Giveaway Results and This is...

Sorry I'm rather late with this but I'm frantically trying to get stuff ready for the Truly Handmade Craft Fair on the 19th. I'm starting to panic so every spare minute is spent in my now (relatively) tidy workroom, making stuff. OH didn't get to play golf or dive at the weekend so instead I got him on the DIY. Sad for him :o( He fitted a couple of shelves into my cupboard which are fab, and put up kiddie's new curtain track.
I digress - the lucky winner of my parcel of goodies is Jennyflower. Well done chuck. If you can email me your addy I'll get it off to you. Thanks to everyone else who left comments. Some of the ideas for 80s characters were... interesting. Jennyflower said she would come as Mr T from the A-Team? Hmm... you wouldn't have thought it to look at her ;o)
OK so I'm another one of those people who has signed up for 'This is...' on Three Buttons blog. So far I've been rubbish and not posted a single picture so I felt I had to this time. The choice was really hard as I have so much stuff hoarded away. I narrowed it down to 3 things. The first is 'orange dog'. Bless him, he's never had a name. He is just to show where the creative genes come from. My mum made him Heaven knows when, but his face looks just how she draws faces if you know what I mean. He's made from lining material (I think) and has lacey curtains for ears. His eyes and tongue were felt, I say were - his tongue is long gone. He is filthy to be honest but I daren't try to wash him 'cause he might fall to pieces. Nice darning on the nose (not!).
The second exhibit is 'Tina'. Spot the orange theme. I don't know where this has come from as I don't particularly like the colour. Anyhoo - Tina is my first teddy that I had either when I was born or for my frst Christmas. He (yes that's right - it's a boy called Tina) was the teddy that went to bed with me every night. Being so big it was like having a person with me at night when I had bad dreams and stuff. Aaahh!
Originally his arms and legs were stuffed rigid but they are all floppy now, as is his nose. He has survived a few spins in the washing machine but still has that ingrained 39 years worth of cuddling look to him.
My final treasure is my baby book. (See mum - you used to hoard stuff too!!!) This has all the usual gems in it that mum collected over the years, then she passed it to me a few years ago and I have tried to add odds and ends to it as well. Many of my school reports are in there - primary and secondary school, leaver's service sheets, certificates for a baby show, swimming, gymnastics and disco dancing, even my school bus pass. It's really funny reading back through things.
This was the weirdest little thing of all, as I've just had my hair cut - my first lock of hair. It's so soft and makes me feel really strange. I have a lock of kiddie's too in her baby book. I wonder if she'll keep her book as long as I have.
I know my hoarding habit can be a pain sometimes. It drives OH mad, but when you find things like this book and take the time to read through it all, it makes me glad I do keep hold of my treasures.

I think really though, my most precious childhood possession is something that I can't post a picture of and that is my memory. Photos are great reminders of all the good times but actually remembering random little snippets can evoke the strongest feelings of all. (Sorry - I'm in danger of getting a bit heavy). I actually started a little notebook where I jotted down any sudden flashbacks so that I could keep them for when my memory isn't so good. This actually became the basis for my 2nd year HND work (although it got a bit lost along the way). The apple-throwing incident, playing stepping stones with books, the pressed butterfly in the shed, ooh the shed...

Ah - enough. This is NOT getting my bags finished. I will try to post again as I'm sure there's lots that I need to tell.

ttfn xx