Dear Internets

My name's Aphie and I have a problem. It's been two days since my last Spotlight visit. I said I was going for pinking shears, and I came back with a bag of stickers and stamps for card-making as well. The time before, I was going for a metre of black chiffon and found myself leaving with a bag of miscellaneous cotton prints and some knit polyester that was only $3 a metre so really I couldn't pass up such a good bargain, could I?
My fabric stash is taller than I am, and three or four times as wide. I don't have space left for all my cardmaking supplies in my cardmaking drawers.

I need help. I need an intervention.
Or maybe I just need... to craft more?

O Yes, My Pretty!

Way back when I last saw my grandmother (in May) she brought me a bunch of stuff she thought I could use; a Christmas tree, some of my old toys from when I lived with her, and her old overlocker.

I have never owned (nor personally used) an overlocker before in my life, and I am both squeeing and terrified of this baby. So, she has been sitting in her lovely case, with her box of tools and threads beside her, for month now. Last week I pulled her out and edged some wipes for the baby.



I'm starting to feel braver. I think I need a proper project to try her out on.
I also think I'll call her Brunhilda.

Softies

This unnamed hippo is the second I've made from this Two Little Banshees pattern. Her sister's name is Bubbles, and she is a lot wonkier. Luckily, I was always the sort of kid who appreciated the 'imperfect' stuffed toys in shops more than their perfectly balanced siblings!

Unnamed Hippo is not going to be staying with me, though. I'm hoping that she, and a few friends, will be headed off to Melbourne come early November, for the Softies for Mirabel charity collection this year.
I've never actually completed a softie before and once I've mastered this pattern, I'm hoping to try my hand at a few more, so I've been scouring the internet for ideas and tutes. There are so many out there!

This little girl with beret and capelet is super sweet, for instance. But there's also this little felt dolly or their weird contemporary if I'm not in a "sweet" mood.

If I wanted to stick with the animal theme, there's also heaps of options, like a Pointy Kitty, Blinking Flights Bug (designed by a local from my city!) or some of these Beautiful birds. I think I want to have a go at that last one for myself, to put on a twig to decorate my house. But that will come later.

No, I have not done the vacuuming this month. Why do you ask?

The motto of my life is honestly "Why do Housework when there is so much else to do in the world!?" but every so often I come across a blog that makes me seriously wish I were a Domestic Goddess, capable of balancing my contented baby on one hip whilst stirring up a batch of beautiful biscuits as my Made-Just-From-Fresh-And-Locally-Sourced-Produce-Dinner was finishing cooking each evening, in my perfectly, naturally cleaned kitchen.
Soule mama is one such. Kale for Sale a recently discovered 'nother! (Though both are from the US, so their seasons are always upside-down!)

At least my kitchen is cleaned using natural cleaning products... when it's cleaned.

The Winner Is...

Isn't life grand?
You plan something, set up a timeline, count down the days...then find yourself with a case of food poisoning, and when you're better, an overwhelming list of Stuff To Do, much of it "catch up" from when you were ill!

So sorry to those who eneterd my recent Spring Equinox giveaway! To try to get back onto our regularly scheduled program, the winner is actually...

Number 6, according to random.org.



Trish Goodfield, the tiny pink tote is yours!

Thankyou to the few, the proud, who entered. I'm hoping to run more freebie giveaways in the future, so please feel free to check back.

Dear Web-searcher

Specifically, the person looking for the Pebeo porcelaine 150 pens in Australia who came by recently; the art shop at Belconnen Westfields in the ACT has many different colours.

Tiny Tote Free to Good Home

Spring is sprung
The grass is ris
I wonder where
The birdies is?

Going by the calendar acknowledging the equinoxes and such, Spring actually started back in early August. Because professional calendar makers just can't wrap their heads around things not following their calendars exactly, they've tricked us all into believing the season began yesterday.

So in honour of these calendar makers, the fact my birthday is a month away, and the coming Spring Equinox, here's a giveaway!

This cute little bag was one of my earliest attempts to actually complete a project. It's a little taller than A5, but about that length, with enough depth to fit a large womens' wallet, a notebook, some lipbalm, and a pen with room to spare (I know, I stuffed it with everything I usually carry to check it was big enough, when making it).

The outside is a very soft apricot-pink brushed cotton that feels almost like suede. It's all fabric, so folds down very small, and it's lined with vintage flower print cotton, too.

The flowers are acrylic felt and are actually a badge that can be removed and worn, or attached to another bag.

To win this tiny tote, please leave a comment and some way of getting in touch with you - email or a blog. For an extra entry, link to this post and tell me about it!

Entries close on the 20th September, and will be drawn on the Spring Equinox.