And the vintage fabric scrap pack winners are....drum roll!

And the first winner is.....Ruby-Jo! Congratulations!

Her commend: I love scrap fabric because well...I love fabric. Scrap fabric forces you to think of ideas that you might not have come up with if you had a large piece of it.

And the second winner is...jodesmac! Congratulations, too!

Her commend: I (particularly) love scrap (vintage) fabric because i make kids t-shirts with a vintage look. I love creating a little bit of nostalgia with just a little bit of fabric, it goodness and cuteness.

I shall get in touch with both of you to get your details - or, if you read this first, feel free to email us :) - we hope you love your scrap packs!

Quilting with scrap vintage fabrics

Cretonnes, originally uploaded by pompomrouge.

I love the look of this quilt. I tried quilting years ago (by hand - I had to be traditional), but by the time I finished a pillow the novelty had worn off. Now I am looking at it again and the creative bug has got me. Aren't the designs and colours in this quilt amazing???

I am drawing the winner of the inspiration swatch pack soon - winner announced tomorrow!

Five easy ways to get organised!

I won Sorted on Peta's blog last week and it arrived in the mail today. I love it already - it's chock-a-block (am I channelling Steve Irwin?) full of handy hints to make life so much easier. I also signed up for the Sorted email and that was also full of wonderful ideas, like the following...

Make finding things easy

Are you forever losing your keys, wallet, mobile or sunglasses? The easy solution is to create a 'landing strip' near the front door at home (a hallway is perfect). Or if you're at work, the return on your desk or atop the filing cabinet is a good spot too.

The trick here is consistency. Always place these items in the same spot and you'll never waste time or energy looking for them again! A small shelf or hooks near the door can also be a good way to go. Frustrating, time wasting problem: easy solution!

Do it now!

Will your task take less than two minutes? Do it now. I personally love to flick all the quick, easy little jobs out of the way so I can properly on the bigger stuff. It's a sure-fire way to help increase your focus on larger projects

Get real about your shopping habits

Do you find yourself purchasing items just because they're cheap rather than because you really need them? I made this mistake back in April when I purchased a beautiful pair of black patent, Moschino stilletto heels in Target in America for a tiny $7. Apart from probably being sweatshop produced (I feel bad about that), I remember I said to my friend at the time, "it doesn't matter if I never wear them, they are such a bargain".

Well guess what? It does matter. Despite those shoes being an incredible purchase, I am not a high heel wearer unless it's a very dressy affair. But I didn't even wear these shoes the glamorous wedding I attended on Saturday!

This tip is plain and simple: just cos it's cheap, doesn't mean you should buy it. Unwanted possessions = clutter and it's just another item adding to the pile you have to dispose of. It's easier to avoid gleaning than to have to declutter later.

More prepping for Christmas

Ok, you are seriously running out of time! Get cracking with your Christmas prep. Here's a few more suggestions of things to attend to:

• purchase of any non-perishable entertaining items; alcohol, chips, soft drinks, serviettes, etc
• order of ham/turkey etc from the butchers.
  
• finish sending your christmas cards
• put the decorations up (and diarise to take them down in January!)
• finalise travel and accommodation arrangements

Preventative measures

Louis Pasteur said "Fortune favours the prepared mind." So much of being organised, to me, is about being pro-active and preventing stresses, avoiding time wasters and deflecting possible expenses. It's easy when you know how!

A good example of planning ahead to avoid a drama of something as simple as a keyboard cover for your computer. I'm afraid I have spilt a drink over my keyboard in the past, and bingo, that just cost me $90 plus the time and energy to purchase the replacement.

Be proactive and protect your keyboard! Learn from my mistake! It's a simple investment and prices start from around $15...
www.protectcovers.com
www.kbcovers.com
www.iskin.com/protouch_apple_keyboard/

I hope you like the little hints from Lissanne of Sorted - the book really has inspired me to 'clean up my act' so to speak...life really is so much better without clutter and with good planning!