I'm back! Ooops - Just a 6 year gap!

Oh my life!

How can so much time have passed - like nearly 6 years!  I used to love keeping a blog as a diary of sorts!

So the plan is that I will revive it! So much has happened in 6 years - business wise, family wise and me too!  So this is the continuation of the journey - and Dottie Designs website just got a flowery make over!

Back soon!

Dottie :)

September Resolutions!

I like September!  I think it comes from having new things to go back to school in as a child!  New shoes, new classroom, new books and pencils - oh yes!  In fact now I think about it, it probably has a lot to do with stationery!!

Anyway - my September resolutions are to get back to posting on my blog!  Just never seems to be enough hours in the day!

Today the children and I are going blackberry picking!  We have seen people coming back from the Alverstoke Country Park that is across the road with bags full!  Hope they have left some for us!

I also have a giveaway at the moment on facebook

Do pop over and enter - this lovely pink and girlie keepsake box is the prize!

Have a lovely Sunday - whatever you are doing!  Back soon :)

An Exciting Day Out!

My blog has been sadly neglected recently with a desperate need for a 36 hour day to fit everything in. In January Diane from Adien Crafts and I had an idea to set up a small, proactive team on Etsy where everyone works together for promotion.

The team is working exceptionally well and we now have nearly 4000 likers on Facebook and over 4000 followers on Twitter which is awesome in such a short time!

Somehow we managed to catch the eye of Etsy HQ in London and were invited up to Shoreditch to their HQ for a workshop!

So on Thursday I went with 4 of the team to London!

Etsy is situated in the Tea building - there were lots of other interesting companies working from there too

Susannah from Etsy ran the workshop was lovely and taught us so much!

There were 2 other teams there too - one from Brixton that are a team of locals that sell in markets and fairs and have joined Etsy for an online presence, the other team was the Brighton Team.

Nice nibbles too!

British Crafters Delegation - l-r Carol from Designs by Caz, Gillian from Wideskypapercrafts Me and Ailsa from Bramalfie Beads

The Etsy bit was a desk in a big open plan office space, nice bunting over the desks though!

The decor was randomly interesting!

Not quite sure of the relevance!

Liked this!

There wasn't an Etsy one for their room but we thought these were fab!

So we had a brilliant day out and have left brimming with ideas for a July packed full of new promotions, shop dusting and other secret things!!

Watch this space!

Are you a Health or a not?!

'Take your pick' by dottiedesignsxx

Healthy or not!You can tell alot about a fellow's character by his way of eating jellybeans.Ronald Reagan

Blue Vintage Baby/Toddler Dr... WillowsRoom $8	textile cake brooch maxollieandme $6
Apple iPhone 4, iPhone 4S Ca... LeanneWoodsDes... $7.5	Apples, blueberries and a bu... Jaysmonkey $7.5
Patterned paper 6"x6&q... Christinescraf... $1.75	Chocolate Croissant earrings... GiraffesKiss $7.5
Pretty Cupcake Knitting Bag SimJaTa $16	Birthday Keep Calm and Eat C... ZwKaHandCrafts $2
Very British Striped Tea Pot... DollyCool $8	HALF PRICE SALE Royal Browni... ZukrBoutique $2.1
Banana -- Yellow felt kawaii... ILoveCookies3 $2.5	Felt Patterns - Fruit Slices... umecrafts $5
Vegetables Original Watercol... janedukeartist $40	Pea pod brooch tinyminds $18
two peas in a pod crochet am... Lybo $10.5	Dollhouse Miniature Food Cho... littletimewast... $10

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

It's March 1st!

Happy St David's Day!

Spring is just around the corner!  Yippee!!

Lucky lucky me!

I was very lucky this week to win a giveaway that was held by

  Tea with Rachael and Stephen

They were looking for opinions on which logo they should have between 2.  

I love the one they choose!

My goodies arrived wrapped with string and there is so much stuff - it's very generous!  I have to say that 2 of my doodle books were snaffled straight away by my youngest children! 

 Still 1 left for me though!

Click on the link above to check out this fab shop that sells on Folky & Etsy

 and other places, all linked from the blog.

Thank you Rachael & Stephen - lovely products and I will be a paying customer soon, that's for sure!

Facebook's a funny place!

One of my New Years Resolutions was to try a bit harder with Facebook, so I've been actively tring to grow my like list and managed to get from 1000 to 1500 followers in a week!

1500 Facebook followers - wahoo!

Now some people will say that it is quality not quantity of likers that is important and whilst I do agree to a certain extent I also believe that everybody "out there" is a potential customer.  If I'm liked by an undertakers, I like back!  Thinking Condolence Books!  Also everybody needs Mother's Day gifts, Wedding gifts and the like so I am quite happy to befriend anyone!

It's early days but I've had 3 sales in a week which is great and it's certainly very nice not to pay commission other than to paypal on the sale!

Open to any hints and tips, I really am still a Facebook novice!

Hope you are all keeping warm and the snow hasn't caused havoc!  Will post our snowman Freddie in the next blog as his photo is hiding in my phone!

Giveaway Time!

Morning! Happy Monday! I'm having a giveaway on Facebook to celebrate having somehow managed to get 1000 likes!

This lovely Journal is the prize!  To enter just click on the book and it will transport you to my Facebook page!  Just Like, share and comment on the giveaway thread to enter!

Closes at 9pm next Sunday - good luck!

Exciting Start to 2013

Wow!  What a fabulous start to 2013.  Just found out I am in the MumpreneurUK's top 100 Mumpreneurs for 2012!  Yippee!

May 2013 continue like this.........please!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all my readers!  

Have a great New Years Eve

 and

 best wishes for a Happy and Healthy 2013!

xxx

Crimbo Limbo Giveaway

Hello all!  I hope you all had  a lovely Christmas!

Just swinging plast to let you know I have a giveaway on Facebook  for the next day or so!

This is the prize!

Use it to write in, draw in, doodle in or stick in!

Giveaway closes at Midnight on New Year Eve - winner announced on New Years Day!

Good luck!

Merry Christmas!

These are my favourite decorations from Wendy at Red Brick Glass and Victoria at Pure Paper 

Our lovely tree with a mixture of decorations old and new.

Added to our decorations last year - I do love this and might keep it up all year!

Love the red and whites at Christmas

A new addition this year of advent buckets.  Very popular and very pretty!
 There are lights in the greenery that you can't see!


Merry Christmas to all my readers and hoping for a happy & healthy 2013.


xxx

And the winner is......

Nicki Cawood!

Please get in touch with your address details for delivery of your craft kit!

Thanks everyone for entering!

Merry Christmas!

A Little Festive Giveaway!

I hope that everyone is almost ready for Christmas now with only 11 sleeps to go as my 5 year old updates me everyday!

As Christmas is about giving (although that can get a little lost in all the hubub) I thought it would be nice to have a little Festive Giveaway!  Winner gets to choose from a Girlie Keepsake Box, a 2013 Journal or a fab craft kit!

To enter all you have to do is to leave a comment on the blog to say if you were the winner, which you would choose and who you would give it to or if you would keep it yourself!

Of course any promotion of the giveaway would be lovely too, but you are busy people and if you haven't time to do this then just leave a comment!

Winner will be announced on Sunday Evening at 10pm, so keep a look out so I can post it on Monday and it will be with you in time for Christmas!

Have a great weekend!

The Elf has arrived - Hoorah!

It's been a bit manic around here for a few weeks with orders stacking up and Christmas looming!  Luckily Santa follows me on Twitter and when I asked him for an elf he said I had been very good and delivered Edwardo Elf to me!  He doesn't speak any English but is very good with packing parcels and printing labels!

Normal blogging will resume soon! 

Keep an eye out too this week for a fabulous Q & A with the author Melanie Hudson!  There will a copy of her "hot off the press" The Wedding Cake Tree book available to win!

Easy as 1, 2, 3!

I liked making this so thought I would share it with you!  Hope you are all having a lovely weekend!

Monday Spotlight!

Today's Monday Spotlight is the lovely Jen at Miss Bohemia.

Miss Bohemia is a designer / maker who creates vintage styled and magical jewellery and a new accessory range which includes trinket & keepsake boxes!

The Miss Bohemia range is inspired by nature, art, books, life, fairytales and fantasy!  Here you will find bohemian glamour, darkly romantic creations,  vintage and Victorian inspired pieces, my fairytale range collection and much more!

Everything has been handmade (or carefully chosen and assembled by me) to create an inspiring collection of jewellery and accessories.  You will also find some pieces include ready made charms as well as vintage components, producing mesmerising results!

She sells in lots of places!  On her Website!, on Etsy in 2 shops! Etsy - Through the Looking Glass and at Miss BohemiaEtsy

Go and have a browse - you won't be disappointed!

Have a lovely week!