On My Desk - Wednesday

I thought I would be organised today and post this morning. I cleaned up my studio on the weekend so I am proud to show off some very tidy desks. Not much happening on them either at the minute. A couple of collages using the paint cards that I have fallen in love with lately. There is also the beginning musings for one of my Pay It Forward goodies in there but I'm not giving anything away.

I am going back to my old work today. I agreed to work one day a week for a couple of months while they are recruiting a new person for my role. I dread to think what I will find on my desk there after 3 weeks away.

On My Desk - Essential Tools and a Winner

Yes, everything you need for a giveaway. Paper, scissors and appropriate vessel. I can't believe how many people signed up. I even let the lovely ladies who missed the cut-off join in. It's all in fun so I figure why not. I wish that I could send something to everyone.

I had my partner do the draw cause I couldn't bear to choose. And the winner is..... (drumroll)..... Sherrin of Starashan. She's a sewer too so I reckon she will get lots of use out of these goodies. OK, I'm going to pop across and tell her the good news.

Now, I'm going to start working on my Pay It Forward goodies for Danielle and Bec which will be good fun. Don't worry though I like this giveaway business so I might have to do another one soon. And, there will definitely be another art swap in the not too distant future.

Ok, time to catch up on some of my favourite crafty blogging peeps. It's been a while.

Oh, and for another great giveaway go over and visit Two Cold Feet. She's got some super duper goodies to share.

On My Desk - Part 2

Here is some of the craftiness I am up to at the moment. I have fallen in love with paint sample cards. So many colours. It blows my mind. And those funky little names for the different colours. Who gets to make up those names? What a cool job.

Here is where they end up. Works in progress.



I never know whether I am stealing when I go off to Bunnings and grab piles of cards. I always worry that somebody is going to grab me on the way out of the store and tell me it's not OK to take 4 of each card, and 30 differnt colours. What do you think? Are they there for the taking?

On My Desk - Part 1 - Yippee!!!

No posts for a week and now a flurry of them. The "Festival of Cath" got off to a great start with this surprise from my partner today.

Oh yeah, Bring It On. I'll be counting the sleeps for this one. I love, love, love Sex and The City. Is there any stylish girl who doesn't?

On My Desk - Wednesday - Help!

I'm back from the brink and the lurgy seems to be abating. Thanks to all those people who left me well wishes. It was so nice to get them.

Today, on my desk...
Some little goodies for some lovely girls. And... this skirt.

I bought it years ago in an Op Shop because I loved the fabric and wanted to turn it into something. I have never quite worked out what to turn it into though. I love the buttons and the binding so I am not sure whether to try to keep the detail of the design or to just try and use the fabric. It really is quite sensational don't you think? It's made in Spain and is 98% cotton with 2% spandex.

Recently I have been inspired by some sewing projects I saw. Firstly there was this brooch keeper (and I do have lots of brooches) over at Quilting Mick. Then I like the way Curly Pops has made this bag and I thought that I could try doing something like that with it. The print is so big and bold that anything I do really needs to use a large section of the material I think so as not to lose the detail.

Anyway, I would love to hear any ideas that people have for what to make with it. It is yearning to be back out there in the world in all its glory. And it definitely won't be in its current incarnation as a mini-skirt (I wish)!!!!

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.

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.

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.

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.

On My Desk - Wednesday

• Some vintage wallpaper remnants from here
• A cook book from the local op shop. I was inspired by Starashan's crafty envelopes and will try to make some myself.
• A lovely surprise from here. It is the first giveaway I have won since I started blogging so I was very excited to arrive home and find a parcel in the mail.
• Some pringles. I am having a junky kind of day today so lots of snacky food. My partner is away for a few days and I feel a bit out of balance and like the house is too big for just me and the cats. Come home soon honey.
• One yo-yo. It just slipped its way in there. You can never complain about having a yo-yo hanging around on your desk. If you haven't picked one up in a while I highly recommend it.

The weather is fabulous here in Melbourne. Cold and rainy. I am going to have a night in front of the television with my junk food and my craft. I hope you have a lovely evening or day wherever you are.

On My Desk - Wednesday

This is my diary. It is one of my very favourite possessions. I am a woman on a quest. I spent years in search of the perfect work bag and finally found it in a crumpler. More recently I have been in search of the perfect diary and found it in my Rebound Books Little Golden Book. The Poky Little Puppy was a childhood favourite too.


Not only is it a fabulous cover but you also get the whole story spread throughout the diary to read whenever you want. And the page set up is perfect. One side for all that structure that goes with being a grown up and having to be in certain places at agreed times. The other side for notes, to do's, cool finds, and random thoughts. It's just perfect. Perfect I tell you.

On My Desk - Wednesday

My desk reflects my state of mind today. Messy and somewhat sluggish. This is a photo album I am working on for friends. An unfinished project circa 2006 that I found some inspiration for on the weekend. It is such a great feeling to get unfinished projects moving. I feel like an unfinished project myself today. Hopefully something will get me moving in the next little while.

On My Desk - Little Cat

Kootoyoo has a fun game going on. It's called on my desk and every Wednesday you photograph and blog about what's on your desk. I decided to play along too.

Today though I'm cheating. This photo was taken on Saturday night. Little cat (aka Willow) spent the evening with me while I played on the internet. We had a lovely time together and I couldn't resist using this for "On My Desk". You can also just see Big Cat (aka Holden) in the photo frame in the back left hand corner. Next week I will be true to time and place.


Something excellent happened today. I can't say anything yet. Don't count your chickens before they hatch and all that jazz. However, I might have some exciting news to share early next week.

Now it's time to get frocked up to go out and be brave at Crafty Peeps Drinks. If you see me there looking lost come and say Hi.