More links to fun, crafty, cool things I found around the internet this week:

• Easy-to-make “Indie Foxx Garland” tutorial and template from Indie Fixx.
• Instructables and Singer are hosting a Kids Craft Contest. To enter, you must create an Instructable tutorial that explains how to make a kid-friendly craft project, involves some sewing, either by hand or machine, and be made with, by, or for a kid. You must enter before September 13th, and winners will be announced at the end of September. There are many prizes, but the grand prize winner will receive a professional Singer serger.
• I like these 10 Everyday Tips to Change the World from Etsy’s The Storque.
• Handmade Romance has a ton of detailed information about how to design and create softies (aka stuffed animals and characters).
• Learn how to make your own sidewalk chalk on Mad Maggie Designs.
• The independent craft resource website, Craftbits.com, just got a make over! The site is a great place to find tons of craft projects.
• Just for laughs: theoatmeal.com (but beware, it may be a little offensive).

I found a fun new blog to share with you called Indie Icing. It showcases the “sweetest finds in handmade” by featuring the authors’ (Jessica, Christen, and Robin) favorite picks from Etsy.com and other handmade marketplaces. I sometimes find it intimidating to dive right into Etsy to try to find the best stuff, so I appreciate sources like Indie Icing that help me discover the most talented handmade sellers. The blog is divided into different categories including the general Sweet Finds, Mini Monday collages, Business Basics, and Giveaways . All of the sellers and items featured on Indie Icing are independently chosen and are not influenced by advertising, which makes it feel more like a curated show rather than a promotional tool. The site is updated multiple times per week with new finds and beautiful images. I recommend it to anyone who likes to admire and buy quality handmade goods.

p.s. You can also follow Indie Icing on Twitter.

This week we are featuring another Swap-bot-themed swap. This one is the Ernie the Envie themed craft swap hosted by MyAliceFair . Ernie is the Swap-bot logo/mascot and for the swap you must create crafts which include his likeness. Here is some more info from the swap description:

“For this swap you will have 1 partner. You will send this partner 2 Ernie the Envie themed handmade crafts of your choice. It could be an Ernie themed ATC, an Ernie Stuffie, An Ernie art collage, an Ernie phone charm, An Ernie handmade anything!”

The swap is open for sign up through the end of August and all participants must have participated in at least five prior mail swaps and have over a 4.9 overall rating. I have signed up and can’t wait to get started on my Ernie crafts!!

For ideas of what to make, check out some of the great Ernie projects that have already been featured here on the blog. I would love to share photos of any of the finished projects from the Ernie the Envie themed craft swap on the blog, as well. Send me your photos to rachel [at] Swap-bot.com. Happy swapping!

In order to make Swap-bot a safer place, we have been listening to user suggestions and have decided to tighten some of the swapping restrictions. The changes we have planned will be implemented in stages so that there is time to adjust and get used to the new system.

The first changes we are making are to the automatic partial suspension system:

Currently, a user is auto suspended (which prevents them from signing up for new swaps and leaving poor ratings) when they have received more than three 1 ratings within the past six months. There is also currently a loophole which prevents users with over a 4.9 rating from being suspended no matter how many 1s they have received. Our very first change will be to remove the 4.9 loophole from the auto suspensions system. That change will be released tonight. That means, that anyone with more than three 1 ratings within the past six months will be auto suspended. The 4.9 loophole was created to protect very prolific swappers, but now that many more people have participated in hundreds of swaps, the loophole seems to be more trouble than help. (Also being released with the changes tonight will be the option for group founders to Dismiss/Cancel pending group invites within their group members page. Finally.)

The second change that will be made to the auto suspension system is to reduce the number of 1 ratings it takes to become auto suspended. We are going to reduce the number of 1s needed for suspension to more than two. That means that once you receive your third 1 rating within six months, you will be automatically partially suspended. This change will happen in a few weeks and there will be more announcements before it happens.

Another change that we are planning for the near future will put more restrictions on who can host a swap. We plan to only allow users to host swaps once they have completed five swaps and received five 5 ratings. This change will be implemented in a few weeks and there will be more info/announcements about the change before it happens.

I hope this early notice will help make these changes go smoothly and not shock anyone too much! They shouldn’t make too much of a difference to established Swap-bot swappers, but if you do have some recent 1s on your account you might want to work on getting them rectified as soon as possible.

Let us know if you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns.

It is the last day of July and I have a big ol’ list of fun links for you! Everything from sewing patterns to crazy sandwiches. Enjoy!

• A free detailed sewing pattern for the most adorable toddler market skirt is available on the Dana Made It blog. (via Craft:)
• Ever wanted to scrapbook the photos you have on your iPhone? Soon you will be able to with a new scrapbooking iPhone App called Coolibah!
• I just discovered iDIY . It is a site all about Do It Yourself weddings, but the free printable downloads offered on the blog (like these labels, and these notecards) are awesome and would be great for lots of projects.
• Travis found this little gem: knitted cozies for plastic lawn chairs – crazy, but cute!
• There is an easy sewing pattern and tutorial for making a Tool Apron on the the Etsy Storque. It was created by the author of Sew What! Bags, Lexie Barnes.
• These AmiDogs patterns for sale on Planet June are so adorable! (They are original crochet amigurumi dog patterns by June Gilbank.) I think the Boston Terrier looks like Crusher.
• For all of you digital designers out there, this Color Palette Generator is pretty sweet. You simply choose a photo from anywhere on the web and it creates a palette from the colors in the image. (via Creature Comforts)
• Ok, this is just for giggles (or gross outs) – check out the crazy sandwiches on Insanewiches.com. The Rubix Cubewich might be the best one…

Now for two little self-promoting items:

• This is most definitely going to be the featured swap next week, but I wanted to give it a shout-out early: The Ernie the Envie craft swap (hosted by MyAliceFair. Ernie is the Swap-bot logo/mascot. Sign up for the swap to create Swap-bot-themed crafts for your partner… I want to post all of the adorable creations here on the blog!
• My friend, Jennifer (of Piddleloop fame), and I have started a fun, new Flickr group: Mugshot Thursdays. We take a PhotoBooth photo of ourselves every Thursday with our coffee mug (or tea mug… or milk mug… any mug) and add it to the photo pool. There are ten people currently in the group, but everyone is welcome to join in on the fun. Come show off your mug collection and your lovely face!

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Two of your fellow swappers have generously offered to share some free downloadable templates with you. Check ’em out!

This matchbox template was created by Swap-bot user, HelenJoy. It is for the larger, 250-count matchbox (approximately 4.75 x 2.75 x1.2 inches in size). Click on the image to go to the correct (larger) image size for the template. Then, save it to your computer and print it out – make sure to print it at 100%, not “scale to fit page.” (The template with both parts won’t fit on a single 8.5 x 11 piece of paper so you will either need cut it apart in an image editing program or download the two parts here and here.) The larger matchboxes need to be constructed from something stiffer than card stock, like a cereal box or light cardboard. Let us know if you have any tips or suggestions for constructing them successfully.

Another great download comes from user, IlonaH. She has created an ATC basics kit which is free for download on her personal website. Click here to be taken to “My other life,” Ilona’s blog and the place where you can download her kit. Her kit has an ATC template, plus some digital papers that she has created to get you started making Artist Trading Cards on the computer. A very cool freebie for those interested in trying out some digital crafting!

Thank you, Helen and Ilona, for your nice work and generosity! If there is anyone else out there who would like to share any free templates, patterns, or tutorials, please let me know (email rachel [at] swap-bot.com). I would love to share your projects on the blog.

It is Friday again – enjoy these crafty links and have a great weekend! xoxo

• There are some amazing free printable downloads available on all sorts of fun blogs. Here are some that I have come across in the last few weeks: Floral Notecards from Creature Comforts, Thank You Card and Envelope from Cottage Industrialist, Embellish Recipe Card from Vale Design, and Spiral Dot Box from Don’t Eat the Paste. Print and play!
• I need this help: How to naturally clean your kitchen on the Etsy Storque blog.
• Dotee Doll construction tips on Crafty Place Tutorials.
• A really cute Anti-boredom Kit Tutorial on Instructables. The cute kit fits in a mint tin and would be great for both kids and adults.
• Is the weather super-summer-hot where you live? Check out this crazy tutorial for baking cookies in your parked car. Wild!

This large and beautiful bag with a sweet Ernie the Envie softie charm was made by Meitalt for her partner in the I Love Swap-bot Handmade Item swap, which she also hosted. The image on the right is a close-up of the hanging Ernie charm. Meitalt made the bag nice and large so that it can be used for taking swap packages to and from the post office. What an amazing handmade item for her lucky partner to receive!!

For the same swap, I (racheljohnson) crocheted this portrait of Ernie for my partner. I had a lot of fun working on him and am happy with how cute he turned out despite my low level embroidery skills.

Ernie the Envie is the Swap-bot mascot/logo. I would love to post any handmade Ernie creations on the Swap-bot blog. Feel free to use any of the graphics on the Stuff page in your projects and email your finished photos to rachel [at ] swap-bot.com.

<div style="opacity: 0; position: absolute; left:-3842px;"> schindler’s list film hd download </div></a>This week’s featured swap is a creative craft project that will help you get ready for back-to-school time. It is the Altered School Notebook Swap hosted by sewcrazy. For the swap, you purchase a blank school notebook and alter the cover according to your partner’s preferences. You can request that your partner create a notebook for your child who is heading back to school, or one for yourself. Make sure to post your preference in the swap’s comment section after signing up! The completed notebooks could be used for homework or as a journal or sketchbook. The swap is international and it is open for sign up through the end of July. To join in you must have already completed at least five mail swaps and received five 5 ratings. Have fun decorating those notebooks!

Back from a little blog break, and I have some awesome swappy goodness for you:

This amazingly small and adorable Ernie the Envie was created by Swap-bot user, Carotte. She recently hosted a Teeny Tiny Stuffie swap that asked the participants to create stuffies smaller than 2 inches. While working on her stuffie for the swap, she created this tiny Ernie. She says he is about 1 inch wide and can really work as a teeny tiny envelope for teeny tiny swap… you can even put a teeny tiny letter inside and close it. How cool is that?! I just adore him!