friday link love: BlogHer edition + GIVEAWAY

If you read my personal blog or follow my personal Twitter account, you know that I attended the BlogHer conference last weekend in New York. I was not sure what to expect, but since it was hosted near me this year I decided to give it a try. I was hoping to network and spread the good word about Swap-bot. It turns out that there weren’t a ton of art and craft bloggers there, but I did get to do plenty of networking with cool women and I attended some informative classes. Below are some of the links I collected along the way…

Crafty Blogs & Sites:

• Handmade Detroit – If you are in Michigan, this site is for you. And even if you’re not, the blog has lots of great crafty content.
• Tonya Staab – This and That – Tonya was on the Etsy blogging panel with me and she is fantastic. Her blog covers just about everything – including cupcakes!
• DIY Buiness Association – A new blog and organization from Amy Schroeder, Founder of Venus Zine and venuszine.com.
• Teen Angster – The personal blog of Allison, one of the authors of the amazing Etsy blog.
• The Creative Empire – You already know about Tara Gentile from ScoutieGirl and Megan Auman from Crafting an MBA because I link to their great sites all of the time. The Creative Empire is their new project – a community built to help web entrepreneurs.
• The Honey Pie Tree – A hand-crafted toy designer’s blog.
• The Studio Creations – A very pretty art blog by Thais, a Brazilian living in NY.
• Louise Gale – An artist who hosts the The Creative Color Challenge.
• Kipiboo – A blog of art and inspiration from a Brooklyn artist.
• Design Mom – Gabrielle is one of the founders of Kirtsy, a designer, and a mom of six.

Other Blogs:

• The Token Fat Girl – Lorrie writes about her weight loss adventures, plus lots of other stuff like fashion and recipes. I hung out with her a bit at the conference and she is really sweet and multi-talented.
• The Bloggess – This is a “famous” blog that I had read in the past, but somehow lost track of. It is super-funny.
• Pine Creek Cottage – Marcy’s sweet blog.
• Zipbag of Bones – Funny. And a little inappropriate. But mostly funny.
• Mama’s Keeper – A work at home caregiver’s journey.
• Just a Girl in the World – Adventures of a southern girl, sometimes traveling the world.
• One Bored Mommy – A mom of four blogs daily.
• Little Tech Girl – A tech geek blog written by a mom of two set of twins!
• You Can’t Call It “It” – A hip baby names blog.
• Things of Random Coolness – A blog of very cool design-y things.

Other Cool Websites:

• Indie Biz Chicks – I’ve already linked to this site a couple times, but Crissy’s website is an excellent resource for small business owners.
• Reware Vintage – a vintage clothing shop and blog.
• Food on the Table – A meal planning tool. Amanda, the rep, was super-sweet!
• Cake Lab – The most beautiful and delicious mini cupcakes. I had them at Etsy.
• Girlfriend Circles – A community that matches up online friends for real world get togethers.
• Graph Jam – A funny graph builder.

GIVEAWAY

I also picked up a bunch of free swag at the conference. In the expo area companies were handing out free product like it was candy! (And, some of it was candy.) I have a very random group of swag to GIVE AWAY to one person… The package will include a Microsoft tote bag, a Cherrios T-shirt (adult size medium), an Arm & Hammer mouse pad, a new Febreze “Set and Refresh,” a Firefox keychain, a unicorn lollipop, some Downey fabric softener, a General Mills pocket mirror, an AOL pocket notepad and pen, hand sanitizer from Yahoo!, an Etsy party favor pack with lip gloss and pins, and the BIG PRIZE: a $10 gift card to Toys R Us! To enter to win this really bizarre – but great, right? – collection of goodies, comment on this post with a link to one of your favorite craft blogs or female bloggers.

You must include your Swap-bot username in your comment. The drawing will be open for entry until Wednesday, August 18th. I will randomly select and announce the winner next Thursday.