I love graffiti. I know that it is controversial because it can harm property, but I love the diversity of street art and the unique messages that the artists choose to express. I do not produce graffiti, but I do photograph it when I get a chance. (I took these two photos while out and about in New York.)

If you are also interested in graffiti or street art, join this week’s featured swap: Graffiti Postcards. The international swap is hosted by kankalin and it consists of sending handmade graffiti postcards to each of your four partners.

From the swap description:

Take a photo of some nice graffiti art in your town and print out 4 copies, glue it on a sturdy cardboard and mail 1 naked (no envelops) to 4 partners. In the back of your card, you may want to write something about your photo (how did you find the graffiti, about the place etc).

Sign up for the swap by this Friday, August 26th. Users with at least a 4.8 rating are welcome.

Hi hi hi! I had a fun week on the internet and found a wide variety of links! Of course, there are plenty of food links, like usual, but also lots of crafty goodness… have fun!

Food deliciousness:

• Isn’t that photo above gorgeous?! The pretty goodies are homemade gumdrops by Bakerella.
• Your S’more of the week: S’mores Coffee and Fudge Ice Cream Cake
• Ingenious peanut butter pretzel bites – easy yum!!
• Just because I want to eat some of these right now: Salted Carmel Brownies.

Crafty delightfulness:

• Like fantasy video games? Try cute, free, web-based Kingdom Rush.
• So freakin’ cute: Bob Ross amigurumi.
• I just discovered AOK. It is a “social game for good that recognizes players for posting Acts and Observations of Kindness.” Insteresting…
• Oh Happy Day always has the best stuff, like how to make a number party pinata.
• Speaking of parties, check out this insanely adorable pool party.
• Remember the awesome Chewbacca embroidery piece I posted last month? Well, it was made for a Star Wars themed art exhibit, Stitch Wars. You can see more of the cute creations here.
• Look at this cute gift idea from Momtastic – DIY: Mason Jar Sewing Kit.
• This is just plain smart: How to fold plastic bags to save space.
• If you run a crafty business, or are thinking about it, check out Diane Gilleland’s Social Marketing 102 workshop video.

Have a fun weekend! I am running a 10-mile race on Sunday, so I’m resting up until then… zzzzZZZZZ.

Have you heard of Spoonflower? It is a site that allows you to design your own fabric.

I have been meaning to try it since I first heard about it in 2008, but kept putting it off. Well, no longer! Today is Free Fabric Swatch Day on Spoonflower, which means you can design your own fabric and have an 8-inch sample of it mailed to you for free! wow!

If you want to get your free sample, your order must be placed by 12 noon EST tomorrow (August 19th).

I quickly put together the Ernie fabric you see above and ordered a free swatch. I can’t wait to see it in person! If it turns out ok, I can make it available for public sale. Stay tuned!

I was going to college in Iowa on September 11th, 2001, but like all Americans, the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York (and the attack on the Pentagon and the plane crash in Pennsylvania) affected me greatly. Now that I live in New York I feel even more connected to the events. (Above is a photo I took of downtown NYC last month looking south from the middle of the Manhattan Bridge.)

This September 11th will be the 10th anniversary of the attacks. In remembrance of the event, Megbomb is hosting a We Will Never Forget postcard swap. The swap instructions:

“You will send one postcard to each of your two partners. It would be wonderful for the postcards to be New York themed (handmade is great or store bought) but i will not make the theme a requirement because I want as much participation as possible. On the postcard please share a memory from that tragic event. Where you were, how you heard, if you knew anyone involved. If a postcard is not enough space, you may send a letter IN ADDITION TO the naked postcard that is the swap requirement. Newbies are allowed with well filled out profiles. Experienced swappers must have a 4.90.”

The swap is international and open for sign up until August 25th. I have joined the swap and look forward to taking a moment to reflect on the terrible, yet important, historic events of September 11th.

The internet feels a bit quiet lately. Maybe everyone is out soaking up the last bit of summer or preparing for school to start. Whatever the reason for the lull, it means that I couldn’t round up as many links for you this week as I’d like — sadness — but here are a bunch of edible goodies… Enjoy!

• Don’t those black forest pancakes seen above look divine?! Get the recipe from The Healthy Foodie.
• These Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies look delicious.
• Heaven may be a doughnut ice cream sandwich.
• Summer yum: Mojito Bars recipe from Betty Crocker.
• A very cool space shuttle cake with an ice cream fuel tank and chocolate/caramel rocket boosters – wow!
• And to justify it all: How Chocolate Can Help Your Workout.

I apologize if I made you hungry for sweets…

S’mores are my favorite dessert and today is officially S’more Day!! I already compiled a group of S’more-themed handmade marketplace picks last summer, but there are always cute S’more creations to be found, like the Teeny Tiny S’more Pocket Art seen above from cupcakemanor on Etsy. It is a mini oil painting! So cool!

Check out these other S’more finds:

Yum! Now I am getting hungry…

This swap was too funny to pass up for this week’s featured swap! If you like making Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) and need a new challenge, join the Famous people in fruit or veggie disguise ATC swap. The international swap is hosted by Bluebird1981 and is open to new users and experienced swappers with a 4.85 rating, or higher.

The swap instructions:

_“You choose a famous actor, actress, singer, group, athlete, …. and try to link their name to a piece of fruit or a vegetable. For example: John Lemon (= John Lennon) seen here in the ATC by Bluebird1981. </p>

The more creative you are, the better. Try to choose a real famous person, one that’s known around the globe, as this is an international swap! Draw or paint your idea on a standard ATC size card with a steady background. (2.5 x 3.5 inches). The head of the figure is a fruit or a vegetable. It has a small body. Be sure to take some time to create this ATC. You can use embellishments or stickers, but the figure has to be hand drawn or painted.”</i>

Such a funny idea! If you want to join to fun, sign up for the swap before this Friday, August 12th.

I gathered up quite a few links for you this week! The list is a bit heavy on the food category… I guess I was feeling hungry this week! ha!

Crafty Stuff:

• I love this idea: Snail Mail My Email – It is a “month-long (July 15 – August 15), interactive community art project which seeks to both share the warm-fuzzy feeling of receiving a personalized letter as well as inspire people to send their own snail mail. In a culture overrun with instant gratification and on-demand services, this project cultivates appreciation for the lost art of letter writing.” You email them with a message and the address of your intended recipient. Their group of volunteers write out your message it and mail it! Very cool.
• Make a tiny granny square necklace on Dollar Store Crafts.
• Want to draw fashion sketches? Check out this quick tutorial on I Still Love You.
• How to knit with sheets on Creative Jewish Mom.
• Babble.com’s Top 50 Etsy Moms of 2011.

Food:

• Need a fun sleepover treat or after-school snack? These Banana Split Bites (seen above) from Baker’s Royale are ingenious!
• Your S’more of the week: S’more Poptart S’more on Cakespy.com. Yep, that is a S’more made with Poptarts instead of graham crackers.
• They used to serve these during Homecoming week at college:Walking Taco Tutorial. Yum. Fritos…
• Oh man, I think I need to make these super easy Rolo Cookies.
• Want to make the lay version of cake pops? Try chocolate-covered Oreos on a stick!
• The most amazing pancakes I’ve ever seen: Jim’s Pancakes.

What other linky goodness did you find this week?

You may remember that last year I ran the NYC Marathon with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training. As part of my commitment to the Team, I raised funds for cancer research and patient care… and the Swap-bot community helped out! Last year over 60 packs of Swap-bot swag were mailed out as a thank yous for donations to the LLS.

The entire process of training and fundraising was so fun and rewarding that this year Travis is joining me!

Just in case you don’t know, Travis (travisj) is my husband and the programming side of the Swap-bot team. He has never run a marathon before. We are both training for the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC on October 30th. We are really enjoying the training, so far, and we have set a joint fundraising goal of $5000 — that is where you come in!!

Many Swap-bot members have requested a way to buy Swap-bot postcards, stickers, and buttons in the past. (We are STILL planning to construct an official store, but the process is slow-going.) BUT, now is your chance to get fun Swap-bot swag!!! You can “purchase” a special Swap-bot swag package by donating to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society via our TNT Fundraising page.

Get cute Swap-bot stuff and support a good cause! Sweet! For more information about where your donation goes and how it is spent, read my post on why I support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

I will mail the following pack of items to anyone who donates $10 or more via our TNT Fundraising page:

• 10 Ernie the Envie postcards
• 3 NEW “Sealed with Love” postcards
• 2 “Love Snail Mail” postcards
• 2 Ernie the Envie square buttons
• 2 Swap-bot 1-inch buttons – 1 of each style
• 2 two-inch square Ernie stickers
• 1 two-inch square Swap-bot sticker

Donate Now!

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The fine print: Your $10 donation covers all shipping costs — even internationally. Of course, we’d certainly welcome any additional donation you’d like to include to off set shipping costs. I will ship to the address listed on your Swap-bot account unless otherwise instructed. If your name or address used for the donation is different than what you have listed on your Swap-bot account, please include your Swap-bot username in the comments field. I feel most comfortable accepting the donations through our fundraising page. That way you get an email receipt directly from the LLS that you can use for tax purposes. Your donation is fully tax deductible (in the US – I do not know about other countries). In addition to your email receipt, you will get an email from me confirming that your swag pack is on its way. Contact me at rachel -at- swap-bot.com with any questions or special requests.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

This report is coming a little late as I had a very busy last two weeks at jury duty…

A group of awesome Swap-botters met up on July 15th in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada to chat, craft, and have some fun.

(In the photo above are… Standing from left to right: PJ, Dulcimer, CindyAC, friend of CindyAC, Lepapillonvert, Masterbard, friend of CindyAC, TeePeemaiden, Lostdawill, and kneeling from left to right: TerryF, Toupti, and Heavenscreations.)

The event was organized by Lepapillonvert and TeePeemaiden. The two are seen above with the amazing cupcakes they served at the event.

In addition to an in-person swap, PJ (seen to the left above crafting with heavenscreations and TeePeemaiden) wrote this recap of the event:

“We made beautiful cards designed and supplied by TeePeeMaiden. Masterbard showed us how to make awesome steampunk ATC’s and shared lots of Korean paper goodies with us. lepaillonvert showed us how to make a folder envie with an old calendar page. We had more yummy snacks than we could eat. We all brought gifty goodies for each other – some people brought a lot of goodies and really wowed us. A little bit of shopping was done.”

Attendees camee from all over Ontario. Travel companions seen above are heavenscreations, dulcimer, TerryF, and toupti.

Read lots more about the meet up in the official forum thread. It sounds like everyone had a great time! View more photos in Toupti’s Flickr set and Heavenscreations’ Flickr set.

Look at those awesome goodies bags! And some Swap-bot stickers, too! Awesome.

If you were at the Ontario meet up, please feel free to add more details and links to photos in the comments…