Drumroll Please....

And now for some fun stuff...

I finally got around to compiling all the wonderful comments to come up with a winner for the giveaway. I'm actually quite a geek and love an excuse, any excuse to make a spreadsheet. Putting all the different entries for different people, there was a total of 294 entries! Wow!

The Random Number Generator picked number 102 which was 409cope. Please email me with your postal address so that I can send a parcel out to you!

I have a couple of nice things planned for the weekend. Tomorrow, mum, the little one and I are going to Thea and Sami's Open Studio Day. How I do love to check out other people's creative spaces.

I love the latest design in her range, this gorgeous whisk and spoon. Mmm... I'm thinking it would be great in an apron... might even inspire me to actually cook!

Whisk and Spoon by Thea and Sami

On Sunday I'm going to try to go to Brown Owls at least for a little while. A great crafty chat and a cup of tea is always good for the soul.

On a final note, thank you to everyone for all the lovely words on my last post. We're doing really well and are ready (as we can be) for this slight detour in our lives.

The "C" Word

It's amazing how much strength one little word can have. How that one little word, only a short six letters in length can throw your plans out the window, for a while at least. How that one little word can bring emotions of fear, rage, grief and intense pourings of love, and all in the space of a few minutes. It's just one little word after all.

This week, DH was diagnosed with cancer. There, I said it. It's out there and somehow, saying it takes its power and control over our lives away just a little.

The good news is, his chances are great in the end. To get there though, he has six months of very aggressive chemotherapy ahead of him with most of that time in or at the hospital.

Our friends and my family have been so supportive and truly amazing. We feel so blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives.

It will be a journey, but not one that I expected to be taking, especially when our little one is only three and a half months old. I'm trying to put a few things in place so that I can still work, at least until Christmas, I'd still like a little slice of life that is normal and mine.

In the meantime, I'm already dreaming of a lovely seaside family holiday in seven months time.

Photo borrowed from here.

Back to Normal Programming Soon

A quick drop in to apologise for not having announced the winner of the giveaway yet. DH continues to be unwell, so things are a little crazy around here at the moment. Luckily mum is coming to the rescue and flying in from NZ to give me a hand.

In the meantime, I'll be at Boutique Markets this coming Sunday.

Photo borrowed from here

Flickr Faves on a Friday - Alice in Wonderland

I'm eagerly awaiting the release of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. Can't wait to see the costumes, the sets and of course, Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter.

1. Alice Adventures in an Altoid Tin, 2. I stumbled into Wednesday...., 3. Down the Rabbit Hole - cover of my book, 4. Alice in Wonderland clothes, 5. Dark Wonderland Composite, 6. Crafting 365, day 173 - pink teacups, 7. Rabbit of Hearts completed , 8. Alice in Wonderland Steampunk Mad Hatter, 9. Alice in Wonderland Vintage Brass Locket, 10. * Doors All Around *, 11. Alice Take 4, 12. Shinzi Katoh Alice In Wonderland

It doesn't come out until next year, but for now, here's a teaser.

My Creative Space

A lonely little coin purse waiting patiently to be completed.

The poor thing has been waiting all day. I abandoned it at one in the morning last night, thinking that I'd get back to it first thing this morning, but it just hasn't happened. Truth be told, I made a real mess with the glue, must have overfilled the frame. Does anyone have any good hints for how to get glue off fabric? The glue is clear but still looks really messy.

Today was one of those complete write-offs in mummy land. I got to prepare breakfast at 10am and then to finally eat it cold (soft boiled eggs aren't great cold in my books) at 1 in the afternoon. By 5pm I gave up any dream of getting out of my pajamas before the sun went down. But now the house is quiet, the little one asleep (and clean after two baths today!), and my time has begun. After a shower and a getting into a fresh pair of non-baby-spit-up pajamas, it's time to try stuffing the other side of the purse frame.

For more, and hopefully more productive creative spaces, visit Kootoyoo.

Kazuyo's Collection

Tucked away, in suburban Paddington Brisbane, is a little slice of Japan. It's unassuming front immediately conjures up memories of Kyoto cafes.

Stepping inside, I'm taken back to the gorgeous traditional homeware stores of Japan. It's filled with beautiful ceramics, gorgeous bags, Japanese-inspired jewellery, calligraphy and some very tempting Japanese teas. The shop truly is a collection put together by Kazuyo herself, many of the items are made by Japanese artists living locally and well.... yours truly.

Wanting to share the culture of her home country, Kazuyo hosts a number of events. Coming up are:

Nov 7th, 10am-12, Calligraphy performance.

Nov 19th, 10.30am - 12, Tea Ceremony Demonstration and class (Fee $10).

Dec 1st to 12th, "Vintage Kimono Beauty" - an exhibition of vintage kimono featuring the Tsuru Crane from the personal collection of... well... me! Some very special pieces, like the wedding Uchikake below will only be shown on the two Saturdays that fall during the exhibition (5th and 12th). I'll also be selling a few special items on those days.

Drop by and escape for a little while to Japan.

Kazuyo's Collection

102 Latrobe Tce, Paddington

Round and Round

Today I've been going 'round and 'round in circles...

... and rectangles...

... and squares...

... and a few odd shapes as well...

The back-on-eBay-back-on-Etsy-joining-BrisStyle-Blogtoberfest Giveaway

Lots to celebrate this month, lots going on, so I thought joining in all the Blogtoberfest giveaway fun was in order.

To the winner, I'll be sending a parcel with some kimono fabric, a kanzashi brooch, a large kimono fabric resin pendant, a small matryoshka pendant, a few of my "seconds" (they'll be on cords as well) and if there's room I'll add in a few mystery goodies as well.

Sorry, but I'm going to make you work for it a little, as little or as much as you like...

To enter

1) For one entry go to either my Etsy store or my eBay auctions and tell me in a comment on this post what your faves in there are. If you do both, you can have two entries!

2) For another two entries, either Follow or Subscribe to this blog (either existing or new) and tell me in the comment.

...and because I'm a sucker for punishment... I know the maths is going to be a killer...

3) For an additional five entries, blog about the giveaway and tell me you did in the comment.

Complicated? I hope not.

When you enter, make sure that I can reach you somehow, either through a blog link or email address left for me. Sorry, but I may not be able to reply to these comments, but believe me, I will enjoy reading them all.

Entries will end on Sunday 1st November midnight my time and I'll try to announce the winner on Tuesday 2nd November, or very soon afterwards.

For more great Blogtoberfest giveaways, visit Curly Pops.