Happy Easter

Easter weekend is here - a much needed long weekend to enjoy.

The forecast is dry with a mix of sunshine and cloud but still bitterly cold.

The daffodils are the only real sign of Spring at the moment.

We headed over to Jeff's Dad's house this morning for the annual Easter Egg Hunt. It's a lovely opportunity for the cousins to get together and have some fun. I must say though, it didn't last long this year as it was just so cold - Hide and Seek inside was the preferred option!

Tomorrow my sister and niece are visiting for Easter treats in the afternoon and then we head off down to Cornwall for a few days - a chance to be spoilt by Mum and Dad and enjoy some coastal walks and fresh sea air - just what is needed!

I hope you all have a Happy Easter Weekend and get to enjoy the sun if it shines.

Bath and Birthdays

Today is Mr dots and spots Birthday and lucky for him, he broke up from school yesterday so enjoyed a day off. He spent the day at home, whilst I.......

enjoyed a little retail therapy in Bath - ON MY OWN!

I have not been to Bath 'on my own' in years as I always have Sophie in tow or meet up with my sister and niece - so today was a real treat!

I love Bath - the mix of shops and street sellers.

It was extra special today as the sun decided to shine too!

I treated myself to coffee and a slice of Abricontine at the Bertinet Bakery Cafe 

and very nice it was too!

I also treated myself to these fun Cath Kidston beakers, ready for beach time picnics in the Summer.

This evening we decided to treat ourselves to a special birthday meal out at ASK.

A great way to start the holidays and celebrate Jeff's Birthday. The food was absolutely delicious and if you shop at Tesco's, you can exchange £10's worth of Clubcard Vouchers for £40's worth of ASK food. So a bargain too! 

Enjoy your Easter weekend - 50% FRIDAY will still be on despite it being a Bank Holiday, so take a peek and grab a bargain!

You're late!

Spring seems to be hiding - it certainly doesn't want to show it's self any time soon. These daffodils, spotted out on my walk, are braving the cold and trying to give Spring a gentle nudge.

My parents sent me some gorgeous Cornish Blooms to cheer me up.

They look lovely and cheery and smell gorgeous.

I just wish it would warm up a little. 

I looked back through the blog and at 'this time last years' entry, and we were enjoying un-seasonally warm sunshine. I can just about endure the cold if we could be sure of a lovely Summer this year. We all deserve it!

Today is all about ....

....the positives.

My lovely sister sent us treats to cheer us up - yummy chocolate chip shortbread cookies, chocolate chip cookies and yummy flapjack form Meg Rivers Artisan Bakery They are all absolutely delicious. 

A huge positive is that we are in the position to order more of our paper bags. Back in late August of last year, I took delivery of the above palette, holding 10's of 1000's of spotty paper bags and I did think 'What have I done?' Since launching them in October they have flown out, so we order more - yippee!

We are also soon to launch (well in about a month)  a new product - Decorative Paper Pads for Crafting.

I am asked so often 'Where do you get your paper from?' so we have put together a selection of papers for you to choose from. The first 4 sets will include our spot, star, gingham, stripe and flower papers from our new wrapping paper collection.

They will be available as a set of red papers, blue papers, pink papers and a mixed set. All four sets will be available as an A5 pad which will contain 60 sheets and an A4 pad which will contain 30 sheets. All the sheets are acid and lignin free and all are double sided. I will let you know when they will be available.

We are also thinking ahead to Easter - I've been busy putting together a few gifts for the children's teachers. We will be going down to Cornwall for a few days to stay with my parents for a much deserved break. The sea air should blow away the cobwebs and the odd pastie or cream tea treat, will be most welcome.

Don't forget it's 50% FRIDAY tomorrow - something for all you camper van fans!

Thank You

Thank you for all your comments, phone calls, emails and messages - your support really does help and so many of you seem to have been in this position yourselves. We will find a silver lining I'm sure, just a little tricky to find the positives just yet! 

We have joked that he could become a postman - only thing standing in his way, is his dislike of dogs!! 

Redundant

 Redundant - NOUN When something becomes redundant, it is no longer needed!

 Sometimes life can be a little unkind, especially to the people we love. We had some bad news a few weeks ago and on Friday things came to a head. The horrible word Redundancy - my poor, hard working husband is to be made redundant. What is so difficult for me, for us all, is that the whole process has been terribly unfair. At the end of the day, it's the children at the school, who will be without a fantastic Maths teacher in September. If I were a fee paying parent, I would want to know why that particular decision had been made!  It's not been a  professional decision and an awful lot of teachers at the school  agree with that and were shocked that he was one of those selected for redundancy.

We are a strong family unit.

We are all in good health and will do everything we can to get through this.

 It is at times like this that your family means everything to you.  

I have to believe that things happen for a reason and that some good will come of this horrible situation we've been put in. I'm not being purposely vague, I would love to go into more detail but .......
If I'm a little quiet or a little less jolly than normal, this is the reason for it. dots and spots will continue and support us, as best it can, whilst we find that next elusive job!

Studio time

I have pretty much spent this weekend at home - enjoying a little studio time.

Partly out of necessity - our next trade show is only 8 weeks away! eek! 

So a little design time was enjoyed, a little planning time done and a little bit of time to play!

I also had a commission to complete. Occasionally our personalised washing line prints come out of retirement. Over the past 4 years, I have completed a few prints now, for a lovely couple's grandchildren. Each time a new grandchild comes along, I'm asked to do another print - what a lovely idea.

Another week....

...nearly over.

Orders have been keeping me busy this week - lots of you are loving our party bags and spotty balloons and our fabulous deal on party notebooks. I've been trying to squeeze in a little design time too - eek! I know Christmas already!

 It's still cold here in Somerset but I've been enjoying the frosty mornings,

as the blue skies and sunshine that have been following.

I'm still finding it hard to eat 'well' as it's so cold and as a result I seem hungry but the pounds are staying off (just). My daily walks are still going strong. I love this chap 'the duck man', as I call him. Every day, at the same time, he comes to the park to feed the ducks. They waddle up to greet him, then follow him down the hill, where he parks up to feed them. My walks are good exercise and certainly blow away the cobwebs. I'm hoping it warms up a little soon though, so the leaves and blossom can start to emerge. It's felt like a long winter this year.

Happy Mothers Day

Today is Mothers Day

(Photo - my wedding day)

 I enjoyed the luxury of a lie in and then an early morning phone chat with my Mum, down in Cornwall. Sadly Jeff's Mum passed away 5 years ago, so I make sure I give her a special thought today too.

 I had some fab cards - I'm now the owner of 2 doodlelove cards

Sophie and I want to see Mamma Mia, so this was a big hint and will be a good reminder to save up!

Sam made me this handmade card at school - always special

I got treated to the most gorgeous tulips

Being Mum to these two, really is the best job in the world. 

I count my blessings every day, as to just how lucky I am.

I hope you all have a lovely Mothers Day 

Pulse prep!

 I am struggling to see where the time is going at the moment. Blink and another week has gone!

I am busy prepping or rather, getting my thoughts and plans organised, for our next trade show. It is only 9 weeks away - how did that happen? Hence the untidy studio, well that's my excuse!

Easter is in only 3 weeks and our holiday is only 11 weeks away!

So what am I planning to take to Pulse, London?

Well there won't be masses of 'new stuff' as the current economic climate is pretty dire right now. We are working on a few bits and will obviously share all with you, in the coming weeks.

Our 50% Friday's are growing in popularity with a lot of you and my Saturday mornings are now spent, making up and packing all the orders, whilst Jeff takes the kids swimming. 

I could think of worse things to do!

So a big thank you, to all of you who continue to support dots and spots. 

What a difference.....

......the sun makes!

 Monday afternoon and all day yesterday were beautiful, blue skies, sunshine and a little warmth to go with it. The sun lifts my spirits and makes me feel much more positive, about all sorts of things.

The crocuses on my walk were beautiful but today, I noticed they were tightly closed as we return to the grey, cold, miserable weather we've been used to!

Come on Spring, take charge and show yourself - I need you!

Making the most.....

....of working for myself!

This weekend we were super busy - a combination of Mother's Day orders and 50% Friday.

I ended up going over to the premises on Saturday and on Sunday, to get everything packed and ready for posting first thing on Monday morning.

Jeff spent Sunday evening sorting, sizing and weighing the post.

So today, I spent the afternoon out in the garden, enjoying the sunshine, guilt free!

It was warm enough, when out of the wind, to sit out and enjoy my lunch and get the washing out on the line. I then spent a couple of hours cutting back and clearing up all the dead twigs and leaves - 3 trugs full! All the clematis and honeysuckle is beginning to bud and I even spotted a ladybird. The forecast says tomorrow will be similar, then as warm air moves in, so does the rain - typical.