Farewell BLOGTOBERFEST - Day 31 - What A Long Strange Trip It's Been

My goodness. We made it. 31 days of blogging and not a single slip. It really has been quite a journey. In fact, I had a little moment this morning on my way to work thinking about this past month and how important it has been to me.

I've made some wonderful new friends and spent hours in front of the computer, still not having enough time to visit all the festival goers. I've ridden the highs and lows of creative energy and confidence on a daily basis, lost my balance and seemingly found it again. I've questioned and rediscovered what's important in life. I feel like in some small way I've given myself a glimpse of what it will be if I truly embrace the life I talked about here.

Thank you for joining me on this journey. If I haven't had the chance to pop in and visit you I will be around some time soon. In the meantime I'm giving everyone a spirit award because you deserve it.

I don't think I'll be blogging every day from here on in. In fact I am really feeling a strong desire to spend less time sitting in front of a computer and more time painting and collaging, gardening, reading, dreaming and creating. I've also been working diligently on my secret squirrel business and hope to tell you all about it by mid November.

I received this gorgeous bunch of flowers from Two Pink Possums today. Thanks Linda. What a lovely thought.


Grand Purl Baa asked me to spread the word about a great giveaway happening over at her place. Knitter or not, you won't want to miss this one.


What's a festival wrap up without some thank yous. To my fabulous assistants Curlypops and flossy-p thanks for all your generous help. To Bellgirl for the wonderful Blogtoberfest Blog Crawls? She's done this tasty one to celebrate the end of the festival.

How appropriate that it’s Friday for the last day of Blogtoberfest. I’m Loving Friday as always. Today’s its for two very simple reasons. The bus driver waited for me when he saw me running to catch my bus and I’m reading the latest edition of Mix Tape. I feel pensive like Patsy and at peace with the world.

BLOGTOBERFEST will be back in 2009 and I'll hope you'll join me again.

See you soon. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon my friends.

BLOGTOBERFEST - Day 30 - Op Shoppers Anonymous

Hello my name is BigCat and I'm an op-shopaholic.

It's been less than 24 hours since my last shopping spree.

I can't stop thinking about op-shopping. It's all I want to do.

I worry constantly about all the bargains out there that I'm missing out on.

I can't believe I left that gorgeous chair behind yesterday. It was only $10. I'm sure it will be gone by the time I am able to go back on Saturday.

Not to mention the set of Golden Hands craft books in mint condition.

I fear I'm about to go on a massive bender. Is there any hope for me?

BLOGTOBERFEST - Day 29 - Winners, Fair and Square

I was feeling a little overwhelmed by the thought of picking winners given the need to go through the comments and divide them into categories according to preference, yada yada yada. I briefly entertained the notion of just picking 3 people off this list.

However, the thought police rocked up to my place and said 'no fair' so I got out pens and paper, wrote a list of who wanted to win which collage, got my random number generator to pick a number off each list, AND we have some winners. Phew!

Bex will become the proud owner of Ernest

Curlypops is now the proud owner of Florence

and Patsy will hereby be know as Pensive and will be flying off to live with Cooking My Life.

Take good care of my Three Little Birds. I really do adore these particular collages. Oh, and email me with your details so I can tell these birds where to fly.

BLOGTOBERFEST - Day 29 - On My Desk

I tend to apply a very liberal definition to the word "desk" when it comes to playing along with Kootoyoo's On My Desk Meme. I always have so many projects happening around the place (just ask Ms L who will be sure to tell you how effectively I have taken over our house with craft and blogging and ideas for this and that). There's lots of things on various flat surfaces around the house today.

Some finished pincushions which I will gift to unsuspecting crafty people.

Some outbound packages. If you've been expecting a BLOGTOBERFEST package from me it will be on its way today. How exciting. I love sending packages.

I'm also posting a fabric swap off to No Life Without Wife. We arranged to have a swap a while back and my package arrived yesterday full of tropical French sunshiny goodness including a fabulous zine that she made.

It also included the most adorable softie. She's only about 6cm or so tall and has so much lovely detail. I think I'm going to take her to work to hang out on my desk. She'll be a little totem to remind me of my crafty dreams and goals.

There is also this amazing piece of fabric that I think I'll have some fun with. I might make a tote bag like this groovy one I saw over at Button Beauty.


I'm expecting my copy of Mix Tape to arrive in the post today so I'll have more goodness on my desk later most likely.

The one thing missing from my desk is winners for the giveaway. I hope to draw it later today. If I don't make it today I'll be around tomorrow.

BLOGTOBERFEST - Day 28 - North Fitzroy, How Exotic

I've gotta be quick. I'm off to the Moroccan Soup Bar for dinner. It really is one of my favourite places in Melbourne. If I had my way though I'd rather be off to see the the real thing. Don't worry, I'll get there one day.

You've still got about 6 hours to sign up for my giveaway if you'd like to.

3 days left. See you tomorrow.

BLOGTOBERFEST - Day 27 - I'd Rather Be Crafting

So that's what I'm going to do tonight. A little bit of craft and a little bit of TV. Can you believe there are only 4 days left to go?

BLOGTOBERFEST - Day 26 - Three Little Birds

If Ernest is Bookish

and Florence is Wise

what does that make Patsy?

Leave a comment with an adjective to describe Patsy and say which of these Three Little Birds you would like to win. You have till midnight on Tuesday and then they'll all be flying off to new homes.

BLOGTOBERFEST - Day 25 - Been and Gone

The crafty girls have been and gone. My we had a lovely day.


My first attempts at lino printing were a little disappointing. I couldn't quite get in the swing of drawing today which was a major barrier to designing a print. So after faffing about for a while and a very sad attempt at a practice print I gave up. I'll have another go some time and maybe I'll have something to show for myself then.

There was lots of eating and chatting, as well as faffing about.


I did do some lovely collages for this week's giveaway. They're not quite finished. If you pop back tomorrow you'll be able to see what I've made and put yourself in the draw.

If you want to check out more about our crafternoon then you should visit the other crafty girls.

BLOGTOBERFEST - Day 24 - Love Fridays

It's a happy day today with so many reasons to Love Friday. Firstly I found the little friend above in my garden today. Just sitting quietly.

I've been doing house chores tonight. What you may ask would I love about doing house chores? I'm cleaning house because the Thornbury Craft Bonanza is coming to town tomorrow. I'll be hanging out with Curlypops, Drewzel, Reenie-Su and Flightless Boyds doing paper crafts and lino printing along with plenty of gossiping and snacking. It's worth cleaning the house for that.

I've found a new op shop just around the corner from work and rode there on my lunch break today. I didn't find any treasures but I'll be able to make a weekly visit with ease so I'm sure to stumble across some lovely goodies at some stage.

I got two emails today that made me very happy. The first one was to confirm my Amitie VIP membership and the second confirmed by subscription to Mix Tape. Yipee!

I'm saving the weekly giveaway for tomorrow so come back then to see what I'm giving away this week.

How's your Friday anyway? I gotta tell you. I'm feeling a little bit like Potty Mouth Mama when it comes to blogging today. Not long now though.

BLOGTOBERFEST - Day 23 - I Win, You Win, We All Win

A huge thanks to everyone for your enthusiasm and creativity on the personalised collage giveaway. I was a little terrified of words like pumpernickel, carrose, and squoozshy but I decided that come what may I was going to have a go.

Anyway, my trusty and reliable random number generator, Ms L has considered the numbers and come up with comment number 24. Libby from A Round Tuit is the winner with the word "Wisdom".

The exciting news is that Ms L decided that there should be two winners for this prize and picked comment number 3 for a second prize. This means that Erin of Erin Kobie will also be getting a collage with the word "forest".

Email me at cathkirwan(at)optusnet(dot)com(dot)au with your postal details ladies so I can send your collages to you. I'll be sure to show everyone what I've come up with once they've made it to their new homes.

I had a little win myself you know. I won a lovely brooch giveaway over at flossy-p.

BLOGTOBERFEST - Day 22 - On My Desk

Hot out of the postie's mitts and straight onto the desk. If you're looking for me on April 16th 2009 you know where to find me!

You've still got 24 hours to join my giveaway if you'd like to.

There's lots more desks to check out over here.

BLOGTOBERFEST - Day 21 - Tagged Again

When it came to sports and active games I was always one of the slow kids at school. The one you went for if you were in the moderate to slow group and had limited options once you got tagged yourself. I hated playing tag. It's scarred me for life.

However, blog tag isn't so bad. It's pretty easy to outrun the taggers should you want to. Today though I'm playing along. My friend Angelique has tagged me for 6 random things. She has a lovely blog No Life Without Wife and she lives in Noumea of all places. Who doesn't want to have a little internet holiday to Noumea?

I think she sometimes gets lonely hanging out in the middle of the pacific so why don't you pop on over and tell her I sent you. She happens to be celebrating her 200th post today and having a giveaway.

So 6 random things. Here goes:

• I'm an ideas woman. I am full of fantastic ideas, but struggle with getting thing past ideas stage. People often treat me like I'm flaky as a result.
  
• I have a goal to ride over the West Gate Bridge as part of Around The Bay in A Day in October 2009. At this stage I am thinking I will aim to do the 50km ride.
  
• I've traveled considerably in every state and territory in Australia. For a couple of years I worked in a job that involved traveling all over Australia to cities, large and small towns and remote communities. It was an absolutely amazing experience and some of the more remote locations included Yuendumu, Groote Eylandt, Warakurna and Fitzroy Crossing.
  
• I smoked for over 20 years before becoming a non-smoker 21 months ago. I'm extremely proud of this achievement.
  
• I really enjoy going out for dinner alone. It's fantastic to take yourself out for a good meal and just enjoy your own company along with some people watching. I always seem to get excellent service when I eat alone too. If you've never tried it I highly recommend it. It feels very indulgent.
  
• I only started Op Shopping this year. Prior to this year I just didn't get it. Now that I do I can't get enough.
  

I'm not going to pass on the tag. Like I said earlier I'm too slow to catch anyone. If you'd like to take up the challenge and share 6 random things about yourself then consider yourself tagged.

Here are the rules if you want to play by them

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

Now off you go. Off to New Caledonia with you!

BLOGTOBERFEST - Day 20 - BigCat Dreaming

This wonderful bag was made by my lovely friend Curlypops. Have you been to her shop. She's a very clever craftswoman. I think she'll be making some more of these limited edition bags soon. You'll have to get in quick though. There's only so many letters in the Alphabet and I've got 3 of them.

I got to pick which letters I wanted and I picked these ones for BigCat. We couldn't work out what the D could stand for until it came to me. BigCat Dreaming.

I'm feeling dreamy today. Dreaming of my future. Dreaming up lists of things to do. Dreaming of making a living as a craftswoman. Dreaming about my secret squirrel business and how to make it happen. Lots of dreaming.

Don't forget my giveaway. You can sign up until Thursday noon. People have been coming up with some pretty fun words. I don't quite know how I'll manage to collage some of them if they win.

BLOGTOBERFEST - Day 19 - Birthday Loot

These are all the goodies I found when I went on the excellent adventure with Curlypops. I couldn't show you because I was saving it all for Ms L for her birthday. I also bought her something to support her newly discovered love of baking.

I didn't miss out either. I got this Fowler's preserving set for $20 including about 40 bottles and all the lids and seals.

I think I could almost rival Potty Mouth Mama with this haul of delights.

We're having a very quiet night around here. How about you?

BLOGTOBERFEST - Day 18 - We Interupt BLOGTOBERFEST for...

Something much more important. Ms L is celebrating her birthday today. You're my very favourite Ms L. You know it's true.

This is the cake I organised for her 40th. You like?

Don't forget to sign up for the giveaway if you'd like you're very own collage made with lots of love by me.

BLOGTOBERFEST - Day 17 - Love Fridays

I hope you didn't think I wasn't coming. Today I'm Loving Fridays in an everyday kind of way. The simple things in life are keeping me happy.

A cup of coffee or two.

Some gorgeous washing airing on the line.

Drewzel's declared it BLOGTOBERFEST Fav Friday. Tell everyone about one of your favourite songs ever. Mine would have to be 'Born To Be Alive' by Patrick Hernandez. I've loved it ever since I used to roller-skate to it when I was 12.

Now I think it's time for my weekly BLOGTOBERFEST giveaway. I've decided to so something a little different this week.

I'm going to do a personalised collage for someone. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post and include a single word that you would like as the theme for your collage. If you are the winner then I'll make something for you based on your theme word. Make sense? I thought so.

Seeing as this is an extra special giveaway I'll run it for a little bit longer. You have until next Thursday at noon to leave your comment.

Something special is happening tomorrow in our house that I'm really looking forward to. You'll have to pop in and see what it is.

BLOGTOBERFEST - Day 16 - Humping Along

It's hump day peeps. We're half way there. It hasn't been too bad now has it? In fact now that I've started pacing myself and getting a rhythm going I'm really enjoying BLOGTOBERFEST. I hope you are too.

Nomes over at Hanging With My Nomies is having the perfect celebration with a one day Meme. Something you look at every day that makes you smile. For me it's these folk.


My family. My Mum had the family portrait done for us for Christmas. I love it. A portrait of the cats. It makes me happy every time I look at it. Ms L gets a guernsey too but I decided not to flash her photo about.

Speaking of Nomes, she sent me a lovely package for hosting BLOGTOBERFEST. Isn't that a lovely thing to do?

This gorgeous little tea towel is now taking pride of place in the kitchen. Thanks Nomes.

BLOGTOBERFEST - Day 16 - By Popular Demand

Ms L's Awesome Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups plain flour
• 1 teaspoon bi-carb soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 175.c or 350.F and grease baking trays
2. In a large bowl cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy
3. BigCat tastes mixture to ensure it's not poison
   
4. Add eggs one at a time beating well each time then stir in vanilla
5. Combine flour, bi-carb and salt and gradually stir into creamed mixture
6. Have BigCat check mixture to ensure quantities are correct
   
7. Fold in chocolate chips
8. Tell BigCat it's time to stop tasting the mixture
   
9. Drop rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheets
10. Get annoyed at BigCat when she won't stop eating mixture
    
11. Bake for 8-10 minutes until light brown
12. Tell BigCat there won't be enough biscuits if she keeps eating the mixture
    
13. Cool on baking trays for 5 minutes before moving to wire racks to cool completely

Store in your favourite cookie tin and eat liberally.

BLOGTOBERFEST - Day 15 - On My Desk

I've been meaning to share these gorgeous goodies with you for ages. A few weeks ago I went to a vintage auction and scored myself this amazing swap card album.

It's is perfect condition and is full of beautiful 1960's swap cards.




It was such a great find.


For more On My Desk visit Kootoyoo. In fact, why don't you sign up and play along.