Spencer and Rutherford competition!

The wonderful crew at Spencer and Rutherford are having a competition of their own!

If you don't know who they are, Spencer and Rutherford are the makers of AMAZING and ADORABLE handbags. I have a collection of them, and I take the opportunity to give them to friends when I can, because they're incredible. They always make you stand out from the crowd.

Take this bag here, for example. How astonishing is that?

It's a really large tote, and I gave it to the Sister Of My Heart as a present a couple of years ago. It's big enough to fit all her sheet music in (she plays the piano a lot and does lots of amateur musical productions) and it's stunning to boot.

At the time, I wrote a poem about the bag and popped it inside as part of the present. And it's this poem which I'm going to enter in the Spencer and Rutherford competition.

To take part, you have to go to their Facebook page and write on the wall, telling them which bag is your favourite and why. And then you're in the running to win a lovely beaded "Twiggy" evening bag, worth over $450 ... in these exact same colours! Ah, it's true serendipity. Wish me luck!

Castle Bag, o Castle Bag, how wondrous is your sight,

Castle Bag, o Castle Bag, I'll cling to you so tight.

I'll take you out in sunny days, I'll take you out in rain,

I'll take you to my musicals, and you shall hear my playing.

Your gothic towers black and bold, your clouds so fair and pale,

Your silv'ry shining moon and stars - you're like a fairy tale.

Castle Bag, o Castle Bag, how happy I shall be

When on my hearth you cast yourself, and come to live with me!

Giveaway the First

Well now, look at this. Looky here. My goodness me, this is very interesting. I wonder what's in this box?

Could this be ... a giveaway box?

Why yes, I believe it IS! It is a giveaway box!!

Thank you Fatpuss, for helping to illustrate how fantastic the surprise box is for the giveaway. Isn't he lovely, ladies and gentlemen? The inside of that box is clearly very captivating.

Today's super-duper incredible giveaway marks my one-hundred-and-oneth post. And it's because of you, lovely readers, that I have gotten this far. So the giveaway is my thank you to YOU for your support and encouragement, and for all of your fabulous crafty comments which I love to read.

As to what goes IN the mystery box ... well, you'll have to wait and see. But let me think ... hmm, I think it'll have to work the "hundred and one" theme.

So, it could be any one of the following things, for example .... how to choose, how to choose ....

• a hundred and one very small dalmations
• a jar of hundreds and thousands
• a hundred and one buttons
• a hundred-and-one year old granny to knit you 101 granny squares
• notes to my Philosophy 101 class from university
• a hundred and one secret recipes

Or it could also end up being a lazy puss who weighs about a hundred and one kilos that did not get out of the way in time before the lid was closed.

There are two ways you can enter this amazingly fantastic giveaway (and who doesn't need a hundred and one new dalmations in their life, honestly??!)

1. If you're an occasional reader or lurker, all you have to do to enter is join up as a new Follower. Simple! I have plans for world domination, you know, and I'm sure I will only manage to get there with a hefty dose of your support, spirit and enthusiasm.

2. And if you're already one of my immensely talented and wonderful followers - and I treasure and adore you if you are - you can also enter by leaving a comment on this post, or blogging about the giveaway yourself and linking back here (and letting me know via the comments section).

And that's it - enter in one of those two ways, and straightaway you're in the running to win a whole pile of wonderful. How easy is that!

The winner will be chosen at random on Saturday 23 May, by a panel of eminently experienced and impartial judges. Okay, they're the furry babies. But you couldn't ask for a more honest judge than one who works for chompies alone, even if they *are* diet ones - right Fatpuss?

Hurrah! I love surprises, don't you?