my creative space.

or my cleaning space?



today i'm mostly just cleaning up after the little get together we had yesterday. in a bid to be a bit ''green" we used actual plates and glasses and cutlery which was great (except when we ran out of plates and cutlery) except now i've got a whole bunch of dishes to do!
never fear however, my brother gave me the first season of kitchen nightmares (it's disturbingly great), which will keep me company throughout my cleaning adventures.
did you have a good australia day? i surely did :D



i've also got a little bit of creativity happening (after all those dishes are done), i'm making a hope softie! i'm making a cute little teddy bear, just like i made back here. you can make one too, just make one up and send it on to steph!

for some more creative spaces, pop over and visit kirsty!

at my house.

today at my house, i'm ticking some things off my list.


i'm filling something that shouldn't have been empty for this long.



and i'm going to attempt to make an unhappy plant, happy again.



i'm doing some more sanding, maybe i'll get one of the sides done today...



well i'll get to this stuff, if this weather lets me...

by the way, my auction finished last night. the winning bid of $150 was made by lea! as soon as lea lets me know of her colour scheme plans i'll get started with my hook and will have some more lovely vertical stripes to show to you all! stay tuned!
thanks so much to everyone who bid, it was quite exciting watching them come in and the money will hopefully help someone get back on their feet!

also, i know this meme was lou's thing and she's not blogging anymore but i missed it. i like mondays at my house :D

auction time.

it's auction day! a massive list is currently available on the make it perfect blog. this list also includes some of the crafters who are donating proceeds from their etsy stores if you're not sure that you want to auction.



but anywho, would you like to hear what i'm auctioning off????
i was trying to figure out something i could make, something small and quick, because i'm still working on this and there was nothing that i felt i could make to auction off that i would be happy with.
so i looked down at what i was making and i had a bit of a think, could i do that? yes, yes i think i can.
if you haven't quite got it from my (probably batty) thought process, i decided to auction off a nice handmade crocheted blankie.
now there's no pictures yet, because i haven't made it yet, because you get to choose!
a choose your own adventure handmade crocheted blanket!


so yesterday i went into spotlight and took a photo of alllllllll the colours they had in the range of wool i'll be using (moda vera pure, 8ply, 100% wool). don't they look pretty sitting there all together?
there's also two patterns to choose from, the vintage vertical stripe or the granny stripe. everything is open to negotiation though so have a chat to me! my email is dabblingallday(at)gmail(dot)com. shoot me a quick message and let me know what you're thinking :D

now to get down to business, how this thing will work.
this will work as an auction, leave a comment with the amount that you're willing to bid, the highest bid at the end of this week (sunday 23rd january at 8pm, melbourne time) will be the overall winner!


i will cover postage costs within australia, however if you're based overseas and you really want to bid, contact me and we can work something out :D

if, on sunday, you are the winner, i will contact you to let you know (so everyone please leave a way for me to contact you!). payment will then need to be paid to the premier's relief fund and you'll need to send me the receipt number. then we can get to work on designing your blankie and i'll get to work on it! the blankie will be finished and posted before winter of 2011 (southern hemisphere) so you'll be able to have full use of it on cold wintery days and nights.

if you're still with me, thanks for reading through all of those words!
thanks to toni and carli for thinking up this wonderful idea and implementing it like the amazing women they are!

may the bidding commence!!!

ps. if my instructions are wayyyyyy difficult to understand (sometimes i DON'T have a way with words), kate has explained it amazingly. she is also auctioning an amazing cushion! very cute!

flea market finds. slightly illegal edition.

so this isn't a new flea market find, it's not even technically a 'flea market' find.
it's a stolen from hard rubbish find. why let something go to landfill when you can find a use for it yourself?



i picked up this large and lovely specimen last year just before the last hard rubbish pickup.
i love it because it's so solid and heavy, unlike most of my other ikea furniture...
anywho, the reason i'm talking about my table today is that it's in pretty bad nick. i'm almost certain that before it got turfed onto the nature strip, it was an outdoor table, used by someone's grandkids as a painting palette.
while i'm sure it served it's purpose quite well as a palette/footrest/pot stand/whatever else, it's time for it to serve it's purpose as my beautiful coffee table.
today is renovation day!
i've got my reno clothes on, my hair tied back and my protective eye wear on (sunglasses).

after 30 minutes of sanding with my* orbital sander, this is how far i've gotten. could be a very long afternoon...



while i'm slaving away, sanding away years of glass rings and acrylic paint mixes, you should do two things:
1) visit the home of flea market finds. sophie is having a giveaway today too, so you should join in!
2) bid on my flood relief auction. you could win an amazing handmade crochet blanket, designed by you! it also ENDS TODAY! get on it!


* technically, it's my dad's sander. having actually used it more than he has, i'm claiming it as my own.

accomplishment.

last night i attended my cousin's wedding.
it was beautiful, the ceremony was held at the botanical gardens so the setting was gorgeous. her dress was a fantastic, cream-coloured vintage number and looked a dream.
the reception was held in balaclava, at a very trendy and overall amazing venue. the food was divine, the drinks free-flowing and the company warm.
and the wedding blanket?
i did manage to get it finished. sneaking out to the car between the entree and main courses.
hence why there are no photos really....
i wasn't entirely happy with the length, i wanted it to be square originally but was completely out of time! i cheated by making my outside edge trebles along either end and single crochet along the sides.
in any case, after the absolute marathon of making it in the past 3 weeks, i feel giddily free. for the entire 3 weeks, i've been saying no to and putting off things that i've desperately wanted or needed to do (sleeping in, gardening, vaccuuming, dusting and organising) and now i find myself with an entire weekend to get some of it done. the boyfriend has even offered to cook dinner tonight!
so i'm off to do some housework (and probably actually enjoy it) while i dream about my next blankie project. you can bid for it here, you even get to design it yourself! and it's all for a fantastic cause. get in quick though, it ends VERY soon!!

flood relief.

all week i've been trying to find the words to describe how horrible and awful this past week and a bit has been for our northern friends and i'm still trying. no words can fully describe it, it's horrific, horrible, horrendous.
i, as well as everyone else i'm sure, have been glued to the news, watching and re-watching the terrifying footage of cars, trucks, houses and people getting swept away in walls of water.
not to mention the terrible damage that has been left in the wake of the floods.





in a bid to try and help out the families, individuals and businesses that have lost so much in this freak of nature flood, i'm joining toni and a tonne of other bloggers and holding a flood relief auction.
my auction will start tomorrow so tune in for all the details tomorrow morning!

in the mean time, you can make donations here or call 1800 219 028.

update.

so it's been a couple of days, but i haven't really been up to anything exciting...
i've been working on the wedding blanket constantly, but that's really about it!




it's growing and growing and growing! it's well over a third of the way done now, i just hope i can get it all finished up on time! many late nights in my future i think...
well i'm off to the city for the day (blankie in hand). my parents are in town for the night yippee!
hope the start of your week is going stupendously!

the list.

even though i already wrote myself a little stack of new year goals, i thought i'd play along with tinniegirl and pop them into a nice list (i do LOVE a list).
so in no particular order...

* keep the lawn under control
* plant out the last of my planter boxes and grow some vegies worth eating.
* try and cook as many homemade dinners as possible in a week (so far i'm 5 for 5 :D).
* re-organise (and hopefully give a lick of paint to) all the cupboards (wardrobe, linen, crockery).
* become better friends with my neighbours.
* make myself some clothes.
* have people over for dinner more often.
* finish some of the unfinished embroidery/crafting projects lying around the house.
* empty the "crap" box (not actually full of crap, just things that don't necessarily have homes).
* get a tattoo.
* avoid putting on more weight. 58.9 or below this time next year. if i don't lose any, i'm cool with that, i just don't want anymore creeping on...
* get crafty things happening. crafty things that could be put in some kind of online shop.
* organise the paperwork. the boy and i have 4 super funds EACH. this needs to be rectified.
* read more.
* go on a holiday with the boy, not a big one, just some time away together.
* not get caught up on what i should be doing, live in the moment a little more.
* graduate.
* take care of myself a little better.

there, that's my list. it's something that i've been putting off writing most of the day but i'm not sure why. it was easier than i anticipated i think!
if you'd like to make a list of your own, you can link it up here.

the book list.

yesterday, i read megan's book list idea and i signed up right away!



i'm really hoping that it gets me reading more. or any. i think i'm definitely missing the thrill of escaping into another world and i definitely have no shortage of books to read (i struggle to leave an op-shop without a second hand one AND i signed up to the local library last year).
in any case, i'll be posting about any books that i read i think, and they'll all be linked up in my sidebar too, well maybe, we'll see how technical i can get...
if you'd like to play along too, pop over and visit megan.



in other news, see how lonely and sad my ripple is there? it's oh so very close to being finished. SO very close.
but i'm a bit busy at the moment. with this...



lovely specimen.
it's inspired partly by lucy's blankie and the pattern is from here. it's destined to be a wedding present for my cousin, who is getting married on january 21st. i've definitely got my work cut out for me!!!

i'll be back tomorrow with a tinniegirl inspired new years list!

postal love.

as i mentioned before i was very VERY lucky to win alli's december giveaway and i received some more fabulous prizes in the mail recently! gosh i love mail!



i received the chandelier necklace from stuff you'll love and i do SO love it! however it's sparked much debate amongst myself, the boy and my friends. the boy and a couple of my friends think it's strange as it's asymmetrical but i love it just the way it is!



the postman also brought me this cute-as-a-button beret from lisa of goodknits. if you think this hat is cute, you should see how it was wrapped!



amazing!!! how lovely are her business cards too? and that doily deco? i put it straight on the christmas tree (which i should probably take down today...)

well i'm off, i've just started a new big blankie (no, ripple blankie isn't finished yet, i'm not good at finishing things ok?) and it has a very close due date, the third weekend in january. yes, i'm crazy but it's an easy and quick pattern i swear! should be back to share tomorrow :D
until then, enjoy today's public holiday and the first day of the 5th cricket test (BLEURGH!)

and a happy new year!

hope you all had a safe and very happy new years last night and that you're not feeling too sickly this morning!
i rang in the new year on the beach with some good friends. we had music and drinks and it was all very fun, especially when the fireworks started all around the bay! after the scorcher of a day we had in melbourne, the night turned out to be amazing!

now resolutions, did you make any?
i think i'm just going to make a general motto for the year, and that motto is organisation!
i've got cupboards and boxes and bags and containers full of stuff that are all in no particular order and are pretty much everywhere! my goal this year is to get it all sorted out, then maybe when i get to crafting, i'll actually know where things are and won't have to spend my entire crafting time looking for supplies.
which leads me to the next goal, getting an online store up and running. as i mentioned yesterday, lots of ideas, little action happening. the boy and i had a good talk the other day, and as i am taking this year off study, and he is quite tech savvy, we should be able to get something up and running and off the ground in the not too distant future.
as well as those two goals, i really want to try and cook more this year. i've gotten wayyyyy too slack and takeaway is never as good as something that you can whip up at home (well most of the time anyway...). it would be great to be able to get cooking with some homegrown ingredients too. maybe with all my time at home i'll be able to get some vegie type things happening in that backyard of mine.



wishing you all a productive, joyful and safe new year!!!