Jan 29th 2010 12:51:13 pm

Another inspired/inspirational assortment just for you…

• Look at those cheerful cookies above! They were made by Heather Baird of and they make me happy. I think I will make some this weekend. You can find the full recipe on . (Via )
• I know that a bunch of Swap-bot users are participating in the . Basically, you commit to creating one new thing a day for a month and post it on the collective . I think I am going to join in!
• If you need more inspiration to get your creative juices flowing, check out next week’s created by and . They will provide a word prompt for each day to get your thinking and you can post your creations to the . Monday’s word is WANDER.
• Are you still having trouble using Markdown to format text and add links and pictures on Swap-bot? Check out this interactive on Slekx.com. It lets you play around with code and see how it will be displayed – very cool. (Thanks for the tip, Jim!)
• I am really liking about authenticity and being your true self by on the very inspirational blog, . Great food for thought.
• Speaking of good articles, my former grad school colleague and friend, Reed Davas McGowan, just published an enlightening in Culture Work, a periodical for arts and culture workers.
• Hilarious: by fadedlines6 on Flickr. (via )
• I love Swap-bot members! Check out this cool created by user, .
• Ok, gotta do one more plug, but it probably won’t be the last… sorry. I () will be hosting the here, in Brooklyn, next Monday, February 1st! I will be representing Swap-bot and showing everyone how to make Matchbox Valentines, like the ones seen above. I will be bringing all of the supplies needed to make the cute boxes (and some tasty treats) to the free, in-person event at Etsy’s offices (), but you can also follow along with the event via Etsy’s online . Everyone is welcome! The in-person event goes from 4-8 pm EST and you can stop by anytime.

1 Comment » Categories: friday link love

Jan 27th 2010 12:43:32 pm

With Valentine’s Day coming up, I wanted to create some little cards that can be slipped into pretty, decorated matchboxes. Matchboxes make a sweet and inexpensive handmade gift – fill them with some candy and a little note and you are sure to put a smile on your loved one’s face!

I came up with three very easy card types that fit perfectly into the boxes created using either of my Matchbox Templates. On my free, downloadable Matchbox Enclosure Cards PDF (seen below) you will find a simple folded card, an accordion-style card/booklet, and a more complicated 8-page folded booklet. Follow the steps below to create the folded booklet.

Download Matchbox Enclosure Cards PDF

1. Download the PDF using the link above. Then, print out the sheet at 100% (not “fit to paper size”). You may want to print it on scratch paper first to try out the booklet fold or to trace the enclosure card shapes onto patterned paper. Or, you can print directly on a light card stock that matches the theme of your matchboxes. The folded and accordion cards are self-explanatory; simply cut along the black lines and score and fold at the grey lines. Do the same for the booklet template. Notice the cut line through part of the center of the booklet.

2. Fold booklet in half lengthwise, as seen in the first image below.

3. This gets tricky: Pull out the two center pages (on each side of the cut center area) at their folds to create two pages. The “spines”of page 6/5 and cover/2 will end up touching. See image below for clarification.

4. Fold the cover and back page around the other pages to create the booklet.

5. Press the folds using a bone folder or other tool.

6. Decorate your pages or write a little zine. Then, place your booklet inside your matchbox and give it to someone you love!

13 Comments » Categories: Tutorial

Jan 25th 2010 11:20:02 am

This week’s featured swap, , is part of an ongoing, monthly series of postcard poetry swaps hosted by . This week’s swap is in honor of Valentine’s Day (or Singles Awareness Day, if you prefer). For the international swap, you send one postcard to each of your three partners. The postcards must each contain a poem (or excerpt) that has to do with love or Valentine’s Day in some way. for this swap before February 3rd, and send your postcards before the 9th so that they reach their recipients in time for the holiday.

For a little inspiration, here is a classic love poem:

How Do I Love Thee?
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of everyday’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

1 Comment » Categories: Weekly Featured Swap

Jan 24th 2010 04:31:04 pm

Exciting news: I () will be hosting the here, in Brooklyn, next Monday, February 1st! I will be representing Swap-bot and showing everyone how to make Matchbox Valentines, like the ones seen above. I will be bringing all of the supplies needed to make the cute boxes to the free, in-person event at Etsy’s offices (), but you can also follow along with the event via Etsy’s online . Everyone is welcome! The in-person event goes from 4-8 pm EST and you can stop by anytime. (hint: there may be some yummy Valentine treats there, too!) I love Etsy and the Craft Nights, so I am really excited for this event. I hope to see you there!

If you can’t make it to the Etsy offices or to the Virtual Labs, there will be a detailed tutorial published on the on Tuesday. You can also download my easy matchbox template and instructions .

3 Comments » Categories: Announcements

Jan 22nd 2010 04:10:47 pm

So many great things to share this week. Really. There is a lot! Have fun.

• Look at that beautiful photo above. Doesn’t it put you in a romantic, Valentine-ish mood? Learn how to make the same simple garland using old magazines and your sewing machine on .
• I must be in a garland-loving mood, because this adorable and totally fun on How About Orange caught my eye. It is so happy and festive!
• Another super-cute and creative tutorial: . Anyone up for a snowglobe postcard swap?
• For Valentine’s Day, Twig & Thistle has a .
• Another sweet Valentine’s Day project:
• This link may be more appropriate for summer, but it is too good to keep to myself: on The Kitchen.
• Just for laughs, check out on Alaska Crafter.
• I just discovered two new craft blogs that I think you will like: (written by Valerie of ) and (written by Kelly Koo in Malaysia).
• A few of my friends from the crafty internet world just announced a new venture and I want to help spread the word… Sarah from , Erin from , and Deb and Christy from are hosting a huge, spectacular later this year. The conference is called and it will be October 21-23 in Chicago. I plan to attend and hope you can too! Sign up on the site for email updates.
• One last link: I had a lot of fun following the conversation at the last event and can’t wait to participate in the next one. “See” you there!

No Comments » Categories: friday link love

Jan 20th 2010 10:15:17 am

Swap-bot is featured on the Busy Beaver Button Blog today! We are excited to be mentioned on their blog because we love their business and buttons! I have been ordering buttons from them for years and they are always super-fast and the buttons are of the highest quality. I really cannot recommend them strongly enough. Thank you, Busy Beaver!

5 Comments » Categories: press

Jan 18th 2010 07:32:28 pm

This week’s featured swap is Valentine-themed and it also features a new craft that I had never heard of before: . The is being hosted by and it is based on the Pennie Pocket craft created by Monica Solorio-Snow, aka . You can download a free sewing pattern PDF from The Happy Zombie website and you can check out examples of Pennie Pockets in action in the . The Pockets can be hung on a garland, or individually on a door knob – so cute!

For the , each participant sews three Penny Pockets for their one partner. The Pockets should be in coordinating cotton fabrics; make them special with extra embellishment or goodies inside! The sign up date for this swap is this Friday, January 22nd, and you have until February 10th to send out your package. New Swap-bot users are welcome, but this swap is USA-only.

No Comments » Categories: Weekly Featured Swap

Jan 15th 2010 07:09:54 pm

A fine assortment of links for you this week:

• First, we are all now painfully aware of how much help Haiti needs after the devastating earthquake… There are lots of ways to donate to the cause, for example, .
• Isn’t that photo above beautiful? It is part of a tutorial on forty-sixth at grace for those adorable shortbread button cookies. What a lovely blog!
• The Thursday episode of The Martha Stewart Show was all about blogging and one of the bloggers featured on the show was Andrew of Martha Moments. He considers himself a “Martha archivist” and collects all sorts of Martha Stewart info on his blog – it is strangely fascinating!
• On Wednesday, I participated in the tweet-up event hosted by and . It was kinda like a virtual craft circle gathered together on and it was a lot of fun (you can search for the #craftsocial topic on Twitter to see what we talked about). I definitely suggest checking out the and marking your calendar for next month’s event!
• Speaking of Craft Social, while checking out the different participant’s profiles and websites I stumbled upon , a blog focused on interior design. It is updated almost daily by its authors, Deb & Erin, with tips and inspiration to help make your home more enjoyable.
• This last one is just for fun: check out this adorable Harry Potter party on Diamonds for Dessert , complete with a full Hogwarts-inspired menu. Including Butter Beer! I love it!

No Comments » Categories: friday link love

Jan 13th 2010 03:24:39 pm

I stumbled upon the fairly new craft blog, FasterCraft.com, today and I really liked the concept behind the site: quick and easy craft projects that you can fit into your busy schedule. The Faster Craft tag line is “more crafting, less guilt.” Here is the site’s own description:

Our goal here at Fastercraft is to help you fit crafting into your life. We bring you projects you can do quickly, and help you find ways to make those things fun and as affordable as possible.

The site was founded (in November of last year) and is written by Shannon Fugal. It is updated a couple of times per week with links to projects and tutorials, most of which you can complete in just one evening. Shannon’s motivation behind starting Faster Craft — her experience of wasting time at the craft store sounds familiar! I look forward to reading more of her posts!

1 Comment » Categories: blog review

Jan 11th 2010 09:19:55 am

Chinese New Year is coming up on February 14th. It is often called the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival and it is one of the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. Next year will be the Year of the Tiger, and in honor of the holiday I have chosen three Chinese New Year swaps to feature this week. (You can read more about the Chinese New Year holiday on . )

– International swap hosted by in which you have five partners. Sign up by January 25th and send each of your partners a lucky red envelope with a New Year’s greeting inside.

– International swap hosted by in which you send your one partner a blank, handmade greeting card celebrating the New Year. Sign up by January 29th.

– International ATC swap hosted by . Sign up by January 14th and send one Chinese or Tiger-themed ATC to each of your two partners.

No Comments » Categories: Weekly Featured Swap