On My Desk - Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String

It has been a very productive week in the studio. I finished my Art Swap and have packaged it up ready to go to Two Cold Feet. Pop back on Friday if you would like to see what it looks like. I can't wait to show.

I also put together a little package of goodness for Kyla at Two Peas In a Pod who fell in love with some buttons I posted about. They are heading your way shortly Kyla.

I got up to some other tricks as well. Is your name on one of these tags?


Well that means that you can expect a treat from BigCat in the post some time soon. I was so grateful to all the lovely women that joined in my art swap that I made a tiny little something for each of them. I also made a tiny something for Liz of Betty Jo Designs because I love my new brooch so much. I have been so humbled by my sojourn into Blogland. I am constantly amazed by the generosity and sense of community that exists here. I feel so lucky to have made so many new friends from near and far. So, this is my little attempt at saying thank you to the universe for taking such good care of me.

Do you wish that your name was on one of those tags? Well, I would love to put it on one. I recently joined a pay-it-forward that Anastasia at Anastasia Drawing and Dreaming was passing along. Now I am looking for 2 people who would like to join in. The way it works is that you sign up and some time in the next 365 days I will send you a surprise in the mail. In return you agree that you will pay the kindness forward to at least 1 other person (you can do more if you want to) in the 365 days after you join in. Simple. Lots of lovely goodies traversing the globe and making the world a better place. If you would like to join in then let me know.

Random Lots of Four

I was tagged by Melanie at Kimono Reincarnate who shared a whole lot of fabulous facts about herself after being tagged by a few different people. I never know whether these things are a bit like chain mail so I never know whether to pass them on or not. Today I have just decided to share and not tag anyone else.

I hope you are having a lovely day. I am. I resigned from my job today. YIPPEE! I am still waiting to share the details of my new job. Not long now I hope.

Four jobs I've had

• Camp Counsellor in the USA
• Acting Executive Officer at a women’s health organisation
• Manager of Volunteers at a community radio station
• Community Development Officer working with remote Aboriginal communities across Australia

Four movies I can watch over and over

• My Big Fat Greek Wedding
• The Life of David Gale
• Good Will Hunting
• 50 First Dates

Four places I have lived

• Oakleigh, Melbourne, Australia
• Salem, Missouri
• DeLand, Florida
• Winter Park, Colorado

Four TV shows I love

• Sex and The City
• Medium
• CSI
• Enough Rope with Andrew Denton

Four places I have been on holiday

• Scotland
• New Zealand
• Dubai
• Paris

Four of my favourite dishes

• French Onion Soup
• Crepes
• Chickpea bake from the Moroccan Soup Bar
• Macaroni Cheese

Four websites I visit daily

• Etsy
• Blogs from my blogroll
• New blogs
• Arts Hub

Four places I would rather be now

• My studio
• The Great Barrier Reef
• Having coffee on Brunswick Street
• Colorado

Lookie, Lookie

I was working from home today and the doorbell rang most unexpectedly. I answered it to find a stranger on my doorstep with a parcel for me. It was Liz of Betty Jo Designs. She makes the most beautiful jewelry out of old lino and I was lucky enough to win one of her lovely brooches on the weekend.

So, here he is - Claude's little brother and my new friend. I have to go and plan my outfit for tomorrow now as I will be sporting my brand new brooch with pride. Thank you so much Liz for such a lovely giveaway, and for making my day when you turned up on my doorstep to personally deliver him.

If you don't own one of these fabulous pieces go shopping over here.

This is...My unconditional, passionately loved and favourite book

This is such a hard one. I love books. I always seem to be reading a million of them at any one time. I also love book shopping. In fact I don't even love to read as much as I just love to have books around me and to buy them. There is something magic about books.

So, one of my absolute all time favourite books that I refer to all the time and couldn't live without would have to be Stephanie Alexander - A Cook's Companion.

As for novels I couldn't narrow it down to one. But here are a few of my fav's:

• In The City of Shy Hunters - Tom Spanbauer
• The Time Travellers Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
• Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts
• Dirt Music - Tim Winton
• Modoc - Ralph Helfer
• The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy

All of these stories captured my heart and my imagination. If you haven't read any of them I would suggest picking up a copy of each and every one. And besides, why not add more books to your collection.

Theme courtesy of Daisy in lala Land. Meme courtesy of Three Buttons. Pop over there to see who else is playing along.

I Win

I am one lucky lady. The amazingly talented Lino Forest was having a giveaway to name one of her new creations and I won. I love her creations so I am so excited that I get to own one.

Anyway, that's not the only reason I am lucky. I also have a new job!!! This is very exciting news. I can't say too much yet as I haven't signed paperwork or any of that stuff. I can't wait to share though because it is a really interesting job in a really amazing place. Check back soon and I will tell all.

I have finished some projects in the last couple of days so here is some show and tell.

This is a scarf that I made for myself. I started it in August last year when I was at a major crossroads in my life. It feels significant to have finished it this week when I feel like my time standing at that crossroad has just reached a conclusion. I can't wait to wear this scarf and let it remind me of that journey, of all the wonderful things that have come out of it. I could become quite mushy and philosophical about all this as it has been life changing. However, I shall leave it at that.

I finished this project last night even though it isn't finished in this photo. This is the crochet scarf pattern that I purchased from mk carroll. It only took me a couple of days to make. You probably need intermediate crochet skills - mind you I do consider myself a beginner. I found it pretty easy to follow. I had a little bit of confusion at the start with some of the turns but once you get your head around it you are just repeating the same pattern over and over again. I also made it a bit longer than the original pattern said but I like long scarves.

Big Cat seems to be feeling much better now. I think he just didn't want us to go away for the weekend for some reason. Anyway, it's been a lovely weekend. We took a day trip yesterday to Daylesford and bought some old books and bric-a-brac. Today has been a day in bed with magazines and the computer, home made choc chip cookies and coffee. Aren't weekends wonderful!

I'm Not Supposed To Be Here

We are supposed to be in final preparations for a weekend away to Wilson's Prom. I spent yesterday shopping and preparing, and we were all ready to go until...
Big Cat got himself in a rather bad fight with one of the big boys up the street. He is now lying in bed nursing his injuries and we are waiting to see if we can wait until Saturday to take him for the dreaded veterinary appointment. The sum of it - no trips away with an injured fur child in the house.

I am going to have a holiday at home instead. Magazines, craft and trying out the open fire which we haven't tried since we moved here in December. And a little bit of baking, and eating all the yummy food that was going to go away with us on the weekend. I think its going to be a lovely weekend.

On My Desk - Wednesday

Thanks to the lovely Kootoyoo every week you can check out what's on people's desks. It fun to see what everyone has for show and tell each week.

So this week for me it's some vintage books that I picked up at the Op Shop last week. Mostly from the 70's. I bought them thinking that I would give them to the lovely Rebound Books to work their magic on but the more I look at them, the less I think I will be able to part with them.

We have Goldie, the guide dog

A couple of Disney treats

A pictorial encyclopedia that is just beautiful.

However the absolute winner is this:

"Purnell's Life Cycle Book of You" - with the subtext 'The story of life as it has never been seen before'. And believe me if you were a sweet young thing thinking that a bit of guy/girl action might be a good thing, this book is enough to scare the pants back on to you. It starts off seeming OK on pge 9 - a lovely couple getting married.

Next thing you know by pge 13 everyone's got their gear off and getting busy.

By pge 20 you're spitting out babies

So there you have it, 1970's sex education on my desk.

I Want You, I Need You

Isn't she lovely? I've had my eye on one of these babies for the best part of 6 months. I saw a woman at the shop the other day with one and asked her about it. She said it was the best bike she has ever owned. It got me wanting again. Perhaps, some day soon....

You can check out more of them here

Ok, the knitting calls. I nearly have a completed project ready for show and tell.

Another Glimpse

I got around to spending some more time on my Art Swap on the weekend and nearly have it finished. I am making my piece for Two Cold Feet. Here is another sneak peak.

On May 1st everyone is due to finish their swap and post a picture on their blog before sending it off. I can't wait to see all the finished goodies. The other people playing along are Curly Pops, Flightless Boyds, Make Like a Tree and Leaf and Shells Bells.

This is...My Newest Discovery

Just yesterday I found this goodness in the garden. It's very exciting. We only planted the seeds last week. One is a parsnip and the other is garlic. We also planted cauliflower, beetroot, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, snap peas, all kinds of onions and some lettuce. Lots of wonderful vegies to keep us going through winter along with fantastic herbs that are already well established.

My other new discovery was this fabulous crochet pattern by mk carroll. I told myself I could get one as a reward for finishing the job I have been trying to get done at work. I finished it on Friday so some Etsy shopping will be in order today.

For more new discoveries visit Three Buttons where you will find lots of people sharing.

PS. Can someone tell me what the etiquette is with posting photos of people's craft things like I have here? Do I need to get permisson to post a picture from someone's Etsy shop?

Hungry?

Brousing the internet is definately a good way to avoid the task at hand. Anyway, I just had to share this find. I was feeding my soul over at Craft Zine and came across Betz White who makes the most lovely felted goodness. Check out these cupcake pincushions. Aren't they just to die for? Betz also has a book which you can get on her Etsy shop or on Amazon so you can have a go of making these lovely goodies yourself. I think I am going to have to lash out and buy myself one of her cupcakes though. They are just too divine.

Milestones and Deadlines

I realised that Wednesday now passed me by and I didn't post my desk photo for the week. I am not even going to try and make it up this week. However, I think I have a good excuse - I was out last night with my partner celebrating our 8 year anniversary.

It feels like a great thing to celebrate spending 8 years of your life with someone. It is incredible to think about what we have accomplished and experienced together. 4 house moves, 14 jobs, 3 overseas trips taking in 8 countries, more interstate trips than I can count, great highs and horrible lows, success, achievement, illness, contented happy times, so much laughter, becoming non-smokers and every day life. I wouldn't change a single day of it.

Last night I was wondering what it will be like to go to dinner and celebrate 16 years. What kind of things will happen for us in the next 8 years, and the next 8 after that, and so on. When I look back at the last 8 it fills me with excitement to think about the adventures ahead.

Life is good if you remember to look at the big picture. The day-to-day smaller picture is hard work at the moment and has been for a few weeks now. I haven't been doing the things that are good for my soul. I have a task at work that is hanging over my head and dragging me down. I have been procrastinating and it has overtaken me. Instead of getting on with the job I have been focusing on how much I loathe doing particular tasks and how difficult my current work environment can be at times. Whilst it is truly a difficult environment and the task I have is made more difficult by the circumstances surrounding it, it still has to be done. I know that I will feel so much better when it is done and it will free up my energy to get back to doing things that I want to be doing. So, today is the day. I am going to get it moving.

This Is... My (Belated) Dinner Party List

Sunday somehow passed me by. Lily and Agathe came up with the most fantastic theme for this week's This Is... which is hosted by Three Buttons. So you get to invite any 6 people of your choosing - dead or alive, famous, unknown, real or fictional for a fabulous dinner party, and share your reasons for inviting them. I figure better late than never and I wasn't going to miss such a great theme.

I have had a wonderful time thinking about it and it has been hard to limit the numbers. In fact the longer I spent thinking about it the more I want to have a cocktail party with more people. Anyway, dinner parties should be fabulous. They should be filled with fabulous people, stories, conversations and ideas so my list looks like this:

• Annie Leibowitz - what an extraordinary woman. I love her work and am fascinated by her life. I would love to spend an evening listening to stories about the people she has met and the way that she sees the world.
• Florence Broadhurst - this woman was a fascinating mystery. She re-ivented herself so many times over and proved that you can do anything you set your mind to. Her life story is incredible and I highly recommend either the book or film about her (including her untimely murder).
• My dear friend Shaun - this man epitomises 'fabulous' as far as I am concerned. He is witty, charming, talented, a natural performer and the life of the party. An essential dinner party guest.
• Kevin Spacey - one of my favourite actors. He has made so many incredible films including American Beauty and The Life of David Gale. He seems such a diversely talented man and I would love to spend an evening getting to know him and talking with him.
• Bobby Kennedy - a politician who had a vision. In this day and age I would love to meet a politician who saw the bigger picture and seemed to have aspirations for a truly inclusive society.
• Cate Blanchett - beautiful, intelligent, accomplished, artistic, innovative and risque. This woman is awesome. I would love to have her to dinner.

And now for the menu which you were welcome to include if you wanted to:

• Cocktails
• French Onion Soup with Gruyere Croutons
• Rack of Lamb with roast potatoes, carrots and pumpkin, asparagus and broccolini
• Chocolate Molten Puddings with Vanilla Bean Icecream and Cream
• Coffee and Liqueur Muscat

Ok, now I just need to set the date and work out how to get in touch with these people. Anyone????

On My Desk - Wednesday

I am trying to develop my op shopping skills. I often go into op shops and leave shortly after, empty handed, becoming easily overwhelmed by the amount of stuff in them. I think it comes from being too accustomed to retail shopping where choices are limited and the whole idea is to look like everyone else.

Recently something has shifted for me and I am starting to have some success with op shopping. I have realised that in order to op shop you must have patience and you must be open to whatever may come your way (or not) in a particular place on a given day. I like to think that it is linked to a more profound change in the way I am viewing the world and myself in it these days.

You can check out more desks here and you check out lots of clever op shoppers (much more advanced than me) over here.

Glimpses

Here is a little sneaky peak of the piece I am making for Art Swap. Curly Pops has also posted a sneak peak of her piece. It is time to stop now and take myself off to bed. I could work well into the night me thinks, but it never works out too well when I have to get up and go to work the next morning. So, goodnight friends.

Inspired

I have been reading the first issue of Artful Blogging which is filled with stories of crafty people and their blogs. I have to say there isn't much more to the magazine besides telling you about a whole lot of people's blogs. However, there are some lovely pictures, and it is interesting to read about different people and why they blog, how they got started, etc. Especially as pretty much everyone in the magazine is in that group of people who get lots and lots of visitors and comments to their sites. Interestingly enough most of them started out just like me and the people who I am hanging out with in blogland now. Small fish in a big bowl, but who knows where we will end up.

I thought I would try and share some of my new discoveries. So for today take yourself over to Posie Gets Cozy for lots of sewing, crochet and other great craft. I like her stuff. It is colourful, pretty and warm. I hope you like it too.

For real life inspiration I am off to Brown Owls tonight for vintage applique. It should be fun.

Hope you are enjoying your day wherever you are in the world. If you are in Melbourne I hope you are somewhere that you can enjoy this beautiful sunny day.

This is...My Jewellery Box

This is one of the places where I keep all my beautiful jewels. The jewellery box was a birthday gift from my partner and holds all my favourite bits and pieces. I am the queen of accessorising so there are many other vessels that I have collected in my travels including the dishes you can see here. You can check out other peoples' jewellery boxes if you visit Three Buttons and see who else is playing.

Crafty Goodness

These are my efforts for the weekend. Some Ipod cosies for my partner and a friend. I made up the pattern (if you can call it that) myself. Just measured up the Ipods and croched up a strip wide enough and long enough to be sewn into a double compartment for the Ipod and head phones. I very pleased with myself.


I am also pleased with myself about something else. I have decided not to go ahead with having a market stall in May.

I am enjoying my crafty journey so much at the moment. I feel really creative and inspired, and have a million ideas and projects that I want to try. One day I definitely want to make a career out of being a art/crafts woman and for the first time I see that it is possible.

However, having realised all this I also realise that I don't have to rush. And I have been rushing. Putting lots of pressure on myself to get it all moving straight away. Listening to well intentioned friends telling me I should be selling my stuff. The end result was that I didn't really want to do anything creative at all. It all felt like such a chore.

So, no more rushing. I am going to enjoy this time for me because it feels like such a gift to have the time and space to be crafty and creative. I know that the rest will happen exactly as it is meant to happen.

Six Things About Me

I was tagged some time ago by the awesome CurlyPops and am only now getting around to responsding. So here goes.

1. When I am buying magazines I pick up a copy and browse through it. If I decide to buy it I put that copy back and pick up a fresh copy. I don't want the one that I and possibly others have looked through.
2. I also do this when buying other things. I always pick up the second newspaper in the pile and reach into the shelves for the items not at the front. Sometimes it's the one directly behind, sometimes its the one right at the back.
3. I stop and say hello to any cat that I meet on the street. I used to do it with dogs too but I got nipped at a couple too many times.
4. I'm totally addicted to magazines. I love, love, love them.
5. I'm also totally addicted to Laksa. I would travel anywhere for a great Laksa (all recommendations welcome)
6. I wish that I could develop the habit of exercising.

Now I am going to tag Two Cold Feet, Make Like A Tree and Leaf, Cooking My Life, Flightless Boyds, Starashan and Kitty's Kaboodle to play along.

And here are the rules

1. Link to the person that tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website

On My Desk - Wednesday

• Note to self
• Bills and paperwork to deal with
• My Career from last Saturday to assist perpetual job hunting
• Magazines that were waiting on the doorstep when I got home - how exciting
  

And then, when I wanted to do this post a new addition to my desk. The very lovely big cat. Oh, how I love him. And how lucky for me, he loves me.