngest player to have lines which he learnt beautifully. Nicknamed the 250 mile an hour Turkey he had been rushing his lines but on the night was perfect and his sense of comic timing way beyond what you would imagine a 7yo to have!

My 10yo was the Bullfrog. With a scene pretty much on his own and a whole solo song this was a big ask and a lot to learn. He was a little nervous but that was not evident at all from his confident, flawless performance! He too was very funny and got one of the biggest cheers in the finale!

Makes me a bit emotional just thinking about it! They are fired up thespians now and looking forward to auditioning for parts in the Pantomime (what have I started!!)

The theatre in Southsea is beautiful, a proper old fashioned theatre of a grand 103 years! Well worth a visit if you are ever in the area :)

Drumroll....and the winner is....

2010-08-08T12:47:00.000-07:00

Well have a look for yourselves! A change from my usual "out of a hat by the kids" method of deciding the winner as they have all gone to bed!! This time I used a Random Number Generator (and lots of fun it was too!)

The winner is Clairez Cardz as it picked out number 41 and that was her number on the entry list! Well done Claire, if you can send me your address via Folksy I will make sure your goodies are on the way to you really soon!

Thanks everyone for entering and as a way of thanking you any of you who place an order with me in August will also get a lovely free gift in your parcel.

Have a great week :)

Dottie's Next Giveaway!

2010-08-04T03:56:00.000-07:00

Twitter!! Love it or hate it it certainly puts you in contact with people that you wouldn't have otherwise met! I am proud to say that I now have over 800 followers which is amazing! I enjoy tweeting with my "evening twitter friends" and it has even brought a sale or 2 to my shop!

To celebrate my 800 followers I am having a giveaway with a choice of prize! Choose between this gorgeous Dottie Designs T Shirt or gamble on the Mystery Prize. (This will be a collection of craft goodies worth over £10)

To enter all you have to do is follow my blog, leave me a comment on here, say which prize you would like and if you Tweet, please follow me on Twitter. Simple!!

Who wouldn't want to wear this gorgeous T Shirt!!
Take a gamble on the Mystery Prize!

The Winner will be chosen at 2100 on Sunday 8th August! Good Luck!

Survived Week One of the School Holidays!

2010-07-31T11:07:00.000-07:00

I love my children to bits and would do anything for them, but when they are all together for the whole week it can be quite exhausting. It doesn't help perhaps that there is a 7 year age gap from the youngest to the eldest which means that they like doing different things, watching different TV etc.

Thank goodness that we live next to the beach. Every day last week through rain & shine we ventured out to the beach at Hill Head. One morning we were the first there, our only company being the council workers cleaning up and emptying the bins which was great to see!

The kids love this beach, we come here in the Winter and play hide & seek in the beach huts!

My eldest 2 managed a dip although my daughter said they were very silly as it was freezing!
To be honest, she had a point!!

Master T braving the elements!

They do take it for granted though, when asked today if they wanted to go to the beach the chorused nahhhh!

Next week they are at Theatre School at The King's Theatre in Southsea. They are going to learn and perform in a week the musical "Honk". Miss P is at nursery for 2 days so Dottie HQ can get busy in daylight which will make a change from this last week of snatched 5 minutes and midnight crafting!!

Go Jesters!

2010-07-24T10:19:00.000-07:00

Credit to the July Jesters! I have fallen off the wagon sadly, just too much to do to be able to list everyday! There are some troopers though who not only list everyday but also blog everyday....now that is commitment!

My blog today is going to feature the Jesters that have been featuring me on their blogs , even though I have not had time to feature them on mine! Click on their pictures, go straight to their shops and buy something!! (please!)

Dottie HQ has been pretty swamped with Condolence books of all things! Had 2 Christening book orders today though so they are much more jolly to make. Here is my most popular book at the moment!

Have a great weekend!

Dottie's Folksy Blog

2010-07-22T02:45:00.000-07:00

I was asked to write a blog post for the Folksy Blog - very exciting!

Pop on over and gets lots of tips on how to entertain your youngsters over the long summer break!!

http://blog.folksy.com/2010/07/22/summer-holidays-hints-from-dottie-for-keeping-the-kids-amused

Dottie x

Ho Ho Ho!

2010-07-18T15:11:00.000-07:00

As it is exactly 2 weeks until Selfridges open their Christmas shop I decided that it was time at Dottie HQ to start thinking about what would fill my own shelves this Chistmas. I have made a start on a few designs, mainly for children, not in the shops yet..... Do you like them?

I am still playing catch up both in cyberspace and in my house! With the long summer holdays looming I have a million things to do in the 4 days left before the fun commences!!

I was very excited to be asked to write for the Folksy blog too, I will post a link on here when it is published! All about how to entertain your kids for 6 weeks!!

I have continued with the July Jesters although it has been a struggle somedays to list. Today in the spirit of my Christmas is Coming frame of mind I have listed a Christmas Card Making Kit.

Tomorrow I am going to do a blog featuring all of the Jesters that have been kind enough to blog about me whilst I've been too busy to blog! Thank you!