fertig

FERTIG! (apparently that's "finished" in German). I can't believe BLOGTOBERFEST is through! As you can see I've swooped in and grabbed myself a spirit award (self awarded, hehehe)... I blogged every single day in October! I can't believe I actually did it. I started out with doubts and excuses, and to be fair this last week has obviously been filler fluff, but I'm still taking that award thankyouverymuch. ;)

And you should too! I think anyone who participated in BLOGTOBERFEST (completed or not) should proudly take themselves an award today in celebration!!!

Now as I clutch the award, [spotlight hits me], I'd like to thank BigCat for the conception of this great event, CurlyPops for being the most awesomest giveaway mediator (throughout house inspections and everything, what a wonder woman!), Jen for my winning of Barry, Nomes for my winning of the amazing tea towel, everyone who entered my giveaways, my lovely winners Geek+Nerd, BigCat and Shelli, EVERYONE who came to visit and comment, I couldn't have done it without you... [and now the tears start rolling, and the orchestra conductor picks up with little stick thing]... Renee for the "for no reason" gift, all my new blog friends... [orchestra starts playing]... my computer, my beautiful fur-baby cat, Mr You, and [curtain drops and cut to ad break!]

Heh Heh... No, honestly it was a bit tricky to begin with, and then at the end, but overall it's been a great exercise. Getting back into the habit of blogging properly after getting a bit slack this year. So hopefully it'll continue in a more regular fashion from now on, either that or you won't hear from me for the next three weeks. ;)

Hope you all had as much Blogtoberfest fun as I did. I wish we could all meet up for a party tonight! Maybe next year!

Now go pick up your awards, and get working on your acceptance speeches. :D

a welcome addiction

I think I'm about to fall head over heels into a new addiction. Check out these amazing creations with vintage tea towels!!!



Top row: Tea towel dress and pants by My Poppet (via button beauty).
Bottom left: Vintage tea towel upholstered chair, via Button Beauty
Bottom right: Fantastic op shop find by CurlyPops

I'm so in love with all of these. I think I may have to start a new collection, and I'm off to a lovely start! :)

Although I'd never use them as tea towels, and I'm not sure I'd have the heart to cut into them to make them into something else. I may just end up with another pile...

birdlife

Earlier this year whilst staying with a friend, she mentioned how we both love birds.
"Do I?" I asked, never having considered myself a bird lover before (but knowing that she is).
"Yes, they're in all your art, and all around your house"

And it wasn't until that visit that I realised this.



I wouldn't call myself a bird lover (after all I am allergic to canaries). I don't know the names of birds and I can't tell who's call is who's. But once she mentioned it, I noticed that they are all around me (inside and out). I do put them in lots of my illustrations...

And I think it was this simple comment that lead me to taking more notice of birds. I researched the birds I see around here, and put them into the works for the Affirmations exhibition. And do you know what? Now I can actually name a few of the birds round these parts. I can even tell you a little bit about their habits and behaviours.

Funny how you don't know something about yourself until someone else points it out!

red

So close to the end of BLOGTOBERFEST now... so close, I'm really really running out of things to say, but being the stubborn one I am, I can't let myself skip a day so close to the end, I just can't.

So how about a picture? Will that do? Hope so...


"Don’t forget there are flowers blossoming beneath you"

random runout

I've been tagged by Nomes, Ashley , Cate, with the "6 Random Things" meme. I've done this one a few times now, and although I still try to come up with stuff, I'm sorry to say that right now I'm so "randomed" out that I feel very normal and boring in fact... I just don't have anything interesting to share.

But, don't worry, I have a plan...

6 Random Things

The Rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you. (Nomes + Ashley + Cate)
2. Mention the rules. (check)
3. Tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about yourself.
4. Tag six other bloggers by linking to them.
5. Go to each person's blog and leave a comment that lets them know they've been tagged.
6. Let the person who tagged you know when you've written the post.

So here we go...
6 Random Things About My Parter in Crime; Mr You.
(After all, they say you can tell alot about a person by the company they keep)

1. He's the son of a fisherman, he tells me stories of sick days home from primary school having to sleep on a little matress on the floor of the fish co-op that his parents owned. The smell has remained with him (in his memory, not physically thank god)... He doesn't like seafood very much as a result.

2. Cats and children LOVE him. We used to have to factor an extra 15 minutes when we were walking somewhere to give all the neighbourhood cats time to come and say hello to him. The same thing happens with children, usually our friends kids, but sometimes complete strangers too. We'll be sitting in a cafe and the next minute there's a little kid coming right up to him for a bit of a chat, 30 seconds later they're best friends. It's the strangest thing. Like he's got some "Santa" quality to him or something (despite being quite slim and not having a beard).

3. There isn't a day that goes by without him failing to cite some nostalgia for the "great decade that was the 1980's". It took him a while to cotton on that I had turned this quirk into a joke. I now call him Uncle Rico.

4. Despite that, he is one of the smartest people I know. Either that or he remembers every fact he's ever heard. His team always wins at trivia. He credits this intelligence to Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire. Apparently everything you'll ever need to know is in that song.

5. One of his really good friends (that he's known for years) became a very famous "rock star" internationally in the last 5 years. It's very surreal seeing him everywhere. They've since lost contact, and although Mr You would love to let him know that he's really happy and proud for him, he worries that calling him now would seem like he's just being a bit of a groupy. He doesn't tell people about this, because name dropping is wanky.

6. He very recently found out that he is an 8th Aboriginal. At first I think it was a bit of a tid-bit, but now it's starting to sink in more and I think in future years he will really feel an urge to research the family line more deeply. We've been watching the "First Australians" TV series on SBS, and are both left speechless afterwards.

- - -

Thanks taggers! That was fun :)

Now I tag.. um has anyone not done this yet? Or wants to do it again? Leave me a comment and I'll tag you :)


And in case you're curious here are lots of random things about me.

what i'm surprised that i like

This is: what I'm surprised I like.

Okay so it's been a little while now, but I really was surprised at how much I like being a cat owner. Beforehand I would have called myself a "dog person", I had never had a cat. In the lead up to adopting Tilli I was still asking Mr You the cliched anti-cat questions like; "Will it scratch the furniture?", "Will it know right from wrong?", "Will it walk on the table?", "Will it climb the curtains?"... And I'm ashamed to admit, but to be honest, I just didn't know cats had personalities like dogs do.

So now, as I hug and kiss Tilli 6 billion times a day, talk to her constantly, and dream about her almost every night, it still surprises me how much I love having her around.

Huh. Who knew? :)

final week

Not only are we into the final week of Blogtoberfest, but there's also only one week left of my exhibition at artstream too.

The exhibition is called Affirmations, and if you haven't already had a peep, you should go have a looksee over here. It was a really lovely coincidence that Penelope, Amy, Sian and myself all seemed to turn to nature as our way of expressing what we see as the positive elements in our world. I know for me I find it both grounding, and uplifting all at the same time.

My works were all based on elements from my new neighbourhood (in fact most of them are in my garden), that are all so new and amazing to me. Both birds and plants, and the idea that it's all closer to us, more a part of us than what we'd probably give it credit for. For this body of work rather than creating something new, it was about excavating what was already around me. Making a practice of seeing.

So if you're looking for a special handmade gift for someone, perhaps a joyful piece of art would hit the spot... wink wink (sorry, it's the last week, I have to get a plug in there somewhere) ;D

The work above is titled "All the blessings are present in my thoughts today", which follows on nicely from how I ended my post yesterday. And indeed they are.

tenacity

I'm a bit lost for words today. I wanted to thank everyone for the warm responses to yesterday's post. And I want to say more about that, about Renee and Angelique both responding personally, about Nomes and Emma having such personal reactions, and about what that meant to me to have them all share it. But also how it's not about me at all. But like I said, I'm lost for words.

I keep meeting these people with such tenacity...

Today I had morning tea with a possible new friend who lives around the corner. Within the first 5 minutes she was telling me openly all about her little boy, who due to a bad birth, has been left severely disabled with cerebral palsy. He has full mental capacity, but absolutely no control of his motor skills, which means he can't speak, or walk, or sit up. Yet she was telling me this very matter-of-factly, with no hint of sorrow, and quite enthusiastically showing me all of his braces, chairs and equipment.

Again I was floored.

Lost for words at these people, who amaze and startle me with their joy for life, despite what it deals them.

And while I'm left feeling saddened for them, I also feel as though I have no right to be. As though I should be creating more joy for them instead.

So I'm going to sign-out by trying something new here. Something Sarah does every day...
Today I'm grateful for:
- mine and my family's good health
- living in such a beautiful, safe place
- the sunshine
- living my ideal lifestyle
- the use of my hands... as small and clumsy as they may be ;)


Thank-you all you lovely lovelies (that's people/readers/commenters/friends of course). You make my day!

the nicest people on earth

It's one thing getting a "for no reason" gift from an old friend, but it's a whole other thing getting one from someone you've never met.

Yesterday this amazing ceramic disc arrived in the mail, along with a sweet card that read; "My daughter bought me this in Mazatland, Mexico years ago. Since you love all things Mexican, I decided I would love you to have it. Take care sweet girl. Love Renee."

Those words along with the gesture brought tears to my eyes.

You see Renee is someone I've come to meet quite recently (on the web only). She has become somewhat of a patron of my art, and is buying alot from me. She emails me often with the loveliest compliments, and supportive words, and tells me I remind her of her daughter. And if that's not enough, she's doing all this during what must be the most difficult time of her life. She has terminal cancer.

(I don't think she'll mind me sharing that fact. She is quite open about it).

I find it difficult to believe actually, because of how much life she has in her. How it beams out strong and bright, with a melody and a damn good dance to go with it. She is absolutely full of spunk and charisma, love, generosity, tenderness, and humour. She is embracing. And I imagine her hugs would be unforgettable.

I don't know her well enough to know if she was always like this, or if this new life she's been given (in boldly defying how long she was told she had left) has brought these qualities to the surface more. Either way, I'm not sure I've ever known anyone like her before. I'm not convinced I will ever again. And I almost feel like the "chosen one" to be gifted with her company and friendship in this way. If I haven't made it clear yet, I feel completely honoured to know her.

I have no idea how I would react if I was in her shoes. But with her I have the feeling though that cancer really doesn't get a look-in. (although I'm sure she battles and suffers to no end in all sorts of ways of course)... What I mean is that with all of her bountiful qualities and abundant sense of life, cancer is way back in the queue, on tippy toes, straining to even get a look-in. It does not define who she is. She alone has taken that steering wheel. With her foot on the accelerator, music singing out, honking the novelty horn loud and happy, waving to kids out the window as they laugh with glee at seeing her, and the flowers at the sides of the road bending in to be close.

... And with a lump in my throat, a grin on my face, and a pencil in my hand, I wonder how on earth I get someone like that on paper in the painted form.



Thank-you so much Renee.

spring brooch winners

Thank-you so much to everyone for entering my Spring Brooch Giveaway! I've never had so many entrants for one of my wee gifties before, so it was very exciting. There were so many entries that I felt a bit scummy only giving away two brooches, so I'm going to make an extra one tonight, and I drew an extra winner. So all up there are 3 winners.

And those lucky three are:


- Geek+Nerd,
- Shellbells, and
- BigCat

Yay! Congratulations :)
These babies will be heading to brighten up your outfits, and spread the good karma asap!

- - - - -

Thank-you to everyone else. Sorry I couldn't make one for each of you.

The next giveaway I'll be hosting will be my annual Thanksgiving Illo Giveaway, in the second half of November (that's only a couple of weeks away!). The winner of this one gets to commission a painting from me as their prize (they sell for upward of $350 USD these days, so it's a good deal). You can request anything at all, or leave it up to me to decide. It can be for you, or a gift for someone special... it's completely up to you.

This will be it's third year running. Diana and Anastasia were the previous two winners.

So if you're interested in that one, check back in November for updates and how to enter.

clump of wild dog teeth

We've entered what they call "storm season" here. It's stunning, sunny, bird chirpy weather all morning, which then turns to a rumbling, grumbling, smashing storm for an hour or two in the afternoon, before returning to lovely again. It's rather dramatic.

This afternoon it got dark quickly, way too early. We were due to go to hospital for Mr You's physio appointment (as part of his arm healing). We were heading out. Literally. I was backing the car out of the garage... Mr You was locking the front door one moment, and then running towards the back of the reversing car the next, arms a' waving.
"Go back, Go back, it's starting to hail" he called out with more arm wavy gestures.

And boy! He wasn't wrong!

We got ourselves back under the veranda just as these suckers started pelting down.



So they're pretty sizable, but not too giant, and at least they're roundish. But check out this fierce beast!



It's fricken spiky! Like a clump of wild dog teeth... only, you know, made of ice, and sent from hell. Gnarly hey?

Lucky we like to push the clock, if we'd have been 30 seconds more punctual we would have been driving down the highway, unable to turn around, when these feral clumps came catapulting down. Nasty.

- - - - -


Now, on a more calming note... the Spring Brooch Giveaway is drawing to an end. You've got about 22 more hours to get your entries in before the draw. Good luck!

shop local-ish

I'm a bit lost for words today, so instead of rabbiting on, I'm going to send you to nice places.

When I was desperately looking for friends online last week lots of you put your hand up, and that did warm the cockles, let me tell you. And if I had a tardis, I'd be SO there... and there, and there too! But there were a couple of offers from people a little closer by, who I may actually run into one day using more traditional means of transport. (Did I say "run into... with transport" ??!! That doesn't sound like the best way to make new friends... what I mean is "visit with" of course).


The first is Emerald Arts.

Actually she's not so close by, but anywhere within 5 hours is fine by me :)

In her Etsy store she sells all sorts of unique and interesting life forms, both pre-made, and in kit form that you can make yourself. They are character filled and look like Good Fun!



The next is about 3 hours away in the other direction, it's Mellimoomoo.

Her Etsy shop is filled with things that make me giggle with happy childhood nostalgia. It's reuse and recycling done at it's most whimsical.

Lovely stuff with vintage charm.



And finally, I'd like you to meet my newest candidate for possible friendship: ChunkyChooky.

This sweet gal contacted me last week after stumbling upon my blog, and realizing we live less than an hour apart. She is relatively new to Etsy, but that by no means reflects on her produce. Adorable softy monsters, and the most lovely fishermans pants for kiddies is what will delight you when you visit. Go see!


Okay, so the call out for friends may actually work! Huh! Who knew?
Has anyone ever met up with fellow bloggers? What's it like? Were you a bit scared?
(...I think I might be...)

favourite films

This is: a list of my favourite films.



I have a terrible memory for films I've seen. But these ones have stuck...
Best film this year: Persepolis
Fave film as a child: Mannequin
Fave film as a teenager: The Fisher King
Other Faves: The Life Aquatic, Amelie, Lost in Translation, When Night Is Falling.

Thanks to Hokey for this week's great topic.

barry comes to stay

One of the giveaways I won (that I mentioned during the week) arrived yesterday, from Jenny at Daisy Chain. I won Barry. He's so beautifully made, and has such expression on his face. He came with some great bonus luggage, including fabrics, a really cute keyring, vintage buttons, and a paper crane :)

Anyway, I'm now handing the microphone over to Barry as he's been keen to "phone home".

Thanks Jenny, he's wonderful! :)
_ _ _


Dear Mum,

I had a pretty comfy journey here, and it went faster than I thought, and I slept most the way. I was really anxious about leaving home and coming to live with flossy-p and Mr You, but they seem to really like me and are taking good care of me. Even though you put extra confident on my insides when you made me, I only needed it in the first few moments. After that I had heaps of fun. I've sent you a few pictures of my first day here...









I had so much fun, and my favourite part was watching the whales splash and play. I think I'm really going to like it here. Flossy said you can come visit whenever you want!!! And she even told me they have good friends that live not far from you in Blackwood, and they visit them every other year. So next time they go I can come too and visit you!

Give everyone a big hug for me,
Baz .xx.

strings

My Illustration Friday attempt for "strings".

Woah, first Illustration Friday I've done in about 6 months. Only just getting it done in time mind you. That's one of the benefits of a time zone difference, it buys you and extra day :)

kanga conga

Just as I was starting to umm and ahh about what to post today, Nomes has saved the day by coming up with a topic. So here's "something that I look at everyday that makes me smile".

Firstly it's the kangaroos that hang about on the grassy patch over the other side of our back fence. I love seeing them there, especially this time of year when it's usually a little nuclear family, complete with joey! Most days they just lie around, munch on the grass, and scratch.

One day a few months back I was in the kitchen, looked up through the window and saw a whole bunch (anyone know the collective noun for kangaroo's?) of young males. At first they were play-boxing, and chasing each other around, then I looked up again a few moments later and they were in a conga line! Weirdest thing I've seen in ages. It definitely made me smile.

Of course the other thing that makes me smile everyday is this little bunch'o'fluff.

She's taken to wedging herself into this little box, you can't see very well in this shot, but looking from front on she looks like a muffin or hearty loaf of bread in a loaf tin; packed tightly in the bottom and all spilling out over the top.

I keep meaning to paint that little box to look like a car. hehehehe... Just the thought of that makes me giggle.

Pimp my ride!

Thanks Nomes, I needed a good smile today.

felt when it blooms

I'm on a roll! We had a huge storm here yesterday, loads of heavy heavy rain, and while the rest of the garden has been a bit flattened, the felt flowers bloomed!

Pansy, Blue and Yellow flower brooches now for sale in my Etsy store.

do you believe in karma?

Remember the other week when I shared the fact that Nomes was having an awesome giveaway of vintage tea towels? Well it must have been good karma because I WON! But not only that, the very next day I WON AGAIN, over at the lovely Daisy Chain (Barry is packing his bags to come live with me as we speak).

The tea towel arrived today, it's amazing, mint condition, true vintage, smells lovely, and say's "flowering tree of friendship". Sweet! (Sorry for the wrinkles, I was too excited to do any ironing).

Thank-you so much Nomes :) And for the record, Nomes is hosting another giveaway for a hand painted bookmark right now.

Earlier this month I won those great earrings from Nicole too. I know I know, I can hear you all muttering "Geez Louise, leave some for the rest of us"... fair enough too. But correct me if I'm wrong, I think these may be the first give-away's I've ever won. :D

Even so, it's left me wary of this force of Karma, so, I'm passing it on...


It's been the longest time since I last made something crafty, so the other night I got stuck in to make myself some brooches (I don't wear or use anything I've made myself, and so far still none of my own art on the walls), but it's all about to change...



That first green button brooch, and the second felt flower brooch are my new Spring accessories! (Have a closer look here).
So what about those other two green button brooches? Well...


::SPRING BROOCH GIVEAWAY::

They're up for grabs!


They are covered in the coolest vintage fabric (real vintage too), are about an inch and a half wide, and have a pin back.

Leave a comment here if you'd like to be in the draw. The winners will be selected in some random fashion next Wednesday, 22nd October, in the afternoon.


It's just a little give away, but hopefully it will appease Lady Luck and her comrade Karma, and make two of you rather pleased too.
Remember CurlyPops is keeping an updating list of all the BLOGTOBERFEST giveaways... Man she's gotta get some good karma for that!

a sense of place

Last night I finally finished reading Cloudstreet. It was beautiful. And I'll need a week of mind space to mull it all over before I start reading something new.

I've heard Tim Winton criticized for the way he ends his stories, but honestly I am always left with admiration and great satisfaction at the end. And so far, also a warmth.

Some of my favourite lines:

A house should be a home, a privilege, not a possession....
I reckon they belong to the place...

Such a lovely concept, that you belong to a place, it doesn't belong to you.


I recently met a lovely gal who lives in Byron Bay (about 2 hrs north of here). She is originally from Vancouver, Canada. When I asked how she ended up here she replied that she never felt like Canada was her place, but when she found Byron Bay, she felt that feeling, and felt more like herself than she ever had before. A discovery of sorts, of place, and self. Connected.

That's got to be a pretty amazing feeling, hey?

reading backlog

This is: my current reading material.

Reading isn't my strong point. I enjoy it, I just don't do a whole lot of it (on paper that is...blogs are a whole other story). I was almost too ashamed to post this, I was pretty sure I posted "what I am reading" about 6 months ago, which most "tellingly", is the book I'm STILL reading. Oh dear.

Don't blame the book. It's great. It's not YOU book, it's ME.

nothing to say on a satur d ay

...Other than thanks so much for the great response to my French Ladies postcard set. They sold instantly! I've just listed another set, so get in quick.

I've also listed some new postcard designs, including an old favourite Buzz, and this one:


Thanks too so much for all the offers of friendship and new town invites :)
Cheered me up greatly, (and Mr You also, to hear there are so many skating menfolk out there).

stalking the airwaves

When I read about BigCat and CurlyPops becoming good friends, I almost leaked a tear of envy. BigCat kindly wrote to me offering to be my real-life friend (isn't that sweet), but I know she doesn't live anywhere near me.

As some of you know, just over a year ago we moved from Sydney, up the coast to a rural-ish area, away from all my friends and family. And although it's gorgeous here, finding new peeps to hang with (yo!) hasn't been easy at all. We tried going to lots of things to meet new people, and we did, and they're all lovely, but they're also all over 55 years old. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but after a while you just want to talk about something other than caravans. You know?

It doesn't help that both Mr You and I are fairly quiet (not super shy, but not forward) people, and we both work from home.

We know there are cool folk here. I've seen them (and only just resisted grabbing hold of them). I've even tried to oh-so-casually dash to the supermarket checkout to be next to them in line, should we happen to hit it off over the price of eggs. It's never happened. I mean you can have a casual 20 second conversation with someone, but turning that into swapping phone numbers and making plans to meet up for coffee, without seeming like a really really scary freak, isn't easy. Heh.

After exhausting all the obvious avenues (including a really good gig where sadly there were more people on stage than in the audience), I've started stalking the airwaves.

I've been doing locality searches online to find people nearby...
- Found 1 on Flickr, but he was an older guy into spoken word poetry nights
- Found about 3 on Etsy... still stalking them
- 2 on last.fm, but I'm not really into teenage boys (hence my plea for friends the other day... which worked out so well, thank-you to all my new music buddies!) Mind you none of them live in the same country, damn it! Don't you want to move here? It's nice.
- Looked on meetup
- I've even almost considered joining facebook just in an attempt to find groups.

Nothing.

So if you think I'm okay so far, why not move here? :D
(extra points will be given to those with skateboarding menfolk)

Signed,
Desperately Seeking Somefriends

mademoiselle

My Etsy store has been looking rather bare over the past few weeks. But not anymore. I've just loaded in a whole new batch of postcards of illustrations I haven't printed before. Fresh and new, ahhh, that feels better.

My favourites in there at the moment are a 3 postcard set of my French Mademoiselle Costumes from illustrations I did a while back. These are based on traditional costumes from different regions of yesteryear France. I was so inspired by those head dresses! They're positively gravity defying.

(Hey that just reminded me of The Flying Nun, I used to love that show when I was a tiny wee thing.)

Anyway, let me introduce you; in the straw hat we have Mademoiselle from Champagne. In the black veil hat I'd like you to meet Mademoiselle from Burgundy, and finally, that whimsical young lady with a passion for life is Mademoiselle from Normandy.
They are pleased to meet you. :)


Wrinkles, Icarus and TigerHug are now also in postcard form in the shop. And there'll be new designs being added over the next week or so.

last fm

A couple of weeks back I joined up to a last.fm. It's a music network site, and it's pretty awesome. I was so happy to finally be assigned neighbours (or people with similar music taste to me), it took a while and I was starting to get worried, but now I have neighbours and feel much better.

Although...

Other than this bloggy thing, I'm really a networking newbie. I never myspaced, and I intentionally avoided facebook like the plague, but this has left me with very poor networking knowledge. Now I have neighbours, what do I do with them? Can I add complete strangers as friends? (Thankfully I have one great friend who amply makes up for there being only 1 in that department). Anyway, I have a profile, not sure what to do next, but it's there.

So if you're so inclined stop by and visit me, friend me, or start a profile of your own. Or even better, if you're a last.fm veteran, tell me what I should be doing?

wirey parts

We pulled up in a parking spot next to this car on the weekend.

I'm pretty sure that's a bloke's car...
What do you think?

Girls don't do that do they? I mean correct me if I'm wrong, but have you ever attempted a wire line drawing/sculpture of your lady parts and wedged it on the front of your car?
(To both capture radio frequencies and impress passers by - pretty useful really)

Hey, if you have, I won't hold it against you, send a photo!

collect your award

Not even a week into this Blogtoberfest and already it's stepped up another level with the lovely BigCat announcing there will be Blogtoberfest Spirit Awards! How cool is that?!

BigCat will be handing out awards, but we can also award our fellow Blogtoberfesters if they impress us with their spirit :D (get the details here). So if you are awarded, or would like to award someone, tell them to come and collect their trophy here...
_ _ _ _ _

BLOGTOBERFEST SPIRIT AWARD COLLECTION POINT

Congratulations you lucky-duck! Collect your trophy! Go on...

Drag and drop this image to your desktop...


Then upload your image into a post, as you normally would.

OR use this code in your post...
<a href="http://bigcatsemporium.blogspot.com/" title="Blogtoberfest Spirit Award" target="_blank" ><img src="http://www.flossyparticles.com/images/Blogtoberfest_Award.jpg" alt="Blogtoberfest Spirit Award" /></a>


For instructions on how to add it to your side bar, see here. (but remember to use the award button, not the flag button)

inked

Mr You's cast (armpit to fingers) finally came off today.

But not before I inked him up good!

A couple of weeks back (on the infamous feinting day) the surgeon told him the cast needed to come off today before the joint had a chance to seize up too much. However the grouchy receptionist refused to book him in until next week, so Mr You made other plans... Plans which involved a date on the back veranda with a new set of tin snips and ME!!!*

Oh Lordy! You know how well I'd cope with that. The neighbour was super keen to get in on the action, knocking on the door thismorning with a dremmel (that's a tiny circular saw) and the offer of making a customised blade to cut through the cast. (He was dead keen to do it too!) Mr You opted for the non-power-tool method though. Taking his changes on a queazy nurse to carry out the procedure instead.

It went fine actually. We took it slowly and carefully, and it ended up being fairly easy. And I managed to stave off the queazy light-headed attack until we took off the final bandage under the cast. But by then he was all sorted and ready to take a good hot shower.

Now the arm is free we're back to being super careful again, while it builds up mobility, flexibility and strength.

So I'll have to put the texta's away for a while, and hopefully will have enough time to build up my gustiness before anymore breaks or fractures.

* Note: don't try this at home kids!

in the kitchen

This is: my favourite kitchen tool.

I have a confession to make; the kitchen and I do not see eye to eye. We fight. Alot. Lets just say we have a longstanding mutual dislike for each other.

So while I don't indulge in cool and nifty kitchen tools, there are a couple of things I can't seem to get by without...



Ice bricks...

...To numb my regular kitchen burns (3 last week alone). At least my standby band-aids have been able to take a back seat in recent years, as there' much less of the cutting than there used to be. Still there is the burning. I told you we don't get on. And I'm not kidding.

I DO love this voluptuous little vixen though:



She stands up for me when things in the kitchen get vicious.

(She's a veggie peeler. I have others like her; an icecream scoop, a potato brush, salad servers. But she's the only one with a bellybutton and the moxie to stick up for me).

thank you for the thank you

The first order of business is to let the Blogtoberfesters out there know that I have re-created the button especially for those of you with non-white blogs. If you have put the button on your blog with a black or dark background, you will have noticed it doesn't look too hot with jaggy white edges. SO, upon request, I have made a new version of the same button for you guys. Please see my Fly the Flag post below, and scroll to the bottom to get the updated version of the button.

If you have a white or light blog, you don't need to change anything. so you can sit back and read the rest of this post ;)
_ _ _

On to the next item on the agenda...

Back when I was in year 8 at school I used to sit next to a boy named Nathan in one of my classes (nothing suss, just friends). Anyway he used to have a funny habit... When someone would thank him for something, he would say "thank-you for the thank-you". If you were in a particularly silly 14 year old "sooo bored in class" mood, you could thank him back again, and then he back to you, and it could circulate like that for ages.

Anyway, the reason I'm telling you this is because this week I got a thank-you package from Emma at Emerald Arts. She was one of the winners of my give-away last week and sent me a package to thank me for the one that she won fair and square, how nice is that!? Super nice! But I feel a bit awkward because her package has WAY more stuff than my package to her had in it. Now I feel like I should send her something in return to thank her for the lovely, completely generous package... But then she may thank me back again. (Not that getting gifts in the mail is bad, at all. And not that I'm complaining.) :D But you see where I'm going with this.

Perhaps I should just graciously accept the wonderful gift, show off her fine wares, tell her how much I love them, and help to spread the word of where you can get some of your own. So...

THANK-YOU Emma! Your package was a wonderful surprise and it's gorgeous, thank-you, thank-you.

This is what was in my package; A Voodoo Susan paper doll kit, a copy of her Creatures & Dreams zine, a print of one of her bright happy Crane Kite paintings, and a 4 page handwritten letter!

To get any of these items of your own, visit the Emerald Arts Etsy store, or you could send her a package and she may thank you in kind, hehehe.
She lives here. Emerald Arts.

vintage tea towels

That got your attention I bet!

Vintage tea towels people, in mint condition I hear, it doesn't get more enticing than that.

So here's the thing; Nomes over at Hanging With My Nomies is having a giveaway of two gorgeous vintage CWA tea towels, and so far I'm the only applicant. All day long I have been swooning, because let's face it, my chances were pretty good. But then the greedy greedy guilt pixie started whispering in my ear and poking me with it's spiky fingers, and now I just know I won't be able to sleep unless I share the joy.

So tea-towel and/or vintage loving friends, get your buts over here and sign-up. You won't regret it I'm sure.

You've got till Wednesday, tick tick tick...

p.s. I'm so glad everyone is happy with the blogtoberfest button. Thanks for the lovely feedback :)

fly the flag

I don't know about you, but I'm from the camp that states every festival needs a flag. And since this here BLOGTOBER is clearly a "fest", it too is in need of a flag we can all fly in slapdancey pride and solidarity.

Behold!



Here's how you can use it too. Instructions below are how to get it in your blog's sidebar.

Option 1:

• Click on the image above, hold down your mouse button and drag and drop the image onto your desktop (or right click,"save to desktop")
  
• Then upload to your blog as you normally would
  

Option 2 (for those using Blogger):

• Click on the image above, hold down your mouse button and drag and drop the image onto your desktop (or right click,"save to desktop")
  
• Go to blogger, log in to your blogger account
  
• Click on the link that says "Layout"
  
• On your page somewhere there will be a link that says "Add a Gadget". Mine is at the top of my sidebar.
  
• The "Add a gadget" window will pop up
  
• Make sure inside your "Add a gadget" window, "basic" is selected in the left hand side bar
  
• Now scroll down the list until you see "Picture". Then select it.
  
• You'll see this window
  

• Add a "title". If you look in my sidebar you can see I chose "Playing" as mine. It doesn't matter what you choose, you can change it later.
  
• You don't really need a caption.
  
• In the Link box, enter Big Cat's URL, so it will link back to her site when people click on it. Remember to keep the http:// bit in there. The URL is: http://bigcatsemporium.blogspot.com
  
• Now to get the button image in there select "from your computer" and then click the Choose File button. Browse to find the file on your desktop called "BlogtoberfestButton.gif"
  
• Wait a moment for the image to appear. If it has worked it should look like this...
  

• Then Save. And you're done!
  

If you would like to simply add the image into your blog post, do this:

• In your blog post entry window enter the following code:
  

<a href="http://bigcatsemporium.blogspot.com/" title="Blogtoberfest 2008" target="_blank" ><img src="http://www.flossyparticles.com/images/BlogtoberfestButton.gif" alt="Blogtoberfest Button" /></a>

Hope if works. Let me know if you have any problems and I'll do my best to help out!


Well, that used up one daily post, phew, only 29 to go! :D

HOORAY!

_____________________________________________
EDIT: NEW COLOURS!!!!!

For those of you with black or different coloured blog backgrounds, I have made buttons especially for you to use. This means you won't get the jaggedy edges anymore.

So, here's what to do. Follow the steps above, but instead of dragging the white button to your desk top drag one of these...

Black:
Drag and drop this image to your desktop...


Or use this code...
<a href="http://bigcatsemporium.blogspot.com/" title="Blogtoberfest 2008" target="_blank" ><img src="http://www.flossyparticles.com/images/BlogtoberfestButton_Black.gif" alt="Blogtoberfest Button" /></a>


Grey (for mid-range colours; brown, pink etc):
Drag and drop this image to your desktop...


Or use this code...
<a href="http://bigcatsemporium.blogspot.com/" title="Blogtoberfest 2008" target="_blank" ><img src="http://www.flossyparticles.com/images/BlogtoberfestButton_Grey.gif" alt="Blogtoberfest Button" /></a>


Hope that helps :)

blogtoberfest begins

Am I crazy? I've got Christmas commissions backing up thick and fast, I've got my normal work to keep up with, the 365 days of my Pay It Forward slipping away, prints to make, cards to invent, friends to make, wedding invitations to design (for a friend), friend's websites to build, new paintings to create to attempt to make a connection with a new gallery, new brooches to sew, a new secret project I was invited to be part of just yesterday, a broken-armed fella to dote on, and a neglected violin to learn how to play...

And now I've just signed up to do a blog post every day for a whole month, as part of BLOGTOBERFEST!

I must be insane.

You know I may very well not make it, and I hereby (from the start) state that I will be taking one day off a week. So expect some very lame, thin, un-interesting "filler" posts coming this way.

HA! With all that doubt, you're surely feeling excited and enthused by all this... No? Sorry.

So why, I hear you ask, am I doing it?... Well I just couldn't resist the word "BLOGTOBERFEST", it's way too cool! And I dare you to try!

Why not head on over to Big Cat's Emporium, she's the one championing BLOGTOBERFEST in all it's stein swinging glory. And let me say she makes it sound like mountains of FUN!

Dig out your sauerkraut! Here we go!