The Voting Lines are OPEN

All of the SuperPops Challenge entries are in, so now it's over to YOU!

If you're reading this in a feed reader, then just click on over to the blog where you'll find a voting poll on the top right hand side of the page.

Each entry has a grid number which corresponds to the mosaic above. The colums are A B C and D, and the rows are 1 2 3 4 and 5.
ie: Top left is A1 - Bottom left is A5 - Top right is D1 - Bottom right is D5

If you can't choose an absolute favourite, then you can actually give votes to multiple favourites instead.... so many excellent choices!

The poll will close on Tuesday November 3rd at 8.00 PM Melbourne time and I'll announce the winner of the public vote.

I want to give a huge congratulations and a massive thankyou to everyone who played along and took the time to submit an entry for the challenge, and a huge thankyou to Tinniegirl for creating and running the blogtoberfest festival, to Badskirt and Chunky Chooky for helping with the festivities, to Myrtle and Eunice for creative the snazzy SuperPops button, and to Loz and Dinny for inspiring the SuperPops character and giving me the idea for the challenge..... phew - time to VOTE.

PS - Thanks also to everyone who joined in with the giveaways during the month. I listed a total of 104 giveaways, some of which are still open, so make sure you enter.

Blogtoberfest Day 6: Frocktober

Channelling James Bond

I haven't had a chance to show off the fabulous vintage dresses that I scored at the Talbot Market a couple of weeks ago, so Amy's Frocktober theme for today was the perfect opportunity.

I made a date - me, the self-timer on the camera, and the blank wall in the spare room. I probably should have invited a hairdresser......

....and a stylist with an iron

This colour does nothing for my pale skin.... not a keeper

Aha! But this one is my favourite..... the perfect SuperPops dress!

As Liesl commented:

Faster than a speeding overlocker.
More powerful than a craft hammer.
Able to leap tall stashes in a single bound.
Look! Up in the sky!
It's a bird. It's a plane. It's SuperPops!


Don't try this at home folks.... you may topple over.

Testing testing 123

I was lucky enough to be given the task of testing out a new pattern for Nikki this week.

It's a sweet little barrel purse using a 90mm purse frame. I even managed to sew around the curve without too many difficulties after getting a bit of practice with the baguette bag.

I used the lovely floral fabric that I received from Amy last week, and teamed it with some contrasting pink polkadots. The instructions were really easy to follow and there were lots of photos for guidance. Now, all I need to do is fill it with money and go shopping.

I think I should be making a start on these very soon for the Christmas list!

Ann Marie has been testing too....

Thankful

I'm always thankful when I collect the mail and there are no bills....

I'm even more thankful when I collect the mail and find crafty packages waiting for me....

I'm not thankful when the postie folds and then tries to shove those packages through a tiny mail slot instead of just reaching around and putting them in the mailbox from the rear.....

Luckily, there were no breakables - just pretty things.

I won a giveaway over at Willy Wagtail - and hilariously (given the rate at which I seem to lose these) - the giveaway was for A whole weeks supply of seam rippers. There are actually seven of them, and Cherie also included a lovely Bendigo tea towel (where I used to live), and a sweet little doilie. Thanks Cherie!

The next package contained all of these lovely tea towels and a beautiful handmade owl card.
Ngaire contacted me and said that she had these left from a garage sale of her hubby's grandmothers things. Ngaire doesn't have a blog but she liked my aprons, and so she generously offered to send them to me. Isn't that sweet? Thanks Ngaire.

....and then this little suprise package arrived in the mail from Amy at Badskirt - it's the perfect floral print for me! Thanks so much Amy. I'm going to whip myself up a little zippered purse, using the trim as a wrist strap - perfect for hands free shopping..... adding it to the list in my head as I'm typing....

Eye Spy..... a magic elixir

Such a fabulous theme today! I could show you my medicine box full of magic tricks, but I much prefer to eat my troubles away (where possible)....


If I'm feeling under the weather (especially around cold and flu season), then there's nothing better than my magic chicken and vegie soup. The only problem is that it needs to be pre-made and in the freezer already, because if I'm sick, then I'm definitely not going to have the energy to actually make it!

Which is why there is a back up plan....

If all else fails, then instant chicken noodle soup and a packet of plain potato chips usually does the trick. These are two staples which must be in the pantry at all times.

For general wellbeing and happiness, I recommend keeping a stash of magic chocolate elixirs in the cupboard. You can never be too sure about when you might have an emergency chocolate craving.

To wash down all of the sugar and fat and salt, I always keep a good supply of coffee, tea, and most importantly.... raspberry cordial!

I'm sure there's a very good reason why most people try to keep their kiddies away from red food colouring. It works wonders for me, peps me up every time. Who needs alcohol when you have raspberry cordial on hand?

Thankyou Amy for this weeks funny theme. Head on over and say hi to Cindy to play along.

PS - Check out the magical Mars Bar Cheesecake over at Selina's Vintage and enter her giveaway.

My creative space

There's actually nothing much creative happening right at this very moment in time.

I absolutely hate being rushed at the last minute (might have something to do with the fact that rushing is a physical impossibility)..... so I'm packing everything up early so it's all ready for the market on Saturday.

I'm using Amy's Badskirt Market Checklist and I'm adding some extra items for me.

So far I've packed the brooches, brooch kits, bookmarks, and aprons.

The handbags are still hanging. How do you pack handbags for transport without them being flattened and creased? I have no idea.

The trestle table is already in the car.

The still to do list:

• Make a pricing sign
• Print care labels for the swing tags
• Put Frances in the car (she's on modelling duty on Saturday)
• Go to the bank and pick up some change (the market is cash only)
• Buy a receipt book
• Ring friend about my custom brooch stand
• Make myself a market apron (how could I forget that)?
• Think about something crafty to take along (just in case I have no customers...eeek)!
• Think about what type of food I'm going to take (very important)

Head on over and visit Kirsty to see who else is playing along this week!

Eye Spy....something I want to try in 2009

Ooooooh this Eye Spy is a little scary today.
I suppose that if I put the information out into the public domain rather than keeping it my head, then it's more of a reality that it's actually going to happen.

Tinniegirl and I spent a little time thisafternoon planning some secret squirrel business that we've been thinking about for a while.

It's not secret squirrel business anymore..... we're going to take the plunge and try selling at our first ever craft market. There......I said it out loud (well, typed it out loud anyway)!

We've made a list of things to do beforehand, discussed what we'll be selling, and then we had a little play around on the kitchen bench with some props and containers to see how it will all look.
I still need to go and check Amy's Market Checklist and Cintia's Market Wisdom too.

Of course, this now means that I really have to stop procrastinating and actually start sewing...aaagggghhhh.

Thanks to Cindy for hosting and to Bek for this weeks theme!

My First Skirt

I had the entire day to myself ,with no plans at all on Sunday, so I decided to finally make a start on my handmade christmas list.

I've never tried to make a skirt before, but I've been admiring all of the lovely twirly skirts that I've seen on other blogs, so I decided to try one out for a friends daughter. I started out following Lara's tutorial, but I made quite a few mistakes (I'm terrrible at following instructions), so there was lots of unpicking involved!

I used the gorgeous apple fabric that Amy sent me, and teamed it with some of my favourite spots and stripes (and bias tape at the bottom of course). I just have to add the elastic to the waistband and then it's ready to go.

One handmade present down....... about ten more to go!

The Dead Cart Club

If you want a good chuckle, then you have to go and check out Amy's Dead Cart Club blog....

It's where all the famous abandoned shopping trolleys get their deserved five minutes of fame!

A second adoption

The postie was nice enough to leave a big box on my doorstep yesterday afternoon.






I was expecting Jane the Kiwi to arrive.... so I was quite suprised when I picked up the box and realised how heavy it was.



Inside was this huge package of goodies!

It seems that Jane needed some nesting material to accompany her on her long journey from Sydney to Melbourne......

She bought along some very useful and very timely quilting magazines....

.....and some beautiful fabrics in my favourite colours!

I took Jane on a tour of the house and garden so that she would feel at home. Here she is checking out the potplants.....

....and getting acquainted with the cat

She even tried to jump the fence and go for a swim (I didn't realise Kiwi's liked water so much)...

But in the end, she found a nice comfy spot in the high chair in the kitchen with her new best friend Cherry. If you look closely, you can see that Cherry is even giving her a cuddle...so sweet!

If you love Jane the Kiwi as much as I love Jane the Kiwi, then you can head on over to Amy's Badskirt blog, or her Made It shop and adopt Jane's sister/brother/cousin etc....

Thankyou Amy.

On my fridge

On my desk is no longer..... so today Amy is hosting On My Fridge instead!

I don't like a lot of clutter on the front of the fridge......

I have a postcard from Venice from some friends who recently had a European holiday (lucky them), and the invitation for my nephews birthday party earlier this month.....

A mixtapezine magnet, and a thermometer....
.....and this is the side where I hide all the mess!

Love Fridays

I had to go and pay my car registration today, and Vicroads just happens to be a few doors away from Spotlight so I decided to take Amy's advice and headed off to spend my discount voucher.

I stocked up on some good quality thread.....

....and a stack of fabric.

Now I get to go and play with it all..... and that's a perfect reason to Love Friday.
Don't forget to head on over to Big Cat's Emporium to check out who else is playing along.