Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway drawing for the BlogHer surprise swag pack! I loved checking out all of the new blog links.

I used random.org to pick the winner….

The winner is purple24! Her favorite blog is Blueberries in the Field. She will be sent a bunch of fun stuff from BlogHer as well as some Swap-bot swag.

Stay tuned for another giveaway soon!!

In an attempt to spread the good word about Swap-bot and to learn more about running an online business, I sometimes attend conferences. You may remember my posts about Blogher in 2010 and BlogHer Handmade last year. Last week, I was at BlogHer 2012 right here in New York City, and I picked up a few links for you:

• Martha Stewart was one of the keynote speakers. She was as arrogant confident as ever, but she was also really funny. She is definitely a hard worker and I think she might be a genius. Anyhoo, she has a new show, Martha Stewart’s Cooking School, starting in October on PBS. It looks very lovely.
• Not a blog, but maybe a helpful tool: RescueTime. Track how you spend your time online and be more productive.
• Girl Around Town – A women’s lifestyle site (similar to Daily Candy) covering NYC, Houston, and LA.

Blogs:

• An Acorn Dreaming
• All Things Angela

• Dirty Hooker (as in crochet)
• Someday I’ll Learn
• A Turtle’s Life for Me and The Thrifty Turtle
• Ninja Mom
• The Healthy Mom
• Let Me Start By Saying…
• And, if you don’t mind some strong language, my friend Jen’s blog is hilarious: People I Want to Punch in the Throat

Now for the GIVEAWAY!

Like usual, attendees received quite a bit of swag at BlogHer 2012. I didn’t want to be greedy this year, but I did get some fun stuff, as seen below. And, I have a SURPRISE group of goodies to send to one lucky Swap-botter! The surprise swag grab bag will NOT include everything you see below, but it does include some great stuff, plus a healthy dose of Swap-bot postcards, pins, and stickers. Fun!

To enter to win the BlogHer surprise swag grab bag, 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 Sunday, August 12th. I will randomly select and announce the winner on Monday. Good luck!

BlogHer is in NYC this year and the big conference is happening this weekend! I’ll be attending on Friday and Saturday. Will I see you there? If so, come say hello. I’ll have some Swap-bot swag for you!

I attended BlogHer in 2010 and BlogHer Handmade last year and met lots of great blogger and crafters. I am sure to come back from this year’s conference with lots of links to share! Stay tuned!

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Swap-bot user DreamBubble is a film student who loves pen palling. She is currently working on a documentary film project about pen palling, and she needs your help!

If you’d like to be a part of the project, answer one or all of these questions:

**

• Tell me a good story about your experience with pen-palling.
• Tell me a bad story about your experience with pen-palling.
• Make a list of questions you’d like to see answered in the documentary, as straight-forward, zany, and/or interesting as you please. </b> </ul>

You can put your answers to the questions in the comment section here, or contact DreamBubble directly via the messaging system. She is also looking for used postage stamps to use in the film.

To learn more about the project, visit the blog: The Not Quite Dying Art.

Hello and happy Friday! This remixed Bob Ross video is my new favorite thing.

And, here are a few more fun links for you…

• Nothing You’ve Ever Done is Wasted.
• Celebrating the Olympics? Check out these party ideas.
• Or, make these Olympic Torch Cupcakes for your London 2012 party.
• And, speaking of the Olympics, check out this epic Olympic Giveaway series on Craft Gossip.
• Two S’mores this week: S’more Bark from My Paper Crane and S’moretini Shooters from How Sweet It Is.

I’m gearing up to watch the Olympic opening ceremony in a few hours! You, too??

Are you as excited for the 2012 London Olympics as I am?! If so, be a part of the action by participating in one of these Olympic-themed swaps…

• Olympic ATC Swap – Hand draw an ATC with an Olympic theme in this international swap hosted by Bluebird1981. Sign up by August 1st.
• Newbie & Non-artist ATC Swap, the Olympics – Another Olympic ATC swap for those who are new to artist trading cards. Sign up for this international swap hosted by vick302000 by August 3rd.
• Olympic Inspired Dotee Swap – Make a dotee doll using the five olympic colors — blue, red, yellow/gold, silver and green — in this international swap hosted by Shannoncollar. Sign up by July 29th.
• I Feel Very Olympic Today – an international mail art swap hosted by Teja. Sign up by August 12th.

What is your favorite Olympic sport?

Good Saturday to you! Surprise! Your weekly dose of fun and fabulous links is here. (Only a day late… not too bad.)

• Yum. I would love to try this Chocolate Vanilla Frozen Cake recipe from La Receta de la Felicidad. (seen above)
• Or these decadent-looking Brownie Batter Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes from Kevin & Amanda.
• Are you ready for the London Olympics?! Host an Olympic party with these gold medal cookies or these slightly easier versions.
• Make these cool, DIY, leather earrings on Henry Happened.
• A few pretty DIY bracelet ideas on Blah to Tada.
• I love this easy fabric bow garland on Creature Comforts. So sweet!
• Did I already post this? 37 recipes for gifts in a jar from Tip Junkie. Kind of like big Whimsey Jars.
• These look incredible: Mojito Cheesecake Pops from Sprinkle Bakes.
• Hot dog Twinkies!
• Are you going to participate in Etsy’s International Craft Party this year on August 24th? Gather a big group and you can get free craft supplies!
• Just for fun: epic nerd nails!

What else did you find out there on the interwebs this week?

I love gel pens! They are so fun to work with and look great on dark paper… so, this week I am featuring the Gel Pen ATC Swap hosted by PixelPixie.

ATC stands for Artist Trading Card. ATCs are 2.5″ x 3.5″ in size (the size of a usual playing card) and they are usually made of card stock. They can be hand drawn, decorated, and embellished in any way you like.

For this international swap, you must use gel pens in your ATC in some way. You have just one partner to whom you send just one ATC. Sign up before July 20th!

Some crafty goodies Revive Her Drive for you on this freaky Friday the 13th!!

• Make one of the cute bottle necklaces seen above with this tutorial from Lana Red.
• Host a popsicle party with these lovely downloads and tutorials from Creature Comforts.
• And, eat these incredibly delicious Mint Chocolate Cheesecake Popsicles!
• How to make outdoor crafting art bombs.
• Pintester – Testing out all those pretty Pinterest recipes so that you don’t have to!
• Make a pretty mesh beach bag with this DIY tutorial on Design*Sponge.
• This DIY galaxy art work is very pretty!
• Top 10 resources for craft supplies.
• Support you fellow Swap-botter AlexAlgebra and check out her Equalize project.

Any other links we should know about????

Revive Her Drive

Want to know more about why your fellow swappers love crafting? Join the 100 Crafty Questions swap hosted by thebragal.

I don’t always feature Type 3 – electronic swaps, but this one is special! Thebragal wrote all 100 questions from scratch and they cover a wide range of swapping and crafting topics.

Here are a few sample questions…

• What was your favourite swap?
• Have you ever been to a craft convention or festival?
• Ever met with a crafting friend or met a new crafting friend while on vacation?
• Do you let other things slide to make time for crafting?
• How many crafty books do you own?
• How long is too long without crafting?
• Can you imagine a life without crafts?
• And many more…

The swap is open to new and experienced swappers with a 4.5 rating. Sign up by July 20th and share your crafting passion with your four swap partners!