Mar 26th 2009 07:09:41 am

Hello swappers! We just wanted to let everyone know that Swap-bot headquarters are (right now, as we speak) moving to New York City. Your friendly admin, Travis & Rachel (plus the site mascot, Crusher), are currently traveling across the country and will soon be settling in Brooklyn. Swap-bot email support may be a little delayed during the next two weeks, but we do plan to keep on working on site throughout the move.

If you want to follow along on our adventure, check out Rachel’s personal website: r. l. j. art.

9 Comments » Categories: Announcements, General

Mar 25th 2009 11:56:06 am

I just discovered this beautiful little blog that I must share: simplesong. It doesn’t really have much to do with crafts, but it does cover style and design… and it is just so lovely and simple! I love the collection of gorgeous images featured on the site by its author, Susan Song. Susan started her blog in October of 2007, and she also has a letterpress store and is an editor on kirtsy.com. Tons of inspiration!

No Comments » Categories: blog review

Mar 24th 2009 10:20:33 am

UPDATE: The deadline to enter this giveaway has been extended to Friday, April 3rd!

This month we have a fun selection of Swap-bot swag to give away to three lucky winners. Each winner will be sent a Swap-bot T-shirt (choice of adult sizes S-XL) plus one of the leftover goodie bags from the recent Swap-bot member event in Eugene, Oregon. The goodie bags contain promo items from Swap-bot advertisers as well as some Swap-bot buttons and postcards.

To enter the drawing for the Swap-bot swag, simply answer the following question in the comments section of this blog post:

How did you first hear about or find Swap-bot.com?

Each person can only enter this giveaway once. You must have a Swap-bot account in good standing (not suspended) with a valid mailing address to enter. You must include your Swap-bot username somewhere in your comment. You must comment on or before Friday, April 3rd

, to be entered in the drawing. The winner will be randomly drawn on Saturday, April 4th. If you have trouble commenting on the blog, you can send me an email at rachel [at] swap-bot.com. Good luck!

241 Comments » Categories: Giveaways

Mar 20th 2009 11:59:44 am

For today, the first day of spring, I am trying to put a little pep in my step. I think these links will help:

• Lovely inspiration in the Best of Spring Flickr pool.
• Kindred is a new website from the creators of decor8 and Creature Comforts which features free downloads of beautiful desktop wallpapers and printable greeting cards. Really gorgeous stuff going on over there!
• Red Velvet Art is a wacky, new online store from designer Elsie Flannigan. Elsie used to design the Love, Elsie scrapbooking line for KI Memories and I really loved its doodle-y style. Red Velvet Art is maybe just a tad over-the-top in the hipster department, but still tons of fun!
• Speaking of hipsters, Something’s Hiding In Here is a too-cool blog from designers, Shauna and Stephen. The pair’s loft apartment was recently featured on Etsy’s “Get The Look: Home Decor Edition” and on the “There’s No Place Like Here” video series.
• Not-so-good news: The US Postal Service is increasing their rates on May 11th. Go here for the complete new price list.

No Comments » Categories: friday link love

Mar 18th 2009 10:21:15 am

Craft Critique is the type of website that every crafter needs to know about! The site publishes unbiased reviews of craft tools, supplies, and books - like Consumer Reports just for crafty stuff! Started in January of 2007 by Sarah Moore, the site describes itself as “a collective of experienced crafters (some professional, most not) with strong opinions to share on the craft supplies you want to learn more about.” The large team of volunteer reporters write about a wide variety of products, most recently covering Crafty Chica’s Guide to Artful Sewing

book, the Craft Fair Scrapbooking Collection by American Crafts , and Martha Stewart craft punches. All of the reviews are extremely thorough with a handy list of pros and cons at the end for quick browsing. Try searching the site for a review before making your next craft supply purchase - during these tough economic times it can’t hurt to be a smarter crafty consumer!!

Craft Critique is updated daily with a new craft product review, so I suggest checking the site often or subscribing to their Twitter feed to get the latest updates.

1 Comment » Categories: website review

Mar 16th 2009 02:29:46 pm

This week’s featured swap is for a craft form that is entirely new to me: Skinny Cards. A “skinny” is like an Artist Trading Card except that it’s bigger - it measures 3″ by 5″. The cards can be decorated using various techniques and media - just like ATCs. (I have added skinny to the new Swap & Craft Term Glossary!) What’s the SKINNY?! is the first swap (that I know of) for skinny cards on Swap-bot. The swap, hosted by graydragon is international and it is open for sign up through the last day of March. Each participant has only one partner for whom they make one skinny card of any theme or style. You must have a 4.7 rating and a full profile to participate.

Skinny cards seem like great collectible crafts for artists who need a little more room than an ATC provides. For more information and inspiration check out the Skinny Cards Flickr group.

2 Comments » Categories: Weekly Featured Swap

Mar 11th 2009 01:26:51 pm

The Crafts Dept. is a new blog from the Martha Stewart Empire. It was just started on February 27th with intentions of being a meeting place for all of the crafters working for the many Martha Stewart media outlets, like the television show, Living magazine, and the Martha Stewart craft supplies brand. There is not much content at this point, but the contributors plan on sharing official Martha Stewart projects as well as their own personal crafty endeavors.

From the blog’s introduction: “Welcome to the Crafts Department blog. We thought a blog would be a great way to share even more about the crafts we create for Martha Stewart Living as well as what we craft on our own. We hope to provide you with a peek behind the scenes to some of our stories, our inspiration, our favorite sources, as well as some of the projects we are personally working on. Periodically crafters from our television show and from the Martha Stewart Crafts line will also post entries to let us know what is happening in their areas as well. We hope you enjoy it.”

I find some of the Martha Stewart crafters to be a little too hardcore and strict for my taste (they are always talking about how clean and organized you should keep your craft room - phooey!), but I think The Crafts Dept. will be a good resource with great photo galleries at the very least.

2 Comments » Categories: website review

Mar 10th 2009 02:36:23 pm

My goal for this blog is to share news and updates about Swap-bot, but also to provide fun and helpful crafty info! On each Tuesday I hope to share one of my swapping tips or tips and tutorials from other Swap-bot members. Today, I have an amazing assortment of sewing tutorials!

Swap-bot user, Spool, writes a wonderful blog chronicling her crafty endeavors. She generously shares the three following free tutorials:

• Wristlet Bag Tutorial - an adorable small bag with lots of pockets.
• Placemat Bag Tutorial - a quick tote made from a single placemat.
• Placemat Expanding File Tutorial - an amazing expandable file made from four placemats.

Spap-bot user, crafty1900, sells lovely crafts on her Etsy store and writes about her projects on her blog, Zebula Design. She has two beautiful and detailed sewing tutorials to share:

• Embroidered Felt Purse Tutorial - a beautiful and detailed small bag with zipper and wristlet handle.
• Felt Zip Pouch Tutorial - a small pouch with applique details.

Thank you for sharing your projects, spool and crafty1900! The Swap-bot blog would love to feature additional tutorials, tips, and projects submitted by our members. Email rachel [at] swap-bot.com with your submissions.

No Comments » Categories: Tuesday Tip

Mar 6th 2009 11:38:39 am

This week has blown by and the poor Swap-bot blog has not seen as much action as I would like. Let’s try to remedy that with an awesome collection of Friday links:

• If you act fast, you could win a copy of Craft:magazine’s most recent (and final) print issue. Simply follow Craft:’s updates on Twitter before Monday, March 9th. Three winners will be randomly chosen from their Twitter followers on Monday.
• Cute knitting pattern for a “Grumpasaurus” from kat knits.
• A beautiful, fun hand-carved stamp tutorial on Geninne’s Art Blog. The blog features amazing illustrations and lovely photos. It is a new everyday read for me!
• You probably have already heard about this, but if not, Great Depression Cooking with Clara is an amazing series of videos. “In each episode Clara prepares recipes that her mother made during the Great Depression. Clara shares her stories and wisdom from the Depression as she shows you how to make simple, inexpensive and delicious meals.”
• An adorable baby food jar pincushion tutorial is available on the cute blog, CraftPudding.
• I am going to promote my matchbox template PDF one more time because it is free and easy to use: Download it here!

Happy weekend, everyone! xoxo

2 Comments » Categories: friday link love

Mar 3rd 2009 02:26:55 pm

I love doing matchbox swaps. Altering and decorating the tiny boxes and filling them full of little treasures is always fun. Many people decorate real (pre-made cardboard) matchboxes that they purchase or collect for their matchboxes swaps. However, I prefer to make my matchboxes from scratch using heavy card stock. I find the handmade boxes easier to decorate and customize.

At the Swap-bot event on Sunday I passed out the template I created and use for making my matchboxes from scratch. It is very simple, but I thought others may be interested in using it. Here you can download a PDF version of my template. (Make sure to download the full-size document using the link below. Do not use the above .gif.) Matchboxes constructed using my template will be just slightly larger than a standard 32-count matchbox (approximately 1.5 x 2 x .5 inches). You can also print and then trace the template onto light cardboard, such as cereal box cardboard, if you prefer.

Download Rachel’s matchbox template.

Instructions:

1. Print out template on cardstock at 100%. Do not “fit to paper size” or your matchbox will not be the correct size.
2. Cut along all black lines; score and fold along all grey lines.
3. Apply glue to the light grey areas of the inside drawer.
4. Fold the sides of the inside drawer in on themselves (they will be end up being double thick) while tucking the tabs into the folds of the shorter sides of the drawer.
5. Fold the outside wrap around the inside drawer and glue it in place.
6. Decorate your matchbox!

Your matchbox should end up looking something like this:

8 Comments » Categories: Tuesday Tip