The truth about clutterpunk... and giveaway winners.

OK guys. Thanks for amusing me much with your giveaway comments and your theories on why I named my blog clutterpunk. 


Without further ado, the at-random winners are:

#1 Patch Andi - first comment, first prize. Huh. And she made a good fist of articulating what clutterpunk is, so yay. Andi, the bag is yours, and will come with some bits and bobs to add to your groaning stash. 

#4 James - harrumph, not happy. James, friend and neighbour who joins us for pizza and mocks my offspring every Sunday night, succinctly summed up my blog as 'Cluttered, punk'. And he would know. So anyway James, I'm not really going to count you. I already take up your trousers for you. OK, I will grudgingly make you an item of your choice, but I'm drawing two other winners anyway.

#62 Cathie (m.e) - lovely! I'm already making you stuff in my head as I write this post. And dreaming of eating your cupcakes.

#57 apronstringz - oooh, an international entrant wins a prize! And from one of my favourite new blog reads. Clearly, it is going to be very tempting to send you an apron... let's talk first though.

So there you have it. Now for the truth about clutterpunk...

Of course I'm struggling now to be able to explain, in a pithy sentence, this choice of
name for my blog. It is a name which has many layers of meaning for me, all rather pretentious! Here's a bit of insight:

My beloved and I. Yes, I do have a grey-tipped right eyebrow, and no, I did NOT bleach it to be that way. But I do flaunt it proudly. 

The clutter: I was the messiest child ever. The year-old-moldy-sandwich-under-the-bed type. Once I hit my twenties I started figuring out the connection between my state of mind and my floor, and got working on the mind bit. The floor is gradually improving.

Creatively, I quite like the cluttered, eclectic look and the cosy vibe it evokes. I think it's healthy to cope with a bit of mess, and I'm not terribly interested in keeping a neat house for the sake of appearances. But I just can't get away with the moldy-sandwich-as-art bit now that I'm all growed up, you know what I'm saying?

The punk:  Who is Sid Vicious?!!! I'm a classically-trained cellist. So not punk. But I have played with various bands (try-hard punk) and now also play bass guitar (punk that!). Err, mainly at my church though (punk fail!!!).

But... insofar as being a punk suggests rebelling against the established order, I'm certainly finding my inner punk when it comes to consuming, fashion, homemaking and all that. Not to mention my preference for rebelling and punking things up when it comes to following any type of sewing pattern :)

And clutterpunk? Well, apart from combining the above ideas, I did just like the sound of it. As Nic said, it sounds like clunking away on an old typewriter. Lovely... particularly because the font I chose for my labels and stamp is called mom's typewriter.

Thanks for playing!

One year of clutterpunk... a 'thank-you' giveaway

I started this blog one year ago today. (April 1st - foolish, no?!).

I just went back to read my first post, in order to remember why I started this blog. And, unbelievably, I discovered that my core aims for blogging have indeed been the ones I have focussed on! These were:

1. To live more creatively

2. To live more sustainably

3. To create more sustainably.

Now the ways in which I have been exploring, and fulfilling, these aims during the past year are many and varied, and I will save for further posts a more detailed round-up of my growth (or not) as a crafter and a sustainable homemaker. 

The main point of this post is to say thank you! I did not at all expect to have so many readers join me on this blog, nor did I at all expect the astounding level of interaction, community, and real life friendship that has come from blogging.

So here's a little thank you giveaway for you. It's open to readers of this blog from anywhere.

The main prize will be this coffee-sack market bag, which I had great fun making last week:

This bag will come to you with some goodies included, but these goodies will be tailored to the winner and will depend on who you are, what you like and where you live.

There will be two other prizes as well, but you'll just have to wait in suspense to see what those are!!

To enter, leave a comment, and answer me this: why do you think I called my blog 'clutterpunk'? Do I like clutter or hate it? Am I a punk? Do you care? This post might give you some clues. Don't worry, I will not choose the winner on the basis of accuracy...most likely I will employ random.org. But I DO want something interesting to read in the comments!

Anyway, thanks again... without you guys, the journey so far would've been a whole lot less satisfying.

Freecycling vs blogcycling...

(Scroll down if you want to get to the point!)

So I joined Freecycle earlier this year. Do you Freecycle?

For years now I've culled unwanted stuff by giving it away to friends and charities. I'm not very interested in selling on Ebay - I'm not sure that any money made would be worth the effort, and I think giving stuff away for free - even precious stuff - helps me to chip away at materialistic tendencies that lurk around inside me.

Still, sometimes it's hard to find a taker, or to get stuff to an op-shop. The benefit of Freecycle is that you're able to 'advertise' your stuff to a wide group of local people and thus will usually find a taker, who will arrange to pick it up - very swiftly! - at your convenience. Furthermore, people on Freecycle seem to want to take all sorts of crappy stuff off your hands.

"Empty DVD cases? Sure, I'll pick them up tonight!"

"Broken TV? I'd love it!" Strange, but true...

So far, I've found Freecycle a fantastic way to divest our house of things that aren't being loved and used. The things I've listed have been taken away within hours. It's kind of weird though. Melbourne Freecycle uses a 'Yahoo Groups' system and it's really clunky. You get several emails a day listing stuff that's offered, wanted or taken. From the swift responses I've had, I get the impression that there are some Freecyclers sitting at the computer all day, ready to pounce on whatever you're offering. Then it's up to YOU to decide who is 'worthy' of your old feather duster/bag of computer cables/copy of Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus.

Of course, I also like getting second-hand stuff for free, and I though perhaps Freecycle might prove to be a fruitful source of creative materials and tools. I'd heard of people getting amazing material stashes on Freecycle, and I wondered about finding an unloved overlocker.

Yeah... not so much. I've asked for a few things, but to no avail. And anything I've put my hand up for, I've had no response. Clearly, I haven't quite hit on the formula for responding to posts. I think you probably need to have a combination of heart-rending story and superhuman pick-up speed:

"Oh, I totally want and need your limbless Cabbage Patch Doll for my amputee daughter to play with. I can be there as soon as you want, in fact I'm sitting outside your house right now, yep that's me, staring eerily at you outside the kitchen window..."

The point...
Anyway, I have two items that I was going to Freecycle, but then I figured I may as well ask if anyone who reads this blog might like a look-in. Blogcycling, yeah.

1. The first is a Melbourne-only blogcycle - our Breville Breadmaker, in great condition and with instruction/recipe book. You would need to be able to pick it up from Brunswick (but at your convenience)!

2. The second I'm happy to post Australia-wide. It's a hug-a-bub baby sling, only used a few times.

First come first served for either (no sob stories required!). If no one wants them, I know there's probably a Freecycler already sitting outside my window just waiting, waiting for the word...

We have winners!

Thanks y'all for entering my birthday giveaway. I really enjoyed getting so many responses, it was so interesting to read your 'soapbox' thoughts and find out what goes on in those creative brains! There were a mixture of hot topics - funny, poignant, thought-provoking, angry. I'll be revisiting a few of them.

Anyway, we have winners! Four winners in fact... I was quite overcome with the number of entries (40) and decided I had enough loot for 4 peeps instead of 3. I decided to try the old 'scrawl-on-paper-and-draw-out-of-bowl' method of picking winners, which produced THIS:

So here are the winners - and I thought I'd share their moment on the 'soapbox' with you all too.

1. Melanie (M*) - you were drawn out first so you get dibs on the Mixtape subscription.

I'd like to see Ang Suu Kyi freed, Mugabe gone, peace in Israel/Palestine, Tibet free, Shirin Ebadi's free Iran, female oppression and circumcision a thing of the past, poverty eradicated,world wide united front on climate change, Obama to make a serious difference, more people leaving their cars at home, religious tolerance, racial tolerance, bugger it - more tolerance overall, more compassion, more equality and the couch grass in my garden die off so that maintaining my vegie patch is no longer a depressing lost cause.

2. Becclebee (Marjoryjane) wins the KeepCup, vintage serviettes and some fabric.

So many people seem to live thoughtless lives. they just do whatever, without a thought about the impacts their actions make on the world around them. this goes to so many of the issues - throwaway fashion / excess packaging / endless consumerism / i could go on and on and on. that is why i think sometime for reflection is really important - thinking about you life and the choices you make and the importance of trying to live a thoughful life.

3. Clairebee (Bear Among Bees) gets the brooch, scarf and fabric envelopes. (Clearly it's all about having 'bee' on the end of your name!)

I've been getting on my soapbox lately about a feeling of societal pressure to spend more hours at work...sometimes in jobs that smother creativity, or perhaps in a job that is enjoyed but at the expense of time with loved ones :sigh

4. Bek (Red Chocolate) wins the vintage sewing patterns and some pretty fabrics from my stash.

I have a soap box in construction about the same issue as Cravings Frocks. I am sick of buying clothes that fall apart, the term "disposable fashion" is a good one... but worse than that wondering about the conditions under which my cheapie clothes are made. I don't know that much about it yet, blogland has really opened my eyes to this issue. Is there "Fair trade clothing" like chocolate/tea/coffee?

Thanks guys. Shoot me an email with your addresses :-)

Giveaway reminder (and gratuitous kiddy shot)

Just a heads-up that I'll be drawing winners for my birthday giveaway today. I've thoroughly enjoyed reading the 'soapbox' comments and learning a little more about what people are passionate about. Still time to enter - you could score yourself a Mixtape subscription or one of two 'party bags' containing thrifted and handmade goodies. Please just make sure you are contactable via blog or email so I can let you know if you win!

And now for the gratuitous pics:

Last Friday, I 'celebrated' my birthday with 3am start to the day thanks to this fella, my little Charlie. One of the sweetest-natured kids by day, but a terror by night.

This Friday, I'm a different person. He's been sleeping at night ALL WEEK. Hallelujah! Thank you Charlie-B-Bear, little Pudding.

BUMPER BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY

I'm 32 today. Yes, it's an unremarkable milestone, but as is my birthday tradition in recent times I have allowed myself some reflection on the year behind me. And it occurs to me that this past year has been one of the most significant in my life. To celebrate, I'm holding a giveaway. As a child I used to love assembling the party bags to give to my birthday guests - essentially, this is my Big Girl's Party Bag equivalent.

I would have liked to preface this giveaway by indulging in some public navel-gazing and a retrospective of the paradigm-shifts and growth that has occurred since my last birthday. Navel-gazing in the areas of ethical consumption, sustainable living, contented and generous living, and other soap-boxes! But, as usual, life with two small insomniacs has rudely interrupted, and so you are spared my rantings. But just you wait, dear reader... just you wait...

Meanwhile, A GIVEAWAY. OK, so there are three party bags up for grabs.

The first is a one-year subscription to Mixtape Zine.


Most of you are probably already familiar, if not already subscribed, to this great little zine about making time for the small things. In its creators' own words, mixtape is 'a collision of craft, eco-cool and pop culture kitsch'. If you're not, then put your hand up for this one! I love it, and I want you to love it too.

The other two 'party bags' will receive a share of the following loot, and a few other little crafty bits and pieces that I didn't have time to photograph...

Some great vintage patterns:

This felt brooch:
This KeepCup - an eco-friendly reusable coffee cup, to keep your coffee hot and your planet cool!


A set of fabric 'envelopes' in lovely vintage fabrics:

Some thrifted serviettes and a vintage French scarf:

Phew!

To enter, leave me a comment and tell me something YOU'D like to get on your soap-box about. It can be anything, really - I'm interested to know what makes you all tick.

OOPS, forgot to add that this giveaway is open for a week - will pick the winners next Friday Aug 7th, at random :-)

Winter WINNERS

As promised, today I'm drawing my Wintry Giveaway winners.

Not from the cup above, obviously. Otherwise the winners would all be... um... ME. Rather, I employed trusty Random.org to pick the winners from the 25 entries. Thanks each of you for your entries - I loved reading your evocative descriptions of what you enjoy about winter. They made me feel so cosy on the inside!

So, without further ado:

The scarf goes to no2, dillpickle. I happen to know ms. dillpickle in 'real life' and only recently she was complaining to me that she never wins anything. Well, there you go, ms. dillpickle. Quit yer belly-achin'. And get a move on with starting your own blog, I say!

The first Swiney goes to no8, Tania (of Myrtle & Eunice fame). Tania, I wonder what might befall a certain store if you pin a Swiney to your newest creation. The mind boggles!

The second Swiney winner is no1, Curlypops. How lucky is this woman? She had a spate of winnings back about a month ago and I thought, there's no way she'll win anything here, she's posted no1 (which statistically is no less likely to win than any other number, of course, but it just feels less likely.) But there you go... randomness prevailed.

Winners, I'll be in touch via email in order to get your postal details and send out your wintry prizes!

Wintry Giveaway!

I love winter. And I'm thrilled that it's raining. That car park out the back of our flat really needs watering!! Wilski the toddler is eyeing off the car park puddles with ever-increasing glee. I'm sensing a water-logged outing some time this afternoon... if I can be bothered getting us all out of our pyjamas, that is.

Anyway... I'd like to have a giveaway, for no reason really so let's just say it's to celebrate the lovely and very-much-needed rain falling in Melbourne today.

First 'prize' is a scarf. It's made from wool fabric with some appliqued red Aunty Cookie Knit One fabric detail. It's not yet finished but it will look much like the scarf above with red detail - the bottom two pictures show you the kind of length and width.

Second and third prize are Swineys. Because you might as well get the Swine 'Flu Virus along with the rest of Victoria! Check out my previous posts if you wish to see what these little pieces of winter whimsy are...

So, if you're up for a toasty scarf or a Swiney, please comment below and tell me what you love (or not) about winter. I'll pick winners at random on June 17 in one week's time. You don't have to be a follower or anything but make sure I can contact you via a blog or email.

NB despite the wintry theme, this is open to international readers. If indeed they exist!! :-P