Sunday, January 30, 2011

::WINNERS::

Firstly, thank you everyone who entered my giveaway I was super excited to have the opportunity to bring you this giveaway and hopefully there might me more in the future!

So, I decided that the old hand in the bowl would be a fun way to draw the winners, so here you go:
And the First Prize Winner of $200 Gift Voucher goes to.............
Yay Cherry!!!

And now on to the second draw...
And the Second Prize of a $50 Gift Voucher goes to............
Yay Posie!!!!

I will be in contact with both winners by email!
Big thanks to Quantum Finish Dishwashing Tablets and Soup (Don't forget to join up to become a Soup Mama too!)


Saturday, January 29, 2011

Last Chance for $250.00!!!!!!


Later tonight I will be drawing the winners from my Soup/Quantum Finish Dishwashing Tablets giveaway so be sure to get an entry in!!! There are very good odds at the moment and who wouldn't want $250 worth of gift vouchers to spend on themselves - I know I would - pity I can't enter :(
So scroll on down (or click here)and read the post, answer an easy question and then get your entry in!

Winners will be revealed tomorrow!

Saturday, January 22, 2011

The Outcome - and do you want to win $250?????




My oh my doesn't time just get away from you? I was spose to post this days ago, but low and behold life got in the way and it just never happened. But fear not here it is.

Now, I know you all must be sitting on the edge of your seats to see if this dish got clean? (ok, so you probably aren't but you can humour me can't you?)

Well, the outcome is this.......
Yes, it is clean! Yay! Needless to say Finish Quantum is a pretty nifty little dishwashing tablet, and it is true what they say (Finish and FatMumSlim, if you read her blog), the inside of the dishwasher really does sparkle after using these tablets, so of course that only means good things for your glassware and cutlery. All in all, I think it is pretty good, and would buy it again.

Now for the exciting stuff!!! So my friends at Soup and Finish have given me $250 to give away to you my readers! And the way that I have decided to distribute it is in two prizes as follows:
  • First prize is a $200 Voucher of your choice (please make it somewhere that the voucher can be purchased ONLINE)
  • Second prize is a $50 Voucher of your choice (again ONLINE please)
How cool is that! You could use it to get that bag that you wanted at Myer or that gorgeous dress from Witchery, Or perhaps a Body Treatment at Endota? Going on holiday? would a voucher from Flight Centre be a big help? or perhaps you need a late night shop in your pj's at your favourite online store? Well as long as they have vouchers available online then it's yours!!

So, what do you have to do?
  1. Become a Follower of my blog
  2. Leave a comment on this post telling me "What is amazing for you... every single time?" (Finish Quantum thinks their product is amazing every time, but wants to know what you find amazing? Paul thinks diving into the ocean is amazing every time. I think going to the toilet ALONE is amazing every time - cause it doesn't happen often!)
  3. Tell me where you would want your voucher from (you can change your mind at a later date, if you win, I am just curious where everyone would choose)
The Boring Bits:

Only one entry per person
You must be an Australian Resident - sorry to all my international readers :(
Competition is open until next Saturday 29 January at 9pm
Winner will be drawn randomly either via that random number computer thingo or by a little hand out of a big bowl!
Winner must leave an email address or must check back to see if they are the winner and make contact within 7 days or the prize will be re-drawn

Ok, so that is it! Good Luck and make sure you enter and leave your comment, I can't wait to see who the lucky winners will be!



Auction Update :: Please Read::


::Auction Update:: Both of my Auctions will now be finishing at 9pm on Monday 24th January not midnight as was previously stated.

Don't forget to bid on my Auctions to raise money for the Queensland Flood Victims.

Go here to bid on the auction for Two of my Oilcloth Lunch Sacks

and here to bid on the Two FQ's of FMF Seeds!!!

Still time to bid, and don't forget to bid generously for this great cause! I can't wait to see if I win some of the Auctions I have put bids in for - wish I could afford the Anna Maria Horner Quilt that she is Auctioning. How awesome are all this international peoples helping out little old Australia!!!!


Sunday, January 16, 2011

Queensland Flood Relief Auction Number 2 : Lunch Sacks!


My second auction for the Queensland Flood Relief appeal is for 2 of my very popular Oilcloth Lunch Sacks. You get to choice whichever 2 you would like from my current range, and you can let me know once I advise who has the winning bid.
These are excellent for school lunches and with school going back very soon you will be very organised. They have a rrp of $30 for the 2. So again this is for a great cause and start bidding!


How this auction works:
1. Bidding will start at $20 (Australian).
2. You can
place a bid by leaving a comment on this blog post with your bid amount and email address. Please make sure that your bid is higher than the previous bidder.
3. Your bid must be in
whole dollar increments.
4. This auction is
open to everyone. Postage is FREE for Australian and International Residents.
5. The auction begins
NOW and will END at midnight on Monday 24th January 2011.
6. At the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (please make sure your bid comment includes your email address). The winner will pay the winning amount directly into the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal and send her proof of payment via email. Once proof of payment has been received, I will post your Lunch Sacks to you.
8. Thankyou for participating and happy bidding!

Queensland Flood Relief Auction Number 1 : Flea Market Fancy!!!



Ok, Here is the first of the 2 Auctions that I will be running to aid the Queensland Flood. Up for grabs is 2 Fat Quarters from the coveted Flea Market Fancy line by Denyse Schmidt. This range is way OOP (out of print) and is soooooooo hard to come by, believe me, I love it and it has taken me a long time to find some and I still only have about a quarter of the prints. Not only is it FMF (Flea Market Fancy), but it is two of the Seeds prints in the Pink and Gold! So bid now and bid high! It is for a great cause that is so essential right now, and we will help my little home town get back on its feet.
How this auction works:
1. Bidding will start at $20 (Australian).
2. You can
place a bid by leaving a comment on this blog post with your bid amount and email address. Please make sure that your bid is higher than the previous bidder.
3. Your bid must be in
whole dollar increments.
4. This auction is
open to everyone. Postage is FREE for Australian and International Residents. The auction begins NOW and will END at midnight on Monday 24th January 2011.
6. At the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (please make sure your bid comment includes your email address). The winner will pay the winning amount directly into the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal and send me proof of payment via email. Once proof of payment has been received, I will post your fabrics to you.
8. Thankyou for participating and happy bidding!

Will it come off??


I have been sampling lots of products for Soup over the last couple of years and it is awesome when I get something new in the mail to try and to share with others. This time however they have asked me to blog about it and so that can only mean good things for you - my readers!

So the product that I am trialing at the moment is Finish Quantum, the latest dishwashing tablet. The claim is that this is the latest, most premium product for dishwashing and that the shine will be amazing. I am going to test it out on this casserole dish that has a red tomato based sauce baked into it and we will see how we go!

I will be back tomorrow with the results - in the meantime you should definitely go and check out Soup, they need people of all demographics to test new products and services on the market and it is heaps of fun. Also, if you use a dishwasher and you live in Australia I would be happy to pop a sample in the mail for you - just post a comment or drop me an email at: megan@edanrose.com.au then you can let me know what you thought of the product too.

And lastly, and the best bit if you ask me, is that there is also going to be a giveaway, all the details will be in the next post when I reveal whether or not the tablets worked and just quietly the prize is $250 worth of vouchers!!!! courtesy of the lovely folks at Soup and Finish Quantum!

So, watch out for tomorrows post!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Queensland Flood Relief


Toni from Make it Perfect has organised a whole bunch of bloggers and crafters to run auctions and sales to raise money for the Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal. You can go and check out her blog for the list of everyone who is being involved. Most sales will start on Monday but some are underway now. So get involved and give generously to a really worthwhile cause.

Brisbane is my hometown and I am just at an absolute loss watching all the images on the tv of places that I have been a million times and suburbs I have lived in, restaurants that I have eaten at, roads I have driving on, car-parks I have parked in and bridges I have walked over, venues where I have some of the happiest memories of my life - like our wedding and friend's weddings, riverfront parks where we have had the kids birthdays are in a state of absolute devastation and I just don't know how they can ever recover. I feel so helpless being here and not knowing how our friends and family are coping, and our little house that is fortunately not in an affected area, but it is in such a low area and I just have my fingers crossed that it is not going to end up suffering in some way.

Anyway, I will put my auction post up over the weekend and please come back and give generously, the people of Queensland really need our help.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Sew It Together 2011 :: Name Tag Swap



Who is excited about Sew It Together 2011?? I know I am! I have taken on the challenge of organising this years Name Tag Swap. Judging by all of the great name tags that were swapped last year I know this is going to be a success and produce some beautiful swaps! So read on for all the important Info and then leave a comment to SIGN UP!

Guidelines are as follows:

Name tag is to be no larger than 9cm in any direction - shape is completely up to you.

Name tags will include first name only. Make sure you email me with the name you would like to appear on the tag and the correct spelling! (Blog names will be included on the access pass that you will be issued with at the event).

The Name Tag should be in made in the colours Yellow, Orange and Brown (Chocolate for those of you who can't stand brown!) as these are the 2011 theme colours.

Name tags must have a safety pin or a brooch finding on the back. They will be attached to a lanyard that you will be issued with at the event. Preferably the pin should be positioned vertically but if the dimensions of your badge require it to be horizontal that is fine too.

You can make your Name Tag using any medium you like, However, as this is SEW IT TOGETHER the only thing that we ask is that your name tag be sewn/stitched in some way. I have put together a mosaic of some of the Name Tags that were swapped at last years event to give you some inspiration, but get creative and try something new. You could use fabric, yarn, embroidery, applique, hexies, quilting, flowers, circles, shapes, crochet, ribbons, buttons, paint, paper, polymer clay the options are endless as long as some part is sewn!!


This is a secret swap so make sure that you keep the details of your swap partner a secret until after your Tag has been received by them. And remember to post pics of your received Name Tags to the Flickr page that was created for last years event which you will find here

Ok, the dates:

Sign ups close here on 28 JANUARY

Partner will be allocated and information sent out by 31 JANUARY

Completed Name Bags must be sent out to your partner no later than 4 MARCH

Please let me know if you run into any trouble or if you are going to be late sending your Name Tag as we want to have all participants with a Tag before the event.

Also please email me at megan@edanrose.com.au and advise when you have sent/or received your Name Tag so I can keep a track of where everyone is at.


So, what to do from here?

Comment below if you would like to be involved, and then send an email to me - megan@edanrose.com.au with the following details:
Name to appear on badge, Full Name & Mailing Address.

You will receive an email from me at the end of the month advising you of your partners details and then it is all up to you!

Don't forget to post your pics on the Flickr page and watch my blog or the SIT blog/facebook page for any updates and if you have any questions let me know.

Most of all, get creative and have fun!
Look forward to meeting you at SIT!!!


Friday, January 7, 2011

Alphabet Cushion


I had seen a cushion like this on some design blog (sorry can't remember where) and the person was selling them for well over $100.00 and I thought it looked so cool and I knew that my little words and letter man Oscar would just love it, and that I could make it for a fraction of that price.

It was very easy to make - I just enlarge a basic font in word and printed that out, traced the letters onto some Steam a Seam 2 and then ironed them on to various colours of felt, cut them out, pealed off the second layer of the steam a seam and then positioned them evenly across a piece of Essex Linen in Natural and ironed them into place. I then free motion stitched around each letter in the corresponding coloured thread attached a zip to the backing which was a navy blue and white polka dot cotton that I had, stitched the two together and it was done.

Very easy and yet very striking. It was originally going to be a Christmas present, but I ran out of time so it was more of a new year surprise.

He was so happy with it and of course the older sister wants one now too, which of course I should have known.

I have decided to include it in the Bloggers Pillow Party over at Stitched in Color, so if you want to check out some other very creative cushions then go and take a look!

Blogger's Pillow Party

Sunday, January 2, 2011

New Year, New Blog???

Well here we are in 2011, can you believe it? The years just seem to fly by so quickly these days, and I am sure with kids getting older and more involved in extra activities it will only feel like they are getting shorter and shorter. So, obviously I was not true to my word about blogging more, so I am hopeful that this being a new year, that my blog will become a New Blog too, and will get the love and attention I have always wanted it to have but have just always found something more time consuming to do instead of it!

So I will give you a bit of a wrap up for for the year, as so many bloggers out there are doing it and I am really quite enjoying going back through the year and reminiscing with everyone out there in the blogosphere what the year was all about.

So here goes:

January
Started to make my Oilcloth Lunch Sacks which to date I think I am approaching my 200th Lunch Sack so they have definitely proved to be very popular.

February


Made these reversible jackets for the girls, which I have now started selling as well. Can't remember for the life of me what was going on back then other than by looking at photos and they aren't giving away much either. I do know that I was suffering from PND at this time and was medicated and seeing a shrink so it wasn't the greatest time in my year that is for sure. Feeling so much better now though and really hated calling it PND, because I feel it had nothing to do with India herself, but was more a situational depression, being stuck in Adelaide with no family and friends for support and having a third child was a whole new kettle of fish, and finding out that I was pregnant with number 4 did not fill me with the greatest of happiness in that state of mind. ( In hindsight it was absolutely the most wonderful thing and Willow is just the light of my life), but anyway we will move on to times in the year!

March
India turned 1!!! She is just so beautiful and those eyes and eyelashes just make you melt!
Did a few the Goodwood Mums and Bubs Market and created a few new products in the EanRose Line up.

April

Participated in a Pincushion swap, Above is what I made to send to my partner, and of course I have never taken a pic of what I received because I am slack but it was a very cute Pear and I use it every day. Tried to get a good photo of everyone together but as you can see from above that is a very hard thing to do! Took Stellsy to see the Gruffalo at the Dunstan Playhouse and see loved it, I really enjoy taking her to these sorts of things, she is at the perfect age now, to have the concentration to sit still for the whole time.

May





May produced a buddy little artist who even got her artwork featured on the Kindy Newsletter. Very Proud! I also participated in the Urban Home Goods Swap and the second pic is what I received - a Beautiful Sewing Machine Cover and some other goodies, I made my partner the Apron and the little fabric scrap bin, I was really happy with how the apron turned out and my partner seemed to like it too so all in all it was a great swap. At Brown Owls I learnt a new craft - Kanzashi Flowers, these were a lot of fun, and one day I plan on making some more. May was also spent at the beach taking lots of walks but rugged up as it was pretty cold, and Stella and Oscar have really started to become great little friends.

June

June saw Oscar turn 3! He is such a lovely little boy and keeps thrilling us everyday with everything that comes out of that little brain - he is happy to recite the Alphabet not only forwards but backwards also without any hesitation and his comedic timing is just superb! Also In June I had a market at the Gallery One at Mitcham Open Day, this was very successful and I got lots of great feedback on my wares.

July




I did my first Mathilda's Market and it was fantastic, had heaps of sales and heaps of follow up, they are quite an expensive outlay but totally worth it! July was also when I used the girls as models for my jackets and as you can see from these photos they got pretty sick of it after a while - it is so hard to take good photos so that they represent your stock in the best possible light - other than using a professional photographer which is a little out of my budget at the moment. The belly shot is me at 32 weeks and Stella took this pic which I thought was not too bad. Went and watched the Twilight Marathon on the eve of Eclipse being released, it was quite good to see them back to back like that, but being at the movies for over 6 hours by yourself with hundreds of twihard teenie boopers was not all that cool. And another swap took place, this time the Pillow Talk Swap number 3, this was the cushion that I sent to my partner whose name was Linnea, hence the stitching on the front (this is also her fab photo which I have borrowed from her flickr - hope you don't mind if you are reading this Linnea), I received this very funky Cathedral Window Cushion from Megan at Lucy and Norman (again this is Megan's phot), I always drool over what she creates so I was super excited when I saw her name on the envelope!

August



Well of course August was the greatest month of all as this little princess entered our lives! Willow Evie Kay was born 2 weeks early (never gone early before!) and she weighed in at a very healthy 4.455kg or 9 pound 13. Other than that excitement , I had a birthday and now am 33 years old - god that sounds so old, where has my youth gone?? Mum came and stayed - she was meant to be here for the birth so that she could look after the other 3 kids, but seen as though Willow decided to arrive 2 weeks early Mum wasn't here yet, so all the kids came with us and sat in the waiting room while Willow was born and then straight after they were in the delivery suite with us, so it really was a family affair!

September








Stella turned 5 and we had a Rainbow themed party for her, which is when I made the biggest Rainbow cake possible! Mum also celebrated her birthday with us and I made Pineapple Cupcakes which were really yummy. Stella also graduated kindy and we will miss her fabulous Kindy teachers, we will however be seeing them soon when Oscar starts at Kindy in February.
I participated in yet another swap - this time the Urban Home Goods Swap #2 and this is the Sewing Machine Cover that I made for my partner, it is fully reversible and had lots of yummy Orange fabrics on the inside which she said were her favourite, I also made her some bunting in alot of the same fabrics, but of course I never took a photo of that! Stella went to "Kinderchefs" in the school holidays and made an Apple, Zucchini and Chocolate Muffin with a Cream Cheese, honey and beet root juice icing,(take note of the stools that she is sitting on in the pic as you will see a make over I did on them in the next months news. And once again trying to get a good picture of the kids proved near impossible!

October




October - Stella started School! Can't believe I am the mother of a School Girl! Seems like just a moment ago she was born.
Did a make over on the previously mentioned Bar Stools, so now they are very kid friendly with there Oilcloth Covers.
I decided to go back to being a red-head and PK had 4 weeks of work and grew some facial hair! And our 3 beautiful girls just got bigger and more stunning by the day. (And so did Oz, but I don't have any pics of him to post this month!)
Think I had a market or two in October as well.

November



In November I got a new baby - Rory. She is my brand spanking new Bernina 440QE Aurora (hence the Rory), I have been wanting this little baby since last year when I went to a class and almost everyone had one, but she is an expensive lass so I had to wait a bit longer. I have had one lesson on her and I am learning new things every time I use her, can't wait to do some big jobs on her.
Stella got her first award at school and had to go up in front of the school at assembly, she was pretty proud of herself which was awesome. She also had her dancing concert - hence all the heavy eye makeup in that photo, I didn't actually get any photos of her in costume which is a bugger, must have had too many things swirling around in my head at the time. And I got her to do some more modelling for me of some new Jackets and this is one of the funniest looks I had to share it with you all!
Attended another Mathilda's Market which was another successful day for EdanRose!

December









December consisted of more Markets, Family visiting and Christmas. Did a Christmas Card swap and the pic is of the cards that I made. (haven't taken pics of the ones I received - still waiting on one). I also completed the Pillow Talk Swap 4 and though it is a crappy photo taken very late at night due to being on a deadline, I was quite happy with the outcome based on my partners taste. I received a gorgeous cushion in greys and yellows, which of course I have not yet taken a photo of, so that will have to be for a post at a later date.

So, 2010 started out crappy and ended up pretty bloody good, I have a lovely husband, 4 absolutely to die for kids, friends, family and loads of things to be grateful for. Of course nothing is ever perfect and things could always be better but, you have to make do with what you have and find the bright side in every situation. And look at my beautiful baby girl Willow, she was by far the absolute best thing to come out of 2010.

Wow, I can't believe the size of this post - guess it makes up for the slack blogging all the rest of the year. I will be back in the next couple of days to post all I want to achieve in the next year ( like the idea of having them written down so it might make me ore accountable for them), and also I have a Sponsored give-away to announce very soon too, so that is super exciting!!! And it is a fantastic prize, and you only have to leave a comment so make sure you stop back again soon. Until then, thanks for sharing the year that was with me.

Megs xxxxxxx