Button mad and mad dog onto a winner

I am afraid that I have to warn you that this will end up being a bit of a shaggy dog story, but there are lots of pictures, so it would be nice if you could settle yourself down with a cup of tea, and a piece of cake, and join me for a little while, and I'll tell you about the giveaway, too.

My life has been quite buttony recently, and today I received these most wonderful buttons in the post from Button Mad; they are handmade, giving employment to women in South Africa, and are also quite beautiful, just the thing to make a cardi a bit special.

I also joined with Lemonade Kitty's Button Swap, when I sent out a few buttony bits and bobs to Simply Vintage, and received these lovelies in return. (Regular readers may not be surprised to hear that a princess in the vicinity has kidnapped one or two items, and might even be able to guess which ones.)

And look what I was lucky enough to receive from Sally at Tinkering Times: a mini Selvedge magazine, a fabric scrap pack, and guess what? Buttons!

Having been the recipient of such buttony wealth, I am very glad to be sending out into the world something buttony, too, and in the absence of any passing strangers today, I managed to persuaded Mad Dog to choose the winner for my giveaway.

What on earth does she want me to do now?

I have to tell you that she took some persuading, even with some carefully placed niblets in the bottom of the bowl.

Do you really want me to put my nose into that?

Does that look like enthusiasm to you?

My usual bowl is beige ... 

She took more than a little encouragement.

I am just not used to this sort of thing.

The clincher was a reordering of the biscuity bribe ...

... just to make it clear that nothing sinister was going on, and that I had not hidden a mop under all those scary bits of paper.

I thought she wanted me to eat those nasty little white biscuits ...

At long last, we got the idea and the maddest dog in the world managed to pick a winner.

And even began to show enthusiasm for the task in hand ...

Have you got any more of those nice bits of paper under here?

But sadly on this occasion there is only one winner.

 Lola Nova you have won a copy of Button Jewellery by Marrianne Mercer - congratulations!

And if you haven't won today, then don't worry, you can get your own copy here - and what is more, I have another very exciting giveaway coming up very soon, so all is not lost, and tomorrow is another day ...