a ramble of sorts whilst recapping...

hooray it is friday! 

i am tres giddy because that means a brand new shiny week is waiting to happen in just a day or so. i am gearing up for said shiny week by cleaning our shed and shuffling things around. i can not clean a shed without shuffling, it makes the cleaning so much more thrilling when you plot and plan the movement of furniture and knick knacks.

then monday will roll around and shiny week will begin and in turn my sanity will be saved...

in the meantime, how about a little recap of last friday's book launch.

photos by bees knees Lola

oh so many fine and dandy folks dilly dallied our way, it was a most spiffy event and i was most fortunate to meet some of you
("hello hello", said whilst waving to you).
new friends and old friends came out to support the book and Janine and myself were tres delighted.

the peachy Andie and Emily of Assemble Shop are the bees knees without a doubt.

and best of all, yes quite honestly the best thing of all,

a small being with a little critter came to visit

("hello small being Gráinne and little critter Sugar Cookie" said whilst doing an extra grande wave to you)

Janine put together a little video of the evening, 'cause she is pretty spiffy that way.

dottie angel book launch from UPPERCASE gallery on Vimeo.

i on the other hand, was complete pants and did not take any photos after a failed attempt at capturing the window display and so have relied upon others to allow me to share...

so thank you kindly Lola and Melanie, cheers my dears for your fabby sharing selves

*a nice little write up from Melanie of inward facing girl

*lola's lovely post on her book launch visit with me

she will be back on monday, with crafty creative cap firmly bobby pinned on her bounce, a la Diana Dearie style (another big wave) ~ Tif
footynote: photos today kindly shared by Lola Nova, who is also the bees knees, actually everyone who came to the book launch is the bees knees, but especially 'bees knees-ness' goes to Lola

footynote note: oh crikey, now i am fretting someone somewhere is thinking "Tif didn't wave at me" or "Tif forgot to say i was the bees knees" and this will never do. so just to set the record straight, i think you are all the bees knees and i have said this whilst waving "hello hello" to everybody this morning. yes, that is much better now...

a big day...

hurrah hooray! i cannot believe we are already at the official book launch day... it has been a whole year since Janine, Glen and little Finley came to stay at Mossy Shed and now they are back in Seattle for our book launch.

in a matter of hours i will be catching the bus to the big city, where upon i will meet up with Janine and her little clan, and the lovely Lola Nova, my most fine and dandy buddy from Portland. she is in my 'nice folks' section of the book because quite frankly she is very nice to know.

then together we will sally forth to The Assemble Gallery and have a spiffy old time of things this evening. 

i think today would be a most fitting time for me to say perhaps the biggest "thanking your kindly" i have ever needed to say...

from the lovely peachy comments here, to the incredible amount of fabby mails in my inbox, to the twittering words tweeted, to the kind facebook messages, i have truly been overwhelmed by the response to the book. i feel most humbled to know so many folks have found the book to be inspiring, unique and totally dottie angel.

these past weeks for my family across the pond, well, it has been a crappity crap few weeks filled with emotions and sadness, and there are many more to come. so late last night into the wee early hours my man and i sat, and we talked and we talked with heavy hearts and heavy heads. he then told me, "no matter what Tif, tomorrow is your day, it is your moment and nothing will overshadow this, you have waited patiently for half a lifetime to have a little moment to shine and you deserve it."

and so dearest readers, i shall do just as he says, i will take 'my day', i will wear my cloggy sandals with pride as i step on the bus, 'little lucky bunny' safely tucked in my bag and head to meet my friends and my lovely blog readers to share this moment with them...

and i wish to share with you also, for those that cannot be here, be it my family across the pond, my lovely girls so far away and you, my dearest readers. thank you kindly for making me feel like i have inspired you to be a little crafty, to look at your stash piles of yarny fabric goodness and to feel itching to get stitching, for if that is one thing i am proud of, is knowing others too have become as addicted to crafting as me due to my little book and this here little blog i like to call home...

yes, today more than any other day, she is truly thanking you kindly, each and every one of you...

Tif 

note taking again...

oh how i love myself some notes...

bee day notes:

note one: it occurred to me, half way through yesterday, the Queen does birthday portraits every year, so why can't i, after all i had my new birthday frock on.

note two: my 'lads of three' did not let me down! to think they plotted and planned without Our #1 and #2 around made me feel super spiffy inside. along with handmade cards (the bestest kind to receive) i was given three lovely books of which i will show on an up and coming thrilling 'book week' (to be announced, i like that and so i had to write it, "to be announced"), two bars of cadbury's caramel and EVIL'O', a glowing pesky daxie. my lads have noted on many an occasion that OLIVE spelt backwards says 'evilo' and so this seemed most fitting for a life size daxie now glowing in the corner of our lounge

note three: EVIL'O' looks a little chilly to me :)

crafty notes:

note one: in between a mammoth amount of chin wagging with clan members far far away i did get a little crafty yesterday, not enough for my liking but enough to feel like i am making headway. for this sunday i am heading to Seattle to install (doesn't that sound professional and like i know what i am doing, gosh what a spiffy little word) a 'dottie angel' vignette (please see booky notes below for install reasons)

note two: i wish for a cluster of goodness and i need to get my crafty granny pants on and not dilly dally about the place, for dilly dallying is banned this week. i think i may put up signs around the shed stating this. i do not think i have ever banned anything in our shed before, however, time is not on my side and dilly dallying therefore will be banned

booky notes:

note one: hurrah hooray, for 'tis tres exciting. Janine and myself are having a book launch in Seattle and you are all invited! in my heart of hearts, i wish you could all be there but alas and alack i know this is not possible. however there maybe one or two of you peachy readers who do live near by, who are not doing much on September 30th, between 6 and 9pm and fancy a bit of dilly dallying at the lovely Assemble Gallery and Studio. (the dilly dallying ban will have been lifted by then)

how grand it would be for you to come and join us, small beings and little critters most welcome. actually i do not know about the little critter bit, so perhaps if you have a mousey who likes to go out and about in your pocket i am thinking that might be okay. or a hedgehog like Basil, but not so sure about larger critters, so best leave them at home. but small and big beings all welcome. my 'lads of three' will be there, i have mentioned to my man he may want to read my book as he might be asked a tricky question like "have you read the book?" his response was "i live in your dolified world Tif, i think i'll be okay"

i think he has a point...

she is thanking you most kindly for the peachy well wishes yesterday and will be back tomorrow with a little monkey busy businessy stuff ~ Tif

things i like...

about my book

(yes, 'tis feels quite odd to say "my book")

* i like the rounded corners.

* i like the feel of the front cover.

* i like the hand stitched postcard and little loved barcode.

* i like that my grandmother's pesky pom pom squirrel is tucked into my apron pocket on the front cover.

* i like that it sits perfectly perfect in my hands.

* i like the chunky spine a whole lot.

* i like that it is part of the Suitcase Series.

* i like the fact 'little lucky bunny' has a whole story all about him illustrated by my brilliant brother

* i like that such an inspiring book, can come from the collaboration of just two folks, one crafty blogger and one independent creative design publisher, yes i think that is quite a thing to like.

* i like very muchly, that Janine and i were fortunate to have so many willing helpers with the handmade details the book required. including Janine's own Mom and her trusty sewing machine

* i like that when i flick through the pages it is everything i hoped it would be and so much more.

* i like that when i think about having dottie angel published in a book, really truly think about this moment, it causes me to well up inside. i never thought anything else in my life would match the moments of my children being born, but this moment sits alongside there nicely.

* i like very muchly to think this book would not be what it is without you, my dearest readers for which i am thanking you kindly today.

and most of all

*i hope you will like it too

she will be back on monday with a little giveaway, till then, be safe my brilliantly brilliant 'i spy' dearies ~ Tif

a few book notes...

i hope you do not mind, but the flow of postcards landing on your door mats must be interrupted with some book notes i feel worth noting...

note one:

last week on UPPERCASE was 'dottie angel week', which as i mentioned before is terribly thrilling after all i have never had such a thing happen to me. seeing all the photos Janine shared on the book's progress and some behind the scene things made me most smiley. if you missed book week over at Janine's lovely place, then you can catch up here, just keep on scrolling down the page to see all her posts and pictures

note two:

for anyone wondering where UPPERCASE magazine and books are stocked, you can find out details here and also i am rather delighted to be told the lovely store Ray Stitch will be opening soon and will stock my book. i can only imagine just how lovely their store is going to be.

note three:

worthy of brewing a cup of tea and having a few minutes sit down to enjoy, a little video showing the printer proofs by Janine,

dottie angel book proof from UPPERCASE gallery on Vimeo.

thank you kindly to all those who have pre-ordered our book, Janine and myself are beyond delighted by the response. also gold sticky stars (hurrah, hooray! i love a gold sticky star, especially on mondays, 'cause mondays can be a little dull) to those who helped out in making the extras which come with the book, look as peachy as they do.

she will be scribbling another postcard tomorrow ~ Tif

home sweet shed...

oh yes indeedy, 'tis grand to be back in Our Shed. after a month or so on the road, nothing is quite as lovely as coming home to a shed full of critters and my favorite knick knacks. it will be a very thrilling month of August. i am trying to think if there has ever been a month of August to match up to this thrillingness. nope, i do not think so. therefore i will call this 'my most thrilling month of August to date'... ah yes, thrilling stuff indeed.

and why is August such a thrilling month you may wonder? (you also may not, and quite honestly that is perfectly okay with me) well the majority of the thrillingness is down to knowing Janine has made August 'pre launch book month' for my book, which as i tippity type this very ramble, is at the printers! i am positively giddy by this news and even more so that Janine will be posting over on her spiffy blog all week long about 'this and that' to do with the book. it is quite a thing to see how Janine took my pennings, my ramblings, my images and my thoughts and through her brilliant design skills the book i had inside of my head for so long has come to life. not to mention all the hours which have been put in by lovely mighty fine 'helper bees', cutting threads, vintage fabrics and doilies to accompany the book and inspire the reader to allow their creative soul to shine.

tomorrow i will be back with my 'postcards in retrospect', yes i am one of those pants kind of folks who go away, write their postcards whilst away and then come home and post them. anyhow the upside of my 'pants way' means i get to title it 'postcards in retrospect' which i really really like, and so this has made me happy.

so a little recap i think is in order, if not for you, certainly for me, for my little blogging cogs are tres dusty and i am slowly finding my feet again.

things to be happy about today,

happiness number one is here

happiness number two is here

happiness number three is 'postcards in retrospect'

happiness number four is a little furry friend

lordy how i missed my little critters and of course you dear readers, i hope life has been a little spiffy, a little dandy and indeed a little crafty for you, whilst i was on the road

she is licking her first stamp and will be posting 'postcard number one' tomorrow ~ Tif

'pantaloons of greatness'...

today dearest readers i am terribly busy beavering away on a few details to do with booky issues and whilst i am terribly busy i am wearing 'pantaloons of greatness'... i say this with great delight and somewhat concern due to that pesky fellow Mr Doubter sitting on my shoulders.

yesterday as i stood in Anthropologie with my mother flitting through the sale rail i spied some casual lightweight, 'not quite harem pants cause the bottom wasn't too loose' pantaloons. i then dared myself to try them on, now obviously trying on any kind of leg wear over a pair of woolly tights and just hoisting up my full slip, dress and granny cardi around my waist was not giving me the best of looks to judge if indeed these comfy cozy pants had the potential to make me look fabby in an eclectic bohemian way or as i was suspecting with my reflection, a rather saggy baggy bottomed middle aged woman who appeared to have left her pyjama bottoms on whilst out and about.

i took a risk, yes indeedy, i risked it for a biscuit and i purchased (please pronounce it 'purr_ chased' cause that is just how i said it) my pantaloons at their thrifty nifty half price and took them home. later that evening i stood in my pantaloons for close inspection and obvious critical eye from Our #2 and of course my mother. even when we are aged 42 are we not able to heed our mother's advice or indeed believe her when she says "well actually i think you look lovely in them, i really do"

after much deliberating with Mr Doubter, we made a unanimous decision that yes i, Tif, could indeed wear pantaloons again after many moons of never ever donning such an article of clothing resembling trousers. today as i tippity tap this, i have even been outside in my pantaloons and i must say, as i stepped out of the safe and secure compounds of Mossy Shed's acre of moss, i might as well have been naked. exposing my shape of legs from the knee up was something of a trauma for me due to hiding behind skirts and frocks. i must confess at the last moment i added an extra layer of protection, a long granddad cardi so actually it was only my front half that felt exposed to the world's glare. then i did that really scary thing one does only on rare occasions when out, for indeed there is not alot you can do about it so why bother looking, this time however i did! i looked in a shop window to see my reflection, quite convinced i would see a saggy baggy bag lady looking back, but i was pleasantly surprised, not a bag lady in sight with her baggy bottom. just a slightly quirky, perhaps a little odd, strangely eclectic and with a hint of bohemian about her, woman of an uncertain age in her 'pantaloons of greatness'...

whilst i am busy beavering on booky things in my 'pantaloons of greatness' i am delighted to say, Janine is busy beavering away on booky things her end too. i wonder if Janine has 'pantaloons of greatness'? it would not surprise me at all, for when she visited she had the most loveliest of purple boots with orange shoe laces and i am quite sure someone who wears such footwear is up for wearing 'pantaloons of greatness'. things are coming along peachy with the book, i am finishing up a few how-tos and Janine is doing her thing with the page designs. the finished book is set to be published in late summer and today you may note spread amongst my ramble, the results of many moments spent hand stitching the chapter pages, but i know you well my dearest readers and i know you are now thinking

"we do not wish to see your many moments of hand stitched chapters sections Tif! gosh no, what we want is to see your 'pantaloons of greatness' and we want to see them now!"

and i say

"all in good time dearest readers, all in good time"

she is wishing you the loveliest of mothering sundays and rather delighted to be spending the day with her own mother, the first in 10 years ~ Tif

the tale of me and Emily Chalmers...

if you are sitting comfortably, then i shall begin...

once upon a time lived Tif, it was many moons ago and she was misplaced and some may say, quite positively lost in a land of reproduction furniture and fancy front living rooms.

one day, Tif found herself pottling in the book store as she was apt to do, of a friday afternoon with a young clan. she thought it most nice of the book folks to place the children's books next to the craft and interior books. as she perused the shelves whilst glancing over at her clan from time to time, her little beady eye spied 'flea market style' upon the shelves of creative goodness.

Tif gasped 'thee gasp'... upon taking down this peachy book and beginning to turn the pages, she knew this was a wonderful happening to outdo all happenings that had ever happened to her in a book store before. After several page turns, it became quite apparent to Tif she was no longer alone and lost with her granny chic loving ways.

(please note, at this time Tif did not know her granny chic loving ways had a name such as granny chic, that lovely little term of description came later in her life, but for this story i popped it in because it does describe so well what Tif liked)

Tif clutched her 'find', indeed hugging it like an old friend, she then rustled up her little clan and headed home to her cookie cutter new build in Edward ScissorHand land.

from that day forward, Tif kept her little 'flea market style' book by Emily Chalmers on her bedside cupboard. some days when she was a little lost, she would open it and lose herself amongst the pages.

(i am thinking it quite true to say, if you were to ask Tif, she would probably be able to tell you each and every room laid out within its fine peachy pages, was the extent of her attachment to the book.)

roll on quite a few moons, possibly over 50 of them or more and Tif found herself sitting at her little desk tippity tapping away at pennings for her own book. on reflecting over the past few years and indeed the fateful path which led her and her clan to live at Mossy Shed, Tif got to pondering. she pondered all the way back to when she was a little girl and then back again to where she was today. how the events which had led to her writing a book, upon reflection all appeared to be connected... even her stumbling across Emily and her wonderful world of 'flea market style'

it was late, Tif was a little punch drunk from writing most of the day on and off, in a moment of madness whilst the clan slept above her head she wrote to Emily Chalmers, introducing herself and her world of dottie angel, telling Emily of her admiration for her lovely books and then she ended her letter with some high hopes.

the next morning at 6:30am Tif's alarm woke her with feelings of the morning after and what had she done... she wrote to her soul sister Debbie and told her of her doings, her soul sister told her she was not nutty. however Tif was not convinced, accompanied Mr Doubter and his little voice of uncertainty. yes indeedy he was in fine mocking form and throughout the day continued to remind her less she forget and may it also be known, there was plenty of pacing and hand wringing as well

(i have put that in because all good stories need a bit of pacing and hand wringing).

the following day, after the morning after, Tif glanced at her emails and then she felt a little giddy, she sat down calling Used Dog and Little Olive to her side, for indeed a moment such as this must be witnessed. there in Tif's little inbox was Emily Chalmers no less and even more incredible were the words Emily had tippity tapped the other side of the pond in her lovely nest.

Tif read the mail several times over, then her and her canine companions hoppity skipped a couple of laps around the shed and then promptly collapsed in a little heap on the floor with tears upon their cheeks

(actually Used Dog and Little Olive did several laps but did not shed a tear. Tif, however only managed one hoppity skip lap due to unfitness levels, but was very good at the tears side of things, i know this to be true as i was there)

after some nattering, Emily and Tif discovered they had quite a bit in common, those bits including a love of second hand goodness, furry friends, sharing the same age, kindred spirits and believing in fate, oh yes and they both liked grannies.

and so it came to pass, Emily and her lovely self, thought Tif's high hopes were perfectly achievable and spent her time wisely with pencil and scrap of paper in pocket waiting for moments of 'brilliant thoughts' to hit. at any given time Emily could be seen scribbling her little 'brilliant thoughts' upon her paper, then safely tucking it away whilst she went about her busy creative days in Caravan and elsewhere.

and as for Tif? well the little piece of paper Emily carried in her pocket served as a reminder to never ever doubt what a little bit of 'high hopes' can lead to...

dottie angel

the peachy crafty life of Tif Fussell

foreword by

Emily Chalmers

the end

she is washing undies and packing twinkies for travels to a small island called old blighty ~ Tif

wrestling with hiccups, pennings and a blankie...

a few hiccups in the proceedings this week. not the sort of hiccups which cause you to be driven insane and drink lots (water that is) but nice hiccups involving lovely folks and my book pennings.

one of my hiccups involved a pottle around Goodwill in the big city with Marjan. upon pottling i came across a lovely peachy blanket for the even lovelier sum of $3. i exclaimed to Marjan this blanket had 'little olive' written all over it. arriving home to my shed i washed said peachy blanket and laid it on the couch.

as soon as i had done so, i was overcome with little blanket lust, i wished to keep my newly found blanket to myself and not share it with Little Olive. such was my wanting for the blanket, i hid it from Little Olive less she see its yarny beauty and become attached. this morning however i have given myself a stern talking to about Little Olive's need being greater than mine (how i came to that conclusion is beyond me as we all know, the little doggie has more crocheted blankets than any other doggie i know) but still i did.

my pennings are all starting to come together and tomorrow my man is taking me to work with him. it is not 'take your woman to work' day, rather because he had a bright idea as i sat in bed this morning in the early hours explaining my inability to visualize what i had written in a book form.

(i said this in a 'nutshell' to you, but to him it was very long winded and fretfully worded, and i note his head was under a pillow for most of my long winded fretting)

so he suggested i come to his work place and print off all my pennings and then read them as if they were a book, therefore i would have a better idea of whether indeed i had repeated myself on several occasions, where gapping big holes of important pennings were missing and perhaps as he also suggested, i may actually say to myself, "blimey Tif, despite your doubting ways, you hold a book in your hand"

this is terribly thrilling, for i have never been and sat in his office at work, due to allergies bought on by corporate work spaces but it will be fine and dandy for i shall be sure to take my allergy medicine an hour before i arrive.

i am wondering if it would be nice of me to bring a sack lunch for us, a marmalade sandwich for him and chocolate spread on ryvita for me. i think i failed to mention this little detail before, but i have given up white toast this new year and in its place i now have ryvita. it is not far off cardboard but when butter and Cadbury's chocolate spread is a top, it becomes edible. i would have to sandwich two ryvitas together to avoid chocolate spread getting all over his marmalade sandwich but it would be quite a nice moment of sharing.

on second thoughts, perhaps i should keep his marmalade sandwich hidden until the point where he is driven nutso by my

"i can't find my documents on this little usb thingy, oh my lord, i have lost my book! it is gone, GONE forever... this is a tragedy, one of epic proportions. where for art thou my book"

all the time my voice rising in panic levels, drawing attention from the other folks in their little offices across the way, four walls and artificial lighting. then when i get to the point where he is ready to say

"look why don't you go home to the shed and i'll sort it"

with an exasperated look upon his face accompanied by another grey hair.

i will rustle around in my large bag, unearthing crochet, car keys, purse, my lost sanity and volia! a marmalade sandwich :)

suddenly all will be forgiven, in that instant he will forget my disabilities with computers, my inabilities to stay calm and focused and transport himself back to 25 years ago when we first met and he fell for my... well actually i do not know what he fell for, but he must have fallen for something to have stayed around so long.

yes, that is what i shall do, i will use the marmalade sandwich as a peace offering within what is bound to be a fiasco of me trying to locate and print off folder after folder of random pennings and piece them into a book where upon i will sit in his spare swivelly chair and insist i read it all out loud, where upon my man in his swivelly chair will quietly place his head upon his desk, marmalade sandwich slightly out of reach and silently weep

she is now quite giddy about tomorrow and wondering if she should change out her large bag for a very 'important businessy looking' corporate brief case ~ Tif

wisdom whilst wearing a headscarf...

i am delighted to report,

my

headscarf wearing,

hand stitching,

book penning,

derriere

has kicked into first gear

and whilst the going is good,

i need to keep on 'a stitching' and 'a penning'.

so i think it would be wise for me to take a little blog break, but shall we have a rendevous time? i think that would be quite lovely, something for me to look forward to, because i will miss my shiny place and of course you, my dearest readers of the utmost kind.

oh my goodness! i have just looked at my Snoopy Calendar, a christmas gift from Our #4, so i might find the perfect date to rendevous and my little eyes note it is the Chinese New Year today!!! how terribly thrilling for little lucky bunny and his cape of crochet sitting all spiffy and 'good lucky' up there on my blog banner.

well that just made me most smiley and even more excited about the two chinese fortunes i have sticky taped on Colin the Computer. they are both from recent fortune cookies that came my way over the past few weeks.

one says

'you will soon vacation in a place of cool climate'

and t'other says

'you have remarkable power which you are not using'

i am wondering if i should dust little lucky bunny today, so his luckiness stays at optimum lucki-ability (what a grand word, lucki-ability, Mr Spell Checker scoffed at it but i rised above his scoffing ways and did not allow it to cloud this happy new year day)

so why don't we aim for Tuesday 15th Feb for our little 'hurrah! back together again' day

and just so you know in advance, cause i cannot wait until the 15th to tell you.

upon my return i will be planning a give-away, to celebrate a lovely happening that happened this week, till then, i wish you a few peachy days, ney a week or so of doing what you like to do best, and if you need a little help with this, do not forget wise 'dottie angel do' number four.

'do feel a little crafty at least twice a day'

she is wearing a red floral headscarf today, courtesy of her lovely friend Carol and it is doing quite the handy dandy job of aiding her pennings ~ Tif

battiness is just around the corner...

the little voice within my head will not be quiet, the cogs refuse to slow down and for the past few days my mind is 'a whirring' with words that need to be penned.

i now have pieces of paper all over the shed with scribbled hasty notes, things i need to record that moment, less two minutes later they fall into the black hole within my head...

i can now see why so many writers hole up in a place where no one can find them, they are not foolish enough to sit at a computer in the center of their nest, grabbing a few hours here and there, whilst all around continue to talk, play music, woof and require feeding and clean undies. no sirree, they have the right idea... just them, their little computer and their booky thoughts.

but that is not an option for me (although i did ponder it briefly this morning as i awoke to my little voice babbling on). so i have now taken to carrying around paper and pencil, i am penning my book the old fashioned way, before the keyboard and the typewriter but after the quill and ink. then i shall transfer penciled words to 'Word' not having to worry about distractions and noisy clan at foot.

my man has suggested i "tell my book" to a little recording device and i thought this might be worthy of some pondering. i saw myself 'Barbara Cartland' style upon the couch (except i would have flannel pyjamas and a woolly sweater on, a little less eyeliner too i am thinking), Little Olive resting by my side and Used Dog offering to be in charge of note making and button pressing. Used Dog is a little iffy these days and so when i suggested this idea to her, she got in quite the tizzy about the responsibilities that come with pressing buttons and note taking, said her little toe pads just do not work the way they used to. then Little Olive pointed out it would be completely and utterly impossible for her to rest by my side because being on the couch is a 'no no' and getting a opportunity like this would be too terribly thrilling she would be overcome by peskiness, jumping all over me and trying to clean out my ears. (dogs are odd like that)

in the meantime, whilst i ponder walking around for the next few weeks with recording device in hand, be it at home, in the car or at the grocery store, i am working on whatever section leaps into my brain. "ah ha" i say to my little brain and hastily search for a pencil with lead and sharp point (quite rare in these parts i have noted) to record my brains "ah ha" moment.

and so dearest readers, this is where you come in today, yes that is correct, i see you sitting up a little straighter, adjusting what ever needs to be adjusted and now perhaps a little fearful of what i am going to ask of you. well it is quite simple really, my recall skills are letting me down, i have come to see i am the kind of person that can ramble away about any old thing, i see this to be true, as taking a look at my blog dashboard it tells me i have rambled no less 530 times!!! this is quite a number of rambles, and within those rambles is quite a lot of nonsense along with a hidden gem or two. so i am thinking as and when the need may arise, i may have to ask for you assistance. (this may not be the case, but i am putting it out there now, giving you time to think about the possiblity, if it arises)

some of you may say

"no, you are on your own there Tif"

and quite rightly so,

"way too many other things to be doing Tif"

and i do not blame you.

but others may say

"actually i think you are looking for this Tif"

or indeed

"you know what i liked best was the time Tif, you..."

and that would be most peachy indeed

so ears back, sit up straight and let us have a little go, a little warm up, nothing super duper tricky nor overwhelmingly time consuming. i am trying to recall all the dottie angelisms from over the past few years... the everyday words that have crept into this blog, the ones that when i press spell check, Mr Spell Check mocks me.

if you can recall any that may have stuck in your mind, ones perhaps that have become part of your daily vocab, i would love for you to tell me so i may make an important note of it, in my 'important note' pile of papers once destined for the recycle bin and now enjoying a few more rosy moments being scrawled upon by me and my pencil.

to get the cogs moving here's an example (and a fine one may i be so bold as to add)

'crappity crap'

surely Darren Dictionary should have this in his vocabulary!

do not fret, nor worry if another has already said the dottie angelism you have a fondness for, just tell me anyway, would be fun to know.

she is quite happy to hand out gold sticky stars all day long, in between the laundry, vacuuming and manic note making moments ~ Tif

footynote: cause its the weekend, hurrah hooray! and i am feeling quite giddy with all this 'cog turning', i have extra gold sticky stars for those that "i spy... a little 'lucky' bunny" :)

be gone scowling ways...

i must confess my 'smile' has slipped a little, being so soon into the new shiny year this has caused some fretting about my resolutions and if i have it in me to keep them up.

my new year smile started slipping on sunday and quite honestly by this morning i noted a terrible scowl had taken its place.

"no one likes a scowler Tif!" i hear you cry

"quite right you are, i am ashamed of my scowling ways" i say

fortunately for moi, a lovely nice young man (lordy, when did i get to the point of saying "oh yes he seems like a nice young man", i appear to be trilingual, i can talk english, american and now it would appear i talk 'granny')

the nice young man stopped by and twiddled with things that needed twiddling with, things that were causing my smile to slip. after a little bit of twiddling he declared my problemo sorted and he left with a smile on his face.

hurrah hooray, Mr Internet is ship shape again, no longer hit or miss, according to the nice young man, he will be 'a-okay' from now on out. of course the little voice inside my head pointed out this was the same thing the nice, slightly older man said just a few weeks back when he came to twiddle with things... but i told my little voice i did not have much choice but to trust those that know how to fiddle with such things

so whilst my smile was slipping over the past few days, i did things to make it cling on.

i stitched (almost obsessively i might add), patching lace and old linens together, i appear to be quite smitten once again with creams and whites, whilst listening to Radio 2.

i found one small ray of daylight in the shed to get some photos done for the book. i felt i was quite capable of doing this by myself (aided by Carlos my camera), but little olive felt otherwise.

i pondered my written word, for Janine tells me there can be no more procrastinating, i need to pull my knee socks up and get cracking with my tippity typing. i told her i would do my utmost best and so today i sat down to start!!!! i conquered my fear of the 'word document' and its automatic layout thingy.

actually that is a complete fib, i did not. instead i sat down, then immediately stood up. upon which i did 'a rant and a rave' in a very loud voice, about how 'Word' drives me to distraction, assuming all sorts of things i wish to do, that i do not, for i do not wish to double space, nor do i wish to suddenly be put into 'bullet point' mode. nor do i wish to have to tell 'word' this every single blimen' time i sit down to tippity type...

dearest readers, it all came out, every single thing that bugs the hell out of me on my computer (things my man felt it wise to install but on installation regretted due to his wife's meltdown, i do not like change, have i mentioned that before, technical change is not good for a dinosaur such as myself) my words continued to pour out, accompanied by flowery words and so my man with a sigh and no doubt a heavy heart (for he has heard it all before) put down his 'laptop bag', closed the front door and asked

"Tif, what exactly is it you wish to do with the word document?"

30 minutes later i am the proud owner of a blank, perfectly spaced, no bullet points, and other such nonsense popping up when and as it feels, fangle dangled word document. my smile was the biggest it had been all week, i reached for my cotton hankie, blew my nose (Mr Lurgy is hovering close by) and felt a sense of peace come over my little computer.

actually i might just blame Mr Lurgy for the slipped smile and terribly awful melt down, infact upon looking back at the evidence, this looks like his kind of doings.

in celebration of my new found love for my computer i have named him Colin. his namesake being my father, my father is quite the intelligent person and continues to be so after many years. so i felt it apt as computers are supposed to be super clever that i call him 'Colin the Computer'. i am hoping my father upon reading this will be most flattered just as i was when a friend many years ago named her guinea pig after me :)

my man left for work (never have i seen him so keen to get to his desk job), i did a token 'pottling and procrastinating' turn around the shed and then sat down to my new fresh 'saved format' word document and tippity typed my first words...

"many moons ago, i was born at home in 1968"

she is thanking you most kindly for the lovely comments from this past week ~ Tif

dottie angel... once upon a time

Mr Internet and i had a falling out over the past few days, 'twas not the best timing for us to part ways, indeed i could have wept at his departure... however i am delighted beyond all delights to report we are back together, i say forever, but he says he cannot commit to forever and says he wishes to take it one day at a time.

so without further a do, feeling like i am a little late to the party, (but always better late than never) i am tres delighted to show you a dottie angel film Janine and her brilliantly, brilliant filming skills created.

when Janine and her clan came to stay in October, she felt it a grand idea to do a little bit of filming so folks that do not know me, may have an introduction to dottie angel and life at Mossy Shed. i am also thinking perhaps folks that do know me and my blog may indeed still enjoy seeing a little bit of my world, after all usually i am pictured with no head and in my classic Flat Stanley pose.

i must confess i was a little nervy about it, having only ever featured in home videos of long ago, the days of when four small children were crammed into our bed, 4:00am Christmas morning and my man thinking it perfectly perfect to record the moment.

but a film about me featuring in no particular order, billy-no-mates, used dog, little olive, Mr Shark and Miss Ethel, well now that truly was a completely different kettle of fish... when i first saw the short film a few weeks back, i must tell you i was quite moved by how Janine had truly captured me and my day to day life, when my clan are out and it is just me, my critters and my crafting. a time for my imagination to shine...

Dottie Angel's Once Upon a Time from Etsy on Vimeo.

and so on Tuesday, a little bit of dottie angel aired on Etsy's peachy blog, along with a lovely write up from Janine.

i feel most fortunate indeed to have Janine, the Etsy team and you of course, my dearest readers, to believe in my imagination, making me feel it is okay to be me. that is truly the kindest gift one can ever give, i believe and so i am thanking you kindly for allowing me to share a little piece of me every time i ramble here and in these two films by the talented Janine Vangool

A thrifty moment with dottie angel from UPPERCASE gallery on Vimeo.

she is down to 22 hours and her first born will be home for the holidays ~ Tif

book week... day six

and so we come to the end of book week,

but do not be sad dearest readers,

nor hang your heads and weep,

for it may be coming to an end but it is a peachy end.

as i mentioned yesterday,

when this sunday rolls around,

the lovely Janine and her little clan

will be insitu at Mossy Shed.

we will be doing what we do best,

which i don't actually quite know what that is yet,

but i am quite sure it will be

the bestest of besty things.

so's whilst i am away from my shiny place

doing besty things with Janine,

we thought it would be nice to have a little giveaway,

and even nicer,

since it being book week and all that grand stuff,

why not give away a book!

for indeed there is nothing quite like a beautiful inspiring book...

and so without further a-do, i must tell you

through the generosity of Janine and UPPERCASE

today's spiffy booky giveaway

is none other than the fabby book bundle from UPPERCASE.

hip hip hooray!

four wonderful books from a brilliant publisher

are looking for a home!

i actually felt a little giddy upon knowing this knowledge.

the peachy winner will receive one of each book,

'as and when' they are hot of the press.

da da da da dah!!

book one:

'the elegant cockroach' by deidre anne martin

and illustrations by stefanie augustine.

a charming storybook

for whimsical grown-ups and sophisticated children,

beautifully written with stunning pictures

book two:

'work/life 2' a directory of illustration,

designed and written by Janine vangool.

featuring talented artists from around the world,

highlighting their personal stories,

insightful interviews and compelling images

book three:

'a collection a day' by illustrator lisa congdon.

being a collector of the utmost kind,

lisa set out to document her collection on January 2010,

embarking on a year long project

resulting in this special book.

book four:

'the suitcase series, volume 2'

the second book in the suitcase series

(the first being the lovely camilla engman)

explores the thrifty, crafty, peachy life of Tif fussell

and her alter ego dottie angel

(in other words, me)

so now to the nitty gritty,

and please be sure to read the nitty gritty bit

cause it is tres important to follow the rules

NITTY GRITTY STUFF

1. you can leave your comment (please see #4)

here or email me tif@dottieangel.com.

be sure to leave a way for me to get hold of you.

it does not matter where you live in the world,

this give away is open to all peachy folks

who love beautiful books and wish to give

these pretty four a loving, forever home

2. the winner will be picked by myself and Janine.

however we will, if need be

rely upon Finley's expert opinion

in this matter of great importance

3. the competition will CLOSE on Wednesday 20th Oct, 10am pacific time.

the winner will be announced on Friday 22nd Oct

at some random time depending on when little olive takes her nap

(gosh this all sounds very professional,

i am thinking i must have my professional hat on today)

4. now this is the bit that needs a thinking cap,

no panicking though,

for there is plenty of time to think and ponder.

to be in with a chance of winning all four books,

you MUST answer this simple,

but 'oh so interesting' question...

WHAT BOOK HAS INSPIRED YOU?

it could be either fiction or non-fiction,

it could be the front cover or pictures within,

it could be a character or the story its self,

or it could be the author that penned the book...

anything at all to do with one particular book

you recall reading, perhaps have read many times over

that has inspired you, in your head and your heart.

give away now CLOSED

so there we are,

a perfect end to a lovely book week

courtesy of my peachy publisher Janine,

how splendid indeed.

she is wishing you a lovely week and will return next friday with a winner ~ Tif